Brooklyn couple’s apparent murder-suicide baffles friends, neighbors
Residents of a Brooklyn street remained stunned and baffled in the aftermath of an apparent murder-suicide police believe was committed by a lifelong resident loved by all.
On Wednesday, Jason Jackson and his girlfriend Olga Kirshenbaum, both 34, were both found dead in their apartment on Second Street near Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, cops said.
Kirshenbaum, nicknamed “the Money Whisperer” by her clients, was an established author and owner of Rags to Riches Consulting, where she provided financial advice to artists and creatives, according to her website.
Both victims had been shot in the head, cops said. A handgun was found next to Jackson’s body, leading police to believe that he shot Kirshenbaum, then took his own life.
The building was Jackson’s childhood home, said stunned neighbors and friends, who couldn’t fathom that the happy-go-lucky cook would kill his beloved girlfriend of three years, much less himself.
“(It) couldn’t have been him,” a longtime friend and next-door neighbor of Jackson’s who would only identify himself as Mook, told the New York Daily News.
“I thought somebody did that to them,” he said. “Somebody snuck in there and did that. I said, ‘Nah that’s not Jay. Jay is always happy.’ There’s no way he would do something like that.’”
Jackson and Kirshenbaum were found dead in the apartment around 1 a.m. Wednesday, cops said. A worried relative found the victims after being unable to get in touch with them, cops said. The relative called a locksmith to open the apartment when no one came to the door.
Police said there was no inkling of domestic strife. Cops had never been called to the apartment before to quell any argument between the couple, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
Neighbors described Jackson as a smiling, friendly fellow who would warmly greet his neighbors and buzz open the door for them if they were locked out.
“He was nice,” said one neighbor who wished not to be named. “I would say ‘Hi’ he would say, ‘Hi!’ with a big smile on his face.”
The gunshots that ended their lives were heard around 10 p.m. Sunday — about three days before their bodies were discovered, Mook, 59, said.
“It hurts because I actually heard it,” he remembered. “Me and my wife were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner and all of the sudden we heard a scream, like a girl’s scream.”
Two popping noises came in quick succession, he recalled.
“We looked at each other, and said, ‘Did you hear that?’ And my wife said ‘Wow, yeah.’ It wasn’t far. You heard it like it was right there. It was loud. We were like, ‘Those were gunshots!’ We didn’t pay it no mind.”
Mook didn’t realize that the gunshots came from Jackson’s apartment until after their bodies were discovered.
“Jason always used to come to my house with his girlfriend, and have a drink or beer or something with me and my wife,” Mook said. “He was always in my house. He was like my little brother.”
Jackson, the youngest of four brothers, was a cook who loved to sing, Mook recalled.
“He always used to say ‘I’m gonna cook soul food for you guys,'” Mook said, as he struggled with the sad realization that his friend would never be able to make good on that promise.
Kirshenbaum, he said, was a “tiny little girl” who always seemed happy.
“She was always quiet, calm, and nice,” Mook recalled. “They would just come and sit on my couch, and we’d just talk and laugh and have a beer, and look at TV.
“He loved that girl (and) she loved him,” he said. “They never argued. They never showed that.”
“You heard them partying but not fighting,” said another neighbor, who didn’t want to be named. “I never heard arguing, I never saw him angry.”
If Jackson was struggling with something, Mook wished his friend could have sought him out for help, he said.
“We all go through things in life, and sometimes you just need people to talk to,” he said. “If only I could’ve seen something that was wrong, I would’ve had a talk with him. If only I knew earlier.
“It’s tough,” he said quietly. “It’s tough.”
_____
