Jenna Strouble, the St. John, Indiana, woman who is accused of the March shooting deaths of her boyfriend, Jacob Lambert, and his mother and stepfather, Stacy and Patrick Forde, pleaded not guilty Friday in a Will County courtroom.

Strouble has been charged with nine counts of first-degree murder in the March 23 killings of the Crete Township family, which prosecutors say she had “no real motive for other than a general dislike for them.”

 

Lambert was the father of Strouble’s two children, aged 4 and 3, and she expressed “frustration” both with how he communicated with her and how he talked to the children, according to prosecutors.

Lambert allegedly confessed to the shootings to Will County sheriff’s police, according to prosecutors.

Lambert’s body was found lying face down on the passenger seat of a car parked outside his family’s house with a gunshot wound to the head when police conducted a wellness check at the residence, sheriff’s police said.

Police reported that Patrick Forde was found near the front door of the home with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen.

Stacy Forde was found behind her husband on the stairs, also with multiple gunshot wounds to her torso, sheriff’s police said.

About 2 a.m. on March 23, sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident on Norway Trail in Crete Township.

Strouble’s sister reported receiving a call from Strouble, who told her she had shot Lambert and his parents, according to prosecutors.

Officers on March 24 found Strouble in her St. John, Indiana, residence, and she handed them a bag containing a loaded Glock 19 handgun fitted with a suppressor, according to prosecutors.

In court on Friday, Strouble’s attorney, David Drwencke, waived a hearing of the indictment against his client and entered a plea of not guilty, while Strouble stood silently in handcuffs at his side.

Strouble did not address Judge Amy Christiansen directly.

The next pre-trial hearing is slated for April 20.

Initial discovery for the prosecution is due on April 24, with initial discovery for the defense expected by May 8.