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Narrator / Host
Most violent crimes that capture the public's imagination are about serial killers, mass shooters, or crimes of passion. Yet some of the most shocking conflicts we encounter are between everyday neighbors and ordinary neighborhoods. What makes a good neighbor go bad? We may never truly know, but heed this warning about the terrible things that can happen when even the pettiest disagreements pass the point of no return. We're in Maryland, in a lovely Chesapeake enclave with big properties and bigger hearted residents. A family who settled here years ago is happy to welcome the neighborhood's newest couple, and it doesn't hurt to learn the man of the house is a former police officer. Unfortunately, this former officer keeps the neighborhood on edge, with residents feeling more vulnerable and unprotected than before. Minor breaches are cataloged and reported, and bullying behavior becomes the order of the day every day. Once the point of no return is reached, lies will be told and tragedy will course through the once happy neighborhood for years to come. This is fear thy neighbor, Law and disorder. Stevensville, Maryland A friendly community situated just off the Chesapeake Bay offers a beautiful, rustic way of life. Rob Penney, chief of staff for the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney describes the place.
Rob Penney
Stevensville, Maryland, would be considered a rural area. Typically, law abiding citizens respect the police, respect the law.
Narrator / Host
Within Stevensville, Emory Circle is a cherished cul de sac neighborhood. Barbara Sea is a longtime resident.
Barbara Sea
All the lots are at least like acre, 2 acres, 3 acres, so you're not really shoved up against each other. And it's a real, very nice community. Everybody gets along great. We like the area and we like the lot, and we thought it would be a nice place to live and for our kids.
Narrator / Host
Barbara's neighbors, Mark and Diane Zander, put roots down in Emory Circle seven years ago with their sons Chris and Jason, and the family dog, Lena. Here's Diane.
Diane Zander
In 1990, we had our home built and we moved there, and we were so proud. We knew each other from high school, and I always had a crush on that man. Actually, Mark offered to fix my car for me, and it was all uphill from there, and we were very, very happy.
Narrator / Host
Diane is the assistant vice president at a local bank. Mark runs his own auto detailing business. Their son Christopher agrees that Emory Circle is a great place to grow up. Here he is now.
Christopher Zander
Everybody that we lived around were, you know, fabulous people. You know, it was a very, like, peaceful place, for sure, a friendly place.
Barbara Sea
We'd have cookouts and, you know, just visit each other back and forth.
Narrator / Host
And now the cherished neighborhood is about to gain some new members. On the lot right next to Mark and Diane.
Diane Zander
They pulled up and Mark and I said, you know, we should go over and say hi.
Narrator / Host
Where are your neighbors?
Diane Zander
Next door.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Nice meeting you, Charles, but everyone calls
Narrator / Host
me Pete, and I'm Barbara, his better half. Charles Richter, AKA Pete, is a former Baltimore police officer now working as a security guard. His wife, also named Barbara, is a baker with two grown children. Out of the nest, the couple are renovating their new place to make it their retirement home.
Diane Zander
Mr. Richter was boisterous and loud and aggressive, but we figured he was just excited.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
I'll tell you, you know what? We're really looking forward to spending our retirement year somewhere really nice and peaceful.
Diane Zander
He told us that he worked at night, and Mark and I looked at
Mark Zander
each other just letting you know. Our son Christopher likes to play the
Narrator / Host
drums, and our son Jason really likes to play the guitar. But please let us know if it's an issue.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Your sons are musicians. So am I. I like to play, play a little piano, sing a little bit.
Diane Zander
He talked to us about the fact that he had friends that would gather and play music.
Barbara Sea
He did play music sometimes for senior Citizens.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
I'm liking this place already.
Mark Zander
We're having a barbecue. All the other neighbors are going to be there.
Narrator / Host
Yeah, come. It's at 6 o'.
Angie Hicks
Clock.
Narrator / Host
We'd love to have you there.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Oh, we'd love to.
Narrator / Host
Great. See you there.
Diane Zander
We were just hoping to get along and be friends. They were our next door neighbors and we just needed to get along.
