The 48 Hours episode “Operation Murder” investigates the double murder-for-hire case involving romantically involved Houston veterinarian Valerie McDaniel and former surgeon Leon Jacob. In March 2017, Jacob paid an undercover Houston police officer posing as a hit man to kill his ex-girlfriend Meghan Verikas (who had filed domestic violence charges against Jacob) and McDaniel’s ex-husband Marion “Mack” McDaniel. The undercover officer recorded conversations with Jacob: those audio recordings were the cornerstone of the case. (Police staged execution photos of Verikas and Mack McDaniel to present as proof to Jacob and Valerie McDaniel.) Shortly after Valerie McDaniel was arrested, she committed suicide by jumping off a balcony.
During Jacob’s murder-for-hire trial, an investigator with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office presented recordings of telephone calls Jacob made from jail. During a call to his mother, Jacob said: “I told dad I want Bradley Cooper to play me in the TV movie.” Bradley Cooper is a four-time Academy Award nominated actor. His first Best Actor nomination was for his role as Pat in Silver Linings Playbook (SEE LINK ABOVE). Pat was a man with bipolar disorder who was living with his parents after being released from a psychiatric hospital and was determined to get his estranged wife back.
During his trial, Jacob’s mother, Golda Jacob, testified that Jacob spent 60 days in Houston’s Menninger Clinic and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a personality disorder. In March 2018, Jacobs was sentenced to life in prison, he will be eligible for parole in 30 years. 48 Hours airs Saturdays at 9 pm and 10 pm on CBS.
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