Episode 119: The Murder of Lara Sobel
40-year-old Jody Herring
Lara Sobel moved to Vermont after receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Vermont. She got married and eventually had two daughters, and she was loved and very well respected. Lara worked at the Department for Children and Families in Barre, Vermont, and while this could be challenging she enjoyed helping others through her work.
On August 7th, 2015, 48-year-old Rhonda Herring’s landline at her home in Berlin, Vermont rang at around 8:00am. Rhonda’s cousin, 40-year-old Jody Herring, was on the other line and she stated angrily, “You guys need to stop calling DCF or else you guys are going to have it coming to you. You’ll be f***ing sorry.” Rhonda, Rhonda’s sister Regina and their mother Julie Ann Falzarano all lived in the home, and Jody reportedly was upset with them.
As the day went on Jody proceeded to make two more phone calls, both to her brother Dwayne, who did not have a relationship with Jody. She left two threatening voicemails, the second one telling him to watch the news.
She then drove to the Barre City Plaza and sat in her car behind the Department for Children and Families for almost two hours. She was waiting for Lara to get out of work. When Lara began leaving the building, Jody approached her with a rifle and fired two shots, both hitting Lara in the head. Witnesses got the gun away from Jody and held her down in the parking lot until police arrived. She was calm and even laughing during her arrest.
When Rhonda’s daughter stopped by Rhonda’s home the next day on August 8th, she found the door wide open and Rhonda, Regina and Julie Ann’s bodies inside. They had all been shot. It was revealed that Jody had fatally shot her cousins and aunt before heading to Barre to ambush Lara.
Jody had three children, all of whom had been removed from her custody for various reasons, as Jody had an extensive criminal history, struggled with substance use and mental illness. Jody’s youngest daughter was removed from her care most recently, just a month before this incident, and Lara had been the social worker on the case.
In July of 2017, Jody pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say that she showed no remorse throughout the proceedings. Jody’s attorney David Sleigh had asked the judge for leniency because of Jody’s history of trauma, abuse, and her anxiety disorder, but prosecutors argued that these issues do not justify murder, especially multiple murders that had been planned.
Jody received a sentence of life in prison without parole and continues to serve her time.
Image sources:
nbcnews.com - “Hundreds Attended Vigil for Murdered Vermont Social Worker, Suspect Pleads Not Guilty”
vermontpublic.org - “Suspect in Quadruple Homicide Pleads Not Guilty to Killing DCF Social Worker”