Inset: Jenna Strouble (Will County Jail). Background: The home where Strouble allegedly killed Stacy Forde and Patrick Forde (WLS).
A 30-year-old woman from Indiana is accused of luring her on-again, off-again boyfriend to a late-night “surprise” in Illinois before executing him inside her car — then driving to his parents” home and gunning them down in cold blood.
In the court filing, prosecutors allege that Jenna Strouble went out with a loaded Glock on the night of March 23 “with an intention” to kill Jake Lambert and his parents, 54-year-old Stacy Forde and 55-year-old Patrick Forde. She even told investigators she was not sure she “would have the nerve to do it,” Patch reported, citing the prosecutors’ petition. Following the alleged triple murder, Strouble fled back to the Indiana home where her 3-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter were when she was arrested last week and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
After being taken into custody, Strouble allegedly confessed to the murders in detail. She told detectives she picked up Lambert between 11 and 11:30 p.m., driving him around before parking and telling him she “had a surprise” and wanted to massage his back, the filing states.
She instructed him to recline his seat, remove his shirt, and lie on his stomach. After rubbing his back for about 20 minutes, she retrieved a Glock handgun from beneath the seat after he “criticized her technique,” according to prosecutors.
Strouble then allegedly pointed the gun at the back of Lambert’s head for about eight minutes, at times considering putting it down and “thinking she would do it another day,” before ultimately pulling the trigger, putting a bullet in the back of his head.
After shooting Lambert, Strouble allegedly smoked a cigarette and drove to his parents’ home, where she struggled to get inside before Patrick Forde opened the door.
“As soon as he did, she began shooting him, firing from the porch and then continuing as she entered the house,” the report states.
Strouble then allegedly shot and killed Stacy Forde as she was coming downstairs to check on the cause of the commotion.
Prosecutors say Strouble later told police she had also considered killing her own parents but “didn’t think she could go through with it.” The motion further alleges she had a history of suicidal and homicidal thoughts, including an incident in which she considered jumping out of a window while holding her children.
Authorities also said Strouble purchased the firearm in December “specifically for this plan” and had acquired a suppressor online. A search of her bedroom uncovered additional suppressors and ammunition, prosecutors said.
Strouble allegedly provided little motive beyond saying she disliked how Lambert spoke to their children and viewed his parents as “overbearing,” according to the filing.
As Law&Crime previously reported, authorities described the killings as a targeted, domestic-related incident between Strouble and Lambert, who were described as having “an on/off” romantic relationship. Investigators said Strouble made incriminating statements after the slayings, and a firearm believed to have been used in the killings was recovered from her Indiana home.
Since her arrest in Indiana, Strouble waived extradition and was transferred to Illinois to face murder charges. She is currently being housed at the Will County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again for a pretrial detention hearing on Monday morning.
