Insets, left to right: Jenna Strouble, Jacob Lambert, Stacy Forde and Patrick Forde (Will County Sheriff’s Office/WLS/YouTube). Background: The Illinois home where Jenna Strouble allegedly shot and killed the father of her children, Jacob Lambert, and his parents Stacy Forde and Patrick Forde (WLS/YouTube).
An Indiana mother crossed state lines to fatally shoot her on-again, off-again boyfriend — who is the father of her children — in Illinois, then blasted his parents to death inside their home, cops say.
Jenna Strouble, 30, is charged with first-degree murder for the triple homicide, which occurred in unincorporated Crete Township. Police say Strouble, who lives in Indiana, traveled to Illinois to murder 32-year-old Jacob Lambert and his parents, Stacy Forde, 54, and Patrick Forde, 55. She then alleged fled back over the state line to her home in St. John, which is about 8 miles away from Crete Township.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office posted a press release on Facebook outlining the charges and allegations.
“On March 23 at approximately 2 a.m., Will County Sheriff’s deputies were asked to perform a welfare check from a concerned family member, at a home in the 3400 block of E. Norway Trail,” the release says. “When deputies arrived on scene, they found the bodies of three adults, two men and one woman. The victims, all residents of the home on E. Norway Trail, included a man and his parents.”
The victims were identified by the coroner’s office.
“Strouble had an on/off relationship with Lambert, and they had children together,” the sheriff’s office says. “Lambert was found dead in a car in the driveway, and his parents were found dead inside the home on the first floor, near the front door.”
A motive has not been released for the killings, with cops only saying that Strouble and Lambert had separated in the past. “The preliminary investigation shows this was a targeted incident and during the detectives’ interviews Strouble gave incriminating statements, following the homicides,” the sheriff’s office says.
Investigators recovered a firearm and were able to determine that it allegedly matched the one used in the slayings. It’s unclear what type of gun it was.
Strouble was being held Wednesday at the Lake County, Indiana, jail and is expected to remain there until she’s extradited back to Illinois for these charges, according to police. She does not have any court dates listed yet.
