Second leg of missing Northern California woman found in lake day after husband found dead in jail cell

A second leg thought to belong to a missing Northern California woman was found Thursday, a day after her husband and suspected killer was found dead in his jail cell.

Divers discovered the leg in Brandy Creek Marina at Whiskeytown Lake, 14 miles west of Redding, according to Det. Chris Edwards of the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. Two weeks ago, authorities found another leg anchored to a cement cinder block with a tie strap in the same marina.

Investigators believe the limbs belong to Bridget Marie Jacobs, who went missing roughly one month ago. Divers have searched the murky lake eight times for her remains.

“Despite the exhaustive efforts made to locate both of Bridget Jacobs’ hands and head, they remain unrecovered,” Edwards said in a written statement.

Authorities may never learn the full truth of her death.

Redding police said her husband, Philip Daniel Jacobs, took his own life Wednesday at the Shasta County jail, where he had been housed since his March 28 arrest on suspicion of murder. Authorities said the 56-year-old Cottonwood resident was alone in his cell at the time of his death, but offered no other information.

The suspect had confessed to dumping his wife’s body in the lake, but never admitted to killing her.

Philip Jacobs told detectives that Bridget Jacobs fell down a flight of stairs during an argument on March 15, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Jackson. He told investigators that she may have broken her neck in the fall.

It was on that same evening that deputies received a 911 call from the couple’s home in the 3800 block of Westridge Road in Cottonwood. A woman could be heard screaming before the line was disconnected, authorities said.

When deputies arrived at the couple’s residence, no one was home.

Philip Jacobs told investigators that he kept his wife’s body until March 19, when he placed it in a blue boat and drove to Brandy Creek Marina at Whiskeytown Lake, the sergeant said.

Jacobs rowed to an area of the lake and dumped the body, which he anchored to a cement cinder block, and then drove home, Jackson said.

Days later, Bridget Jacobs’ father reported her missing after she failed to show up for work.

Throughout the probe into Bridget Jacobs’ whereabouts, Philip Jacobs lied to detectives, saying that his wife had left their home with her purse, cellphone and 4-year-old Pomeranian/Yorkshire-mix dog, Abijah, after the argument, the sergeant said.

But investigators had uncovered mounting evidence against him, including Bridget Jacobs’ phone as well as proof that he had driven to the lake on March 19, Jackson said.

As the investigation into Philip Jacobs intensified, Jackson said, he agreed to tell detectives about his wife’s death because “he needed to talk about how accidents happen.”

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