Share and Follow
Inset: Jenna Strouble (Will County Jail). Background: The home where Strouble allegedly killed Stacy Forde and Patrick Forde (WLS).
An Indiana woman, aged 30, stands accused of luring her intermittently estranged boyfriend to a late-night rendezvous in Illinois, where she allegedly executed him in her vehicle before proceeding to his parents’ residence and fatally shooting them as well.
According to court documents, prosecutors claim Jenna Strouble embarked on the evening of March 23 armed with a loaded Glock, intending to kill Jake Lambert along with his parents, 54-year-old Stacy Forde and 55-year-old Patrick Forde. Strouble reportedly admitted to investigators her uncertainty about whether she would have the courage to follow through, as reported by Patch, referencing the prosecutors’ documentation. After the alleged triple homicide, Strouble returned to her Indiana residence, where her young children, ages 3 and 4, were present. She was apprehended last week and faces charges of three counts of first-degree murder.
Upon being detained, Strouble reportedly provided a detailed confession of the murders. She recounted to police that she collected Lambert between 11 and 11:30 p.m., drove him around before stopping, and informed him of a “surprise,” proposing to give him a back massage, as outlined in the court documents.
She instructed Lambert to adjust his seat, remove his shirt, and lay face down. After massaging his back for approximately 20 minutes, she allegedly retrieved a Glock handgun from under the seat following his critique of her massage technique, as stated by prosecutors.
Strouble is accused of holding the gun to the back of Lambert’s head for approximately eight minutes, intermittently contemplating setting it aside and postponing the act, before ultimately deciding to fire, delivering a fatal shot to 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.