Narrator / Host
Relations between everyone start off as well as could be hoped for. The renovations on Pete and Barbara Richter's home are likewise going smoothly. Until one day they come home to a disturbing discovery. Oh my God.
Diane Zander
The Richter's home was vandalized.
Narrator / Host
Who would do such a thing?
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Oh my God.
Lance Richardson
I'll take care of things.
Narrator / Host
Police are summoned. They question Mark and Diane.
Christopher Zander
Did you see anyone near the Richters house lately?
Mark Zander
Me and a friend went over there the other day to look around, but we didn't see anyone.
Narrator / Host
Yeah, that's right.
Diane Zander
My husband and another neighbor, being curious, not up to anything malicious, walked over and peeked in their porch window and just to see what the layout was looking like.
Narrator / Host
But Pete, upon hearing that Mark had ventured over for a look at his construction, jumps to an alarming conclusion.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
He practically admitted that he and his buddy did it.
Rob Penney
Sir, take him in.
Diane Zander
From that escalated the fact that from Richter that clearly we were guilty.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Aren't you at least going to bring him in for questioning?
Christopher Zander
We'll let you know if we turn up any leads.
Narrator / Host
This response is nowhere near good enough for Pete, recalls Rob Penny.
Rob Penney
Pete claimed that the officers either didn't do a good job or tried to destroy evidence so they didn't have to do a good job. And I think he would accuse the police of looking the other way to that crime.
Narrator / Host
Chris Schwink is an investigating officer familiar with the incident.
Chris Schwink
I know nobody was ever charged with the burglary and I think that's what set Pete Richter over the edge.
Narrator / Host
And as Diane explains, Pete refuses to let the incident go.
Diane Zander
Mr. Richter would not leave the vandalism alone. He didn't understand the word no and so he just kept on and on and on.
Barbara Sea
He had accused all the neighbors of that. And I mean that didn't make sense. I mean you just don't do that. I mean it was ridiculous.
Diane Zander
When you're not guilty of something, when you're innocent and you're being targeted, after a while it does get upsetting.
Narrator / Host
The community is rattled by Pete Richter's quick descent into animosity and unfounded allegations. Yet Mark and Diane are determined to keep the peace on the street. They've Called home for years.
Diane Zander
Most of us just thought it would calm down and we would give it a try. You have to work sometimes at relationships. But it never calmed down. It only escalated.
Narrator / Host
Whoever vandalized Pete's house has gotten away with it. So now he keeps a close watch for anything that crosses the line.
Diane Zander
One of our neighbors drove a tractor trailer for a living. That was his livelihood. That's what he did. And on the weekends, he would sometimes bring the trailer home. It wasn't the prettiest sight to look at as you're sitting on your front porch. We all agreed to that and we talked about it. But he didn't have any place else to park it on the weekends. As long as it was only there
Barbara Sea
a little bit of time, you know, just for an overnight or something. Wasn't bad yet.
Narrator / Host
Pete's not putting up with this eyesore.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
It's been out there for days. Makes the whole street look like a garbage dump. We should get it towed away.
Mark Zander
Whoa, take it easy, Pete. Trailer belongs to one of our neighbors here.
Narrator / Host
But Pete makes a fair point. The residents of Emory Circle have agreed to abide by a set of covenants, explains neighbor Barbara Saya.
Barbara Sea
The covenants are like, the house has to be a certain size. You can't have extra buildings on your property, that kind of thing.
Diane Zander
It was done so to keep the neighborhood nice.
Narrator / Host
But Diane and Mark don't want to make life more difficult for their neighbors. Much to Pete's chagrin, they refused to side with him and his mounting campaign to remove the tractor trailer.
Diane Zander
When we wouldn't side with him for him, that was defiance. And he looked right at me and said, you're either with me or you're against me. And if you're against me, I will make your life hell.
Mark Zander
Clear down, Pete. Things will sort themselves out.
Narrator / Host
But Pete isn't about to let things sort out on their own.
Diane Zander
Richter had the county come and post a sign that said you couldn't park in excess of so many. And it made it harder for this man that was, you know, trying to earn a living for his family.
