Current:Home > FinancePoinbank Exchange|Man is found fit to go on trial in attacks that killed 4 in Rockford, Illinois -Capitatum
Poinbank Exchange|Man is found fit to go on trial in attacks that killed 4 in Rockford, Illinois
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 07:42:44
ROCKFORD,Poinbank Exchange Ill. (AP) — A man was found fit Thursday to stand trial on charges of killing four people and injuring seven others during a series of frenzied attacks in a neighborhood in Rockford, Illinois.
The judge had ordered a psychiatric evaluation in April for Christian Soto, 22, who is accused of stabbing, beating or driving over the victims in March. He is charged with first-degree murder and other counts.
Winnebago County Judge Debra Schafer said Thursday at Soto’s arraignment hearing that she had reviewed a doctor’s finding that he was fit for trial and said she agreed.
Soto’s attorney, Glenn Jazwiec, said his client was waiving a formal reading of the charges and pleading not guilty. Schafer ordered him to remain detained and set a July 24 status hearing for Soto, who appeared in court by video link.
He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder and home invasion with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors allege he killed Romona Schupbach, 63; Jacob Schupbach, 23; Jay Larson, 49; and Jenna Newcomb, 15, in the March 27 attacks in Rockford, a city of over 140,000 about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Chicago.
Authorities have said they haven’t determined a motive.
Winnebago County prosecutor J. Hanley has said Soto told police he had smoked marijuana with Jacob Schupbach and believed the drugs “were laced with an unknown narcotic” that made him paranoid.
Soto first fatally stabbed Schupbach and his mother, then beat, stabbed and used a truck to run over Larson, who was working as a mail carrier, authorities said. He next wounded three people inside one home and beat Newcomb, her sister and a friend with a baseball bat inside another home, according to authorities. The attacks happened within a matter of minutes.
Soto was arrested as he fled another home where he had stabbed a woman but had been slowed by a driver who stopped to intervene, authorities said.
veryGood! (46219)
Related
- Jay Kanter, veteran Hollywood producer and Marlon Brando agent, dies at 97: Reports
- 300 Scientists Oppose Trump Nominee: ‘More Dangerous Than Climate Change is Lying’
- Why Lisa Vanderpump Is Closing Her Famed L.A. Restaurant Pump for Good
- Whatever happened to the new no-patent COVID vaccine touted as a global game changer?
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- How has your state's abortion law affected your life? Share your story
- 7 fun facts about sweat
- Drew Barrymore Steps Down as Host of 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards 3 Days Before Show
- Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
- Drew Barrymore Steps Down as Host of 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards 3 Days Before Show
Ranking
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Demand for Presidential Climate Debate Escalates after DNC Says No
- These Mother's Day Gifts From Kardashian-Jenner Brands Will Make Mom Say You're Doing Amazing, Sweetie
- Gwyneth Paltrow’s Daughter Apple Martin Pokes Fun at Her Mom in Rare Footage
- Messi injury update: Ankle 'better every day' but Inter Miami star yet to play Leagues Cup
- Today’s Climate: May 22-23, 2010
- Cisco Rolls Out First ‘Connected Grid’ Solution in Major Smart Grid Push
- Actors guild authorizes strike with contract set to expire at end of month
Recommendation
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Fumes from Petroleum Tanks in this City Never Seem to Go Away. What Are the Kids Here Breathing?
The crisis in Jackson shows how climate change is threatening water supplies
A news anchor showed signs of a stroke on air, but her colleagues caught them early
Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
Mothers tell how Pakistan's monsoon floods have upended their lives
Today’s Climate: May 27, 2010
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Daughter Apple Martin Pokes Fun at Her Mom in Rare Footage