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.

Jacobs' attorney, Hank Hockeimer, however, did not provide The Dallas Morning News with the names of other players who have bought performance-enhancing drugs from Jacobs, although Jacobs revealed the names of some of his customers to Dallas NFL security officials May 21.

After his arrest last year, Jacobs abided by federal authorities' requests. But until Jacobs was sentenced to three months' probation on May 1, he sold -- monthly -- about 1,000 bottles of anabolic steroids and 1,000 growth hormone kits that he received illegally from China. He also suggested to 10 of his customers that they use finasteride, a drug to counteract balding, because it conceals the use of performance-enhancing drugs during drug tests.

Lehr, who also played for Tampa Bay and Atlanta, tested positive for an illegal substance and was suspended from the Atlanta Falcons for four games in October 2006. ESPN said that Lehr played for Tampa Bay last season and joined the Saints during the off-season.

Since his suspension, Lehr has not used illegal substances and has passed NFL drug tests, according to Lehr's attorney Paul Coggins. In Lehr's defense, Coggins said that because Lehr did not pay Jacobs' legal fees, Jacobs made unproved accusations out of vengeance.

Before Jacobs sold steroids and growth hormones to bodybuilders, police officers and NFL players, he had a nutritional supplement business. He recently told The Dallas Morning News he wanted to rekindle his business. He had financial problems, however, and his former clients were no longer receptive to his product promotions.

Jacobs, a former Marine, is credited with beginning one of the biggest networks for steroid trafficking in the United States, according to The Dallas Morning News. Last year, he received three years' probation on the condition that he help in a countrywide effort to combat illegal steroid usage. He wanted to rebuild his life, and on May 21, he said he planned to arrange sessions to educate children about the dangers of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

"They are being scheduled now, everyone is really supportive!" Jacobs wrote in an e-mail to The Dallas Morning News last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.