Man Arrested in Kirkland Pleads Not Guilty to 2006 Murder of Wife

Martin David Pietz, arrested in downtown Kirkland on March 22, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to second-degree murder in the 2006 death of his wife Nicole Pietz, a graduate of .

Prosecutors says Nicole Pietz, 32, was beaten and strangled to death in January of 2006 in Lynnwood. Her nude body was found in the woods near Burien in February of 2006.

Martin Pietz, 34, who lived in Lynnwood and worked at in Kirkland where he was arrested, remains in the King County Jail in Seattle on $1 million bail. His next hearing has been scheduled for May 2 at the King County Courthouse.

According to charging documents filed by the King County Prosecutor’s office, the couple was facing financial trouble at the time of the murder, and their marriage was “in turmoil.” Detectives claim they learned that Martin Pietz had cheated on his wife, and that she had told friends and family he seemed no longer interested in her.

An autopsy showed she died of strangulation and had suffered blunt force injuries to her head, torso and legs. She was wearing a dental retainer that she typically wore only at night. Detectives believe she was killed in the couple’s Lynnwood condo sometime on the night of Jan. 27, 2006, or early in the morning of Jan. 28.

According to the charging documents, recent advances in cell phone technology allowed detectives to determine that the last call on Nicole Pietz’s cell phone was made within a few blocks of the health club where Martin Pietz worked at the time, and two minutes after he left his work place late on the morning of Jan. 28. The documents also claim he failed a polygraph test, and when offered to retake the test, he declined and hired an attorney.

Nicole Pietz worked at worked at a Bothell Cingular Wireless store before her death and, according to a March Seattle Times story, was a graduate of Lake Washington High in Kirkland.