In the early morning hours of July 22, 1987, a motorist came across a black Cadillac that had crashed into a telephone pole on a secluded road in Santa Clarita, California. When police were called to the scene, they found two unresponsive young women inside the car. The driver, who was later identified as 45-year-old Claire Peernock, had severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. Claire’s 18-year-old daughter, Natasha, who was in the passenger seat, also suffered severe head trauma, but she miraculously was still alive.

Join us for A Dangerous Mind: Robert Peernock. When Claire filed for a divorce that was still pending, she sought custody of Natasha and her younger sister. Claire had also asked the court for an order of protection from Robert, citing multiple instances of threats and abuse. So Claire had known that Robert could be a dangerous man, but not even she could have predicted his twisted plot to eliminate the people he was supposed to love and protect.

Sources

A Checklist for Murder by Anthony Flacco

Family Secrets LA Forensics, 2/19/2014. Retrieved 6/25/2025.

Man Charged with Soliciting Murders, Daily News of Los Angeles, 12/11/1987. Retrieved 6/20/2025.

Man Tried to Kill Wife and Daughter by Staging a Fatal Car Wreck, Oxygen, Becca Van Sambeck, 1/24/2023. Retrieved 6/29/2025.

Missing Man is Accused of Murdering Wife, Los Angeles Times, Gabe Fuentes, 8/23/1987. Retrieved 6/30/2025.

Prosecutors: Short Fuse, S1 E11, 2000. https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/319989/s01-e11-short-fuse. Retrieved 6/30/2025.

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