Barbara Sea
I guess he thought he was going to be the boss of everybody.
Narrator / Host
As Pete tries to lay down the law, things will only go from bad to worse in the tight knit community.
Rob Penney
If you were on board with Pete, hey, it was great. But if you weren't on board with Pete, there was going to be hell to pay.
Narrator / Host
From a neighbor standpoint, Emory Circle is an attractive place because of the wide open lots of yet for Pete, Richter, his neighbors, and especially their dogs are still too close for comfort.
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Narrator / Host
Linda Austin's property runs behind Pete's house, and as neighbor Barbara Sea explains, Pete begins to turn his ire towards her.
Barbara Sea
And so he started picking on her. And he said he didn't like dogs.
Narrator / Host
Mark Zander claims to witness a troubling event involving Pete and Linda's pets.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Get away. Leave me alone.
Diane Zander
Were the dogs barking? Sure. But those dogs were fenced in. They weren't in a position to jump the fence.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Leave me alone. Go.
Narrator / Host
According to Mark, Pete pulls out a spray can.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Eat this.
Narrator / Host
To subdue one of the dogs. Max.
Mark Zander
Hey.
Diane Zander
He was standing there shooting this can at her dog. And Mark observed this.
Mark Zander
Stop that.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
What?
Narrator / Host
Mark and Diane have already decided as much as possible not to escalate things with Pete directly. But Mark needs to let Linda know what he saw.
Diane Zander
Mark thought that it had to be mace, so he wrote a note and put it in our neighbor's mailbox to let her know when she came home what he observed so that she would have some idea of what might have happened to her dog.
Narrator / Host
And Linda wastes no time putting Pete in his place.
Diane Zander
What kind of bully are you macing a dog? Linda? She's a strong willed individual. She was furious. I'm pressing charges of animal cruelty.
Mark Zander
I told her what you did.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Your dog was barking and bothering me. You need to get it under control.
Diane Zander
You could have blinded Max.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Both of you off my property.
Barbara Sea
Now, I don't know if it's because he thought from he had been in the city as a police officer, he could be the boss or do whatever he wanted.
Narrator / Host
Then Pete pulls out a video camera and begins filming the altercation.
Barbara Sea
He always had a camera. He would hold it up, looking all the time to see what you were doing. He was always wanting to take pictures.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
I've got you both on camera as trespassing. Now I advise you to leave before I call the police.
Diane Zander
This isn't over. I'm going to charge you over what you did to my dog.
Narrator / Host
Linda makes good on her threat, but in court, Pete that he used mace against her canine.
Diane Zander
I know that. They ended up in court over that and Mark was subpoenaed. But unfortunately, since he couldn't read the labeling on the can, the case was thrown out. Richter was never charged with anything. As time went on, he'd make comments to us about how he was the rooster on his block in Baltimore, and he would be the rooster in Emory's circle.
Narrator / Host
In this ongoing dispute, property lines turn into battle lines. As Mark and Diane's son Christopher and State Attorney Lance Richardson explain, there's one activity in particular that Pete dislikes.
Christopher Zander
My brother and his friends were playing basketball.
Lance Richardson
He disliked the boys because they played basketball. He didn't like the sound of a ball dribbling.
Diane Zander
The basketball hoop was very close to their property line. And so he would stand there with a video camera and wait for the ball to trespass onto his property. And the Richters just couldn't wait. For that ball to go over there,
Narrator / Host
it's just a matter of time before the inevitable happens.
Christopher Zander
The basketball, like, missed the basket and rolled over into his yard.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
That's it. Hey, you bozos. Tiny. Making noise and acting like you own the street.
Diane Zander
Richter was harassing the kids. So I went out there.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Anything that comes onto my property belongs to me.
Lance Richardson
He would say, you're trespassing. If you tried to retrieve the ball.
Narrator / Host
Hey, why don't you leave him alone and stop being such a grouch?
Diane Zander
And I said, if the ball goes on his property and he feels the need to keep it, have at it, but let the kids just play ball.
Lance Richardson
He would try to overwhelm people with his personality. And if you stood up to him, he didn't like it.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Get out of here.
