MINNEAPOLIS _ Two people were found dead Wednesday morning by authorities in the Lake Minnetonka area home of prominent businessman Irwin Jacobs, and a close friend and business associate said they died from murder-suicide.
Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok said that the bodies were in a bed along with a gun, which was recovered by officers who responded to the home of Irwin Jacobs and wife Alexandra shortly after 8:30 a.m.
Someone who "enters the house routinely" called authorities about the deaths, said Farniok, who said the official release of the two people's identities will be made by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office by Thursday.
Dennis Mathisen, a longtime business associate of Irwin Jacobs and close friend, told the Star Tribune Wednesday afternoon that Irwin killed his wife and himself.
Mathisen, who described himself as a "very dear friend" of Irwin Jacobs, said he learned of the deaths and that Irwin was responsible while speaking with son Mark Jacobs and a secretary for Irwin Jacobs.
The police chief stopped short of describing the case as a murder-suicide, but did say no suspects were being sought and there is no risk to the public's safety.
A close friend and business associate of Irwin Jacobs said Jacobs and his wife were found dead inside their home after a murder-suicide.
Mathisen said Alexandra Jacobs, who had been Irwin's wife for 57 years and mother to their five children, "had been in a wheelchair for the last year or so and had signs of dementia. Irwin was just distraught over her condition."
He said he spoke with Irwin Jacobs about three days ago, and "he was upbeat. I talked with his son Mark yesterday, and he talked to both of them. He said Irwin seemed up."
The Hennepin County Crime Lab was called to the scene, as was a hearse, while the ambulance service from North Memorial Health was told it was not needed. Police also informed dispatch that an attorney for Jacobs arrived at the home.
The person who called police from the home stood by for questioning by responding officers, emergency dispatch audio revealed as sirens blared in the background.
Three or four officers were directed to go through the house in search of anyone who might be there. Other officers stood guard at the front gate.
The police chief said his officers were talking to individuals who knew the two people who died.
More than a half-dozen police and sheriff's vehicles were at the scene, a large, wooded hilltop lot with a commanding view of Lake Minnetonka from the edge of Smiths Bay. Hundreds of yards of police crime scene tape was needed to seal off the sprawling property.
Bob and Carolyn Nelson, who have been Irwin and Alexandra Jacobs' neighbors since 2003, said they heard nothing unusual at the home Wednesday morning.
They said they had been awake since 5 a.m. and didn't notice any activity. Later, when they returned from the grocery store, they found out about the deaths.
Bob Nelson said Jacobs put the home up for sale several years ago, then took it off the market. He also sold some of the hilltop property for building lots. Several new homes are under construction or have recently been finished.
Jacobs, 77, owned a minority share of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1980s, but later sold it. He also bought the Grain Belt beer company in the mid-1970s, along with its distinctive brewery in northeast Minneapolis, and later sold the beer brand to G. Heileman Brewing Company and the brewery to the city of Minneapolis.
Jacobs made a fortune as a corporate raider who bought and liquidated failing companies at a profit.
For more than 40 years, he has owned J.R. Watkins Co., the Winona-based maker of soaps and other household products that are sold around the country. He owns Jacobs Trading Co. in Hopkins, a retailer specializing in liquidation of merchandise.
He owned boat maker Genmar Holdings Co., which went through a lengthy bankruptcy restructuring earlier this decade.
