Is Jacob Shaffer Another Example of A Husband Turned Psychotic?

What if any role did domestic problems play in another recent murder? Authorities are asking the same question as they investigate the multi state slayings believed to be the work of Jacob Shaffer. Shaffer is suspected of killing five people in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Shaffer's wife was among the victims found in southern Tennessee. His wife's son, father and brother were also among the victims.

So who is Jacob Shaffer? We know that he is a 30 year old man from Fayetteville, Tennessee. Jacob installed drywall for a living. He was married to 38 year old Traci Shaffer. Traci had a 16 year old son, Devin Brooks. Jacob was arrested Saturday after three people were found dead in a home in Fayetteville. Two other bodies were found at another home on the same street. (Traci Shaffer, 38; her son Devin Brooks, 16; and 16-year-old Robert Berber. At the other home, the bodies of Traci's father, Billy Hall, 57, and her brother Chris Hall, 34, were discovered. The causes of death have yet to be released.

The sixth person was found dead 30 miles away in Huntsville, Alabama at Hall Cultured Marble Granite. Traci's family owns that business. While the name of the victim has yet to be released, the victim is believed to be Sidney Wade Dempsey, 50, a worker and acquaintance of Shaffer. Dempsey was living at the business. That person's name was still not officially released as of Sunday night. While the investigation continues, Kristin Helm of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations says that it is believed that the deaths were related to a domestic dispute. A preliminary investigation reveals that Traci and Jacob were separated and living in separate homes. While a petition for dissolution had yet to be filed, divorce was likely. The couple have a four year old daughter who was present but not injured during the killings. Traci's 9 year old daughter from another relationship also was not injured as she was not home at the time of the murders.

It is speculated that Shaffer has confessed to the slaying in Huntsville and to the other five killings; however he is to be presumed innocent unless otherwise proven in a court of law. In the meantime, five counts of homicide are pending in Tennessee and Shaffer is held without bond.