Diane Zander
We really thought if we didn't engage in conversation with this man, that eventually he would just leave us alone, that he would give up, that he would stop. But he never did.
Narrator / Host
Day in and day out, Pete uses his video camera to keep watch on his property line with the Zanders.
Lance Richardson
He was on a large lot, and for some reason, that seemed to incite him to be more territorial.
Christopher Zander
Mr. Richter had put up, like, stakes marking the property lines, and I think one of them was, like, in my father's way. And he just, like, picked it up and, like, threw it for Pete.
Narrator / Host
This is just one more bad neighbor breaking the rules, and he won't take it lying down.
Christopher Zander
Pete thought that it was me, and so he sued me, took me to court, and that one basically got thrown out because the judge was like, this obviously wasn't me that was on that video.
Diane Zander
The sad thing is, it wasn't just our family. There were other neighbors that were also taken to court. So it seemed like Richter was in court all the time.
Lance Richardson
He certainly wanted everything prosecuted. He enjoyed being in court. He enjoyed the adversarial nature of litigation.
Narrator / Host
Rob Penny, chief of staff for the county estate's attorney, concurs.
Rob Penney
And I think that also fueled Mr. Richter's fire and just continued to agitate and agitate this situation.
Narrator / Host
Agitating situations seems to be what Pete Richter does best.
Diane Zander
As a security guard, he worked at night, and so he would sit in his car 10, 15 minutes before he had to leave, and he would just shine his high beams at our home and our bedroom window, unfortunately, faced in that direction.
Christopher Zander
It went on for months and months.
Narrator / Host
Pull the curtains, ignore them, come back to bed.
Diane Zander
And then he would go to the other neighbors, and he would sit in front of their driveway, and we'd come
Barbara Sea
down to our house and he'd shine the lights on our house. And I called the police and they said, well, there's nothing we can do. He hasn't done anything. And I said, but it's like he's trying to intimidate everybody. I guess you can do whatever you want until somebody gets hurt.
Narrator / Host
Once again, the Zanders opt to suffer through the harassment in silence.
Diane Zander
What do we need to do to keep him from hating us so badly? We weren't trying to annoy him, but nothing was working.
Barbara Sea
It was just constant tension. It was just like unreal.
Narrator / Host
Every little thing triggers another explosion across the property line. This time it's Christopher and Jason Zander making music in the garage.
Diane Zander
Granted, my son did play and granted you could hear him from the garage even though he kept the garage door shut. And unfortunately our garage door faced their property line.
Christopher Zander
He heard me playing drums and he was very angry about that. He wanted my parents to soundproof the garage, which they didn't have the money for.
Narrator / Host
He'll stop soon. Don't make a fuss, Pete. Don't come back.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Open up.
Christopher Zander
I think I was overwhelmed by how angry he seemed. You could actually just see it in his face.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Tired of this racket, I offered to insulate this place for your parents and they still didn't do nothing.
Diane Zander
It scared Jason. So he called me.
Narrator / Host
Hello?
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Hey, Mom.
Diane Zander
And said that Richter was there with his finger in our son Chris's face about the drums.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Richter.
Narrator / Host
She was talking to Krister. What? What? No, no, no. Put Richter on.
Christopher Zander
My mom wants to talk to you.
Diane Zander
And I told Richter, we can talk about this if you'd like when Mark and I come home. But you are to leave my property immediately and you are to never come and approach my sons unless I'm home.
Narrator / Host
You leave my boys alone right now. Do we understand each other?
Diane Zander
The boy said he was clearly vividly perturbed and angry with me.
Narrator / Host
State's Attorney Lance Richardson recounts how Pete Richter wouldn't let the incident go.
Lance Richardson
Mr. Richter did actually sue his neighbors civilly over the exander young boy playing the drums. They had a week long jury trial.
Diane Zander
Mr. Richter was suing for over $40,000. And the jury found us in violation of a noise ordinance and awarded Richter $5,000. But in the end, the judge decided that my son could still play the drums. He just had to do it within a specific amount of time.
