Crete community mourn loss of 2 families in unrelated shooting and fire

Seven people from two families are dead in a span of days in Crete, Illinois.

While these tragedies are separate and unrelated, they have shaken the small community.

The stretch of the Willowbrook Estates in Crete Township was a place of mourning on Wednesday night. About 100 people gathered to remember the lives of 55-year-old Patrick Forde, 54-year-old Stacy Forde, and their son, 32-year-old Jacob Lambert.

"They were the kind of neighbors that everybody would want to have," said Alyssa Cox.

"They only lived out here a short number of years, but the impact tonight reveals shows what kind of love they showed to Willoebrook Estates here in Crete Township," Terry said.

Terry and Alyssa were family friends and lived a few houses away.

"We didn't know what we heard, you know, we just woke up and could see all of the cop cars down the street," she said.

Overnight Monday, the Will County Sheriff's Office says, they found Lambert dead in a car in his driveway, and his parents were also killed inside the home.

Jenna Strouble, 30, who shares kids with Lambert, is accused of shooting and killing all three in what investigators are calling a targeted incident.

"We've been devastated by this," Terry said. "That's always a shock to your system when someone so close to you is going through something like this."

The Crete community is also remembering the lives of four family members killed in a house fire on Chalet Court early Wednesday morning. The family identified 71-year-old Walter Palmer and his three grandchildren, the youngest just 8 years old.

"The community is reeling, yes," Terry said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. As for the woman charged in the shooting was arrested in St. John, Indiana. She is being held there while she waits to be extradited to Illinois.