David Allen Lucas: The San Diego Throat-Slashing Murders
Overview
David Allen Lucas was convicted of three brutal murders committed in the San Diego County area of California between 1979 and 1984. His known crimes involved the abduction or surprise attack of women and children, the use of a knife, and severe wounds to the victims’ throats. He was also convicted of kidnapping and attempting to murder a woman who survived a similarly violent attack and later identified him as her assailant.
Lucas came under investigation during a period in which several people had been found with their throats cut in and around San Diego. Although prosecutors attempted to connect him to six killings, the final verdicts were more limited. He was convicted of murdering Suzanne Jacobs, her three-year-old son Colin Jacobs, and 22-year-old college student Anne Catherine Swanke. He was acquitted of killing Gayle Garcia, while jurors were unable to reach verdicts in the deaths of Rhonda Strang and Amber Fisher. Those unresolved murder charges were later dismissed.
The Murders of Suzanne and Colin Jacobs
On May 4, 1979, 31-year-old Suzanne Jacobs was at her home in the eastern portion of San Diego with her three-year-old son, Colin. Suzanne’s husband, Michael Jacobs, had left for work at approximately 6:00 that morning. The family was expecting the delivery of a new dinette set, and nothing initially suggested that Suzanne and Colin were in immediate danger.
A neighbor later reported seeing a maroon or wine-colored sports car with a dark top in the Jacobs family’s driveway between approximately 8:00 and 9:00 that morning. When friends and family attempted to telephone Suzanne later in the morning, no one answered. Michael returned home during the afternoon and found a horrifying scene inside the residence.
Suzanne and Colin had both been attacked with a knife. Colin’s throat had been cut at least twice, severing major blood vessels in his neck. He also had deep injuries to his fingers, thumb and palm, suggesting that he may have raised his hands or struggled while being attacked. He died from extensive blood loss.
Suzanne suffered multiple cuts across her throat, as well as stab wounds near her collarbone, chest and abdomen. One wound damaged her pulmonary artery, while another penetrated deeply into her liver. Her carotid artery and jugular vein were severed. Investigators also documented indications that she may have been strangled or placed under pressure around the neck during the assault.
Bloody footwear impressions led from portions of the home toward the kitchen sink. Blood was found on the sink, faucets, drain area, a washcloth, a soap holder and a paper towel, suggesting that the killer had attempted to wash blood from his hands or body before leaving. A handwritten piece of paper recovered from the residence later became part of the evidence used to connect Lucas to the murders.
The case remained unsolved for years. Another man, John Massingale, became a suspect after acquaintances claimed that he had described the killings. Massingale was eventually charged, but investigators reconsidered the case after Lucas was arrested in 1984. Handwriting evidence, witness testimony and other circumstantial evidence shifted the investigation toward Lucas. A jury ultimately found Lucas guilty of murdering both Suzanne and Colin.
The Abduction and Attempted Murder of Jodie Santiago Robertson
On the night of June 8, 1984, 34-year-old Jodie Santiago Robertson left a restaurant in El Cajon and began walking toward her brother’s apartment. A man approached her from behind, placed a knife against her throat and warned that he would cut her if she screamed or attempted to escape. Robertson later identified that man as David Allen Lucas.
Lucas forced Robertson into a dark-colored sports car and drove her to a house in Spring Valley. She was taken into a bedroom, where her hands were tied behind her. Lucas sexually assaulted her and subjected her to a prolonged, terrifying ordeal. At one point, Robertson heard another person arrive at the residence, temporarily interrupting the attack.
Lucas later drove Robertson away from the house. In a secluded area, he cut her throat and abandoned her, apparently believing she would die. Despite the severity of her injuries, Robertson survived. She managed to obtain help and gave investigators descriptions of her attacker, his vehicle and the residence where she had been held.
Robertson remembered distinctive features of the car and the attacker. She described a dark sports car with rear-window louvers and recalled portions of its unusual license plate. Lucas owned a black Datsun 280ZX with a personalized plate. She also remembered the house’s semicircular driveway and the steps leading to its entrance.
In December 1984, Robertson identified Lucas as her attacker. Her identification played a major role in his arrest and encouraged investigators to examine whether he might have been responsible for other throat-slashing cases in San Diego County. Lucas was convicted of Robertson’s kidnapping and attempted murder, as well as inflicting great bodily injury and personally using a knife.
The Murder of Anne Catherine Swanke
Anne Catherine Swanke was a 22-year-old University of San Diego student with musical ambitions. She was an accomplished singer and pianist who hoped to pursue a career in opera. During the evening of November 19, 1984, she visited her boyfriend near the San Diego State University campus. She left his apartment shortly after midnight on November 20 and mentioned that her Dodge Colt was low on gasoline.
Swanke’s car ran out of fuel near the intersection of Jackson Drive and Fletcher Parkway in La Mesa. She walked to a nearby service station, purchased gasoline in a portable container and returned to her vehicle. A passing motorist saw a second car pull behind Swanke’s Dodge and noticed two figures standing close together. The witness briefly considered that he might be seeing an abduction.
Police later found Swanke’s abandoned car at the intersection. Her wallet remained on the passenger seat. Her keys, flashlight and gas cap were resting on the trunk, and the gasoline container was on the ground. The circumstances suggested that she had been interrupted while attempting to refuel her vehicle.
On the morning of November 24, 1984, a man walking through the hills near Spring Valley discovered Swanke’s body in a steep, muddy and isolated area approximately two miles from Lucas’s home. Her throat had been deeply cut. A metal choke chain of the type commonly used as a dog collar had been placed around her neck. Her clothing had been cut, and portions of it were scattered along the hillside.