Lance Richardson
I think ultimately the family across the board tried not to engage this man, tried not to provoke him in any way, shape or form. They wanted to live their lives, but it was very difficult because he was so venomous.
Narrator / Host
Investigator Chris Schwink supports this assessment.
Chris Schwink
It got to the point where if Mark was cutting the trees and came around, Richter would scream at him for being on his property and just a
Rob Penney
constant agitated state that Pete laid in, as usual.
Narrator / Host
It's not just the Zander suffering the consequences of Pete's obsessions. Barbara Sea should know.
Barbara Sea
My one son had a dune buggy. It didn't have tags, but I mean he was just trying it out in our yard and then he went out into the circle. Not on the highway or anything, but we ended up in court over that and it was so ridiculous he saw you on the roads with doo tags.
Lance Richardson
I do believe Mr. Richter charged most of his neighbors at one time or another with something, whether it was a civil violation, an animal violation, allegations of not keeping their yard properly maintained. Whatever he could find, he pursued.
Narrator / Host
As the battle between neighbors continues, many in the neighborhood start to see Pete as a constant menacing presence. But avoiding the former cop is next to impossible. And things are only going to escalate from here.
Barbara Sea
Richter once said, bullets will fly and people will die and I'll take my neighbors down with me.
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Narrator / Host
Charles Pete Richter is alienating and intimidating everyone in Emory's circle in Steven, Maryland, especially his next door neighbors, Mark and Diane Zander and their family investigator Chris Schwink. Diane and neighbor Barbara Sea describe life on the street getting intolerably stressful.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Lovely day, isn't it, Mark?
Chris Schwink
He would entice people into conversations and then start recording them, trying to provoke them to do something to him.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
How's your pig of a wife today?
Diane Zander
He would make it a point to call me names. He would do stuff like that, hoping to get a rise out of Mark. He was hoping that Mark would just fly off and come after him. But Mark never did.
Narrator / Host
In this tense environment, Pete is on constant alert for any threat.
Barbara Sea
He said somebody threw nails on his
Narrator / Host
driveway, just like when his house was vandalized. Pete believes the Zanders are responsible.
Barbara Sea
That didn't even make sense. I think it was more like maybe construction or something. Maybe they dropped a box of nails or something. I just don't believe anybody did that.
Narrator / Host
Pete calls the police, but is foiled yet again. Chief of staff for Queens County State Attorney's office Rob Penney and his colleague, attorney Lance Richardson, weigh in.
Rob Penney
And Mr. Richter, I think, just got to the point where he felt as though his repetitive complaints were met with deaf ears, when in reality, you know, the matters were looked into. It's just that the evidence didn't support his claims.
Lance Richardson
So he'd come in with his video camera alleging corruption, wanting to know why I wasn't prosecuting these cases. And I'd have to tell him, Mr. Richter, turn your camera off. I'll talk to you civilly, but I don't need to be recorded. Every time we have a meeting or a conversation, he would harass my staff. Ultimately, I had to tell him, you need to get out of my office. You're being disruptive. This is nonsense. I saw him as a narcissist, kind of antisocial personality and a sociopath.
Narrator / Host
In 2001, the simmering hostilities rise To a whole new level, says Christopher Zander.
Christopher Zander
A neighbor knocked on the door and my father was the one who answered.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Mark, you have to get out of there.
Narrator / Host
Your house is on fire.
Mark Zander
What? Oh, my God.
Narrator / Host
Diane. Firefighters are unable to save the burning residents.
Christopher Zander
I was at work at the time, actually, and somebody told me that my family's home had burnt down. And I was just in shock.
Barbara Sea
It was so fast and it started like at the top, and the whole house, you know, it was just burned.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Hey, Mark, you got what you deserve.
Diane Zander
You would think that one would have compassion for a family that just lost everything they owned. But he was just so hateful.
Lance Richardson
The fire marshal investigated, but they couldn't determine the point of origin.
Diane Zander
Ultimately, the investigation, the fire marshal closed it as a mulch fire.
Lance Richardson
It was a mysterious fire. I don't know how mulch would spontaneously combust, so that was suspicious.
Narrator / Host
After the blaze, a bizarre rumor is spread through the neighborhood.
