Girl, 15, Died A Hero, Bystander Saved Woman During IL Killing Spree: Prosecutor

ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS — Police and prosecutors offered harrowing details of a crime spree that terrorized a Rockford neighborhood on Wednesday, leaving four people dead and seven others injured in a series of attacks and home invasions.

Winnebago County State's Attorney J. Hanley gave a timeline of events he said led to the stabbing deaths of two adults, the beating death of a teenage girl and the slaying of a mail carrier who was reportedly run over with the suspect's Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

Those killed in the attacks have been identified as:

• Jenna Newcomb, 15
• Jay Larson, 49
• Ramona Schupbach, 63
• Jacob Schupbach, 23

Officials say Christian Soto, 22, of Rockford, faces multiple charges of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and home invasion.

Hanley said prosecutors would ask a judge to deny pretrial release for Soto under the SAFE-T Act.

Holmes Street Slayings

Hanley said the crimes began to unfold after 1 p.m. at a home in the 2300 block of Holmes Street, where Rockford police responded to a report of someone being run over and possibly stabbed. Upon arriving, police found two people — 23-year-old Jacob Schupbach and 63-year-old Ramona Schupbach — dead inside the home.

The relationship between Ramona and Jacob Schupbach was not immediately clear, but WCIA reported they were mother and son.

Witnesses said they saw Jacob being chased across the street by a man, later identified as Soto, and saw Soto hitting or stabbing Jacob while he was lying on the ground before getting into his black Silverado and running Jacob over at the end of the driveway. Police said Jacob was seen getting up and running back into the house, only to be followed by Soto, who was then seen leaving the house and driving away in the truck.

Later, during an interview, Hanley said Soto told police he'd been smoking marijuana with his friend Jacob before growing paranoid, believing the marijuana was laced with unknown narcotics. Hanley said Soto told detectives he got a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Jacob and Ramona Schupbach to death.

Attack On Mail Carrier

According to Hanley, Soto also admitted to the slaying of 49-year-old mail carrier Jay Larson, who was the next to be attacked outside a nearby home in the 2200 block of Winnetka Drive.

The homeowner said he was inside his house when he heard a commotion outside and looked out the window to see his mailman lying in the yard, according to Hanley. He saw a man, who he later identified as Soto, on top of Larson, punching him, before Larson yelled for the homeowner to call the police.

Hanley said when Soto saw the homeowner on the phone, he approached the house, but the resident locked it. The witness told police he saw Soto retrieve a knife from his truck and stab Larson multiple times before getting into the truck, driving forward over Larson and hitting a parked vehicle. Hanley said Soto then reversed the truck, striking Larson again, before getting out of the vehicle and running away.

Larson later died at a nearby hospital.

Ruth Mendoza, inspector in charge for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service-Chicago, said Larson was a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service and died "doing what he loved, serving his community."

Flags were at half-staff at the U.S. Postal Service Office in Rockford Thursday in Larson's memory.

Teen Girls Attacked, 15-Year-Old Slain

Hanley said investigators believe Soto next fled to nearby Cleveland Avenue, where he entered a home through an unlocked rear door.

A 14-year-old girl later told police she was in the kitchen fixing a snack when a man entered the house, according to Hanley. He did not see her, so the girl ran down the basement to warn her sister and her sister's friend, both 15.

The friend said she had spent the night at her friend Jenna Newcomb's house the night before, and the pair were watching a movie on a laptop in the basement when the 14-year-old came downstairs, telling them that a man had broken into the house.

Hanley said both surviving girls said the man, later identified as Soto, came downstairs carrying a baseball bat that belonged to Jenna.

The friend said the man swore at them and asked "where the gun was," according to Hanley. The girls ran into the corner of the basement bedroom, where police said Soto began swinging the baseball bat at them.

