Suspect charged with murder, attempted murder in deadly Rockford rampage

CHICAGO (AP) — A 22-year-old man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in a frenzied stabbing and beating rampage that left four people dead in a matter of minutes in a northern Illinois city, authorities said Thursday.

Christian Soto is also charged with seven counts of attempted murder and home invasion with a dangerous weapon following the attacks in Rockford on Wednesday. Seven people were injured.

Court and jail records show Soto appeared in court briefly Thursday afternoon and remains held without bond. He is next due in court Tuesday when a judge will determine if he stays in jail pending trial.

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, who was clearly shaken and struggled to hold back tears during a news conference Thursday, listed the victims as 63-year-old Romona Schupbach; 23-year-old Jacob Schupbach; 49-year-old Jay Larson; and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb.

Three people remained hospitalized Thursday, officials said. The other four were treated and released, Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said.

Authorities have released little information about Soto, who was arrested Wednesday. A woman who identified herself as Soto's sister declined to comment to The Associated Press.

Redd said Soto acted alone and that police do not know his motive for the attacks.

She said Soto and Jacob Schupbach had grown up together. Soto told police that the two were smoking marijuana at Schupbach's home before the attack, Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said.

“Soto said that he believes that drugs provided to him by Jacob were laced with an unknown narcotic,” Hanley said. “Soto said he became paranoid after the drug usage. He said he retrieved a knife from the kitchen ... and proceeded to stab” his friend and his friend’s mother to death.

Hanley provided details of the deadly attacks that quickly unfolded in a neighborhood of ranch-style homes soon after 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Redd said less than 20 minutes passed between the initial 911 call and Soto's arrest.

Rockford police responded first to a home on Holmes Street, where they found the bodies of Jacob Schupbach and his mother, Romona.

Hanley said witnesses saw Jacob Schupbach being chased across the street, and that the attacker hit or stabbed him as he lay on the ground. They said the attacker then drove a pickup truck over Schupbach, who was able to make it inside the home. Witnesses said the attacker followed him but left soon after and drove away, Hanley said.

Hanley said officers next found Larson alive in a front yard on nearby Winnetka Drive, but he had been stabbed multiple times and died soon after in a hospital.

Ruth Mendonça, inspector-in-charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, told reporters that Larson had been a mail carrier in the area for 25 years.

A witness said he heard a commotion and saw a man beating Larson on the grass near his home, Hanley said. The witness dialed 911 as the attacker walked toward his locked front door. The attacker retrieved a knife from a black pickup and stabbed Larson before driving over him twice and running away.

Soto told police that he recalled “taking out the mailman,” Hanley said.

Around that time, police began receiving 911 calls about an attack on nearby Cleveland Avenue.

A woman and her adult son and daughter told officers that a man armed with a knife forced his way into their home. The man stabbed the mother near her left eye as she opened the door to let their dog out, Hanley said. Her children fought with Soto and also were wounded. The son told police that the attacker ran away after he struck him with a syrup bottle.

Residents then flagged down first responders about another attack on the same street, Hanley said.

Jenna Newcomb and a friend were watching a movie in her basement and Jenna's sister was upstairs when Soto entered their house through an unlocked door. Hanley said one of the girls later told police Soto “was covered in blood. He beat all three teens with a baseball bat and Jenna died in the attack. The girls who survived are 14 and 15.

Jenna's mother said she died trying to protect her sister and friend from further harm, according to McNamara.

Soto then broke a window to get into a home close by on Florence Street. A woman fled the home and Soto chased her into the yard and stabbed her. Keith Fahreny, who was driving by, saw the attack and stopped to intervene, Hanley said.

Soto attacked Fahreny and tried to steal his vehicle, but Fahreny dragged him from the car. Soto once again fled on foot, but he was soon arrested by a sheriff’s deputy.

The woman and Fahreny both survived the attack.

Resident Vanessa Hy told WREX-TV in Rockford that she witnessed the arrest.

“We heard police run up on both sides of the house screaming, ‘Stop! Get down!’” Hy told the TV station. “Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect down the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody.”