Rob Penney
There were flyers that were put into members of the cul de sacs mailboxes that the allegation was that the Xander's house burnt down because they had a meth lab in the basement. And there was always the belief that Pete Richter was the person behind those flyers being distributed.
Diane Zander
Just another lie, another way for him to twist the truth and try to proceed with making us look bad. And he put those flyers everywhere.
Narrator / Host
There's no proof Richter was responsible for the fire or the flyer. But soon after, in a strange, strange coincidence, Barbara Sea's house also catches fire. But her family is luckier than the Zanders.
Barbara Sea
The next door neighbor got the fire under control before the fire department got there or our house would have burned.
Narrator / Host
Once again, it's deemed a mulch fire and no one has any hard evidence to prove otherwise.
Diane Zander
After the house fire, we entertained moving, but we couldn't find anything and we missed our neighbors. In hindsight, I wished we would have moved. A few of the other neighbors did move, but we loved our home. Our children practically grew up there. And we loved the neighbors that did stay, so we didn't move.
Narrator / Host
It takes six months for the home to be rebuilt. No sooner have the Zanders returned to live in it when neighbor Pete Richter unleashes new provocations. Now using the Zander family dog, my
Christopher Zander
father saw that Lena was gone and then went looking for Lena.
Mark Zander
Lena.
Diane Zander
That particular day, I can't remember why the dog went over there, but I believe she was in chase with a rabbit.
Mark Zander
Where are you?
Narrator / Host
Mark realizes Lena is barking from inside pete's garage.
Mark Zander
Pete.
Diane Zander
Mr. Richter grabbed it dog. He chained her, and then he called animal control.
Mark Zander
Hey, Pete. What's the matter with you? Let my dog out of there.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Your dog attacked my wife. He could have killed her.
Narrator / Host
According to Pete, when he and his wife returned home from an outing, Lena bolted onto their property.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Get away from her, you damn butt.
Diane Zander
Go.
Narrator / Host
Come here.
Lance Richardson
Mr. Richter claimed his neighbor's dog attacked his wife and bloodied her nose.
Narrator / Host
But his claim quickly falls apart when
Diane Zander
animal control went over. She had a bloody nose. Animal Control asked her if she was okay. She said, yes, I'm fine. I just had some sinus surgery done.
Lance Richardson
Their stories were conflicting. On scene, we could tell he was fabricating these allegations that the neighbor's dog had attacked her.
Diane Zander
We had to go to court for it. And the end result of that was I was told to be more careful with the dog. And that never pleased Richter because he wanted something serious to happen. He wanted us to be, you know, mandated to chain our dogs.
Narrator / Host
Diane is about to learn that her neighbor can teach an old dog new tricks.
Lance Richardson
Marky Zander, a had special whistle that he used to call his dog. Mr. Richter learned that whistle, learned to mock that whistle, would try to get the dog to come onto his property.
Diane Zander
And she went to the whistle.
Narrator / Host
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Lena, that's not Mark. And now there's something even more disturbing to worry about.
Diane Zander
Mr. Richter carried a.22 caliber Derringer, and he made us aware of that on numerous occasions. I believe Richter targeted Mark the most because he didn't carry a weapon. The other neighbors, they all had weapons. Mark and I, we never believed in weapons. Mark didn't hunt. And of course, we were an easy target because we were right next door.
Mark Zander
Maybe we should have a gun, too.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
No, no.
Mark Zander
For protection.
Narrator / Host
No, no, no. That's not the answer. I know what to do. Diane turns to the courts to keep her neighbor at a safe distance.
Diane Zander
We obtained a no trespassing order for him.
Lance Richardson
Peace order was to keep him off her property, keep him from contacting her, harassing her, speaking to her.
Narrator / Host
But the peace order won't work if both parties don't follow the rules.
Diane Zander
He'd still come to that property line and make hand gestures and start, you know, calling names and, hey, Xander, I
Charles 'Pete' Richter
want you, your damn dog, your family on that side of the property. You try going over here. It'll be the last time.
