Accused Killer of Social Worker Had 'Hit List'

The Vermont woman charged with killing a social worker after losing custody of her 9-year-old daughter had a "hit list" that included her mother, stepfather, and possibly brother, according to documents made public yesterday. The Burlington Free Press reports Jody Herring's ex-boyfriend told police he saw the hit list months before Herring allegedly killed three of her relatives and social worker Lara Sobel. According to the documents, Herring shot and killed her aunt and two cousins at their farmhouse Aug. 7 in a "deliberate and purposeful fashion" before killing Sobel as she left her office.

She had promised "Armageddon," says her ex-boyfriend, reports AP. Herring allegedly stole the rifle used in all four killings from the ex, who was arrested days later in an armed standoff with police. Herring has now been charged with the three additional murders and is facing life in prison. The court papers also reveal that when detectives were interviewing Herring after the Sobel killing, she laughed and said, "Did you find the other three yet?" Her relative's bodies were discovered the following day. (More murder stories.)