Coroner: Steroid Dealer to NFL Stars Committed Suicide

June 6, 2008 — -- David Jacobs, a convicted steroids dealer who created one of the largest illegal performance-enhancing drug networks in the country, committed suicide, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner.

Plano, Texas, police found Jacobs, 35, and Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell, 30, dead of gunshot wounds Thursday in Jacobs' home.

The medical examiner said Friday that Jacobs suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the abdomen and another to the head. Earhart-Savell was shot several times, but the examiners couldn't say more about her death at this time.

Jacobs, a former amateur bodybuilder, met recently with NFL security officials and gave them names of players he said had bought steroids from him.

Jacobs was fined $25,000 May 1 and sentenced to three years' probation by a federal court when he pleaded guilty in Dallas to possession of anabolic steroids with the intention to distribute.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Plano police investigated Jacobs' home on Honey Creek Lane and found Earhart-Savell, a professional fitness competitor, also shot to death alongside Jacobs.

The paper reported that Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald said that some of Earhart-Savell's family members had called the police a few minutes after midnight Wednesday because they did not know where she was, although they suspected she might be at Jacobs' Plano house.

Neighbors said they did not see or hear any suspicious activity before the bodies were found.

"We offer our sympathy to the families of David Jacobs and Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell," NFL spokesman Greg Aillo told ESPN. "As we have previously confirmed, our security representatives interviewed David Jacobs on two occasions. We are reviewing the information to determine if there is documented evidence establishing any violations of our program and will follow up on any other information that is provided.

"It is premature to comment on any specific player at this time. Anyone found to have violated our policies will be subject to discipline, including suspension. We will continue to be responsive to any needs of law enforcement on this matter."

Jacobs admitted last month that he provided former Dallas Cowboys player Matt Lehr with steroids between the spring of 2006 and the spring of 2007, profiting from his sales by tens of thousands of dollars. Jacobs further stated that Lehr agreed to have China ship boxes of raw steroid powder to his home in Georgia.