Family remembers man killed in Northwest Austin slaying as 'loving, kind'

Stephen "Steve" Peterman, a former first sergeant of the U.S. Marine Corps and the man killed in Northwest Austin on Monday, was remembered by his family as having a servant's heart with a love for his family, faith and country.

"We want the world to know that he was a good, powerful, solid man," said his father, Ben Peterman. "He had no qualms about helping anybody who needed it, so he's going to be one man that's going to be missed. But I think that's a good legacy to leave behind: that you are known for being helpful and known for being a good man."

Stephen Peterman, 49, was shot multiple times outside of his Northwest Austin home by a stranger at about 4 a.m. on May 20 when he was taking his dog for a walk and noticed someone was attempting to break into his work truck, according to a copy of charging documents used to arrest William Jewel Daniels in connection to the killing.

Detective Jennifer Boland with the Travis County sheriff's office noted in the charging documents that Stephen Peterman's wife said it was normal for him to walk the dog in the early hours of the morning.

His wife, Nona Peterman, told the sheriff's office she was awakened by the sound of gunshots and then saw her husband wasn't in bed. When she went outside, she saw the dog sitting by the front door, according to charging documents.

Using surveillance footage from a nearby residence, detectives heard Daniels, a 36-year-old from San Antonio, shoot six times and then flee in a vehicle with a license plate connected back to him. The sheriff's office arrested Daniels about 12 hours after the shooting.

The sheriff's office charged Daniels with murder, and he was in the Travis County Jail with a $1 million bond as of Thursday.

A life of service

Stephen Peterman was originally from Illinois and the older brother of two sisters. As the son of a preacher, he lived all over the place, Ben Peterman said.

Recalling his son's "mischievous" ways, Ben Peterman described a time when Stephen Peterman, then in high school, was firing off bottle rockets from a PVC pipe. Ben Peterman told him to stop firing those fireworks into the street.

Not listening to his father, Stephen Peterman lit one just at a moment when a UPS truck driver came by. The bottle rocket flew right through the open doors of the delivery truck and right by the driver, barely missing him, his father recalled, laughing as he told the story.

"We laughed about it later," Ben Peterman said. "He had a good sense of humor. ... I will miss that from him."

Becky Peterman, his mother, said her son was in the U.S. Marine Corps for about 20 years, including three tours overseas, two of them during the Iraq War.

Both of his parents said he always had a fascination with military history and read avidly about battles and wars, particularly World War II. As soon as he graduated from high school in 1993, he joined the Marines.

The U.S. Marine Corps told the Statesman that Stephen Peterman served in active duty from 1993 until 2004. After leaving active duty, he joined the Marine Corps Reserves, which he was in until 2016, when he received an honorable discharge.

Stephen Peterman was deployed three separate times, once to Kosovo in 1999 and then to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2007.

During his time in the Marines, he achieved the rank of first sergeant.

Stephen Peterman moved to Austin for his job with a natural gas company in 2018. Becky Peterman said he loved animals and would keep cat food outside of his home to feed the raccoons and possums.

Stephen Peterman was a devout Christian, his parents said, and it was because of this faith that he was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it.

"He tried to live his faith," Beth Peterman said. "He was loving, kind. He was a servant. He liked to help other people."

Stephen Peterman leaves behind a wife and a 7-year-old son. Nona Peterman said she did not want to be interviewed for this story. She started a GoFundMe to help pay for bills as her husband was the sole breadwinner of the family with her being a stay-at-home mom.

"Tragically, this week, our lives were shattered in an unimaginable way," she wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Stephen was senselessly murdered, shot right in front of our home while he was taking our dog for a walk. In an instant, our world was turned upside down, and the pillar of our family was taken from us."

Stephen Peterman is survived by his wife of 10 years, Nona Peterman; his children, Mark Peterman, Stan Zabroda, Darien Hall and Melissa Babson Peterman; his parents, Ben and Becky Peterman; two sisters, Rachel Eldridge and Hannah Smith; a niece, Grace Smith; and a granddaughter, Bekah Babson.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Family remembers man killed in Northwest Austin as 'loving, kind'