Prosecutors say the accused shot the father of her children, then went to his parents’ home and opened fire.
CRETE TOWNSHIP, Ill. — An Indiana woman is charged with killing the father of her two children and his parents in a series of shootings in suburban Chicago, and prosecutors say court records point to a plan she carried out over two locations late on March 22 and early March 23.
Jenna Strouble, 30, of St. John, Indiana, faces nine counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jacob Lambert, 32, Stacy Forde, 54, and Patrick Forde, 55. The case has drawn attention because of the family ties at the center of it and because prosecutors say Strouble described the shootings in detail after her arrest. The killings also left two young children without their father and grandparents, while the court process is only beginning.
According to prosecutors and court records described in open court, Strouble contacted Lambert on the night of March 22 and asked him to spend time with her. Authorities say the two had been co-parenting their children and still had an occasional intimate relationship. Prosecutors said Strouble picked Lambert up around 11 to 11:30 p.m. and drove toward Plum Creek Nature Preserve, but the area was closed. Investigators said she then stopped along Burnham Road in Sauk Village and told Lambert she had a surprise for him. She offered him a back massage while he reclined in the passenger seat and lay face down. Prosecutors said Strouble later told deputies she massaged him for about 20 minutes, held a handgun at the back of his head for several minutes, and then shot him.
Authorities say the shootings did not end there. Prosecutors said Strouble drove to the home of Lambert’s mother and stepfather on East Norway Trail in Crete Township after shooting Lambert. She allegedly used Lambert’s keys to try to get inside. When Patrick Forde came to the door, prosecutors said, Strouble began shooting from the porch and kept firing as she entered the home. Court records described in later reporting say Patrick Forde was struck 17 times in the chest and abdomen. Stacy Forde, who came down the stairs, was shot three times. Deputies were sent to the property about 2 a.m. on March 23 after Strouble’s sister reported a call in which Strouble said she had shot Lambert and his parents. Deputies found the front door open. Lambert was found dead in a vehicle outside, while Stacy and Patrick Forde were found inside near the front entry area.
Investigators have said the killings appeared targeted from the start. The Will County Sheriff’s Office said Strouble made incriminating statements during interviews, and investigators recovered a firearm they said matched the one used in the homicides. Prosecutors later said officers who went to Strouble’s home in St. John found her outside and that she handed over a bag containing a loaded Glock 19 fitted with a suppressor. They said she told investigators she bought the gun in December 2025 at a store in Crown Point, Indiana, and bought the suppressor online for about $589. Prosecutors also said she wrote a note the night before the killings asking others to care for her children and listed three names. Records described in court say she told deputies she bought the gun solely for the plan. Police and prosecutors have also said she did not offer a clear, detailed motive beyond complaints about Lambert’s parenting and tension with his family.
Those allegations became central at Strouble’s first appearances in court. She first appeared without a lawyer and asked to return when counsel could be present. Prosecutors said in court that she had admitted going to meet Lambert with the intent to harm him. They also said she had previously expressed violent thoughts, including claims that she had once thought about killing Lambert before but did not yet have a plan. In later detention filings, prosecutors argued she poses a danger to the community and specifically to her own parents. They said there are no release conditions that would address the risk. Reporting from later hearings said Strouble did not contest staying in custody while her attorney remained tied up in another homicide trial. She had already waived extradition in Indiana after her arrest there.
The case has unfolded across county and state lines but remains centered in Will County, where prosecutors are seeking to keep Strouble jailed under Illinois’ pretrial detention rules for defendants charged with violent crimes such as murder. If convicted, she could face natural life in prison. For now, many key questions remain unanswered. Prosecutors have described what they believe happened, but a full public accounting of the evidence will come later if the case moves through pretrial hearings and toward trial. It is also not yet clear what defense arguments Strouble’s attorney will make about her statements to police, her mental health history, or the prosecution’s account of planning and motive.
The scene itself underscored the shock of the killings. Deputies found a family home turned into a crime scene and a vehicle outside with Lambert still inside, while loved ones later packed the courtroom for Strouble’s first appearance. ABC7 reported that relatives and supporters of the victims were visibly emotional during the proceeding. That reaction reflected the scale of the loss: three relatives killed within a short span, two children at the center of the family dispute, and a case that prosecutors say was carried out with preparation rather than impulse. Authorities have not publicly described any sign of a struggle inside the home beyond the physical evidence they say they recovered, and investigators have not indicated that anyone else is suspected of involvement.
The case remained in its early stage on April 1, with Strouble in custody and a detention hearing set for April 6, when a judge is expected to consider whether she will remain jailed while the murder case moves forward.
Author note: Last updated April 1, 2026.