Murder charge: Scott County woman shot lover, then said she kicked gun from his hand and it went off

A woman fatally shot her romantic partner inside her home near Prior Lake and then claimed she kicked the gun out of the man’s hand, causing it to fire, according to a murder charge filed Thursday.

Jennifer L. Lieber, 45, was charged in Scott County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the death Sunday night of 45-year-old David J. Nanovic in the home in the 6800 block of Century Lane.

Lieber was arrested that night and remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail ahead of a hearing on March 15. Court records do not yet list an attorney for her.

County Attorney Ron Hocevar said it “is our understanding” that Lieber and Nanovic were cousins, and multiple court filings in Scott County since early last year support that determination.

Stuart Lieber, who is in divorce proceedings with Jennifer Lieber, said in one filing that Nanovic and his son moved from Pennsylvania into the pool house in June 2022. For her part, Jennifer Lieber said in response that she and her cousin were not romantic.

According to the complaint:

Stuart Lieber called the Sheriff’s Office and requested a welfare check on his soon-to-be former wife because she “was acting weird,” the charging document read. A child in the home said Lieber wanted to kill herself.

A friend of Lieber’s who met a deputy in front of the home said Lieber told her she made a big mistake. Lieber told her friend that she was arguing with Nanovic, kicked a gun from his hand “and it went off and hit [him],” the complaint continued.

Lieber met deputies outside the home, who saw a bloodied Nanovic down at the bottom of the stairs. A handgun was next to his body. Medics declared him dead at the scene.

Deputies found Nanovic’s 10-year-old son in the pool house. Lieber was allowing Nanovic and the boy to live with her, and Lieber and Nanovic “began a romantic relationship with one another,” the complaint noted and quoted the boy as saying, “Jennifer is probably freaking out because she had the gun in her hand.”

The 10-year-old said all three of them were watching television earlier that evening on the couch when Lieber, who had been drinking beer and brandy much of the night, became agitated. She got a gun and was yelling and threatening to kill them, so the father and son left the house.

The two teenage sons of the Liebers alerted Nanovic and his son that Jennifer Lieber was acting unstable. One teen said he was worried about the dogs in the house. Nanovic and his son approached the house, Jennifer Lieber fired a shot and told them not to come in.

Nanovic tried again to go inside, this time with his hands raised. The boy said that was the last time he saw his father alive.