Narrator / Host
No property line or court demand will stop this ticking time bomb. And the madness comes to a head. On April 3, 2011, Mark came home.
Diane Zander
He gave me a kiss. He told Me, he was going to go trim the hedges that we had in the back. And I said okay. And that was it. He left. And of course the dog followed him.
Narrator / Host
Investigator Chris Schwink helps tell the story.
Chris Schwink
And then at that point sometime Richter imitated the dog whistle and the dog ran across the property.
Mark Zander
Lena, where are you going?
Christopher Zander
He was well aware that Pete would bait her. You know, this had happened before.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Your damn dog's been on my property again. Mark.
Chris Schwink
Mark came over to try to get the dog. That's when they got into the confrontation.
Diane Zander
You know, it's odd because when I was in the kitchen starting dinner, something told me to take Mark a beer or check on him or let him know that we were going to eat dinner. Early that night, out of nowhere, the police officers were everywhere. The fire truck. Ma', am, this has been an incident.
Adam Grant
It's involving your husband.
Narrator / Host
What?
Charles 'Pete' Richter
What?
Diane Zander
And that's when I noticed Mark laying in the front yard.
Rob Penney
Mark Zander had been shot.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Mark.
Diane Zander
And I screamed, you let me go. That's my husband.
Narrator / Host
Emergency crews worked desperately to save Mark's life.
Diane Zander
I could tell by their actions that it was horribly, horribly going wrong.
Chris Schwink
They loaded him into the ambulance, took off up the road.
Diane Zander
Jason and I went to the hospital. And that's when we were immediately told that we had lost Mark. That he didn't make it, that he was gone.
Narrator / Host
The man who shot and killed Mark Zander is next door neighbor, Pete Richter. And it's he who called 911 to report it. This is the actual recording.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Queen 911 location. Emergency. Send a police. Tell me exactly what's going on. My neighbor just come in my house, attacked me and I. I shot him with a.22. The guy that you shot, is he hurt? He. He. He ran out of here. Send the police. Man, I'm out of breath. This fighting with this guy.
Narrator / Host
Authorities arrived to see that Pete has set up his video camera to record in his garage.
Chris Schwink
Richter was sitting on a stool. He was spinning the gun around his finger. Just sitting there, kind of nonchalantly spinning the pistol.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Hands up where I can see them. Keep them up. Keep your hands up where I can see.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Damn, man.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
You calm down.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Calm down.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Stand up.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Turn around.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back. Turn around. Help us.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
What happened, man? That guy came into my house here and jumped me.
Narrator / Host
Rob Penny tells us. Pete's version is that Mark's dog trespassed onto his property.
Rob Penney
He then claims that he is bringing the dog back to the garage as he's done in the past to phone animal control.
Chris Schwink
So Mark, according to Pete, went to get the dog, got into a fight with him in the garage.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
What the hell are you doing with my dog?
Rob Penney
He's tying this dog up in his garage and he's now attacked from behind by Mr. Zander.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Sick of your crap.
Narrator / Host
This ends now.
Lance Richardson
Pete Richter claimed that he was trying to shoot Mark Exander in the butt. That's what he said.
Chris Schwink
According to Richter, Mark took off running across the the yard, made it through the tree line and collapsed.
Rob Penney
And look, let's face it, if Mr. Richter is attacked in his home, he has a right to protect his home, his property, his family. And maybe the shooting is justified.
Narrator / Host
More actual audio reveals Pete making his case to law enforcement.
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
Man came in my garage and attacked me, okay? And had a struggle, okay? So he's trying to hurt me. We're fighting. He's broke my hammer, okay?
Charles 'Pete' Richter
What are you guys fighting about?
911 Operator / Emergency Caller
This has been going on for 13 years, okay? He should come in my house and attack.
Chris Schwink
Pete was very calm, unaffected by anything he said. It had just happened. He was very nonchalant. Act as if nothing happened. I know if I just shot somebody I'd be a little hysterical about it but. But it didn't seem to faze him at all.
Narrator / Host
Attorney Lance Richardson and Rob Penny outline results from the search of Pete's residence.
