Posted on 05/11/2005 6:29:48 PM PDT by kennedy
The man accused of stabbing to death his 8-year-old daughter and her best friend hunted his child down in a park in a fit of rage because she was supposed to be confined to the house for stealing money, prosecutors said Wednesday.
A judge denied bail for 34-year-old ex-convict Jerry Hobbs after prosecutors said he admitted in videotaped and written statements to beating and stabbing his daughter Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias on Mother's Day.
He claimed the older girl pulled a knife on him, but prosecutors said they doubt that.
The girls were found dead Monday in a park in Zion, the day after they never came back from a bike ride. They had more than 30 stab wounds between them, and Laura was stabbed in each eye, prosecutors said.
"You can see through the injuries to these two individuals the rage that was exhibited. This was a slaughter of two little girls," prosecutor Jeff Pavletic said.
Hobbs, who had been released from a Texas prison last month, said he thought Laura had stolen money from her mother, prosecutors said. She was supposed to be grounded on Mother's Day, but her mother let her go out and play, so Hobbs went out to find her and bring her home, Pavletic said.
"Mr. Hobbs believed that her mother was too lax in her supervision of Laura," the prosecutor said.
But when Hobbs found the girls, Laura refused to go home, and he beat and stabbed the girls with a small kitchen knife, prosecutors said. Hobbs then allegedly dragged them into the woods and left them side-by-side.
Hobbs told investigators that Krystal pulled the knife to defend her friend, and he wrested it away. But prosecutors said they doubt the little girl was carrying a blade.
"It was a brutal beating, repeated punching of the two little girls and then repeated stabs. It's pretty horrible," State's Attorney Michael Waller said.
On CBS News' The Early Show, State's attorney Michael Waller said that there was no indication of Hobbs planning the murders.
"I think we're dealing with an individual who acts spontaneously, has difficulty controlling his anger or, in this case, his rage," Waller said.
Waller told NBC's "Today" that the father had showed a lack of emotion and that "things didn't add up" in his interviews with police.
The prosecutor said Hobbs went looking for his daughter and that Krystal "just happened to be there," before the father killed both girls.
Waller also told Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler that the bodies were found in an area that was pretty remote.
"If you were doing a search, you wouldn't probably go there in the first instance or as early as he did. And it raised some suspicions," he said.
Public Defender David Brodsky said he had not seen details of the case and had no comment, but he said he would assign two capital defenders to represent Hobbs.
Hobbs has a long criminal history dating to 1990 in Texas, including arrests for assault and resisting arrest.
Just last month, he was released from a Texas prison after serving time for an assault in 2001. He had argued with Laura's mother, Sheila Hollabaugh, then grabbed a chain saw and chased neighbors until someone hit him in the back with a shovel, according to prosecutor Rick Mahler in Texas. No one was injured.
Hobbs was sentenced to 10 years' probation but failed to appear for required meetings and was thrown in prison in 2003.
Outside the home where Jerry Hobbs and Sheila Hollabaugh had lived with their children, a man who identified himself as a family spokesman Wednesday read a brief statement and said they would have no other comment.
"The entire family wants to express their deepest sympathy for the Tobias family," Jeremy Harter said. "They wanted to thank the Zion community for all their support throughout this trying time."
Zion, along Lake Michigan, was founded in 1901 by a faith healer. It has about 22,000 residents but retains a quiet — at times, rural — feel despite being on the edge of both the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas.
At a prayer vigil later Tuesday evening, Krystal's family and about 200 community members gathered outside her home and somberly walked the block and a half to Laura's house. The slain girls' families hugged each other and began crying.
Through tears, Laura's mother, Sheila Hollabaugh, read a poem written by her daughter's classmate. The "little angels," it said, "died too young."
This involves the murder of two children so I guess it`s only a matter of micro-seconds before the ACLU offers to defend him.
When I heard the description of how he stabbed his own daughter in the eyes, I just figured that he is truly a devil in the strictest sense...
I am also wondering how the parents of the other little girl feel about the Hobb's mother letting him live there--I guess she must have thought she was safe, but how could she after being chased with a chainsaw?
I just think I would be very bitter, especially if I didn't know about his past, so I could make the decision whether my child could play with her....
OMG. Unbelievable crap. And I cannot even tell you what I just heard regarding the girls' facial injuries that were just revealed on FoxNews by LE authorities. I am SICK.
This animal needs to be beaten within an inch of his miserable life at Marion by some mean dudes. Then he should be stabbed visciously, first in both eyes to the hilt and then repeatedly in the stomach and abdomen with a K-Bar.
No mercy whatsoever. These brutal acts; the constant rapes and murders of children - usually pre-teen girls - are getting wa-a-a-ay out of control.
I'm sure the rage counselors will argue he needs therapy. If Hobbs were a woman, I have little doubt he'd be given more slack, with possible intense therapy like the mother who drowned her 5 kids in Houston.
But he is a man with history of brutal assaults. You would not hesitate to shoot a rabid dog. Society should not hesitate to take this miserable excuse for a human being out very hard and as quickly as possible.
The bottom line is SPNTD (Some People NEED To Die). Tough guy Hobbs is one of them.
She must have kept the shovel near by.
"...then grabbed a chain saw and chased neighbors until someone hit him in the back with a shovel..."
Boss man, I vote for skinned alive. I'll do it. Someone gimme a VERY dull paring knife.
You know what makes this so scary is that it was a little girl' best friend's father---
I can't even tell you how many girlfriend's houses that I visited and even spent the night at that my parents never even met the parents of my friends....of course, we all grew up together, went to same school for years and years, but then maybe so did these girls....
Yes, Txsleuth. And "only if" the fact that he was recently released from prison hadn't gone under the radar....
"The bottom line is SPNTD (Some People NEED To Die). Tough guy Hobbs is one of them."
Amen brother! The sooner the better in this case. Otherwise, this man will kill again.
Link?
First thought from my twisted mind ... ACLU defense = 30th trimester post-delivery abortive choice.
Sorry - well not really - but I don't mean to offend.
Nevermind. I found the story. Tonya Vasilev apparently didn't have anywhere near the colorful history that the Hobbs character has & there wasn't a manhunt out for the kids beforehand so there wasn't a lot to hitch the story to.
You haven't heard of Andrea Yates? Susan Smith?
This is not a sarcastic post...I think we need to do it now...and START with stabs to the eyes...
...which is what he did to his daughter...
...let's have him deal with that for a few weeks...and then we'll move on.
NOTE: Liberals can't understand why we can be against abortion and FOR the death penalty. This is why.
Bump that.
Exactly.
you didn't need to know every single parent.....you just knew that they were okay....
poor children these days.....no real childhood to enjoy...
its our fault, you know....we adults....even those of us who consider ourselves "good" probably have allowed too much crap into this world...
we have become "enlightened" to the point where our tv shows are immoral and embarressing, our movies worse, our music hateful, our schools scary....
we would be much better if most people were of one value system......
I think pushing diversity on us is a major problem... we actually need more tradition, more stability, not ever changing societies ......
these are truisms to me....
that a man and a woman , married together, make the best parents, that moms should be able to stay home as long as they need to raise the little ones, that parochial schools are one way for the young people to be around children of similar faith, that there really does need to be censorship of our media, all of it....
There was no real media attention given to the manhunt. The attention came after the bodies were found.
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