The call began with concerns about Jennifer Lynn Lieber’s behavior and ended with a murder case.
CREDIT RIVER, Minn. — Deputies responding to a welfare check at a Scott County home found David Joseph Nanovic dead from a gunshot wound, starting a case that ended with Jennifer Lynn Lieber sentenced to 306 months in prison.
The March 4, 2024, response did not begin with a direct report that Nanovic had been shot. Authorities were called after Lieber’s estranged husband said she was acting strangely and after children in and around the home described fear, threats and confusion. The investigation soon focused on Lieber, who said the gun went off by accident. Jurors later rejected that account and convicted her of second-degree murder.
The call to law enforcement came around 10:23 p.m., after Lieber’s estranged husband heard from children who were worried about what was happening at the home. Nanovic’s 10-year-old son had reported that Lieber was threatening to kill herself. Two children Lieber shared with her estranged husband also said she was not acting normally. Deputies from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office went to the property for a welfare check, a type of call often centered on safety and medical concern. When they reached the home, they found Lieber outside with a female friend. Lieber told them she had argued with Nanovic and said she had “really f—ed up.” She also said Nanovic had been holding the gun and that it fired after she kicked it from his hand.
The inside of the home told investigators a more serious story. Deputies found Nanovic at the bottom of stairs, covered in blood. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The gun was recovered, and investigators began sorting out what happened before the welfare check. Nanovic’s son gave a statement that immediately challenged Lieber’s account. He said Lieber, not his father, had the handgun. He told deputies, “Jennifer is probably freaking out because she had the gun in her hand.” That statement placed the weapon with Lieber before the shooting and became a major contrast with her claim that Nanovic had controlled the gun during a struggle.
The boy described an evening that began with television in the living room and worsened after Lieber became agitated. According to charging records, he said she grabbed a handgun, held it through the night and insulted Nanovic. He also said she used racial slurs and had been physically abusive toward his father before. The boy told investigators that being in the home felt like “living in hell.” Authorities said Lieber had made threats against Nanovic and the boy. The statements gave investigators a domestic setting marked by rising fear before the shooting rather than a sudden accident with a dropped weapon.
The property’s pool house became part of the timeline. Nanovic and his son left the main home and went there during the confrontation. Lieber’s two children later came to the pool house and said their mother was acting erratically. They returned to the main house, and about 30 minutes later, one of them called Nanovic’s son and asked him and his father to check on the dogs. When Nanovic and the boy approached the house, the boy said Lieber pointed the gun at them, told them not to come in and fired. Nanovic and his son went back to the pool house. Nanovic later returned alone, trying again to check on the dogs. His son did not see him alive again.
Lieber’s friend also became a witness to the aftermath. She told investigators Lieber called her in a panic and said there was blood everywhere and that it was not her fault. The friend said Lieber indicated she would call 911 after the friend came to the house. Instead, the welfare check call from Lieber’s estranged husband brought deputies to the property. That sequence mattered because it showed that others outside the home were trying to get help while Lieber was describing the shooting as something she did not cause. By the time deputies arrived, the emergency had shifted from a concern about Lieber’s mental state to a homicide scene.
The medical findings added weight to the prosecution’s case. An autopsy found Nanovic died from a gunshot wound to the head and that the wound was a contact wound. A contact wound means the muzzle was against or extremely close to the body when the gun fired. Prosecutors used that finding to argue against Lieber’s account that a kick caused the weapon to discharge in a way that killed Nanovic. The physical evidence did not match a distant or random shot. It fit the state’s theory that the fatal round was fired at point-blank range.
Lieber, who was 47 at sentencing, was convicted in January 2026 after a two-week trial in Scott County District Court. The jury found her guilty of second-degree murder in Nanovic’s death. Judge Caroline Lennon sentenced her April 7 to 25 1/2 years in prison and gave her credit for 232 days already served. Scott County Sheriff Luke Hennen said investigators worked with prosecutors to pursue justice for Nanovic. Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar said the sentence brought accountability but could not repair the damage caused by the killing.
The case moved from a late-night welfare check to a prison sentence because investigators said several accounts and the autopsy pointed in the same direction. Children described Lieber’s behavior before the shooting. A friend described her panic after it. Deputies found Nanovic dead inside the home. Jurors decided those facts outweighed Lieber’s claim that the shooting happened when her foot knocked a gun from Nanovic’s hand.
Lieber is serving the sentence ordered April 7. The conviction remains the central court outcome, and no new public proceeding has been identified in the reports reviewed after sentencing.
Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.