Court documents highlight violent history of suspect in Lexington double homicide

Throughout their relationship, family and court documents describe 53-year-old Irving Van Marsaw as violently abusive toward 44-year-old Jennifer Marsaw. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 18, investigators say he killed her and her five-year-old son, Marzai Dawson.

Just two weeks prior, Irving Van Marsaw viciously beat Jennifer Marsaw in an attack where she felt that she was going to die, according to a warrant filed for his arrest hours before this week's killings. 

According to charging documents, a child witness called 911 at about 12:52 a.m. from Ryan Place in Lexington. The child—who a family member said was another one of Jennifer's children and Dawson's sibling—reported that she went on a short walk with two other siblings just minutes before placing the emergency call. She said she heard several "pops" in quick succession; they watched as Irving Marsaw walked out of the front door with a handgun, making eye contact with the caller's brother. The brother went inside to find that Jennifer Marsaw and Dawson had been shot. 

Officers brought Irving Marsaw into custody at about 1:33 a.m. after launching a manhunt, finding him in a "wooded area" a few blocks from the scene. While in custody, Irving Marsaw told officers that what he did was done "in the heat of passion." 

Irving Marsaw and Jennifer Marsaw had an argument earlier that afternoon, according to the child witness. Jennifer kicked Irving out of the house after Irving argued with her while holding a knife. They then had a phone conversation, the witness said, where Jennifer told Irving that she was going to trial. Irving responded, "Bet," and hung up. 

Jennifer Marsaw's son, Raheem Campbell, struggled to stop tears from flowing while he described the love he had for his mother and his brother. He said that he and his long-term girlfriend, Gianna Ruiz, viewed Dawson like he was their own son after taking care of him for long stretches of time. 

"He [Dawson] never had a dull moment. He could always make anyone smile," Campbell said. "Anytime you'd see my mom she was happy. It didn't matter what the situation was, she could have a dollar to her name and she would still make the best out of it." 

Ruiz said that Dawson lit up a room. She said from the moment that she met Jennifer Marsaw, she felt at home. Jennifer Marsaw treated her like a member of the family.

"She was one of my biggest cheerleaders," Ruiz said. 

Both of them are adamant that this tragedy was avoidable, pointing to Irving Marsaw's long list of convictions that span more than 20 years. WCCO found that he has been arrested multiple times on domestic violence charges involving different women, including an instance in 2018 where he told a victim via text message "u won't be here on Earth to see wat ur kids look like when they grown." 

Campbell and Ruiz said that Irving Marsaw constantly abused Jennifer Marsaw. They described a controlling pattern where Irving Marsaw would limit Jennifer Marsaw's ability to speak freely, an abusive policy enforced with physical attacks. 

The most recent attack came on March 3. According to court documents, a victim that family identified as Jennifer Marsaw told Minneapolis Police Officers that her husband Irving Marsaw strangled her to the point where she blacked out. Jennifer Marsaw said that he repeatedly kicked and punched her in the head, neck, back and stomach.

"Victim stated that she felt like she was going to die," the complaint reads. 

The actual warrant was not filed until March 17. A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond to questions about the investigation or lapse in time. 

"The system failed them for sure. There were so many times this could have been prevented," Ruiz said. 

Violence Free Minnesota, an organization dedicated to addressing domestic violence, recommends calling a confidential hotline called Minnesota DayOne at (866)-223-1111 for help.