True Story of ‘Rob Peace:’ A Look into the Life and Murder of the Yale Graduate

Rob Peace was murdered in 2011, but his tragic death and groundbreaking life continue to be explored in Chiwetel Ejiofor’s 2024 biopic, Rob Peace.

Based on The New York Times bestseller by Jeff Hobbs, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, The film follows a brilliant young man, played by Jay Will, who struggles to balance his promising academic future with the responsibility he feels to free his imprisoned father, Robert “Skeet” Douglas (Ejiofor). Mary J. Blige also stars in the biographical drama as Rob’s mother, Jackie Peace, and Camila Cabello plays his girlfriend, Naya Vazquez.

Rob Peace premiered in theaters in August 2024 and was added to Netflix on November 11, where the film quickly rose to the platform’s Top 10 films. Ejiofor, who directed and wrote the film, narrated it Forbes in August that he wanted to “move past the judgment” that often clouded Rob’s story and “understand the systemic challenges he faced.

To do that, the actor worked closely with the real Jackie.

“She is a wonderful, cheerful, fun spirit, and it was a real pleasure to talk to her about her son’s story,” Ejiofor said. “Rob was someone who felt their family responsibilities, love for community, family and friends. Under any other circumstances he would thrive in the world.”

So, who was the real Rob Peace? Here’s everything you need to know about the true story of Rob Peace.

Who was Rob Vrede?

According to TodayRobert DeShaun Peace (who went by Rob Peace) was born in East Orange, NJ, in 1980 to parents Jackie and Skeet. They were divorced and Rob lived with his mother. Hobbs, Rob’s roommate and eventual biographer, told NPR in 2014 that Jackie learned at an early age that her son was intellectually gifted.

“When he was about three years old, in daycare, the lady there told Jackie they called him ‘the professor,’” Hobbs said. “And she thought they were making fun of her, or worse, that they were making fun of her son, before she realized that they were calling him so serious because of his intelligence and curiosity.”

While Jackie worked multiple jobs to support Rob, Skeet was also active in his son’s life, especially in his academic pursuits. Hobbs told NPR that Skeet taught his son the importance of good handwriting and memory — even while he was in prison.

Why did Rob Peace’s father go to prison?

According to NJ.com, Skeet was found guilty of murder in the 1987 shooting deaths of Charlene Moore and Estella Moore. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

Rob, who was 7 when his father was arrested, visited Skeet in prison every weekend until he was 18. Skeet also called home regularly to inquire about his son’s academics.

“(Skeet) called home every day and made sure he did his homework,” Dante Peace, Rob’s uncle, told NJ.com in July 2024. “So I think he also had some level of higher intelligence that fueled (Rob).”

All his life, Skeet has maintained his innocence and asked his son to help exonerate him. Rob worked for years to overturn his father’s conviction on the grounds of lack of a speedy trial, and at one point he succeeded and was able to temporarily free his father. But after an appeal, Skeet ended up back in prison.

Did Rob Peace graduate from Yale?

After graduating from St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, NJ, Rob’s future looked so bright and promising that a bank manager he met at a banquet gave him a blank check to cover all his college expenses.

He then attended Yale University, where he studied molecular biophysics and biochemistry. To help fund his father’s exoneration efforts and legal representation, Rob also began selling marijuana from his dorm room, reportedly saving him up to $100,000.

Rob graduated from Yale in 2002 and returned home to teach biology at St. Benedict’s until 2007. He also worked in baggage handling at Newark International Airport. Jackie told NJ.com that her son — whom she called Shaun — was “past his time” and was told he was overqualified for many jobs.

“It actually shows that no matter where you come from, what your skin color is or whatever, you can still achieve certain things,” Jackie told the local newspaper. “If you have something in mind, you should be able to try it. And that’s what Shaun was trying to do.

What happened to Rob Peace’s father, Skeet?

During his incarceration, Skeet was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died in prison in 2006.

Hobbs, who lived with Rob at Yale all those years, told NJ.com that he didn’t know much about his roommate’s life outside of school, and said he “didn’t volunteer” many details about his father.

“Rob had a habit of making you feel quite uncomfortable if you asked something he didn’t want to talk about,” Hobbs said. ‘I’m not sure he would have loved it if a book was written about him. In fact, he would have been quite angry with me, I think.

Hobbs added, “But I also think he was a teacher and he cared about his friends and his community and his friends’ children, and if maybe he saw how his story forces a lot of young people to share their own stories I I think he would be quite happy with that.

What happened to Rob Vrede?

At some point in his 20s, Rob started selling marijuana again. In May 2011, he was shot and killed in a grow house in Newark, NJ. Police found cash and marijuana at the scene, but the shooter was never identified. Rob turned 30 years old.

Hobbs told NPR that more than 400 people attended his roommate’s funeral.

“(The funeral) (was) very painful, beautiful too – people from all over the world in downtown Newark,” the author said. “But outside that church, it seemed like many people were almost eagerly condemning him as this cliché of potential was squandered… We just knew that Rob Peace was not a cliché.”

How accurate is the movie Rob Peace?

Ejiofor told Today that “the fundamental bones” of his film Rob Peace reflect Rob’s real story, but added that the film contains some details that were not included in the book.

“It is inevitable that there are things that no one was present for, that you actually have to create, certain moments that you do your best for,” says the A slave for 12 years said actor. “That’s part of the process, I think, with any adaptation or any story based on true events.”

According to NJ.com, the film uses some of Rob’s own writings to prepare statements for graduate school applications. Jackie saw the film at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and said Will did an “excellent job” portraying her son — and that Blige represented her well, too.

“We would see it was me, especially when she got that attitude thing,” Jackie told NJ.com. “When she was talking with that attitude, I said, ‘Damn, she got me right there.’ ”