Manhattan prosecutors said Friday they will not put homicide charges before a grand jury against fitness influencer Donald Zieben-Hood, who was arrested after his husband, Jacob, was found stabbed and slumped on a toilet in their Harlem apartment on Aug. 1, 2025. For now, the legal fight centers on a separate indictment that accuses Zieben-Hood of burglary, assault and other offenses tied to what prosecutors describe as a year-long pattern of intimate-partner violence. He remains in custody at Rikers Island while investigators and medical examiners keep sifting through the evidence.
Medical examiner's findings
The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Jacob’s death a homicide and documented "multiple blunt and sharp force injuries," with acute alcohol and lorazepam intoxication and chronic alcohol use listed as contributing factors and a recorded blood-alcohol level of 0.40 percent, as reported by NBC New York. Those toxicology results have been central to prosecutors’ internal debate over whether to seek a murder charge in front of a grand jury.
Indictment and prior domestic reports
Before stepping back from a homicide count, prosecutors had already secured an indictment charging Zieben-Hood with burglary, assault, criminal contempt and weapons possession, after court papers outlined multiple incidents dating to 2022, according to the New York Daily News. The charging documents say Jacob texted his father and sent photos showing cuts the night before he was found, and that police arrested Donald at the Harlem apartment on Aug. 1, 2025.
Prosecutors decline murder charge and next steps
Prosecutors told the grand jury they had not presented a homicide count and said they were still working to pin down the precise cause and sequence of Jacob’s injuries, the New York Post reported. Zieben-Hood remains held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on May 20, 2026. According to prosecutors, the assault and burglary charges he already faces could carry prison terms stretching into decades if he is convicted.
What officials are saying
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has described the allegations as a pattern of escalating intimate-partner violence and has urged anyone experiencing abuse to seek help, a message relayed by Attitude. For now, prosecutors say they will keep investigating while the criminal case moves forward on the existing indictment.
The next big developments are expected at Zieben-Hood’s upcoming court appearance and in any further updates from the medical examiner or the Manhattan DA’s office. Observers will be watching to see whether prosecutors eventually add, drop or reshape charges as more evidence is processed.
