Indiana woman pleads not guilty in triple murder of ex, his parents

Crete murder suspect appears in court

A woman charged with murder in Crete Township appeared in court Monday morning.

WILL COUNTY, Ill. - An Indiana woman accused of killing her children's father and his parents pleaded not guilty on Friday, according to court documents.

The backstory:

Jennifer "Jenna" Strouble, 30, faces nine counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 32-year-old Jacob Lambert and his parents, Patrick and Stacy Forde.

According to court documents, Strouble asked Lambert to "hang out" on March 22. Strouble told investigators she planned the encounter and admitted she went there "with an intention" to harm him.

She arrived to pick him up around 11 to 11:30 p.m.

Prosecutors said she then drove to Plum Creek Nature Preserve, but it was closed, so she pulled over along Burnham Road in Sauk Village and told Lambert she had a surprise for him: a back massage.

Jenna Strouble | Crime scene

After he reclined his seat and lay on his stomach, she straddled him and massaged his back for about 20 minutes. She told investigators how he criticized her technique. During that time, she allegedly retrieved a Glock handgun she had hidden under the passenger seat.

According to prosecutors, Strouble said she held the gun to the back of Lambert’s head for several minutes, at one point nearly putting it down, before ultimately shooting him in the head.

Prosecutors said Strouble then drove to Lambert’s parents’ home on East Norway Trail in Crete Township. She used his keys to try to get inside before Patrick Forde came to the door and asked who was there.

When he opened the door, Strouble allegedly began shooting from the porch and continued firing as she entered the home, striking him 17 times in the chest and abdomen.

Stacy Forde came down the stairs and was shot three times, also in the chest and abdomen.

When asked if she was trying to get into the parents' home to finish her plan, she allegedly told investigators, "Yeah, pretty much."

After the shootings, prosecutors said Strouble returned to her home in St. John, Indiana, and called her sister to tell her about what had happened. The sister ended up calling police.

Jenna Strouble faces nine counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 32-year-old Jacob Lambert (right) and his parents, Patrick and Stacy Forde, in Chicago's south suburbs.

Deputies responding to the scene of the crime around 2 a.m. on March 23 found the front door open. Patrick Forde was lying in the dining room area, and Stacy Forde was on the stairs near the front door. Spent shell casings were scattered near both victims and the entryway.

Lambert was found separately in a 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium in a nearby cul-de-sac, still in the passenger seat, face down with the seat reclined.

When officers in St. John went to arrest Strouble, prosecutors said she came outside and handed them a bag containing a loaded Glock 19 fitted with a suppressor. A vehicle registered to Lambert was located less than a block away.

She later told investigators she bought the gun in December 2025 in Crown Point and purchased the suppressor online for about $589, according to prosecutors.

According to court documents, Strouble wrote a note the night before the killings asking others to care for her children. She provided three names. She also told her sister over the phone that she wanted her to look after the kids.

What's next:

If convicted, she faces natural life in prison. Strouble will remain in custody until her next court date.