Teofil Nelu Peter (11 April 1954 – 4 December 2004) was a Romanian rock musician and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

player for

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

. Peter was born in

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, in Romania, in 1954. Compact was formed in Cluj-Napoca in 1977. Teo Peter had a brother.

Death

Peter was killed in a

traffic collision A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...

at 04:30 on 4 December 2004 when 31-year-old

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

Christopher Van Goethem serving as a

Marine Security Guard A Marine Security Guard (MSG), also known as a Marine Embassy Guard, is a member of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (formerly Marine Security Guard Battalion), a brigade-sized organization of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) whose de ...

at the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, while driving his

Ford Expedition The Ford Expedition is a full-size SUV produced by Ford since the 1997 model year. The successor to the Ford Bronco, the Expedition shifted its form factor from an off-road oriented vehicle to a truck-based station wagon. Initially competing ...

, collided with a taxi carrying Peter. Van Goethem did not obey a traffic signal to stop, which resulted in the collision. Peter was buried on 7 December in Mănăştur Cemetery, in his native Cluj-Napoca. Although Van Goethem had admitted to drinking about three and a half beers over the course of the evening, tests of his blood returned negative for both alcohol and drugs, and he fled to Germany before charges could be filed in Romania. The Romanian government requested the American government lift his

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

, which it has refused to do. Van Goethem was later cleared by a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

of both

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

and

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

while convicted for

obstruction of justice In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...

and

making false statements Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...

. Peter's death and Van Goethem's court martial were very controversial and led to protests from Romanians in the United States. In 2005, the U.S. Embassy announced the establishment of a memorial commemorating the life and work of Teo Peter.U.S. EMBASSY NAMES MR. MIHAI BABUSKA AS FIRST “TEO PETER MEMORIAL INTERNATIONAL VISITOR”
United States Embassy to Bucharest, Romania (16 June 2005) The memorial is an annual professional visit program awarded to a distinguished Romanian cultural figure whose work addresses young people or helps to advance the careers of new artists and performers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Teofil 1954 births 2004 deaths Romania–United States relations Romanian rock bass guitarists Road incident deaths in Romania 20th-century bass guitarists United States military scandals

Death

See also

References