Neal Jacobson killed his 7-year-old twins hours before their birthday party: 5 things to know

On Jan. 23, 2010, Neal Jacobson shot and killed his wife, Franki, and the couple's 7-year-old twin boys, Joshua and Eric, in a crime so heinous it rocked their upscale equestrian community of Wellington to its core. 

Known as a loving husband and father, Jacobson committed the crimes only weeks after being prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.

More:Bizarre tale of millionaire Neal Jacobson: Did medication lead to murder?

Jacobson, now serving three life sentences, has never denied his actions. But today, he, along with some of his doctors, friends and family members are questioning whether the prescription medications might have been at least partially to blame. 

Here are five things to know about the case: 

1. Neal and Franki Jacobson met while living in the same apartment complex in Queens, New York. They both worked as stockbrokers but left the business to open a mortgage brokerage firm in New Jersey in 1993. In 2007, they gave up their successful company and moved to Florida to be nearer to Neal Jacobson’s parents and avoid the cold winters. But their timing was bad. It was the beginning of the financial crisis, and the couple struggled to earn money after the move.

Diagnosed with depression at urgent-care clinic

2. Just after Christmas 2009, Neal Jacobson began feeling poorly, complaining of dizziness and lethargy. On Jan. 2, 2010, Franki drove him to an urgent care, where doctors diagnosed him with vertigo and depression. They sent him home with prescriptions for the commonly prescribed psychotropic medications Zoloft and Xanax.  Almost immediately, said friends and family, Jacobson's personality changed. He began hallucinating, grew anxious and paranoid and had trouble sleeping. 

Murders happened hours before the boys celebrated their 7th birthdays

3. Three weeks later, around 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, Neal Jacobson shot and killed Franki after a short struggle over a gun. He then shot to death his sleeping twins — first Eric and then Joshua — only hours before the boys' 7th birthday party.

Prosecutor originally sought the death penalty

4. Palm Beach County prosecutor Andrew Slater sought the death penalty. In order to take the death penalty off the table, an expert hired by Jacobson's public defender was prepared to testify that Jacobson was insane at the time of the killings. 

Jacobson's attorneys didn't think insanity plea would work

5. But Jacobson's attorneys did not think the jury would buy the insanity plea, so they encouraged him to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. Jacobson accepted the plea deal, but then tried to take his own life in prison, saying he did not deserve to live after what he did.

@WendyRhodes