She handled a case for the state Department for Children and Families in which she lost custody of her 9-year-old daughter, authorities said.
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Meanwhile, three women authorities say are related to Herring were found dead Saturday morning at a home in neighboring Berlin, and state police are investigating.
Jody Herring is accused of shooting Vermont Department for Children and Families worker Lara Sobel on Friday afternoon.
“Lara was a handsome, beautiful individual and she really, really cared about the kids, all the kids”, Joseph Faryniarz, the cousin of Sobel’s husband, said during the vigil that included a march ending at the spot where Sobel was shot and killed as she left work.
The investigation into the four deaths is ongoing, Vermont State Police said.
A Vermont woman who allegedly used a high-powered rifle to gun down a Vermont social worker is now suspected of conducting a killing spree after the bodies of her aunt and two cousins were discovered.
Police have not released the cause of death of the three although the daughter who found the bodies said that they had been shot.
Authorities hinted the list of charges could grow, when they confirmed Saturday afternoon they are actively exploring the connection between the fatal shooting in Barre and the unwitnessed triple homicide in Berlin.
Herring is due in court Monday to answer a first degree murder charge in the death of Sobel.
Bombardier said police dont know yet if any threats were made or if there was a rift between Sobel and Herring.
WCAX 3 News “The employees at DCF deal with the most challenging family situations that one can imagine”, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a statement.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell’s office will prosecute the case because Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams witnessed Sobel’s murder and could not ethically take part. The governor added that he was unable to remember a similar murder in his entire lifetime, especially by the same perpetrator.
“It is my understanding after talking with a few of her (Jody Herring’s) kin that her father was certainly one of 16 brothers and sisters”.
Herring’s 9-year-old daughter was removed from her custody by the state in July.
Sobel’s family thanked the community for their support and asked for privacy during these hard moments.
An Environmental Protection Agency official says she doesn’t believe wildlife will suffer significant health impacts from the large volume of wastewater that spilled from an abandoned mine in southwestern Colorado.
Ken Schatz, the commissioner for the Department for Children and Families, called Sobel’s shooting “a heartbreaking tragedy”. Several shell casings were recovered from the bloody scene by investigators, police said at a Saturday night press conference.
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A special legislative committee was set up to investigate the state child welfare system after the deaths last year of two toddlers who had been involved with DCF, 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon, of Poultney, and 15-month-old Peighton Geraw, of Winooski.
