Brenda Lee Jacobs was a woman whose severed legs were found along the Susquehanna River in 2019. She was identified a year later.
Case[]
On May 11, 2019, two human legs were found by a fisherman along the north shore of the Susquehanna River near the Hepburn Street Pump Station in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They were cleanly cut at the knee joints, possibly with a thin bladed handsaw.
In September 2019, police announced that the remains may have belonged to Brenda Lee Jacobs, a woman from Montoursville, Pennsylvania who disappeared in 2003. This came after Jacobs' boyfriend, Jade Babcock, confessed to her murder and dismemberment, where he stated that he cut off her legs in order to fit her body in a wooden box.
In August 2020, it was announced remains found in a storage unit in Philadelphia the previous September were most likely Jacobs' after comparing the DNA from a fingernail found at the scene to that of Jacobs' sister and father. A month later, the remains were confirmed to belong to Jacobs. Despite this, there was still no definitive link to Jacobs and the two legs, as well as no suitable DNA samples for comparison. Later that November, the legs were confirmed to belong to Jacobs.
In his confession, Babcock stated on December 26, 2003, he and Jacobs had been drinking at his grandmother's house when they got into an argument over losing their jobs and being unable to afford Christmas gifts for children. During this, he alleged to hitting Jacobs multiple times until she was motionless on the floor, where he then wrapped her body in a comforter and placing her in the living room closet. She was later moved to a coal bin in the house's barn, where she remained until the house was sold on November 18, 2018. It was here that he cut off her legs to fit inside the box and moved the rest of her remains to a storage unit in Williamsport until April 2019, when Babcock and his then-girlfriend moved to Philadelphia, later throwing her legs into the Susquehanna River off the Maynard Street Bridge. She lead police to the location of Jacobs' remains after Babcock told her that he killed her.
In June 2022, Babcock was found guilty of third-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. As part of a plea deal, charges for abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice were dropped.
Characteristics[]
- The victim had pink-colored toenails
- The victim was possibly Caucasian
- The victim was at least 18 years old, possibly older
Clothing and accessories[]
- White socks labeled "Polo Jeans" with "R.L" above an American flag, possibly from Ralph Lauren.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- WNEP
- PennLive:
- Article #1 (8/20/2020)
- Article #2 (9/23/2020)
- Article #3 (11/3/2020)
- Oxygen