Woman accused of shooting the father of her children during massage, then killing his parents

CRETE, Ill. (WBBM) – A woman is accused of fatally shooting the father of her children, his mother and his stepfather in a Chicago suburb.

30-year-old Jenna Strouble appeared without an attorney in court Monday morning and asked to reappear Tuesday when her lawyer could be present.

Strouble is charged with nine counts of first-degree murder.

Police in Will County said she shot and killed the father of her two young children, 32-year-old Jacob Lambert, along with his mother and stepfather, Patrick and Stacy Forde.

Court documents allege that after her arrest, Strouble told Will County sheriff’s deputies that she and Lambert were co-parenting and maintaining “an occasional intimate relationship.”

Strouble also allegedly admitted to deputies that on March 22, she asked Lambert “if he wanted to hang out and go for a drive.” After realizing Plum Creek Nature Preserve was closed, investigators said she pulled over on Burnham Road in Sauk Village and told Lambert “she had a surprise for him” and that “she was going to give him a back massage” with a massage gun.

Strouble told deputies “she climbed on his back in a straddling position and massaged him for approximately 20 minutes” while he was laying on his stomach in the reclined passenger seat. She then grabbed a “Glock 19 fit with a suppressor” she hid under the seat, investigators said.

Court documents said Strouble “was holding it pointed to the back of his head for about eight minutes while massaging him” and eventually shot him in the back of the head.

Strouble then allegedly drove the car to his parents’ home. She told deputies that as soon as Lambert’s stepfather opened the door, “she began shooting,” hitting Patrick and Stacy Forde multiple times.

Court documents said she “didn’t provide much of a motive for the killings other than not liking the way Jake speaks to the children or that she feels his parents are overbearing.”

Strouble told deputies she bought the gun in December from a store in Crown Point and that “she purchased it solely for this plan.”

Another court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

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