Meridian Police have now identified the suspect in the murder of Joy Frizzell, 65, who was found stabbed to death in her south Meridian home Thursday.
Police say the suspect is David Marthinus Jacobs, 71, identified simply as a Gem County. “Jacobs and Frizzell had been in a dating relationship for approximately three months,” said Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea.
Police believe Jacobs stabbed Frizzell to death either late on the evening of Sunday, November 26 or possibly early on the morning of November 27 at her home in the 1200 block of E. Italy Street in Meridian.
A family member discovered Jacobs dead in his trailer in Gem County late Monday afternoon on November 27, 2017. The family members then contacted the Gem County Sheriff’s Office.
“During the investigation, Jacobs’ daughter became concerned for Frizzell’s safety and contacted Gem County Sheriff’s Office to report her concerns,” Basterrechea said. “During this same time frame, Frizzell’s daughter-in-law became concerned for Frizzell, because the family had not heard from her for several days -- so she contacted the Meridian Police Department to conduct a welfare check at Frizzell’s home.”
Police forced their way into the home and discovered the woman deceased in her bed. The Ada County Coroner said in a news release Thursday that Frizzell died from multiple stab wounds to her chest.
Meridian Police are waiting for toxicology from Jacobs’ autopsy before his cause of death can be determined; however undisclosed evidence from his trailer indicates death by suicide.
