It's been more than 23 years since the Jacobs family was slaughtered in a crime that terrified Land Park. Still, at least one investigator remains hopeful that their murders will be solved.
"We solve a lot of cold case homicides with people coming forward after they feel they won't be retaliated against and maybe that's holding some people back," said retired Sacramento police Capt. John Parker.
Parker has gone over every piece of evidence in the Jacobs case. The family was murdered on Robertson Way sometime late on Jan. 14, 1991. A homicide detective described the scene as "heinous."
The victims included 33-year-old Michael, his 31-year-old wife Marcy and their daughter Jenny, 9, a fourth-grader at nearby Crocker Riverside Elementary. Jenny was shot in the head as she slept, still clutching her favorite doll.
The motive was robbery. In the back garage, where Michael Jacobs was shot execution-style, investigators found an empty safe. Missing was a large amount of cash, gold nuggets and possibly drugs.
A homicide investigator said he believes the Jacobs family wasn't involved in criminal activity and that Michael Jacobs didn't know what was in the safe, which belonged to a friend and convicted felon, Richard McCarthy. Whoever killed the Jacobs family knew McCarthy's safe was at this home. He disappeared months before the killings, but he is not considered a suspect and is presumed to be dead.
Parker said he's sure somebody has information that will lead to the killers. He added that it's not necessarily unusual for a murderer to brag to someone about a crime as heinous as killing a 9-year-old girl.
"Sometimes it's out of guilt themselves but they usually always talk to somebody," Parker said.
If you have information about the Jacobs murders, contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.
