MANDAN, N.D. — A chiropractor with a military background was due in court Friday in the slayings of four people who police say were shot and stabbed at a property management business in North Dakota.
Dr. Chad Isaak, 44, was expected to appear in Burleigh County court a day after police arrested him in a mystery that has gripped the area since authorities found the bodies Monday morning at RJR Maintenance and Management in Mandan. Police Chief Jason Ziegler said authorities do not yet have a motive, but that Isaak lived on property managed by the company, RJR Maintenance and Management.
Isaak has not been formally charged but was being held on suspicion of felony murder, Ziegler said. He said that the victims were shot, stabbed or both.
“Evidence discovered on (the suspect) and in the vehicle provided probable cause to place (him) under arrest for the murders,” Ziegler said at a news conference Thursday night. He did not elaborate on the evidence.
Records show Isaak has a chiropractic business and lives in Washburn, which is 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Mandan. A 1995 marriage announcement said Isaak was an assistant lab technician in the U.S. Navy serving at Pearl Harbor. Isaak received his chiropractic license in 2006, records show.
Police say the victims were RJR co-owner Robert Fakler, 52; employee Adam Fuehrer, 42; and married co-workers Lois Cobb, 45, and William Cobb, 50. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Isaak had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
Until Isaak’s arrest, police had released little information about their investigation in the days since discovering the bodies. Homicides are unusual in Mandan, a town of about 22,000 just across the Missouri River from the state capital of Bismarck that hadn’t had a slaying since 2016 — and had only three in the past six years.
“It’s been a difficult week for everyone involved,” Mayor Tim Helbling said.
Felony murder carries a maximum punishment of life in prison without parole. North Dakota does not have the death penalty.
The suspect had no criminal history immediately evident in state or federal court in North Dakota.
Ziegler said police are not looking for anyone else and were focusing on “putting everything together so we can get prosecution on this and bring (the suspect) to justice.”
He added: “Just because we’ve got him … this is far from over. Now comes the long process of prosecution.”
A memorial service for the victims is planned for Tuesday at Bismarck Community Church, according to Eastgate Funeral and Cremation Service.
