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Thread: Neil Jacobson Receives 3 Life Sentences in 2010 Slayings of His Wife and Twin Sons

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Neil Jacobson Receives 3 Life Sentences in 2010 Slayings of His Wife and Twin Sons

    Prosecutors will seek death penalty against Wellington father accused of shooting wife, twin sons

    Prosecutors said today they'll seek the death penalty against Neal M. Jacobson, the failed mortgage broker who confessed to shooting his wife and 7-year-old twin sons to death last month at their Wellington home.

    A grand jury today formally indicted Jacobson, 49, on three counts of first degree murder with a firearm in the Jan. 24 deaths of wife Franki and sons Eric and Joshua, the Palm Beach County State Attorney said today.

    Arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 22.

    Authorities have said that, after killing his family — on a day the boys were to celebrate their birthdays — Jacobson crashed his GMC sport utility vehicle at U.S. 441 and West Atlantic Avenue west of Delray Beach.

    According to an affidavit, Jacobson confessed to paramedics at the scene, telling them, "I went off the deep end."

    He also told a nurse he had swallowed 10 Xanax anti-anxiety tablets in hopes of killing himself.

    Jacobson was bloody and was carrying a .38 caliber revolver and extra ammunition, the affidavit said.

    Authorities found the three lifeless bodies in their expansive one-story home in the gated Isles neighborhood.

    Friends said later Jacobson had left New Jersey and moved to Florida to care for his ailing father, who died in 2007, and had grown increasingly despondent when businesses ventures failed.

    At Jacobson's initial appearance on Jan. 26, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Krista Marx ruled he earned too much and should get a private attorney.

    But on Feb. 2, Circuit Judge Stephen Rapp ruled Jacobson did qualify for a public defender.

    Jacobson listed less than $900,000 in assets and some $2.3 million in liabilities and debts.

    He initially had said he had $600,000 that he could liquidate within hours.

    But Public Defender Carey Haughwout wrote that any of Jacobson's possible assets are marital assets which belong to the estate of his wife.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/prosecutors-will-seek-death-penalty-against-wellington-father-229430.html?cxtype=ynews_rss

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Randolph gets life for killing fiancee

    RICHMOND, Va. -- A judge today imposed a jury's recommendation that Nathan Randolph spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Randolph, 55, was convicted in December of first-degree murder in the death of Alnita Coleman Randolph in his North Richmond home. Her body was found April 22.

    Prosecutors say that Randolph, after killing her, tried to commit "suicide by cop," charging a police officer with a large knife during a traffic stop. Officers shot him multiple times, wounding him.

    He later quipped that the officers' marksmanship had been lacking.

    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/crime/article/SENTGAT11_20100211-120201/323598/

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Jacobson: 'There's just no other way'; Report details desperation of Wellington man accused of killing wife, sons

    WEST PALM BEACH — Afraid that he was under investigation by the FBI for mortgage fraud and drowning in debt and depression, Neal Jacobson thought of killing his family so that twin sons wouldn't be destitute or taken away, according the newly released evidence reports.

    Jacobson, the failed Wellington real estate investor, told police that he had thought of killing his wife Franki and 7-year-old boys several days prior to that fateful day in January — the day he "just snapped," he told police.

    About 6:30 the morning of Jan. 23, his boys were still sleeping. But his wife, Franki, was awake when he got the gun from closet, Jacobson told a sheriff's office detective.

    She pleaded for her life and the boys' lives, Jacobson told the detective. "'Franki, there is no other way. There's just no other way,'" he was quoted as saying in the report.

    "He (Jacobson) told her they all had to go," the report says.

    Then Jacobson shot his wife — two times in the head.

    He then reloaded his .38 Special Smith & Wesson handgun before going to his boys, each sleeping in their own room.

    Joshua was shot twice on the left side of his head, while a pillow covered it, according to a forensic report. And Eric was shot four times in the head, twice with a pillow covering his head, twice without, his blood splattering clear to the ceiling

    Neal Jacobson told police that he intended to kill himself. He was found slumped over in his car in Delray Beach later that morning and taken to the hospital.

