A 22-year-old man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in a frenzied stabbing and beating shooting that left four people dead within minutes in Rockford, Illinois, authorities said Thursday .
Christian Soto is also charged with seven counts of attempted murder and home invasion with a dangerous weapon following the Rockford attacks Wednesday. Seven people were injured.
Court and jail records show Soto appeared in court briefly Thursday afternoon and remains held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, when a judge will determine whether he remains in jail while awaiting trial.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, who was clearly shaken and struggled to hold back tears during a news conference Thursday, listed the victims as Romona Schupbach, 63; Jacob Schupbach, 23; Jay Larson, 49; and Jenna Newcomb, 15.
Three people remained hospitalized Thursday, officials said. The other four were treated and released, Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said.
Authorities have released little information about Soto, who was arrested Wednesday. A woman who identified herself as Soto’s sister declined to comment to The Associated Press.
Redd said Soto acted alone and police did not know the motive for the attacks.
She said Soto and Jacob Schupbach grew up together. Soto told police the two men were smoking marijuana at Schupbach’s home before the attack, Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said.
“Soto said he believed the drugs given to him by Jacob were laced with an unknown narcotic,” Hanley said. “Soto said he became paranoid after using drugs. He said he got a knife from the kitchen … and stabbed his friend and his friend’s mother to death.
Timeline of attacks
Hanley provided details of the deadly attacks that quickly unfolded in a neighborhood of ranch-style homes shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday. Redd said less than 20 minutes passed between the initial 911 call and Soto’s arrest.
Rockford police first went to a home on Holmes Street, where they found the bodies of Jacob Schupbach and his mother, Romona.
Hanley said witnesses saw Jacob Schupbach being chased across the street and that the attacker punched or stabbed him as he lay on the ground. They said the attacker then drove a van at Schupbach, who was able to get inside the home. Witnesses said the attacker followed him but left a short time later and walked away, Hanley said.
Hanley said officers then found Larson living in a front yard on nearby Winnetka Drive, but he had been stabbed multiple times and died a short time later at a hospital.
Ruth Mendonça, inspector in charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, told reporters that Larson had been a mail carrier in the area for 25 years.
A witness reported hearing a commotion and seeing a man beating Larson on the grass near his home, Hanley said. The witness called 911 as the attacker walked toward her locked front door. The attacker retrieved a knife from a black van and stabbed Larson before running him over twice and fleeing.
Soto told police he remembered “taking out the mailman,” Hanley said.
Around that time, police began receiving 911 calls about an attack on nearby Cleveland Avenue.
A woman and her adult son and daughter told police a man armed with a knife forced his way into their home. The man stabbed the mother near her left eye as she opened the door to let their dog out, Hanley said. His children fought with Soto and were also injured. The son told police the attacker fled after hitting him with a syrup bottle.
Residents then reported to first responders another attack on the same street, Hanley said.
Stabbing suspect terrorized multiple homes and teenage sleepover
Jenna Newcomb and a friend were watching a movie in her basement and Jenna’s sister was upstairs when Soto entered their home through an unlocked door. Hanley said one of the girls later told police that Soto “was covered in blood.” He beat the three teenagers with a baseball bat and Jenna died in the attack. The girls who survived are 14 and 15 years old.
Jenna’s mother said she died trying to protect her sister and friend from further danger, according to McNamara.
Soto then broke a window to enter a neighboring house on Florence Street. A woman fled the house and Soto chased her into the yard and stabbed her. Keith Fahreny, who was passing by, saw the attack and stopped to intervene, Hanley said.
Soto attacked Fahreny and attempted to steal his vehicle, but Fahreny dragged him from the car. Soto fled on foot again, but was quickly arrested by a sheriff’s deputy.
Both the woman and Fahreny survived the attack.
Resident Vanessa Hy told WREX-TV in Rockford that she witnessed the arrest.
“We heard the police coming from both sides of the house shouting: ‘Stop! Get off!’ “Hy told the TV station. “Then they ran into the yard and after a few minutes we saw them bring the suspect handcuffed into the driveway and he was bloody.”
Clearly distraught, McNamara spoke about how the killings disrupted his community.
“Right now the focus is on those people who lost their lives this week,” he added. “Their families, making sure they get the healing they need.”
“You might hear some grief and sadness from me,” the mayor said. “I’m also really pissed.”
Rockford, home to about 150,000 residents, is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Its economy was decimated by industrial change in the 1980s and is now largely dependent on manufacturing and health care.
Some residents bristle at the mention of a 2013 Forbes article listing it as one of the “miserable cities in the country,” which pointedly highlighted Rockford’s double-digit unemployment rate. Forbes and other media outlets have been more complimentary in recent years, highlighting the city’s affordable cost of living and efforts to support local restaurants and entertainment venues.
But the Rockford police force, like many other police forces across the United States, has reported an increase in violent crime since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s violent crime total fell about 19%, according to the department’s annual report, but there were 20 murders compared to 15 in 2022.
Wednesday’s stabbings came just days after a teenage employee was stabbed and killed at a Walmart in the city. A suspect in the murder has been arrested.
Clergy from different faiths prayed Thursday afternoon at a vigil in memory of the killed and injured.
“I came today because I didn’t want to cry alone,” said the Rev. Caleb Hong, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of Christ in Rockford. “And I was in pain, and I guess a lot of you are hurting or afraid, or wondering why this happens?”
“We all feel the same way. We are all suffering,” he said.
NBC Chicago
