Teofil Nelu Peter (11 April 1954 – 4 December 2004) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n rock musician and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

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 * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

. Peter was born in

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

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

Death

Peter was killed in a traffic collision 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, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a 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 administrative, supervi ...

Christopher Van Goethem serving as a Marine Security Guard at the U.S.

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

in Bucharest, while driving his Ford Expedition, 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, which it has refused to do. The Marine was later cleared by a court martial 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 cen ...

and

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') 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 ...

while convicted for obstruction of justice 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