    He told an emergency room nurse that he was on his way to tell his mother what had happened and kill her, as well. "He was going to take everyone with him so they can all be together in heaven with his father, " a detective wrote.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the 49-year-old former mortgage broker, charged with three counts of first degree murder with a firearm.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/jacobson-theres-just-no-other-way-report-details-362694.html?cxtype=ynews_rss

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    Jacobson's 5-Page Suicide Note Released

    WELLINGTON, Fla. --
    A five-page suicide note offers an inside look into the mind of Neal Jacobson, who police said fatally shot his wife and twin 7-year-old sons.

    The first two sentences of the suicide note read: "I could just not go on any longer. Everything in our lives has gotten so out of control."

    Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies said Jacobson killed his family inside their Wellington home in January. The letter released by authorities on Monday is a five-page blend of apologies and his professional biography.

    "I love my family more than anything else in this world and just could not handle what we are facing. Due to my poor judgment, I had put us in a position that we will lose everything we had built," Jacobson wrote. "I overindulged in the real estate boom. I do not know what happened to me."

    Jacobson admitted in the letter that he forced his family to leave their comfortable life in New Jersey to move to Florida to chase the life he thought they deserved. Jacobson estimated they went from $2.2 million in cash in equity to $2.3 million in debt in just five years.

    "There is no way my family will be able to recover and they are looking at being destitute. I cannot allow or live with this," Jacobson wrote. "I am quickly dropping weight and sliding farther down. (I) cannot sleep as the anxiety is eating me alive."

    Deputies said they believe that anxiety partly led Jacobson to shoot his wife, Franki, three times, and his sons, Eric and Joshua, in their sleep. High on Xanax, according to reports, Jacobson crashed his car in Delray Beach later the same night. According to reports, Jacobson told paramedics, "I just killed my family."

    Jacobson ended his letter by answering a question so many people have asked, "Why kill your family?"

    "I am embarrassed and ashamed of what I have done, and taking your own life is bad enough, but taking that of your own flesh and blood is an act that cannot be understood. I myself cannot understand how I can possibly commit such an act, but I can only say I was desperate not to have my family suffer over so many years to come," Jacobson wrote.

    The letter was found inside Jacobsen's home. A second, similar letter was found in his car.

    After that explanation and a confession to investigators, Jacobsen pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance. He is scheduled to return to court next month. The State Attorney's Office is planning to seek the death penalty.

    http://www.wpbf.com/news/23131891/detail.html

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Wellington businessman Neal Jacobson's defense: Drugs contributed to triple murder

    WEST PALM BEACH — Having ventured into the courtroom successfully once this year, Palm Beach County State Attorney Michael McAuliffe is now apparently ready to test his dormant trial skills in a case that would challenge veteran criminal attorneys.

    McAuliffe, who last month tried his first case since becoming state attorney in 2009 and spent the previous 10 years in private practice handling mostly civil matters, will help prosecute the triple murder case against Wellington businessman Neal Jacobson. His role as co-counsel to veteran prosecutor Andrew Slater was announced Tuesday during a hearing in which Jacobson's trial was delayed until December.

    McAuliffe will face off against fellow elected official, Public Defender Carey Haughwout. Unlike McAuliffe, Haughwout often handles high-profile cases and is revered among defense attorneys for her legal chops.

    The case against Jacobson is complex. The 51-year-old failed mortgage broker faces the death penalty for killing his wife, Franki, and twin 7-year-old sons in their Wellington home in January 2010. Haughwout and Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey will try to persuade a jury that Jacobson is not guilty by reason of insanity.

    It's a defense two psychologists predicted would be a hard sell. Shortly before Jacobson shot his wife as she begged for her life and then shot his sons as they lay sleeping, he wrote two letters, trying to explain his actions.

    "I am embarrassed and ashamed of what I have done and taking your own life is bad enough but taking that of your own flesh and blood is an act that cannot be understood," he wrote. "I myself cannot understand how I can possibly commit such an act but I can only say I was desperate not to have my family suffer over so many years to come."

    The letters show Jacobson knew what he was planning to do was wrong and that he planned the murders, said psychologists Phil Heller and Steve Alexander said after reviewing the letters last year.

