Background: The crime scene on the 9300 block of Ryan Place in Lexington, Minnesota (KSTP/YouTube). Inset: Irving Van Marsaw (Anoka County Jail).
A man in Minnesota is accused of killing his estranged partner and her young son hours after the woman told the suspect she was going to take him to trial.
Irving Van Marsaw, 53, stands charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 44-year-old Jennifer Sue Marsaw and 5-year-old Marzai Andrew Dawson. The defendant is being held under $5 million bail.
Irving Marsaw had "assaulted" and "threatened to kill" Jennifer Marsaw in the past, including as recently as March 3, the woman's daughter said, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime. Additional court records document an alleged pattern of abusive behavior.
Jennifer Marsaw petitioned for a restraining order against her estranged partner in November 2025, telling the court, "He threatens to hurt me if I don't tell him where I live," regional ABC affiliate KSTP reported. "He makes demands and threatens to get all my food support and disability cut off," the petition added.
In February, Jennifer Marsaw reportedly asked the court for another restraining order, writing that the defendant "has threatened to kill my children and myself" and has followed her and come into her house without permission.
While both restraining orders were issued, records reviewed by KSTP show she asked for both to be withdrawn about a month after each was granted.
On March 17, Jennifer Marsaw "kicked Defendant out of the house after an argument involving Defendant holding a knife," the criminal complaint states. The woman's daughter said the last conversation she heard between the two was, at about 7 p.m., her mother "saying that Defendant better believe she was going to trial, to which Defendant responded, 'Bet,' and hung up."
Hours later, after midnight, the daughter "went on a short walk outside" with two of her siblings. When they returned to their home on the 9300 block of Ryan Place in Lexington, Minnesota, about five minutes later, she heard several "pops."
The daughter's younger brother "ran into the home as Defendant walked out of the front door holding a handgun," the complaint goes on. "Defendant made eye contact with her brother and paused as her brother ran into the home before Defendant ran to a shed on the property."
Within a few seconds, the younger brother "came running out screaming that their mother and little brother were shot," authorities stated. The daughter then assembled her siblings and "ran to a neighbor's house" to call 911.
Officers with the Centennial Lakes Police Department arrived at the home at about 12:50 a.m. after the daughter had called and said her mother and brother "were shot inside their home" by a man named "Irving." Officers noted that based on "prior contacts," and with the description given, they identified their suspect as Irving Marsaw.
Police found Jennifer Marsaw "with apparent gunshot wounds to the chest." Marzai, the 5-year-old boy, "was still breathing with apparent gunshot wounds to the chest and left arm." He was brought to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Officers immediately established a perimeter and located Defendant hiding in a wooded area a few blocks west with the use of a K9 unit," the complaint states. Irving Marsaw was taken into custody at 1:33 a.m. Several hours later, authorities found a 9 mm handgun across the street behind the residence.
Police said that while in custody, Irving Marsaw "made several statements referencing the incident insinuating it was committed 'in the heat of passion.'"
The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on both shooting victims and found that Jennifer Marsaw's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest "fired at contact range." Marzai's cause of death was determined to be "a gunshot wound to the back, fired at contact range." The two "spent bullets" as well as an unspent round were found near the bodies.
Irving Marsaw was scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Friday, and he is set to return on April 14.