4 dead, suspect arrested in ‘senseless’ violence in Rockford, Illinois, officials say

Four people were killed, including a 15-year-old girl who died saving her sister, after an Illinois man carried out a series of stabbings and attacks Wednesday in and near the city of Rockford, officials said.

Seven other people were injured in what the mayor called a “random and senseless act of violence.”

Police took the suspect, Christian Soto, 22, into custody on charges of murder, attempted murder and home invasion. The attacks occurred at “multiple scenes” in Rockford and an area of Winnebago County shortly after 1 p.m., authorities said.

“Words can’t even express my thoughts right now,” Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd told reporters. She said the suspect committed “heinous crimes.”

Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said Soto allegedly admitted to the attacks and said he had taken marijuana he believed was “laced with an unknown narcotic” before the rampage.

The suspect and at least one victim were friends

The violence unfolded Wednesday afternoon when Rockford police received a call about a person “being run over by a vehicle and possibly stabbed” outside of a home, Hanley said at a Thursday news conference.

Officers located the bodies of a man and woman identified as Jacob Schupbach, 23, and Ramona Schupbach, 63. Both appeared to have been stabbed, Hanley said.

Witnesses said they saw Jacob Schupbach “being chased across the street” by Soto, according to Hanley. The witnesses said they saw Soto with an “unknown possibly black object that he was hitting or stabbing Jacob with as he was lying on the ground,” he said.

Soto then got into a vehicle and allegedly “proceeded to run over Jacob at the end of the driveway,” Hanley added.

Jacob Schupbach was able to get up and run back inside the home, he said. Soto allegedly followed and was observed by witnesses exiting a short time later. Witnesses told police that Soto got into his vehicle and fled the scene.

During an interview following his arrest, Soto allegedly told police that he was friends with the 23-year-old and went to his house to smoke marijuana. Soto said “he believes the drugs provided to him by Jacob were laced with an unknown narcotic,” Hanley said.

“Soto said he became paranoid after the drug usage. He said he retrieved a knife from the kitchen at Jacob’s house and proceeded to stab Jacob and Ramona to death,” Hanley told reporters.

Mail carrier died while ‘doing his job’

Soto allegedly told police that he left the home in his vehicle and “recalled taking out the mailman,” according to Hanley, who identified the victim as Jay Larson.

Larson was stabbed multiple times in the front yard of a home and died from his injuries at the hospital. Ruth Mendoza, the inspector in charge for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service-Chicago, said Larson died while “doing his job.”

“Jay was doing what he loved, serving his community,” she said at the news conference. “Delivering mail to customers that he had served for 25 years.”

Lawrence Steward, a letter carrier who worked with Larson, said his coworker was “the best of us.”

“In his untimely passing, he’s still doing the same thing,” Steward said. “He’s still bringing us together.”

Hanley said a witness saw Soto “battering” Larson and stabbing him numerous times with a knife Soto retrieved from his vehicle. The witness, who had called 911, said Soto then got into his pickup truck, ran over Larson and then fled on foot.

Soto allegedly told police that he had recognized the mailman and admitted to stabbing him, Hanley said.

As officers responded to the scenes, a 911 call came in about a man armed with a “katana-style knife” attacking people at another home. Three people at the residence were injured and treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Hanley said they have all been released.

Girls were watching a movie when chaos erupted

At a separate location, three girls were attacked with a softball bat, according to Hanley. One of the girls, 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb, died.

One of the injured girls told authorities that she was at her friend’s house watching movies in a basement bedroom when Soto allegedly entered the home through an unlocked rear door. Hanley said Soto grabbed a softball bat from the kitchen, went to the basement, cursed at the girls “and asked where the gun was.”

“The girls ran to the corner of the bedroom. He started swinging the bat, striking all of the female victims,” Hanley said, getting emotional.

One of the juvenile girls was “on the floor and curled up in the fetal position,” he said. Another girl was struck a few times and collapsed.

Soto eventually fled the home.

“Jenna’s mom wants the community to know that Jenna died saving her sister and her friend and protecting them from further harm,” Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said at the news conference.

Attacks continued in Winnebago County

Soto is also accused of breaking into a woman’s home in Winnebago County and attacking her with a knife. Hanley said the woman ran to the front yard of a nearby home where a man driving past stopped and intervened. As Soto began attacking the man, police arrived and took Soto into custody.

Sheriff Gary Caruana said earlier that the woman was stabbed in the hands and face and was intubated at the hospital. The man who intervened to help had stab wounds, but “he’s fine” and being evaluated, Caruana said.

OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, a hospital in Rockford that received four patients on Wednesday, said Thursday that it still had three patients, two of whom are in fair condition and one in critical condition.

The suspect appeared in court Thursday afternoon and was denied pretrial release until his next hearing.

He faces up to 60 years in prison on each count of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, and up to 30 years in prison for each count of home invasion.

His lawyer asked to delay the next hearing to April 2 to speak with Soto and his family.

A woman who identified herself as the suspect’s mother said Thursday she was in shock.

“He’s a loving person and he has never hurt anybody before,” the woman, who did not provide her name, said in a phone call. “We don’t know what happened. He’s not an aggressive person. This is all shocking to us. … We never felt threatened with him.”

Suspect didn’t appear at recent sentencing hearing

Court records show that the suspect had several traffic violations, including an incident in January in which he was accused of speeding. Soto pleaded guilty and was scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing on March 19, but did not show up.

The sentencing hearing had been rescheduled for May, records show.

In a separate traffic incident from 2022, he was sentenced to six months of supervision after he was charged with driving with an expired registration and failure to yield to the right-of-way. 

He was also charged with damage to property in September 2022. 

CORRECTION (March 28, 2024, 8:35 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the day of the attacks. They occurred Wednesday, not Tuesday.