Evidence indicated that Swanke had fought for her life. On the morning after her disappearance, Lucas was seen with fresh, bleeding scratches across his face. He claimed that he had received them during a bar fight after being struck with a beer mug or pitcher. Several witnesses observed the scratches over the following days, describing some of them as deep marks extending from around his eye toward his chin.
Investigators also focused on Lucas’s automobile. A witness at the location where Swanke disappeared had seen a vehicle with a distinctive license-plate arrangement. Lucas’s personalized plate and sports car were consistent with important portions of the witness descriptions. The similarities between Swanke’s murder and Robertson’s near-fatal attack strengthened the prosecution’s case.
Confirmed Victims and Survivor
- Suzanne Jacobs, age 31: Murdered on May 4, 1979, inside her family’s home in eastern San Diego, California. Her throat was cut repeatedly, and she suffered additional stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
- Colin Jacobs, age 3: Murdered on May 4, 1979, inside the Jacobs residence in eastern San Diego, California. His throat was deeply cut, and he suffered injuries to his hands consistent with an attempt to resist or protect himself.
- Jodie Santiago Robertson, age 34: Kidnapped and attacked on June 8, 1984, after leaving a restaurant in El Cajon, California. She was taken to Lucas’s Spring Valley residence, sexually assaulted, driven to another location and left with her throat cut. She survived and later identified Lucas.
- Anne Catherine Swanke, age 22: Abducted and murdered during the early morning of November 20, 1984, after her car ran out of gasoline in La Mesa, California. Her body was discovered on November 24, 1984, in a remote area of Spring Valley.
Other Murders Considered During the Trial
Lucas was tried in connection with three additional throat-slashing murders, but he was not convicted of those crimes. These cases were introduced because prosecutors believed the circumstances shared significant similarities with the attacks on the Jacobs family, Robertson and Swanke. However, the legal outcomes must be distinguished from his confirmed convictions.
- Gayle Garcia: Murdered on December 8, 1981, inside a house she was showing as a real estate agent in Spring Valley, San Diego County. Her throat had been deeply cut. Lucas was prosecuted for her murder but was acquitted by the jury.
- Rhonda Strang: Lucas was charged in connection with her throat-slashing death, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Eleven jurors reportedly favored conviction, but the lack of a unanimous verdict resulted in a mistrial on the charge. The count was later dismissed.
- Amber Fisher: Lucas was also charged in connection with her death. As in the Strang case, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and the murder charge was subsequently dismissed.
The Investigation and Arrest
Lucas was arrested on December 16, 1984, after Robertson identified him as the man who kidnapped her and cut her throat. By that time, the discovery of Swanke’s body and the physical injuries visible on Lucas’s face had increased investigators’ suspicions. Detectives began comparing evidence from Robertson’s attack and Swanke’s murder with earlier unsolved killings involving severe knife wounds to the neck.
The Jacobs case presented particular difficulties because years had passed and another man had previously been accused. Prosecutors relied on a combination of handwriting comparisons, witness observations, Lucas’s movements and similarities between the crimes. The defense challenged the reliability of the physical and circumstantial evidence and argued that the earlier suspect was responsible.
Robertson’s survival provided the prosecution with evidence unavailable in the murder cases. She described Lucas, his vehicle and the interior and exterior of his home. Investigators found that important details matched his Spring Valley residence and Datsun sports car. Her ability to survive and provide an identification became central to exposing the pattern of violence attributed to Lucas.
Trial, Convictions and Death Sentence
In 1989, a San Diego County jury convicted David Allen Lucas of the first-degree murders of Suzanne Jacobs, Colin Jacobs and Anne Swanke. The jury also convicted him of the attempted murder and kidnapping of Jodie Santiago Robertson and the kidnapping of Anne Swanke. Jurors found that Lucas personally used a knife and inflicted great bodily injury during the attacks.
The multiple-murder special circumstance made Lucas eligible for the death penalty. Following the penalty phase of the trial, the jury returned a verdict of death. The court also imposed a separate prison term for the attempted murder of Robertson.
Lucas challenged his convictions and sentence through an automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court. He disputed the consolidation of the cases, the admission of evidence and the reliability of testimony connecting him to the murders. On August 21, 2014, the California Supreme Court upheld the convictions and death sentence.
Legacy of the Case
The crimes attributed to David Allen Lucas caused fear throughout the San Diego area because several victims had been attacked with a knife and left with devastating wounds to the throat. The cases also demonstrated the difficulty of connecting crimes committed years apart when witnesses, physical evidence and investigative theories changed over time.
Suzanne and Colin Jacobs were killed in the place where they should have been safest: their own home. Anne Swanke disappeared while dealing with the ordinary problem of a car that had run out of gasoline. Jodie Santiago Robertson was attacked while walking back to a family member’s apartment. Each crime began during a routine moment and escalated into extreme violence.
Robertson’s survival proved especially important. Despite suffering a nearly fatal wound, she remembered details that helped police identify Lucas and locate the house where she had been held. Her testimony connected him directly to an attack displaying many of the characteristics investigators had observed in the unsolved murders.
David Allen Lucas remains legally responsible for three murders and one attempted murder. Although he was suspected and prosecuted in connection with other deaths, the convictions for Suzanne Jacobs, Colin Jacobs and Anne Catherine Swanke are the murders established against him by the jury’s verdict.
