Shooting Victim Had Served in Iraq

Police Probe Pentagon Row Slaying As Family Mourns 'Likable Guy'

An Arlington man who was shot to death outside the Pentagon Row shopping center early Friday was an Army veteran who participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, family members said yesterday.

Spec. Paul Matthew Zeller, 24, joined the Army two weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A mortarman with the 82nd Airborne Division, he was honorably discharged in September 2004.

Zeller's family said he worked long hours at the College Park Honda dealership, commuting between Arlington County and Maryland on Metro. They said Zeller was walking home from the Pentagon City Station just after midnight when he was shot. He did not appear to have been robbed, family members said.

"We don't have a clue why this happened," said Lydia Robertson, Zeller's sister, with whom he lived in Arlington. "It's just tragic."

Police said Zeller was found dead at 12:06 a.m. Friday on the sidewalk in front of the upscale retail center's World Market store in the 1300 block of South Joyce Street. Zeller died from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.

No arrests had been made in the shooting, and police would not comment on the circumstances of Zeller's death, such as a possible motive or whether he was targeted. But detectives have interviewed several eyewitnesses and said they're seeking others. They have posted fliers throughout the area soliciting information.

The youngest of eight children, Zeller grew up in Westcliffe, Colo., a town of 417 residents 150 miles south of Denver.

Many of Zeller's family members have served in the military or are on active duty, said his father, Dwight Zeller, a retired Navy chaplain who teaches at a seminary in Westcliffe. He described his son as an "easy-going, likable guy" who "made it a profession to be a Christian."

Dwight Zeller said his son loved the rodeo, and although he didn't ride bulls, he enjoyed working as a rodeo clown. "He did the worst job, which was scare the bulls away after they dumped the guy off," he said.

Dwight Zeller called his son's death a shock. "We're not used to this sort of thing," he said. "I'm not mad. I just want justice served."

Lydia Robertson said that her brother often walked her daughter and son to school in the mornings on his way to the Metro station and that he was a "hard worker" who talked of going back to school to study computer science. At the Honda dealership, he sold and detailed cars and carried out other jobs.

"He was a great kid," she said. "Good-looking, athletic. He loved movies and video games."

Zeller's body will be flown to Colorado for burial, his sister said.

Zeller was the fourth homicide victim in Arlington County this year. Family members and police request that anyone with information call the criminal investigation division at 703-228-4194 or the police tip line at 703-228-4242.