Clearly distraught, McNamara spoke of how the slayings have disrupted his community.

“Right now, the focus is on these individuals who have lost their lives this week,” he added. “Their families, making sure they’re getting healing that they need.”

“You might hear grief and sadness from me," the mayor said. "I’m also really pissed off.”

Rockford, home to about 150,000 people, is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Its economy was decimated by industrial change in the 1980s and now largely depends on manufacturing and healthcare.

Some residents bristle at the mention of a 2013 Forbes article classifying it as one of the country’s “most miserable cities,” that pointedly noted Rockford’s double-digit unemployment rate. Forbes and other media outlets have been more complimentary in recent years, noting the city's affordable cost of living and efforts to support local restaurants and entertainment venues.

But Rockford's police force, like many across the U.S., has reported increases in violent crime since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s violent crimes totals dropped by about 19%, according to the department’s annual report, but there were 20 murders compared to 15 in 2022.

The stabbings Wednesday came just days after a teenage employee was stabbed and killed inside a Walmart in the city. A suspect in that killing has been arrested.

Clergy from different faiths gave prayers Thursday afternoon at a vigil for those slain and wounded.

“I came today because I didn’t want to grieve alone,” said the Rev. Caleb Hong, senior pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford. “And I was hurting, and my guess is many of you are hurting or you’re scared, or you’re wondering why does this happen?”

“We’re all feeling the same way. We’re all hurting,” he said.

Callahan reported from Indianapolis and Williams reported from Detroit. Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.

Bella Rosado, right, and Delanie Palmer, friends of stabbing victim Jenna Newcomb, hug during a vigil Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Rockford, Ill., for the victims of Wednesday's stabbings. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Lawrence Steward, local president of National Association of Letter Carriers, receives a hug during a vigil Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Rockford, Ill., for the victims of Wednesday's stabbings. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune via AP)

This photo provided by Winnebago County, Ill., Sheriff's Office shows Christian Ivan Soto. Soto, 22, of Rockford, Ill., who was charged Thursday, March 28, 2024, with first-degree murder in a stabbing rampage that killed four people in northern Illinois, Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Delanie Palmer, friend of Jenna Newcomb, crouches near a cross for Newcomb during a vigil Thursday, March 28, 2024, for the victims of Wednesday's stabbings in Rockford, Ill (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Police tape surrounds many homes as police investigate a mass stabbing along the 2300 block of Holmes Street on March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Police investigate stabbings Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill., that left several people dead and others injured. A 22-year-old man is in police custody and was being questioned Wednesday afternoon, according to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)

In this image taken from video provided by WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd speaks with the media, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill. Authorities say four people were killed and five were wounded in stabbings in northern Illinois. Redd said that a suspect is in police custody and was being questioned. She said police did not know the motive. (WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation via AP)

In this image taken from video provided by WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation. emergency personnel work at the scene, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill., where four people were killed and five were wounded in stabbings in northern Illinois. Redd said that a suspect is in police custody and was being questioned. She said police did not know the motive. (WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation via AP)

In this image taken from video provided by WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation. law enforcement personnel work at the scene, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill., where four people were killed and five were wounded in stabbings in northern Illinois. Redd said that a suspect is in police custody and was being questioned. She said police did not know the motive. (WTVO-TV/WQRF-TV/NewsNation via AP)

Police investigate stabbings that left several people dead and others injured, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Rockford, Ill. A 22-year-old man is in police custody and was being questioned Wednesday afternoon, according to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate dived into contentious debate Friday on a budget plan critical to Republican efforts to pass trillions of dollars in tax cuts and boost border security and defense spending through what President Donald Trump calls “one big beautiful bill.”

Passage of the plan would give Republicans the chance in coming months to muscle a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress even if Democrats are unanimously opposed, just as they did in Trump's first term.

Democrats are intent on making the effort as politically painful as possible, beginning with all-night votes on dozens of proposals that GOP senators will have to defend before next year’s mid-term elections, including on Trump’s tariff policies and the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government.

