The state is reeling after four murders in central Vermont. Department for Children and Families social worker Lara Sobel was shot and killed on Friday as she left the agency's office in Barre, allegedly by a woman in a case she was involved in where the suspect had lost custody of her nine-year-old daughter.
Then on Saturday morning, three relatives of the suspect in that killing - Jody Herring - were found dead in a home in Berlin.
Today, DCF workers are returning to their jobs and mourning a lost colleague. Sobel's murder has highlighted the dangers involved in their work, including those posed by a current of deeply negative perception towards the agency in the state.
And as the killings are investigated, many Vermonters are struggling to come to terms with an unprecedented crime. We'll hear about the latest we know and don't know about the murders - plus the ongoing investigation, reactions across the state, and what it means for the DCF and other public servants.
We're joined by DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz. Also by VPR reporters Taylor Dobbs and Peter Hirschfeld who have been following the story, Elodie Reed of the St. Albans Messenger, and Angelo McClain of the National Association of Social Workers.
Broadcast live on Monday, Aug. 10 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
