Love isn’t supposed to hurt. I have never been physically abused in a relationship, but I think I’ve weathered my fair share of emotionally abusive situations, and there is nothing worse than giving your all to someone just to have them “punish” you. It’s a story we see play out again and again that often ends in tragedy. According to Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending gun violence, it is extremely prevalent in women’s stories of domestic violence.
The organization states that “more than two-thirds of all intimate partner homicides of women are committed with guns. More than 750 women are killed in firearm-related intimate partner homicides each year, most often by male intimate partners.” Sadly a mother and her 5-year-old boy are some of the latest victims to become part of that statistic, per Law & Crime.
Jennifer Sue Marsaw, 44, and her 5-year-old son Marzai Andrew Dawson, were reportedly gunned down by her recently estranged husband.
Minnesota man Irving Van Marsaw, 53, had allegedly threatened the mother with violence in the past, according to Jennifer’s unidentified daughter’s statement in a criminal complaint reviewed by the outlet. There were multiple records of his abusive pattern that Jennifer herself sought justice from. In November 2025, she filed a restraining order against him telling the court, “He threatens to hurt me if I don’t tell him where I live,” regional outlet KSTP reported.
“He makes demands and threatens to get all my food support and disability cut off,” the petition noted. She filed for a second restraining order in February 2026, noting he threatened to kill her and the kids.
While both were granted, the mom reportedly had them each withdrawn a month after they were approved.
On March 17, 2026, Jennifer kicked Irving out of the home after he was wielding a knife.
The daughter went on to say Jennifer and Irving had a conversation around 7 p.m. She stated she heard her mother “saying that Defendant better believe she was going to trial, to which Defendant responded, ‘Bet,’ and hung up.”
At midnight the same evening, the daughter went for a “short walk” with two of her siblings. Shortly after they returned, they heard a series of “loud pops.”
The daughter’s younger brother ran into Irving as he was exiting the home in Lexington, Minnesota, with a handgun.
“Defendant made eye contact with her brother and paused as her brother ran into the home before Defendant ran to a shed on the property,” the claim states.
Moments later, the younger brother “came running out screaming that their mother and little brother were shot,” authorities stated. The daughter gathered her siblings and “ran to a neighbor’s house” to call 911.
Police arrived and found that Jennifer was shot in the chest at close range and had died.
The young boy was breathing when authorities arrived, but later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. After police secured the perimeter of the property, they found Irving and took him into custody at 1:33 a.m.
While in custody, Irving reportedly “made several statements referencing the incident insinuating it was committed ‘in the heat of passion,'” according to authorities.
Irving was officially charged with two counts of second-degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 14.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter through domesticshelters.org.
