When Jacob Zieben and Jacob Paulson first met in 2013, they were close friends right away. In addition to having the same name, the two were young, gay males who had just arrived to New York City after graduating from college.
Paulson claimed that once his friend, a Texas personal trainer, began dating model Donald Hood, their relationship rapidly shifted after two years of being attached at the hip.
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Paulson choked up during a phone interview this week, saying, “He just vanished.” I didn’t communicate with him, and all I truly cared about was making him happy. And I hoped that he would.
Paulson claimed that even though it hurt to lose the friendship, he moved on years ago. He just learned that Jacob and Donald had changed their last names to Zieben-Hood from social media, and he did not attend the 2020 wedding of his old friend.
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However, two weeks ago, Paulson was taken aback and overcome with recollections when he saw the name of his old friend in the news after the 34-year-old was discovered dead in his Harlem apartment.
According to prosecution documents, Jacob was slumped over his toilet on July 31 when officers entered the flat after Donald asked for assistance. He had several knife wounds to the back of his leg, one of which was deep enough to puncture muscle, and a gash on his skull.
He passed away following years of alleged abuse that began in 2022 and was described in a number of charging filings against Donald on felony counts that included threats and strangling. Those charges have not been resolved.
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On July 31, 40-year-old model Donald, who had more than 67,000 Instagram followers, was taken into custody and accused of a number of offenses, including burglary. He is being jailed without bail at Rikers Island at the moment. Because Jacob’s autopsy is still pending, prosecutors have not charged anyone with murder or identified a suspect in his death; instead, they have stated that they are looking into the case as a homicide.
Paulson and seven other people who knew Jacob talked to NBC News in the days following his passing, gradually learning about the personal trainer’s life over the past ten years. Although his death by stabbing is shocking, some who knew Jacob think Donald abandoned his friends and possible lifelines years before he actually needed them.
I regret not doing more, but if you could go back in time, what would you do? stated Marti G. Cummings, an old friend of Jacob’s.
Donald’s lawyer remained silent.
After attending Texas A&M University to study biological sciences, Jacob relocated to New York City in 2013, where he soon came into contact with Paulson and Joshua Baker.
Paulson and Baker said that the three of them never left each other’s side and that they would spend countless hours playing video games, eating fried food, and thinking about their futures while locked up in Jacob’s Hell’s Kitchen apartment, which they claimed overlooked Central Park.
According to Baker, we were adorable little outcasts attempting to find our place in New York society.
Around the same time, Cummings met Jacob and was drawn to his altruism and sense of belonging. According to Cummings, Jacob, a well-known drag queen in New York City who uses the pronouns they/them, would often escort them between shows late at night to ensure they arrived safely.
“I think it makes this whole thing sadder because he was a protector,” Cummings added. He was not given protection from this.
Donald’s friend Lauren Foster, who has known him since 2000, called him a good man and claimed she never had the sense that his relationship was problematic. Nonetheless, she admitted that Jacob and Donald’s positions were obvious.
Regarding Jacob, Foster remarked, “I don’t think he had a ton of friends.” In the relationship, Don was somewhat of the alpha.
She also mentioned that there is usually one dominating person in a relationship, and that person was unquestionably Don. Don would be the alpha in any relationship, in my opinion. His size beyond reality.
According to Baker, Jacob started ignoring texts, turning down calls, and avoiding invites soon after he met Donald in the spring of 2015. Baker observed that Jacob soon began blocking his pals’ phone numbers.
According to Jonathan Starkey, a friend from Texas, Jacob mentioned in a talk at that time that a lot had changed and that Donald was somewhat controlling and envious of the people he could communicate with.
According to Starkey, it’s somewhat odd because Jacob wasn’t the type to follow instructions.
When Jacob suddenly stopped talking, Baker decided to call Donald.
According to screenshots of the exchange that were given to NBC News, Donald replied to Baker in a direct Facebook message on November 5, 2015, “Jacob is doing very well.” In order to live a healthy life going forward, he has made the decision to distance himself from his past, which regrettably includes his closest friends.
“He’s been really focused and is back on the right track in his life. He will stay out of contact for the time being in order to stay focused,” Donald continued.
Images from the pair’s Instagrams revealed what seemed to be a happy couple who toured the world and had a lavish life in New York, and for years, the only updates Jacob’s pals received about their friend came from social media. The couple shared moments with their relatives, photos from their 2020 wedding, and affectionate selfies.
However, court records show a long history of alleged abuse in the relationship, which officials claim began in 2022.
In the criminal documents filed following Jacob’s death, prosecutors stated that nine domestic incident complaints had been made against Donald since 2022, but they did not elaborate on the specifics of the incidents or the identity of the people who filed them. According to prosecution documents related to Donald’s February arrest, in November 2024, New York County Criminal Court issued an order of protection directing Donald to stop communicating and avoid Jacob.
For allegedly attacking Jacob inside the Harlem flat in February, Donald was taken into custody and charged with a number of offenses, including strangling. According to the criminal paperwork, Jacob nearly passed out and experienced neck swelling, severe discomfort, and redness as a result of the incident. In the ongoing case, Donald entered a not guilty plea to the accusations.
In April, a second court order of protection was obtained in criminal court, preventing Donald from seeing or speaking to Jacob once more.
According to court documents, Donald was detained once more in June and accused of menacing and criminal contempt. According to the court documents, Donald threatened to attack Jacob while brandishing a knife in his direction. The case is still continuing after he entered a not guilty plea to the accusations.
Paulson claimed that following a brief conversation in March, Jacob followed him on Instagram earlier this year, giving him hope that the buddies may get back in touch.
After I had kind of let him go as a buddy, I was thrilled about the possibility of him returning, Paulson said. And it’s simply saddened me that it ended like that, forever. It has truly destroyed me.
On July 31, Donald reported that he had discovered his husband dead on the toilet when he contacted 911 from Jacob’s one-bedroom apartment at West 138th Street.
According to a criminal complaint, when police came, they discovered Donald seated on their couch with bite marks, a black eye, and three cuts on his arm that eventually needed stitches. He reported Jacob’s attack to the authorities.
However, according to the police complaint, Jacob called his father from the restroom prior to the assault and allegedly informed him that Donald was threatening him with knives and preventing him from leaving the residence. During the call, Jacob s father allegedly heard Donald screaming derogatory names at Jacob in the background, the complaint added.
Later that day, Donald was taken into custody and accused with burglary, first-degree criminal contempt, aggravated criminal contempt, and weapon possession. On Thursday, he was scheduled to appear in court, but a judge waived his appearance at the request of his attorney.
He is now set to appear on September 12, almost a month after Jacob s funeral, scheduled for this weekend in San Antonio.
As authorities continue to investigate the case, Jacob s friends have been connecting and sharing old memories of their late friend.
Years can go by, but he was our family till the end, Baker said.