Jenna was struck multiple times and collapsed, Hanley said. The friend, who told police she curled up on the floor in the fetal position, suffered bruises to her shoulder, left arm and left leg, while the 14-year-old suffered an ulnar fracture, multiple lacerations to her head and bruising to her torso, Hanley said.

"Jenna’s mom wants the community to know that Jenna died saving her sister and her friend and protecting them from further harm," a tearful Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Hanley said Soto ran out of the house, and the surviving 15-year-old also ran out shortly after he left, flagging down officers who had arrived in response to a related 911 call at a nearby home. Officers who arrived found Jenna in the basement, where she had died of her injuries.

According to officials, Soto admitted that after attacking Larson, when he saw the police arrive to the home on Winnetka Drive, he noticed a nearby house that had a garage with a motorcycle in it, then went in through the back door before finding a baseball bat in the kitchen. According to Hanley, Soto confessed to hitting the three teen girls with the baseball bat, which was found in an upstairs bedroom with blood on it.

Another Attack On Cleveland Avenue

Before finding Jenna Newcomb and the injured teen girls, police had responded to another attack on Cleveland Avenue, this one in the 4800 block.

There, a woman said she had opened her door to let her dog outside when Soto appeared in the doorway and stabbed her in the left side of her face, just under her eye, according to Hanley.

Hanley said Soto entered the home and began to attack the woman's adult son and daughter, who fought back. The daughter was stabbed in the lower left side of her chin, and the son suffered lacerations to the upper left side of his forehead and left ear. According to officials, the son wasn't sure if Soto had stabbed him or if he suffered the injuries when Soto punched him.

The son told police he hit Soto with a syrup bottle, and he fled the home.

Hanley said Soto also admitted to this attack, telling investigators that the family had a pit bull that bit him on the leg before he ran from the home.

Woman Saved By Bystander

Calling the crime spree a "tragic, tragic situation," Winnebago Sheriff Gary Caruana credited a good Samaritan with saving the life of another woman who officials say was attacked by Soto during a home invasion.

According to Hanley, Soto forced his way into a home in the 4600 block of Florence Street by breaking a window. Once inside, he began attacking a woman with a knife, Hanley said, and she was able to flee into a nearby yard on Eggleston Street, but Soto caught up with her.

A man driving past the home in a gray Jeep stopped and intervened when he saw the woman being attacked.

Hanley, who identified the bystander as Keith Fahrney, said Soto then entered Fahrney's Jeep, trying to steal it, and Fahrney was stabbed trying to pull Soto out of the vehicle.

"She ran from the home on Florence and was tackled there in the 2100 block of Eggleston," Caruana said. "He was in the process of stabbing her. The good Samaritan stopped that situation, and she could have easily been deceased if he did not become involved with that."

Police arrived as the woman and Fahrney struggled with Soto, and took him into custody.

The woman and Fahrney are both in serious condition in an area hospital, officials said.

'Unthinkable Tragedies'

Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said there is no indication anyone besides Soto was involved in the string of attacks.

"Our community is hurting because of this senseless act of violence," she said.

Mayor McNamara acknowledged that the attacks are just the latest to rock the community, happening just days after 18-year-old Walmart employee Jason Jenkins was stabbed to death in an attack that authorities say could be racially motivated.

"I do want to acknowledge that we as a community are still processing the exceptional loss of Jason Jenkins," McNamara said. "His family and loved ones have been on our minds and in our hearts since Sunday. Jason needs to be lifted up. He was a church-going young man, he was a man of many accomplishments … His family wants people to know that he was more than just this victim. He was exceptional."

Now, McNamara said, "Our community has experienced such unthinkable tragedies this week. Here we are, 4 days later, addressing yet another horrific incident here in Rockford."

In 2020, Rockford was also the site of a mass shooting at a bowling alley that left three people dead.

"These are dark days, but we as Rockfordians will get through. Unfortunately, we have been here before," McNamara said."We’ve experienced tremendous loss … Kindness and compassion must lead us as we move forward."