The Sacramento Police Department is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the decades old cold case murder of Marcy Jacobs and her family.
The California Governor’s Office recently awarded the funds. Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra made the announcement during a Friday press conference.
"And we are hoping with the passage of time, through a significant reward of $50,000 someone with more information, additional information, no matter how small or large will come forward," Hahn said.
Officials say the recent break and arrest in the case of the suspected Golden State Killer, reaffirms the reasons why cold cases remain open.
Marcy Jacobs was a California Department of Justice employee. The 1991 crime in Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood was described as horrific.
On January 14, 1991 the Jacobs family was murdered in their cottage-style home on Robertson Way. The victims included 33-year-old Michael, his 31-year-old wife Marcy, their daughter Jenny, 9, and a fourth-grader at nearby Crocker Riverside Elementary.
Police said Jenny was shot in the head as she slept, still clutching her favorite doll. Marcy was shot and stabbed, according to reports from the Sacramento Bee. A shotgun was believed to have been used to shoot the family.
Investigators found an empty safe in the back garage where Michael was found shot execution-style.
It's not exactly known what went missing, but investigators said it could have ranged from tens of thousands of dollars in cash to methamphetamine. The motive of the murders is believed to be robbery and whoever murdered the Jacobs family knew what was in safe.
Investigators don't believe the Jacobs family were involved in any criminal activity and didn't know what was in the safe, which belonged to friend, Richard McCarthy.
McCarthy was a convicted felon who disappeared months before the killings. His house, near 56th Street and Folsom Boulevard, appeared to be in order after he disappeared, according to an archived Sacramento Bee article. His vehicles had not been moved and his front door was locked.
McCarthy is presumed to be dead and is not considered a suspect.
Marcy and Michael were childhood friends who grew up in Sacramento. Police believe there was more than one killer and that the family knew their killers, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Jacobs case is still very active within the Sacramento Police Department.
Still, a number of other cold cases haunt the greater Sacramento area, read more by clicking here.