A model has been taken into custody after the death of his husband, who was found with multiple stab wounds in his Harlem apartment on July 31. 

On July 31, Donald Zieben-Hood, aged 40, was apprehended and faced charges including burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, first-degree criminal contempt, and weapon possession. He is currently detained at Rikers Island without bail and is expected to appear in court on September 12.

The incident occurred shortly after Zieben-Hood contacted emergency services to report discovering his estranged husband, Jacob Zieben-Hood, 34, deceased in his Harlem residence at approximately 4 a.m. on the same day, as covered by NBC New York. Police officers responding to the call discovered Jacob’s body in the bathroom, slumped over the toilet.

Although the cause of death awaits confirmation pending an autopsy, court documents reviewed by NBC News revealed that Jacob had suffered a severe head wound and multiple stab wounds to his leg. The authorities are considering his death a potential homicide.

Following Jacob’s passing, friends are voicing their worries about him, mentioning that he became distant after beginning his relationship with Donald. “I lost contact with him, and my main wish was for him to be content. That’s all that mattered to me. I hoped he was happy,” Jacob Paulson, a friend, shared with NBC News.

Jacob called his dad for help

In the final moments leading to his death, Jacob reportedly called his father from the bathroom, alleging that Donald was present in the apartment and was hindering his departure, as indicated by NBC News, which references the criminal complaint. Jacob’s father reported hearing Donald shouting derogatory remarks at his son during the call.

Subsequently, Donald contacted 911 to report finding Jacob’s lifeless body. The responding law enforcement found Donald on the couch, showing injuries such as a black eye, and cuts and bite marks, which he claimed were inflicted by Jacob, as per NBC News.

Prosecutors allege in court documents that July 31 wasn’t the first time that Donald has been accused of threatening Jacob with a knife and verbally assaulting him. In June, Donald was arrested and charged with criminal contempt and menacing after an incident in which he allegedly pointed a knife at Jacob and said, “I will attack you.” 

Jacob Zieben-Hood had a protective order

Donald had nine domestic incident reports filed against him since 2022. One incident that took place resulted in New York County Criminal Court issuing a protective order in November of 2024 that prohibited communication between him and Jacob, and ordered him to stay away from Jacob, NBC News reported.

That order was violated in February 2025, when Jacob was allegedly attacked by Donald, who was arrested and charged on several counts, including strangulation. Donald pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case is still pending. 

A second protective order was issued by the criminal court in April.

Friends grew concerned about Jacob’s relationship around 2015, when Donald and Jacob started dating, particularly after he began avoiding their calls and turning down invites to hang out. Jacob’s friend, Jonathan Starkey, told NBC News that they felt “Donald was a little possessive and jealous and kind of restricted who [Jacob] was in touch with.”

One friend, Joshua Baker, was so concerned that he reached out to Jacob on Facebook, only to receive a reply from Donald. Screenshots of the conversations that were reviewed by NBC News show that Donald said Jacob was doing “well” but that he had decided to “break away from his past, which unfortunately included his closest friends, in order to move forward with a healthy life.”

The friends kept tabs on Jacob and Donald through their social media accounts, which depicted the couple traveling and, seemingly, enjoying marriage. 

Now, Jacob’s friends are in mourning. “I wish I had done more, but, in hindsight, what would you do?” Marti G. Cummings, another one of Jacob’s friends, told the news outlet.