Current:Home > StocksMan is found fit to go on trial in attacks that killed 4 in Rockford, Illinois-InfoLens
Man is found fit to go on trial in attacks that killed 4 in Rockford, Illinois
View Date:2024-12-23 20:24:33
ROCKFORD, 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! (51)
Related
- Inter Miami's MLS playoff failure sets stage for Messi's last act, Alexi Lalas says
- Who Is Peregrine Pearson? Bend the Knee to These Details About Sophie Turner's Rumored New Man
- Lung cancer screening guidelines updated by American Cancer Society to include more people
- College Football Playoff rankings winners, losers: Do not freak out. It's the first week.
- Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
- Meg Ryan on love, aging and returning to rom-coms: 'It doesn't stop in your 20s'
- Israel aid bill from House is a joke, says Schumer, and Biden threatens veto
- Louisiana was open to Cancer Alley concessions. Then EPA dropped its investigation
- 'We suffered great damage': Fierce California wildfire burns homes, businesses
- Lindsay Lohan Gives Details on That Fetch Mean Girls Reunion
Ranking
- The Masked Singer's Ice King Might Be a Jonas Brother
- Wind industry deals with blowback from Orsted scrapping 2 wind power projects in New Jersey
- Alex Trebek's family honors 'Jeopardy!' host with cancer fund ahead of anniversary of his death
- Uganda’s military says it has captured a commander of an extremist group accused in tourist attack
- Jordan Chiles Reveals She Still Has Bronze Medal in Emotional Update After 2024 Olympics Controversy
- Real estate industry facing pushback to longstanding rules setting agent commissions on home sales
- Bankrupt and loving it: Welcome to the lucrative world of undead brands
- The White House is working on a strategy to combat Islamophobia. Many Muslim Americans are skeptical
Recommendation
-
Philadelphia mass transit users face fare hikes of more than 20% and possible service cuts
-
Realtors must pay home sellers $1.8 billion for inflating commissions, jury finds
-
Raiders fire coach Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler after 'Monday Night Football' meltdown
-
With flowers, altars and candles, Mexicans are honoring deceased relatives on the Day of the Dead
-
John Krasinski Reveals Wife Emily Blunt's Hilarious Response to His Sexiest Man Alive Title
-
Some Republicans still press for changes to further protect Georgia voting system amid criticism
-
2 flight attendants sue United Airlines for discrimination on Dodgers charter flights
-
Summer House's Lindsay Hubbard Claims Ex Carl Radke Orchestrated On-Camera Breakup for TV