Spouse pleads guilty in professorâs murder

By Alisha Jeter
The Metropolitan

Ruediger Jakob-Chienâs students knew all about the problems he was having with his marriage last spring. But they probably didnât expect those problems would lead to his murder.

Jakob-Chienâs wife, Cynthia, 43, plead guilty Aug. 20 for her husbandâs murder. She told Boulder District

Court Judge Morris Sandstead her husband was abusive for much of their 3-year marriage.

She could face 16 to 32 years in prison for the shooting.

Ruediger Jakob-Chien, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Colorado at
Denver, often discussed his personal problems in class, said department Chairwoman Gita Alaghband.

Alaghband said when the couple visited her house, they seemed like any other normal couple to her. Ruediger Jakob-Chien did not seem to her to have any indications of violent behavior, she said, adding  he built a Web page decorated with pictures of his family and seemed devoted to them.

ãHe was a very gentle person as far as a colleague,ä Alaghband said. ãNobody (in the department) could imagine something like this would happen.ä

The loss had a heavy impact on the department, Alaghband said.

Ruediger Jakob-Chien joined CU-Denverâs ranks in August 1996, but  Alaghband had known him since he attended CU-Boulder for graduate work four years before.

ãWe were happy to have him,ä she said. ãIt really filled a void in the department.ä

Friends of Cynthia Jakob-Chienâs at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, where she taught criminology, said they were shocked to hear she had shot her husband.

Cynthia, now in the Boulder County Jail awaiting an Oct. 23 sentencing, was a strong advocate of gun control, they said.

ãI couldnât imagine Cynthia even holding a gun, much less shooting anyone,ä said Keith Crew, UNI director of Criminology and a friend of Cynthia Jakob-Chien.

The couple was estranged. Ruediger Jakob-Chien had come to their Boulder home to pick up some of his belongings when his wife shot him.

Crew said he knew the couple was having marital problems, stemming from the fact that both worked and had to juggle a career and family. But he said he had no idea Cynthia Jakob-Chien might have been suffering from abuse.

She was a friendly, likable lady, who gave no hint she was truly unhappy in the marriage, he said. She had just earned her doctorate degree when she landed the job two years ago at UNI, and she was dedicated to her work with juvenile delinquency and youth drug use, Crew said.

When Ruediger was hired at UCD, he wanted the family to move to Colorado. Cynthia wanted to stay at UNI, Crew said, but he didnât know whether that was a major stress in the relationship.