Mom fatally shoots child welfare worker and relatives over custody of kids

“The initial information that we have is that DCF has had multiple cases with Jody Herring and different family members, ” Barre Public Safety Director Tim Bombardier said on Friday evening.

District of Columbia police say they are investigating any possible connection between a knife-wielding woman who was shot by an officer and a fire that initially brought officers to the scene.

Authorities said the social worker, Lara Sobel, had handled a case for the state Department for Children and Families in which Herring’s 9-year-old daughter was removed from the home.

“It’s my understanding after speaking with some of her (Jody Herring’s) relatives that her father was one of 16 brothers and sisters”.

Joseph Faryniarz spoke Sunday at a vigil in Barre that began at a labor hall and then ended at the location where 48-year-old Lara Sobel was shot to death Friday afternoon as she left work at the Barre office of the Department for Children and Families. The child remains in state custody, officials said. All three victims are related to Jody Herring, now being held for the shooting death of a state social worker Friday afternoon.

Herring is being held without bail and is to be arraigned Monday.

The Burlington Free Press reported that Tiffany Herring, 23, who identified herself as the daughter of one of the victims, said her mother received a threatening phone call from Jody Herring Friday morning.

According to Gov. Shumlin, Vermont residents are not only horrified and shocked but also grief-stricken after hearing about these killings. “I can’t keep in mind, in my lifetime, 4 individuals being murdered by the identical alleged perpetrator”. “It’s a large, extended family throughout central Vermont”, Scott said.

Shumlin assured state workers and families at a news conference Saturday with law enforcement officials after Herring’s arrest that any threat to others was over and that the care of Vermont’s “most vulnerable children” remains a priority.

The family of Sobel thanked the entire community for the kindness they had expressed during their horrific ordeal and requested privacy.

The family said that it hopes that the tragedy “can create awareness of the dedicated professionals who devote so much of their energy to ensuring the welfare of children”.

Cindy Walcott, DCF deputy commissioner, said that over the weekend, she has been thinking there would be no way to go forward, but she found support from the people she and the other social workers have helped overcome obstacles. “She had been providing public service for children and families for more than 14 years”.

Prosecutors say it’s too early in the investigation to comment on any additional charges.

A special legislative committee was set up to investigate the department system after the deaths last year of two toddlers who had been involved with DCF. Following the investigation, Vermont handed a regulation designed to enhance communications between the division, regulation enforcement and the courts.