A US woman allegedly turned a surprise massage gesture into a deadly trap, killing her partner and his parents. The incident reportedly took place on March 22, when she is said to have lured her "friends with benefits" partner into what she described as a car massage.
The 30-year-old mother of two, identified as Jenna Strouble, had asked her on-and-off partner, Jacob Lambert, to join her for a drive. The couple later stopped at a secluded spot, where she told him she had a "surprise," according to Fox News.
After they found out that Plum Creek Nature Preserve was closed, Strouble changed plans and stopped the car on Burnham Road in Sauk Village. She said she would give him a massage using a massage gun after Lambert mentioned he was dealing with back pain.
She then asked Lambert to lie down on his stomach in the passenger seat, with the seat reclined. Strouble climbed on top of him and gave him a massage for about 20 minutes. Then, suddenly, she took out a Glock 19 handgun fitted with a suppressor, which was hidden under the seat, and kept the gun pointed at the back of his head for about eight minutes before killing him, the report added.
Strouble and Lambert had known each other since 2020. They had briefly lived together and shared two children, who are currently 3 and 4 years old, prosecutors said.
After killing Lambert, she drove to his parents' home and tried to enter the house using his keys, according to NBC News. When his stepfather, Patrick Forde, opened the door, she opened fire immediately, shooting 17 rounds at the entrance. Soon, Lambert's mother, Stacy Forde, came downstairs after hearing the gunshots. She faced a similar fate.
On being asked about the motive behind killing Lambert, she said it was because she was unhappy with his behaviour toward the children and felt his parents were overbearing.
After the shootings, Strouble fled the scene before anyone discovered the bodies. She drove across the state line into Indiana, where she was arrested and charged with the murders. Reports state that the couple's young children were not at home at the time of the incident.
Strouble told deputies that she had bought the gun back in December from a store in Crown Point and admitted that she purchased it specifically to carry out this plan.
She is now facing nine counts of first-degree murder and has been ordered to appear in court again on Tuesday.