Republicans are framing their work as preventing a tax increase for most American families. Unless Congress acts, the individual and estate tax cuts that Republicans passed in 2017 will expire at the end of this year.

“Republicans believe fundamentally that Americans know best what to do with their money,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Democrats accused Republicans of laying the groundwork for increasing deficits and cutting key safety net programs such as Medicaid and nutritional assistance to help pay for tax cuts they say disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

“The investments that affect America's future are hanging by a thread, and Republicans are about to cut it," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

The debate early Friday was generally one-sided. Senate Democrats are taking full advantage of 25 hours of their available debate time, while Republicans yielded much of theirs in order to get to an all-night voting frenzy referred to as a vote-a-rama. Once lawmakers have exhausted their list of amendments and themselves, they'll move to a final vote on the plan itself, most likely sometime Saturday morning.

The Senate is expected to approve the measure. The House will also have to pass it to unlock the process that Republicans can use to pass legislation with a simple majority and avoid a Democratic filibuster.

And that's just the beginning.

Developing a final bill will take weeks, if not months, with the GOP leadership and Trump needing virtually every Republican vote to get a package over the finish line. The GOP leaders will confront concerns from fiscal hawks in deep red states and congressional districts who want trillions of dollars in spending cuts to help pay for the tax breaks. And they will confront dozens of lawmakers in swing districts and states worried about what those cuts will mean for their constituents, and their reelection chances.

It will be a delicate task with no guarantee of success, particularly as economic gyrations from Trump's tariff policies test his ability to keep Republicans united.

The Senate’s budget plan allows for extending the individual and estate tax cuts under a scoring method that treats them as not adding to future deficits, even though the Congressional Budget Office has projected the extension would cost more than $3.8 trillion over 10 years, not including higher interest payments.

On top of that, the budget plan instructs the Senate Finance Committee to expand deficits by up to $1.5 trillion more over that same timeframe. That would give senators room to include some of Trump’s campaign promises, such as no tax on tips, Social Security benefits and overtime. Republicans are also looking to increase the $10,000 deduction for state and local taxes, something that lawmakers from states such as New York, California and New Jersey say is necessary to get their support.

The budget plan also allows the Senate to increase the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion. Final approval of such an increase would allow the federal government to continue to finance its debts and push any further votes on the matter until after next year’s mid-term elections. Trump is wary of giving Democrats the chance to extract concessions on a debt ceiling vote.

The plan also instructs four Senate committees to find at least $1 billion each in budget reductions. That's just a small fraction of the more than $5 trillion in potential tax relief. But the leadership is emphasizing that the instructions purposefully set a low floor for spending cuts to provide maximum flexibility and that committees will be on the hunt for far more.

Committees are also given authority to pursue as much as $521 billion to boost border security, defense and the Coast Guard, though Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said the final spending total will be closer to $345 billion.

The House budget plan provided for $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over 10 years, though the amount for tax breaks would shrink if the spending cut totals don't get to $2 trillion in savings.

The GOP leadership has encouraged members to just get a budget plan over the finish line, saying they have time to work out the tough questions of which tax breaks and spending cuts to include.

Throughout the debate, Democratic have focused on framing the tax cuts as helping out the wealthiest at the expense of average Americans. Sen. Jeff Merkley, the lead Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, spoke with a sign behind him that read “Republican Plan: Families Lose, Billionaires Win.”

“That's a terrible plan,” Merkley said.

Extending the the 2017 breaks would cut taxes for about three-quarters of households but raise them for about 10 percent. In 2027, about 45% of the benefit of all the tax cuts would go to those making roughly $450,000 or more, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, which analyzes tax issues.

Sen. John Barrasso, the No.-2 ranking GOP senator, said voters gave Republicans a mission and a mandate in November, and the Senate budget plan delivers.

“It fulfills our promises to secure the border, to rebuild our economy and to restore peace through strength,” Barrasso said.

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Friday, April 4, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)