Mom Kills 3 Relatives, Social Worker Over Lost Custody of Daughter, Tribute Paid To Slain Worker

A social worker was murdered in broad daylight, right when she just got out of work.

48-year-old Lara Sobel was a 14-year veteran social worker at the Department for Children and Families (DCF) in Barre, Vermont. She was shot twice when she was leaving from work Friday. According to a report from the Associated Press, Sobel was shot by a certain Jody Herring, 40, using a hunting rifle.

Sobel was reportedly working on a case, which involved Herring and her nine-year-old daughter, who was currently under the custody of the state.

Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont released a statement about the incident via the governor's website. "While we won't know all the details for some time, the initial reports are horrific and break my heart," says Shumlin.

"The employees at DCF deal with the most challenging family situations that one can imagine. They do the work out of their dedication to the children and families of this great state. To lose one of our own in the course of that duty is shocking and heartbreaking," Shumlin adds.

WPTZ reports Mayor Thom Lauzon saying that he had met the victim before. "This is a tragedy. This is someone simply doing a very, very difficult job," Lauzon said.

Lauzon further stated that this is the first fatal shooting in Barre in the last 10 years.

Just a few hours after the incident, officials have also discovered another case connected to Herring. Saturday morning, policemen responded to a 911 call of a woman reporting more deaths in the town of Berlin, according to Burlington Free Press.

Three women were found dead inside their home. The victims, identified as Regina Herring, Rhonda Herring and Julieann Folzorano, were relatives of Jody Herring.

Authorities believe that Jody Herring murdered the three relatives prior to shooting Sobel.

The news outlet also reported that 23-year-old Tiffany Herring, who identified herself as the daughter of one of the victims, said her mother received a threatening phone call from Jody Herring Friday morning.

"My mother got a call in the morning, maybe 7:30 or 8 o'clock, saying it was Jody Herring saying, 'You guys need to stop calling DCF unless you guys are going to have it coming to you,'" Tiffany Herring added.

She discovered the dead bodies. "Both doors were wide open, and I walked into the living room, and that's where I saw my mom dead," she said.

In response to the incidents, Gov. Shumlin also said in another statement via the governor's website, "My heart goes out to all the families, friends, and loved ones who have been affected by these tragedies."

A vigil attended by around 300 people was held in honor of Sobel last Sunday, per a separate story from Burlington Free Press.