CHICAGO (AP) – A 22-year-old man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in a frenzied stabbing rampage that left four people dead within minutes in a northern Illinois city, authorities said Thursday.
Christian Soto is also charged with seven counts of attempted murder and burglary with a dangerous weapon following Wednesday's attack in Rockford. Seven people were injured.
Soto appeared briefly in court Thursday afternoon and remains in custody without bail, according to court and jail records. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, when a judge will decide whether he will remain in jail until his trial.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, who was visibly shaken and struggled to hold back tears at a news conference Thursday, named 63-year-old Romona Schubach as the victim. Jacob Schubach, 23 years old. Jay Larson, 49 years old. and 15-year-old Jenna Newcombe.
Three people remained hospitalized Thursday, officials said. The other four people 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 do not know the motive for his attack.
She said Soto and Jacob Schubach grew up together. Winnebago County State's Attorney J. Hanley said Soto told police the two had been smoking marijuana at Schubach's home before the attack.
“Mr. Soto stated that he believed the medication given to him by Jacob was laced with an unknown narcotic,” Hanley said. “Soto said he became paranoid after using drugs. He said he took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed his friend and the friend's mother to death.
Hanley provided details of the deadly attack, which unfolded quickly in an area of ranch-style homes just after 1 p.m. Wednesday. Redd said it took less than 20 minutes from the initial 911 call to Soto's arrest.
Rockford police first responded to a home on Holmes Street, where they discovered the bodies of Jacob Schubach and his mother, Romona.
Hanley said witnesses saw Jacob Schupbach being chased across the street and the assailant punching or stabbing Schupbach as he lay on the ground. The suspect then passed Schubach in his pickup truck, and Schubach was able to get inside the home, police said. Witnesses said the attacker chased him, but he quickly left and drove away.
Officers then found Larson alive in a front yard on nearby Winnetka Street, but he had been stabbed multiple times and died a short time later at the hospital, Hanley said.
Ruth Mendonsa, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Chicago office, told reporters that Larson had been a mail carrier in the area for 25 years.
Hanley said witnesses heard a commotion and saw a man punching Larson on the lawn near the home. Witnesses called 911 as the assailant walked toward the locked front door. The suspect pulled a knife from his black pickup truck and stabbed Larson, then ran him over twice with his car and fled.
Soto told police he remembered “taking out the mailman,” Hanley said.
Around that time, police began receiving 911 calls about an assault on nearby Cleveland Avenue.
A woman and her adult son and daughter told police a man armed with a knife broke into their home. Hanley said the man stabbed her mother near her left eye when she opened the door to let her dog out. Her children also fought with Soto and were injured. The son told police that after the assailant hit his son with a syrup bottle, he fled.
Residents later alerted first responders to another attack on the same street, Hanley said.
Jenna Newcombe and a friend were watching a movie in the basement of the home, and Jenna's sister was upstairs when Soto entered the home through an unlocked door. One of the girls later told police Soto was “covered in blood,” Hanley said. He beat all three teens with a baseball bat, and Jenna died in the attack. The surviving girls are 14 and 15 years old.
McNamara said Jenna's mother died to protect her sister and friend from further harm.
Soto then broke a window and entered a nearby home on Florence Street. The woman fled the home, and Soto chased her into her yard and stabbed her. Hanley said Keith Fareny, who was driving by, witnessed the attack and stopped to intervene.
Soto attacked Farenyi and tried to steal his car, but Farenyi pulled Soto out of the car. Soto again fled on foot, but was quickly apprehended by sheriff's deputies.
Both the woman and Farenyi survived the attack.
Resident Vanessa High told WREX-TV in Rockford that she witnessed the arrest.
“I heard the police running up from both sides of the house shouting 'Stop! Get down!'” High told the television station. “They then ran into the backyard and a few minutes later you could see them bring the handcuffed suspect into the driveway. He was very bloody.”
Visibly distraught, Ms McNamara spoke of how the killings had disrupted her community.
“The focus now is on those who lost their lives this week,” he added. “Their families are making sure they get the healing they need.”
The mayor said, “You may hear voices of sadness and sadness coming from me. I am also really angry.''
Rockford, home to about 150,000 people, is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Its economy was devastated by industrial change in the 1980s and now relies heavily on manufacturing and health care.
Some residents are outraged, pointing to a 2013 Forbes magazine article that pointedly pointed to Rockford's double-digit unemployment rate and classified Rockford as one of the “most miserable cities” in the country. There are some too. Forbes and other media outlets have become increasingly positive in recent years, noting the city's efforts to support affordable living costs and local restaurants and entertainment venues.
But Rockford police, like many across the country, have reported an increase in violent crimes since the coronavirus pandemic. The total number of violent crimes fell by about 19% last year, but there were 20 homicides compared to 15 in 2022, according to the department's annual report.
Wednesday's stabbing occurred days after a teenage employee was stabbed to death inside a Walmart store in the city. A suspect in the murder was arrested.
Clergy from various faiths offered prayers Thursday afternoon at a wake for those killed and wounded in action.
“I came today because I didn't want to grieve alone,” said the Rev. Caleb Hong, senior pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford. “And I was hurting. I'm sure many of you are hurting and scared and wondering why this is happening.”
“We all feel the same way. We're all hurting,” he said.
Callahan reported from Indianapolis and Williams from Detroit. Associated Press researcher Rhonda Schaffner contributed from New York.
