Sheriff Randy Smith and Coroner Dr. Charles Preston spoke with media yesterday regarding a Lacombe man who was arrested in connection with a woman’s death that occurred at his residence earlier this year. STPSO says John Jacob Jenkins was arrested at his place of employment and was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on Second-Degree Murder and other charges.
Oct. 7, St. Tammany Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call in reference to a medical emergency at a residence on Lake Road in Lacombe. Emergency Medical personnel also responded to the residence and attempted to revive an unresponsive white female, later identified as Jennifer DeBlonde Jacob, but were unsuccessful. The St. Tammany Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy with the ruling on cause and manner of death deferred pending the results of toxicology. Those results, which were made known to the Sheriff’s Office in late November, showed traces of narcotics in the deceased’s system at the time of her death. On December 3, the STP Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death of Jennifer DeBlonde Jacob as Poly-Substance Drug Toxicity and the manner of death as homicide, and a warrant was issued for the arrest of John Jacob Jenkins. This is an active and ongoing investigation.
