A mystery involving a recently divorced couple in Shasta County and a wife who went missing three weeks ago led to the discovery of multiple body parts in Whiskeytown Lake over the weekend, with at least one attached to a cinder block. The Redding Record-Searchlight reports that authorities were led to the lake by Philip Daniel Jacobs, 56, whose ex-wife Bridget Jacobs, 38, disappeared on March 19 and whom witnesses saw taking his boat out on the lake that day. The Jacobses had restraining orders against each other following a divorce in December and an eight-month marriage.
On Friday, divers with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office discovered a dismembered leg attached to a cinder block, and ultimately retrieved it Saturday. They then expanded their search in the area of the Brandy Creek Marina and discovered other body parts that they have not yet named. Divers have suspended their search for a few days until conditions in the lake, which were very cloudy over the weekend, are expected to improve.
As the Associated Press reports, Philip Jacobs is a nurse practitioner and was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held on $1 million bail. He has told authorities that his wife's death was accidental, and has declined to reveal the whereabouts of her dog, who is also missing. He says that his ex-wife "charged" at him and when he ducked, she flipped over him and fell down a flight of stairs, possibly breaking her neck. He admits he did not call for any medical assistance, and then says he kept her body inside a home for four days before deciding to dispose of it in the lake.
Shasta County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Jackson tells the Record-Searchlight of their findings, "Talking to personnel on scene from yesterday it appears to be dismemberment. We don’t know what type of tools or instruments were used at this time. That would be something for the coroner’s office to determine later next week."
Previously: Reports Surface Describing Troubled Youth Of Alleged Redding Abduction Victim Sherri Papini