Robert John Peernock ( – December 2021) was an American convicted for the murder of his wife, Claire Laurence Peernock, and for the attempted murder of his daughter, Natasha Peernock, on July 22, 1987. Peernock was a former

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarry ...

engineer and employee of the

California Department of Water Resources The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the California Natural Resources Agency and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's water usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor ...

(DWR) who claimed he was framed because he was about to publish a book exposing state corruption. He died in prison in December 2021.

Murder of Claire Peernock

Claire Peernock and her daughter Natasha Peernock Sims were discovered in the early morning of July 22, 1987, near Tuxford Street in the

Sun Valley Sun Valley may refer to: Places Australia * Sun Valley, New South Wales * Sun Valley, Queensland, a suburb of Gladstone United States * Valley of the Sun, a region that covers the Phoenix metropolitan area *Sun Valley, Arizona * Sun Valley, Los A ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Claire had been driving Peernock's car, a 1971

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...

, when the car struck a utility pole. The interior of the car, as well as Claire and Natasha, were found to have been soaked with

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...

. It was found that an explosive device had been placed on the gas tank rigged to explode, but that it had failed to detonate. Claire died from head wounds that were termed "inconsistent" with a traffic accident and Natasha was severely injured, but survived. A family member told authorities that Peernock and his wife had been in the process of separating and that she had sought

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pris ...

from Peernock for herself and her two children. Peernock fled shortly after the death of his wife and a warrant for his arrest was issued in August 1987; he was apprehended the following month. Peernock's girlfriend was charged with

accessory after the fact An accessory is a person who assists in, but does not actually participate in, the commission of a crime. The distinction between an accessory and a principal is a question of fact and degree: *The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, ...

to murder for assisting him with his finances between July 30 and his arrest on September 4, 1987. The charge against her was later dropped.

Trial

The case went to trial in 1991 after Peernock underwent several psychiatric examinations to establish whether or not he was competent to stand trial. During the trial, Natasha testified that her father had restrained her with

handcuffs Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that ...

and force-fed her "large quantities of liquor" 12 hours before the crash. Attorney Craig R. Richman argued that Peernock had murdered his wife for financial gain. In the middle of the trial, Peernock attempted to fire his attorney Donald J. Green, stating that Green was "working to rig a conviction." During Peernock's testimony at his trial, he attempted to strangle Richman as Richman was cross-examining him, only to be stopped and removed from the courtroom by the bailiffs. On October 23, 1991, Peernock was convicted of the charges of murder, upon which he told the court he was innocent and demanded a second trial. Several times during the reading of the verdict Peernock was removed from the courtroom due to outbursts, with the judge eventually ordering his hands be handcuffed behind his back and his mouth gagged with duct tape while in the courtroom. In October 1991, Judge Howard J. Schwab sentenced Peernock to life in prison without parole for the murder of his wife. He was also sentenced for attempting to hire a fellow prison inmate to murder his daughter and her attorney, Victoria Doom. During the trial, Peernock accused Judge Schwab of conspiring with several others to gain access to his finances. An unrelated search of Peernock's jail cell uncovered a list of names and addresses of jurors. The discovery prompted Los Angeles County Supervisor

Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born August 12, 1939) is an American politician who was Mayor of Los Angeles County and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He represented the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles Coun ...

to request a ban on juror contact. A later civil trial against Peernock resulted in a court order that he pay $11 million in damages to his daughter for the wrongful death of her mother.

In popular culture

*The murder was also the subject of a 2001 episode titled "Short Fuse" in the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

series ''Prosecutors: In Pursuit of Justice''. * He was also the subject of a 2015

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

documentary called ''A Checklist for Murder'', which is based on the book of the same name by author Anthony Flacco.

References

External links

*
Robert Peernock Webpage

PERB hearing about his dismissal

Bantam Dell Publishing Group: A Checklist for Murder by Anthony Flacco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peernock, Robert Living people American people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by California People from Tarzana, Los Angeles Criminals from Los Angeles Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California 1930s births American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American people convicted of attempted murder 1987 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals Criminals from California