Jerry Hobbs
Posted on 05/10/2005 10:17:29 AM PDT by newgeezer
ZION, Ill. -- CNN is reporting that a suspect will be charged today in the deaths of two elementary students found stabbed to death in a Chicago suburb Monday.
School officials confirmed to WMAQ-TV in Chicago Tuesday that investigators may have a break in the case involving the two girls found stabbed to death in Zion.
Lake County Task Force met for several hours Tuesday morning to investigate the case.
Best friends Laura Hobbs, 8, and Krystal Tobias, 9, were found stabbed to death in a field in a nature preserve Monday morning after being reported missing Sunday night.
Laura's father, Jerry Hobbs, was questioned Monday night and Tuesday morning by investigators, and labeled a "person of interest" in the case, WMAQ reported.
Krystal and Laura were found side-by-side, face up at about 6 a.m. Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said the girls died of multiple stab wounds.
Laura's father, Jerry Hobbs, who found the bodies and alerted authorities, was interviewed by police Monday night, WMAQ reported.
Arthur Hollabaugh, 51, Laura's grandfather, said he and his son-in-law were out looking for the girls and came across Laura's bike. Hollabaugh said they stopped to call police and that's when the father found the bodies and started screaming. Hollabaugh said that police searched the home where Laura lived and said they took measurements of Hobbs' shoe soles.
Hollabaugh said that police took some clothes from the family and also a computer to see if Laura had been on an Internet chat room.
Hollabaugh said investigators also talked to Laura's siblings about Jerry Hobbs. He said Jerry had just returned to the area about a month earlier after serving time in a Texas prison.
WMAQ has learned that Hobbs has two convictions on aggravated assault charges in 2001 and 1990, and was also charged with assault in 1997. Hobbs has also been arrested on drug charges and for evading arrest.
Hollabaugh said he doesn't think Jerry is responsible for the killings.
The Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday that charges in the case could be filed by the end of the day, but police weren't commenting on the case Tuesday morning.
"They were stabbed more than once," said Dr. Richard Keller. Neither girl was sexually assaulted and their bodies were found fully-clothed.
Authorities say they've interviewed several family members of both Hobbs and Tobias.
Police were also pursuing dozens of other tips in the case, and were trying to get in touch with about 85 sex offenders who live in the area.
Tuesday's Chicago Tribune quoted the mother of Laura Hobbs as saying Zion authorities took the clothing on Sunday, the same day Laura and Krystal vanished.
The mother also told the newspaper that a relative was interviewed Monday night and released.
The bodies of the elementary school girls were found at dawn Monday. Police said there were no weapons at the scene. Both girls were last seen playing at another friend's house Sunday morning. They left the friend's house at about 10 a.m. to go home. The girls, who were best friends, were reported missing Sunday evening after not returning home.
"They were together all the time," Laura's grandmother Emily Hollabaugh said. "I just don't know what happened."
The area where the girls were found was described as heavily wooded and hilly. Investigators used all-terrain vehicles to search the crime scene for evidence.
A bike was also found near the location where the girls' bodies were found.
A resident said families are "freaking out" in Zion.
Families are taking extra care with their own children until the killer is found. Grief counselors are going to school in Zion to help students cope with the girls' deaths.
The park in the community north of Chicago is known as a place to be avoided because of assaults, illegal hunting and teenage drinking. But it does have bike paths and the children were apparently out for a Mother's Day ride when they were killed.
Zion Police Chief Doug Malcolm called it a "heinous crime" and said, "No stone will be left unturned" as they try to find the person or persons responsible.
Zion is on the edge of both the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Zion Police Department at (847) 872-8000.
A public meeting was planned for Tuesday night in Zion to help area residents deal with the tragedy.
Flowers and cards of sympathy were left at the Hobbs' home Tuesday morning. The family was receiving visitors, but not commenting on the case.
At Krystal's house, her brother, Alberto Seguro, told reporters that police have had little contact with his family.
"Before she died, I never got to say I loved her. I just hope they work as hard as they can to try to find him," Seguro said.
Crisis counselors on Tuesday were at Beulah Elementary, where the girls were in the same second-grade class.
Most parents took their kids to school.
"I just could not sleep last night. I went from room to room checking on my kids," parent Brydie Nixon siad.
"She didn't want to come to school," parent Cheryl Maldonado said. "It's just hard. Both of the girls were very good friends of my daughter and now they're not here. All she has is pictures for memories."
bump
Looks pretty scary in his TDC haircut.
Looks like this guy assaulted again. Maybe girl was supposed to be home earlier and dad flipped out or something.
Wondering why there's no placard at the bottom of that pic (convict number, facility name, etc.). Maybe it's just his drivers license photo and he forgot to say, "Cheese."
"They left the friend's house at about 10 a.m. to go home."
I thought the father of the friend said they told him they were going to the park.
Dad looks like a pretty hard core criminal, I must admit. But it is hard to understand why he would have killed his own daughter and her friend. He must have NO ALIBI for the time period in question, but then again I'd heard the cops thought they'd been killed around 1 or 2 AM, but also that the air was cool so the time of death could have been off. And weren't folks already looking for them by about 9 pm?
I want more info, darn it. You always want to rule out how this could happen to your own child, that's the sad thing with stories like this.
How does one stab two little kids?! It may sound odd, but if he were a sex offender, then at least there would be an obvious motive. Maybe these kids knew something about Dad they shouldn't?
Here's another:
Note the identical blue background.
Too bad he did this in Illinois where they have no death penalty (Assuming he did it.)
The modern death penalty is way too good for the one who killed these two little girls. Public stoning is my preference.
And that is exactly what is so haunting about this. How could any human being stab two sweet little innocent girls? Little girls - children!
This is way beyond sick. This is exactly why there should be the death penalty! These crimes are far too heinous for society to let such as these remain in their midst - even in prison!
Terrible, agreed.
I can't for the life of me think of how someone does it. There are some people out there with ZERO empathy for other human beings. thank god I'm not one of them.
Here's my theory. Hobbs was bitter at his wife for being incarcerated in 2003. From Yahoo news:
"In Texas, Wichita County Assistant District Attorney Rick Mahler said Hobbs had been arrested on Aug. 4, 2001, after arguing with Sheila Hollabaugh, Laura's mother, in a trailer park. Hobbs had grabbed a chainsaw and chased other residents around the area, Mahler said. No one was hurt and someone subdued Hobbs by hitting him in the back with a shovel, he said.
Hobbs was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to 10 years' probation, but he failed to appear for his required meetings, so his probation was revoked in 2003 and he was imprisoned until his release on April 12, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice."
To get revenge, he killed Laura (and Krystal)on Mother's day. He also didn't bury the bodies. He wanted them to be found. In fact, he couldn't wait for their stabbed lifeless bodies to be discovered. So he went out and found them. (Right where he had left them.)
Let's pray the police and the D.A.'s office don't mess this up.
You know, it makes sense in a twisted way. And explains the lack of sexual assult. He's an evil loser, just not an evil pedophile loser.
Here's a website that raises the frightening possibility that this is actually the work of a serial killer.
http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/2005/05/twilight-language-in-zion.html
(Note to Admin Mod: Apologies if this is a site I shouldn't link to...)
After that idiot runaway bride, I'm hesitant to implicate a family member (the way the press tried to blame the fiance) until I see real evidence...
The world has just gone plumb EVIL!
(You fill in the blanks)
to kill children on "mother's day" is not a coincidence, but more like intended for more pain.
Perhaps the girls came upon the father doing something he shouldn't have been doing so he killed them to shut them up. Not that this makes any sense.
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