Human leg found attached to a cinder block while searching for missing woman in Whiskeytown Lake

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Monday, April 3, 2017
Bridge Jacobs (left) and Philip Jacobs (right)
kfsn-Shasta County Sheriff's Office

REDDING, Calif. -- Divers found a human leg attached to a cinder block and other body parts at a lake in Northern California, and authorities believe the remains may belong to a missing woman.

The body parts were found Friday and Saturday at a spot in Shasta County's Whiskeytown Lake where witnesses said they saw Bridget Jacobs' ex-husband the evening of March 19, the day before the 38-year-old woman was reported missing, the Redding Record Searchlight reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2o0kcW9 ).

Jacobs' ex-husband, 56-year-old Philip Jacobs, told deputies that his ex-wife's death was an accident and that she died after charging at him and falling down stairs, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office said.

Philip Jacobs, who holds a nurse practitioner license, said he did not give her medical aid or call for assistance, authorities said. He also told detectives he kept his ex-wife's body for four days at a home before dumping it in the lake.

Their marriage lasted eight months and ended Dec. 7. Both also had requested temporary restraining orders against each another, according to court records.

Philip Jacobs was arrested last Tuesday and booked into Shasta County jail.

Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Jackson said it doesn't appear the body parts were separated because of natural decomposition. "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," Jackson said.

Divers suspended their search over the weekend because of windy conditions and the lake's poor water clarity.