Nurse Sues For Emotional Trauma In 2019 Lake Minnetonka Murder-Suicide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — The nurse who discovered the bodies of a prominent Minnesota businessman and his wife in a 2019 murder-suicide case is suing their estate and seeking damages for emotional trauma.
Lisa Ann Hayes walked in on a grisly scene in April 2019 at the Lake Minnetonka mansion of Irwin and Alexandra Jacobs. Irwin Jacobs had fatally shot his wife and then himself amid health and financial troubles, according to investigators.
Irwin, 77, was known for buying failing companies and turning them around for a profit in the 1980s and 1990s. He held a stake in the Minnesota Vikings at one point and served as the chairman of the Special Olympics World Summer Games when it was hosted in Minnesota in 1991. Alexandra, 77, was known as a generous donor to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts.
Hayes is seeking unspecified damages in her lawsuit, claiming Irwin Jacobs' actions were injurious to her health and "constituted willful, wanton and malicious conduct."
Hayes' attorney, Brian Stofferahn said Hayes has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by two doctors and has been unable to work since the incident.
Stofferahn declined to comment on whether Hayes had asked for $12.5 million, but said there has been a demand against the insurance company.
"And hopefully at some point (the company) will make a good-faith offer. And they have not to date," he said.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)