Vermont Woman Held Without Bail After Alleged Shooting Of Social Worker

A woman who allegedly shot and killed a social worker last week just outside Montpelier in Barre, Vt., appeared in court Monday. The alleged shooter, Jody Herring, is being held without bail.

Police say that Herring reportedly shot Lara Sobel, 48, a social worker at the Department for Children and Families, because Herring was upset about losing custody of her daughter, according to the Associated Press.

The Burlington Free Press reported the details:

"A judge has found probable cause to charge Jody Herring, 40, with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Department for Children and Families social worker Lara Sobel, documents filed at Vermont Superior Court in Barre say."

The paper notes that Attorney General Bill Sorrell said Herring's attorneys filed a motion on Sunday, asking for her to appear in court in Burlington.

In addition to Herring's alleged killing of Sobel, the AP writes that police believe that she killed three other family members before going to Barre.

VPR spoke with Gov. Peter Shumlin on the phone Monday. Governor Shumlin didn't comment on the other three shootings because they are still under investigation. But he says will be reaching out to staff at the Department for Children and Families and that they'll be providing some "additional security" for employees as they return to work Monday.

"We're doing everything we can to wrap our arms around them. You know, this is just an unspeakably horrid moment for Vermont. We have to remember that this was an isolated act, in our view, carried out by a single person who is now in the state's custody. So we don't believe that state employees or Vermonters are in greater harm than they were before this incident happened."