    Jacobson's defense team plans to overcome the damning letters by enlisting the help of a Harvard-educated psychiatrist who is likely to testify that drugs Jacobson was taking spurred the murderous rampage.

    Dr. Peter Breggin, who has built his career on fighting the medical establishment on the use of anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs, will testify "psychotropic medications prescribed to Mr. Jacobson. . . pivotally contributed to Mr. Jacobson's state of mind at the time of the crime," Ramsey wrote in court papers. A psychologist will testify that Jacobson is bipolar.

    The author of numerous books, including "Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime," Breggin has testified on behalf of numerous accused killers who were taking high-powered drugs.

    In fact, Jacobson's trial, scheduled to start next month, was delayed until Dec. 5 because of Breggin's hectic trial and book-writing schedule. With three trials and a contract deadline for a medical textbook looming, he is unavailable next month, Ramsey told Circuit Judge Steven Rapp on Tuesday. Rapp agreed to the delay.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cr...o-1779278.html

  6. #6
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    Plea deal reached for Neal Jacobson who is accused of shooting, killing wife and twin sons in 2010

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys have reached a plea agreement in the first-degree murder case of the Wellington man who killed his wife and twin sons two years ago as the family was sinking deep into debt.

    Neal Jacobson, 51, is expected to enter the plea before Circuit Judge Stephen Rapp this afternoon. Palm Beach Public Defender Carey Haughwout filed a notice with Rapp last week saying there was an agreement in place.

    Sarah Alsofrom, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's office, confirmed this morning that a plea conference is scheduled for this afternoon. But she declined to discuss any details about the proposed agreement, adding that the office typically does not disclose such information before the actual hearing.

    Jacobson, a failed mortgage broker struggling with debt and depression, shot his family on Jan. 24, 2010, the day his twin 7-year-old twin boys, Eric and Joshua, were to celebrate their birthday. He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder with a firearm.

    Jacobson at the time of his arrest told investigators that he "just snapped."

    Prosecutors had planned to seek the death penalty against Jacobson. Jacobson's defense team in August revealed they planned to pursue an insanity defense, attributing Jacobson's actions to the anti-depressant drugs he was on at the time of the killing.

    One of defense's planned witnesses had the case gone to trial was Dr. Peter Breggin, who has testified on behalf of numerous accused killers who were taking high-powered drugs. He was expected to testify that "psychotropic medications prescribed to Mr. Jacobson ... pivotally contributed to Mr. Jacobson's state of mind at the time of the crime," assistant public defender Elizabeth Ramsey wrote in court papers.

    Another psychologist was expected to testify that Jacobson is bipolar.

    Assistant State Attorney Andrew Slater is the lead prosecutor in the case. Palm Beach County State Attorney Michael McAuliffe had planned to be the second chair in the case, but he is leaving the office next month before the end of his first term for a job in the private sector.

    A trial in Jacobson's case had previously been scheduled for December, but attorneys in the case asked for a delay. A status hearing had been scheduled for last Friday but was canceled after the attorneys reached the agreement.

    Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_...#ixzz1nbrdgJIc

  7. #7
    Senior Member Frequent Poster stixfix69's Avatar
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    There can only be one sentence when the killing of kids are involved, and if the DA give him a deal that keeps him off DR, then the DA needs fired......

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    Senior Member Member Jeffects's Avatar
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    Franki_Jacobson.jpgEric_Joshua_Jacobso_354665e.jpgWEST PALM BEACH — Former Wellington mortgage broker Neal Jacobson just entered a plea that will send him to prison for life for the murders of his wife and twin sons two years ago as the family was sinking deep into debt.

    Prosecutors had originally sought the death penalty against Jacobson, 51, but reached a deal with Jacobson's attorneys sparing him that possible sentence.

    Instead, Jacobson received three consecutive life sentences before Circuit Judge Stephen Rapp this afternoon.


    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cr...n-2202749.html
    Last edited by Jeffects; 02-27-2012 at 03:09 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Member Jeffects's Avatar
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    Sorry Heidi, I doubled up your efforts. I was trying to add the victims photo's while you wrote your update on this absolute loser.

  10. #10
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    Ha I just noticed and deleted mine!

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