Governor: Mom in custody case is ‘alleged perpetrator’ in deaths of 3

While Herring has already been arrested, law enforcement officials are trying to check if the unstable mom and Sobel knew each other and if there was any ulterior motive besides the loss of custody of an only child, reported USA Today. WCAX 3 News A Vermont Department for Children and Families worker was shot dead outside her office by a woman with a hunting rifle reportedly upset after losing custody of her child, authorities said.

Friends of Sobel said she had been a very experienced social worker with over 14 years of providing public service for families and children. Police said they found shell casings in the home, and two of the victims appear to have been shot.

Jody Herring has been charged in the shooting death of Sobel on Friday. State police say at least two of the women had gunshot wounds. A Sunday morning press conference has been scheduled by police.

The subsequent morning, a 911 name introduced officers to a Berlin house, the place they discovered three ladies lifeless. Her daughter was taken into state custody.

“That’s one of those things that’s open to interpretation, so I’m going to stay away from it”, Bombardier told The Associated Press.

Officials said after Sobel’s shooting that Herring’s daughter remained in state custody.

Herring will be arraigned on Monday on homicide charges.

It was not immediately known if Herring has a lawyer who could comment on her behalf. The Vermont State Police said Saturday they are assisting the Berlin Police Department with a death investigation but didn’t provide any additional information.

“We know that the incidents were horrific and absolutely heartbreaking”, the governor said after returning early from vacation in Nova Scotia.

“[We] firmly believe that this was an isolated attack based upon the person we have in custody, who is the alleged perpetrator of these crimes”, he said.

Henoted that Rhonda and Regina Herring (the woman’s cousins) were in their 40’s.

Authorities said that victim, Lara Sobel, had handled a case for the state Department for Children and Families in which her alleged killer’s daughter was removed from the home.

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”.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott said he knew several members of the extended Herring family.

He said it was his understanding following conversations with relatives that Herring’s father had been one of 16 siblings in a very large family.

Washington County’s state’s attorney, Scott Williams, was among the witnesses, so the Vermont Attorney General’s Office is expected to handle the prosecution.

Ken Schatz, the commissioner for the Department for Children and Families, called Sobel’s shooting “a heartbreaking tragedy”.