Husband charged in 2006 killing of Lynnwood woman

LYNNWOOD — Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Lynnwood man with second-degree murder in connection with the 2006 slaying of his wife.

Nicole Pietz, 32, was reported missing from the couple’s home along 35th Avenue W. on Jan. 29, 2006.

Her body was found about a week later in a wooded area in Burien. She had been beaten and strangled.

Her death has remained under investigation ever since.

Martin “David” Pietz, 34, was booked into a King County jail on Wednesday morning. Bail was set at $1,000,000. His arraignment was scheduled for April 4.

The arrest came after “a long and thorough investigation,” King County sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West said Wednesday.

Advancements in technology over the years helped bolster the case, she said.

According to court papers, David Pietz reported his wife missing on a Sunday. He told police he had last seen her about midnight Friday. He said she was asleep at their house when he got home from work, but that she and her vehicle were gone when he woke up about 8:20 a.m.

Nicole Pietz’s body was found Feb. 6, 2006, in a wooded area of south King County.

When she was found, she was wearing a dental retainer that she only wore at night while sleeping, according to a police affidavit. Medical tests showed that she likely died that Friday night.

Nicole Pietz didn’t show up for a Saturday morning meeting or a dinner party with her husband and friends on Saturday night.

Her husband told police he called 911 that night and was told to call back if he didn’t hear from his wife within 24 hours.

Early in the investigation, detectives searched the couple’s home and computers for evidence. They also searched Nicole Pietz’s car after it was found.

After she went missing, friends and family made numerous calls to Nicole Pietz’s cellphone. Detectives pulled telephone records and found a lone voicemail from her husband, asking why she wasn’t at the dinner party.

Investigators say evidence convinced them she already was dead at the time of that call.

The phone records also showed that Nicole Pietz’s cellphone was used to call the Seattle gym where David Pietz worked about 11:50 a.m. Saturday, court records show. The call lasted 21 seconds.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the gym. They wrote that David Pietz was gone from his work area for about 10 minutes during the time of the call.

Records showed that the call was made from within the gym or someplace nearby.

Detectives believe David Pietz could have made the call.

About a month after her death, Nicole Pietz’s car was found abandoned near the University of Washington.

Detectives say they found genetic material in the car from both Nicole and David Pietz, but nothing to indicate anyone else had been in the car recently.

Investigators say there was significantly more genetic material from David Pietz in areas of the car that needed to be touched for it to be driven. That included the steering wheel, gear shift knob and windshield wiper knob, according to court papers.

Witnesses since have told detectives that the couple’s marriage was strained. They had financial troubles, and their friends said they believed David Pietz had been cheating.

Computer records showed that David Pietz began seeking phone numbers of other women within weeks of his wife’s death, according to police.

Nicole Pietz’s family found out about the arrest Wednesday morning, said her mother, Gael Schneider.

Schneider’s husband ran into her exercise class to tell her, so she could get back home and hear the news from the detectives herself, she said.

The family is thankful to God, Schneider said.

“It means that justice is working,” she said.

Detectives urge anyone with information about the case to call 206-296-7530.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.