Model and influencer Donald Zieben-Hood was arrested following the death of his husband, Jacob Zieben-Hood, last week.
Police took Donald, 40, into custody after Jacob, was found dead in their Harlem apartment on Friday, August 1, the New York Post reported on Monday, August 4.
According to the Post, Jacob, 34, had been discovered “on a toilet” and “covered in stab wounds.” Donald was booked for first-degree burglary, weapons possession and aggravated criminal contempt for violating two orders of protection preventing him from being near Jacob. He was denied bail.
No murder charges have been filed, though a homicide investigation is underway as medical examiners determine the cause of death.
The outlet cited records as claiming that the couple had a stormy relationship and fought before Jacob’s death. According to prosecutors in court on Sunday, Jacob told his father in a phone call that Donald was “coming after him” and barring him inside the apartment. Jacob’s father could also allegedly hear Donald calling his son “derogatory names,” according to court documents obtained by the Post.
Hours later, police discovered Jacob’s body marked with stab wounds on his leg and head, including one that severed an artery and caused fatal bleeding. Donald, per the Post, had “several cuts on his arms requiring stitches” and “told cops that he’d had a knife fight in their apartment with Jacob the night before.”
Donald, a model who boasts nearly 70,000 Instagram followers, alleged to police that he went to sleep following the fight and awoke about 4 a.m. and found his husband deceased. (Us Weekly has reached out to Donald’s attorney for comment.)
It was the latest incident in a pattern of domestic violence involving Donald as the alleged perpetrator. Since 2022, he was cited in nine domestic incident reports that included Jacob’s allegations that his partner had choked him and threatened him with a knife. In 2024, Donald was arrested after he allegedly struck Jacob in the head and a protective order was issued, the Post reported.
In February of this year, Donald was arrested for allegedly choking Jacob amid a dispute in their apartment. He was granted $5,000 bail, far below the $20,000 that prosecutors requested, per the Post.
Weeks afterward, police were allegedly called via 911 to the aftermath of a fight between Donald and Jacob in which the latter was bleeding from a cut on his forehead. The pair stated at the time that Jacob fell and hit his head.
Then in June, Donald was arrested once more — this time, for allegedly wielding a kitchen knife and vowing to “attack” Jacob. While the former faced an accusation that he broke an order of protection, he walked away on $5,000 bail.
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