Lance Richardson
They found lots of ammunition. He had all these videos of the neighbors which showed he was obsessive. The most telling thing though was that we found a picture of the Exanders burned house.
Rob Penney
The top of that had written on that photograph like the Lord works in mysterious ways. And at the bottom said what goes around comes around.
Lance Richardson
That shows you that he relished the fact that their house burned down.
Narrator / Host
Pete Richter's framing of the events is soon refuted. There is no blood or any signs of struggle in the garage. Mark could not have been shot there as Pete argued. It's concluded that he was struck in the back on his property.
Lance Richardson
The medical examiner and the other forensic investigator didn't believe that Mark Exander could have traveled very far with injuries like this. That defied Pete Richter's theory that Mark Exander ran all the way from his garage back into his own yard. He couldn't have gone that far. I mean it was obvious to us that Pete shot this man in cold blood and then tried to come up with his best self defense fabricated story to save himself.
Diane Zander
I do believe that Pete, when he came home that day, he saw an opportunity because he saw Mark trimming the hedges. And he did what he had done in the past. He baited our dog.
Mark Zander
Lena, where are you going?
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Your damn dog's on my property again. And you're trespassing on my property.
Mark Zander
Now give me my dog back right now.
Charles 'Pete' Richter
Are you threatening me?
Diane Zander
Richter was standing there and said something to Mark, hoping that Mark would approach him and come into his garage. But Mark didn't.
Mark Zander
I'm calling the cops. Let's go, Lena.
Diane Zander
He just turned around and walked away. And that's when Richter shot him in the back.
Narrator / Host
To increase the chances of conviction, prosecutors charged with with both first and second degree murder and with the use of a firearm in the commission of an act of violence.
Diane Zander
Thank God the jury saw through him. It didn't take the jury long to find him guilty of second degree murder.
Rob Penney
Mr. Richter was sentenced to 20 years in prison and then consecutively five years for the use of the handgun in the commission of the felony.
Narrator / Host
The Zander family and friends take some comfort from the decision. All continue to mourn Mark's tragic death. Says his son Christopher.
Christopher Zander
It was pretty incredible how the community came together and supported my family and showed their respects to my father. It made me realize that there's far more love in the world and support than there is evil.
Narrator / Host
In honor of her husband, Diane is working to get Mark's Law passed in the Maryland state legislature. Under this provision, gun owners would not be allowed to regain a gun permit if it had been revoked.
Diane Zander
I want so badly to try and prevent the pain my family and friends have carried for almost 10 years from happening to another family or another neighborhood. I deeply feel when Mark's Law is passed, others will be spared the pain that we have seen.
Barbara Sea
I think in the beginning, everything was so numb. Some people have moved away and a lot of things have changed, but we're still there and Diane's still there.
Diane Zander
I met my husband when I was just 18. What the heck do you know? At 18? But we managed to stay happily married up until he was murdered and had two wonderful boys. We used to tease each other and say if we didn't do anything else right? We did. Raised two wonderful human beings. My beautiful grandson Caleb was born in 2018. And so I retired. And he is my sunshine. He is everything.
Narrator / Host
This podcast is produced by Cream Productions in association with Fremantle Media and id. You can check out Fear Thy Neighbor on Max discovery and id.
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Host: ID
Location: Stevensville, Maryland
“Law & Disorder” delves into the dramatic escalation of neighborly conflict in a seemingly peaceful Maryland community, focusing on the tragic outcome between Mark Zander and his neighbor, former police officer Charles “Pete” Richter. The episode explores how initial neighborly friendliness devolves into years of tension, harassment, legal battles, property sabotage, and ultimately, fatal violence. Through firsthand accounts, interviews, and original 911 calls, the podcast dissects the complexities of how small disputes and inflamed personalities can bring devastation to ordinary lives.
This episode is a haunting testament to how persistent neighborly disputes, stoked by controlling and aggressive personalities, can result in devastating consequences even in the most idyllic settings. Through firsthand accounts, legal insight, and chilling 911 calls, “Law & Disorder” reminds listeners that real horror sometimes lives next door — and stresses the importance of early intervention and legislative reform to protect communities.