A personal trainer found stabbed to death in his Harlem apartment had a blowout fight with his fitness model husband the night prior — and made a dramatic phone call to his dad saying his allegedly abusive partner was “coming after him,” prosecutors revealed.
The allegedly murderous model – Donald Zieben-Hood, 40 – was arrested on a burglary charge and ordered held without bail after his 34-year-old husband, Jacob Zieben-Hood, was found dead on a toilet Friday, covered in stab wounds.
Neighbors and court records revealed a tumultuous relationship between the seemingly picture-perfect couple – whose social media feeds are replete with glamorous photos – that included alleged domestic violence going back to 2022 by Donald, whom Jacob had accused of choking him and threatening him with a knife.
Donald Zieben-Hood (left) violated an order of protection issued by a judge in November. @jziebenDonald, who had also defied multiple court protection orders in recent months, has not yet been charged with murder, but prosecutors are investigating the case as a homicide, court papers reveal.
“They fought all the time, I would hear it,” Craig Wesley, 44, a neighbor in their building, told The Post on Monday.
Jacob Zieben-Hood, who was studying to be a doctor, had called his father the night before he was found dead, telling him that his husband was “coming after him” and not allowing him to leave their 138th Street apartment, prosecutors said in Manhattan court Sunday.
He also sent his father a photo of his wounded leg, prosecutors said.
The helpless dad heard Donald Zieben-Hood screaming at his son and calling him “derogatory names,” according to court documents.
The 34-year-old died from multiple stab wounds to his legs. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/ShutterstockPolice later found Jacob slumped over on a toilet, covered in blood with gashes from his head and multiple stab wounds to the back of his leg, including a stabbing on the back of his calf that penetrated his muscle,” prosecutors claimed at Donald Zieben-Hood’s arraignment.
One of the wounds severed an artery, causing him to bleed to death, according to police.
Donald Zieben-Hood, who had several cuts on his arms requiring stitches, also shockingly told cops that he’d had a knife fight in their apartment with Jacob the night before.
Jacob Zieben-Hood was found stabbed to death in his Harlem home. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/ShutterstockHe claimed he fell asleep after the domestic clash and woke up around 4 a.m. to find Jacob dead.
Donald is a successful model whose Instagram account peppered his nearly 68,000 followers with his fashion shoots, runway shows and run-ins with celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, in addition to romantic getaways with Jacob.
But behind the glitzy facade, prosecutors argued Donald was engaged in a horrific ,escalating pattern of abuse against Jacob.
Cops logged nine domestic incident reports between the couple going back to 2022, prosecutors said.
Records show Donald had a 2024 arrest after allegedly hitting Jacob in the head with an unspecified “object” that apparently led to an order of protection.
The couple had been fighting for months, according to prosecutors. @jziebenHe was arrested in February for allegedly strangling Jacob twice during a row inside the Harlem apartment.
A judge set Donald Zieben-Hood’s bail at $5,000, despite Manhattan prosecutors’ request for $20,000, according to records.
A month later, police responding to a 911 call about the couple screaming and fighting found Jacob Zieben-Hood with a gash on his forehead gushing blood, prosecutors said.
Jacob and Donald both claimed that the fitness trainer had fallen and hit his head, according to records.
Donald was arrested again June 14 after he allegedly threatened Jacob with a kitchen knife, saying, “I will attack you,” court records show.
He was accused of violating his order of protection and received $5,000 bail – again, despite prosecutors asking for $30,000, the records state.
When cops responded to the latest incident, Donald apparently acknowledged he broke a protection order yet again and would be arrested, prosecutors alleged.
He was actually under two orders of protection forbidding him from being in his husband’s presence, records show.
Jacob and Donald were both models and social media influencers. @jziebenDonald was charged with first-degree burglary, weapons possession and aggravated criminal contempt for violating the protection orders.
A judge denied his bail as medical examiners determine Jacob’s cause of death – a critical step toward pursuing potential homicide charges.
Jacob’s father declined to comment Monday.
Wesley, the neighbor, said the pair’s fighting had escalated around the holiday and became a “consistent thing,” leading him to call the cops in June.
He said he awoke Friday at 4 a.m. to commotion in the building – and discovered the EMTs shuffling around in the doomed couple’s trashed apartment.
“I knew something bad was gonna happen,” he said. “The way they fought it was going to end badly.”
— Additional reporting by Patrick Reilly






