Man charged in slaying had earlier troubles

TACOMA - The Seattle Fire Department lieutenant charged in the stabbing death of his girlfriend Sunday was involved in an earlier domestic-violence incident involving his ex-wife.

The former wife, Judith, was granted a divorce from firefighter Lt. Peter Lindahl in June 1992. She was then granted a one-year protection order against him after she told a Pierce County Superior Court judge that Lindahl had shoved her against a wall during an argument.

Lindahl, 45, is charged in Pierce County with second-degree murder in the death of Sheri Kay Wolf, 31, with whom he shared a home in Bonney Lake. Wolf died after being stabbed twice and beaten, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.

Prosecutors say Lindahl called 911 and told the dispatcher, "Why did I do that? Sheri, you ruined my life." Officers said they found Lindahl kneeling over Wolf. Their 17-month-old daughter was crying nearby.

The relationship between Lindahl and Wolf was marked by arguments and verbal abuse, the Pierce County prosecutors said in court this week.

An earlier episode involving Lindahl and his wife occurred in September 1991 when they got into an argument that lasted 45 minutes. At the end of the shouting, Lindahl "went into an uncontrollable rage," his wife told the court. He ordered her to leave the house and when she refused he threw her against the wall, causing their 7-month-old daughter, who was in her mother's arms, to strike her head.

Lindahl was subsequently arrested, but the case was dismissed after he proved to the court he had completed at least three months of counseling.

Almost a year earlier, in November 1990, his wife called police to report an argument with her husband. No arrests were made.

Lindahl, who is being held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, joined the Seattle Fire Department in 1982 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1994. He has been put on administrative leave, a department official said.