IL - Krystal Tobias, 9, & Laura Hobbs, 8, found dead in Zion park, 8 May 2005 - #1

[richandfamous]

Run-ins with law common for father charged with girls' murders

By Nicole Ziegler Dizon
The Associated Press
Published May 10, 2005, 6:51 PM CDT

"Jerry Hobbs had just served two years behind bars in Texas for aggravated assault when he boarded a bus last month that would take him straight to Illinois, where his longtime girlfriend and their children were waiting.

Sheila Hollabaugh had endured a rocky 12-year relationship with Hobbs. The two broke up more than once over the years as Hobbs made repeated trips to jail in Wichita Falls, Texas, for everything from assault to marijuana possession.

Now, though, after exchanging letters from prison, the couple had decided to make a fresh start in Zion, a small town north of Chicago on the edge of Lake Michigan. Hobbs moved in with Hollabaugh and her parents, along with their three children and her 13-year-old daughter from a previous relationship."

Read more at link.................................

 

[Thinkoflaura]

http://www.foxnews.com/images/163040/25_28_051005_Father.jpg
Latest Mug Shot (today)

Looks like he has FAS. jmo

YES, he does appear to have some type of genetic or fetal syndrome. Look how low-set his ears are in relationship to his eyes, and his nose is flattened like FAS children, but his could be from a repeatedly broken nose from fighting.. Don't know. It's the lowset ears that are the most abnormal, IMO.

 

[Lauren]

What a wacked out man. I hope if he is found guilty he get the death penalty. How can you kill your own child??? That's cold.... What a . :snooty:

 

[lauriej]

..i read earlier on a link, that the friend's parents had moved up from mexico 16 years ago, "to find a better life in the united states"...

..i hope that the women over at PTO, ( prisontalkonline.com) ( a thread began in the laci case...) seriously read about this case, and take a good hard look at the prison pen-pals /new found boyfriends/marreid in prison husbands that they're anxiously awaiting to 'come home'.....

...2 little angels in heaven , it's truly heartbreaking.....

 

[lauriej]

What do you want to bet that, if someone were to check the prisontalk web site, you'd find posts from the deluded woman counting down the days until this creep gets out and "makes our family complete"?

............hadn't read your post before i included my take on the 'pto women'.....i've read threads over there on 'lovin' death row lifers.......SO's ( sexual offenders.....)

...i haven't had the heart to go over there today, just in case they're already defending hobbs.....

..............ok did...


Today, 08:01 PM
haswtch:

I'm glad somebody mentioned the possibility that they might have the wrong guy. Authorities are understandably desperate to resolve this, but it's a heck of an accusation to make on the basis that he has a record and found the bodies. That's not proof by a long shot.

 

[lauriej]

What a wacked out man. I hope if he is found guilty he get the death penalty. How can you kill your own child??? That's cold.... What a . :snooty:

......as my 14 year old said to me..........." oh my god, one of them had to be 1st......"

.............this guy is BEYOND comprehension................the DP is way too good for him.

 

[Cypros]

Sorry Cypros, I don't mean to be offensive, ...Any woman who would lay down with a man like that, and create a baby and welcome him back in the house, is trash. ...

Well, I am certainly not going to argue against your judgement of the mother. I agree that no man is worth risking the safety of your children. This is the result of a society that devalues women and children. The mother obviously doesn't value herself, much less her own children.

I just can't think of any circumstance in which I would consider calling a family "trash" to be appropriate.

 

[Becba]

The mom lived with another guy and they often did not have running water due to not paying the water bill. This guy comes over all the time starting fights.
He ends up in jail finally after having another fight with mom and the boyfriend in which he breaks out the chainsaw.
Moms finally rid of him and moves to Zion. Why in the heck did she take him back? And her dad says he fit right in with the family. I don't understand these people. She and her family should have been happy to have this violent trouble maker out of their lives. Her ex boyfriends says he did not even pay child support.
IMO She should knew his history, knew he was sent to prison stemming from another fight over her, and importantly had to have been thinking in the back of her mind that when she took him back he would have anger and hatred towards her since the fights were due to her having found someone else.
She had to know he would not just shrug off that resentment. It made for a boiling pot ready to overflow at the slightest provocation he could perceive.
Mom is not responsible for his actions but I do not get her or her family's decision to bring trouble back into her and the childrens lives. Seems with him gone for 2 yrs she would have felt a great relief and grew a spine.

 

[madgallico]

IMO She should knew his history, knew he was sent to prison stemming from another fight over her, and importantly had to have been thinking in the back of her mind that when she took him back he would have anger and hatred towards her since the fights were due to her having found someone else.
She had to know he would not just shrug off that resentment. It made for a boiling pot ready to overflow at the slightest provocation he could perceive.
Mom is not responsible for his actions but I do not get her or her family's decision to bring trouble back into her and the childrens lives. Seems with him gone for 2 yrs she would have felt a great relief and grew a spine.

When someone is so volatile & unpredicable, you never know who they will take it out on, of course. Most sane people would not think that the idiot would take it out on their child. I have had family members who have gotten so enraged at others in the family that I honestly thought that there would be something horrible happen. I never thought that they would ever take it out on children. I think most people would think that their children would be safe from that anger & resentment. I'm sure (I hope so anyway) that she would never have thought that this man would murder these children. Maybe he never showed any violence toward the children. I haven't heard anything like that.

No one can ever predict what another person will do. If we could, all our loved ones would never be harmed in any way. Unfortunately, in some circumstances when we give the other person another chance in our lives, it turns out so horribly wrong.

Rest in Peace Krystal & Laura. May justice be served for you both & your loved ones.

 

[Becba]

When someone is so volatile & unpredicable, you never know who they will take it out on, of course. Most sane people would not think that the idiot would take it out on their child. I have had family members who have gotten so enraged at others in the family that I honestly thought that there would be something horrible happen. I never thought that they would ever take it out on children. I think most people would think that their children would be safe from that anger & resentment. I'm sure (I hope so anyway) that she would never have thought that this man would murder these children. Maybe he never showed any violence toward the children. I haven't heard anything like that.

No one can ever predict what another person will do. If we could, all our loved ones would never be harmed in any way. Unfortunately, in some circumstances when we give the other person another chance in our lives, it turns out so horribly wrong.

Rest in Peace Krystal & Laura. May justice be served for you both & your loved ones.

Yes. I do not want to place blame on the mother. Some how this guy had the her and her father thinking he was fitting in well.
He left the house to go after the daughter yet the rest of the family must not have known this. He also had to have cleaned up somewhere before returning home and pretending to search for the girls.
I think he lead the grandfather to the park knowing to make himself look less guilty. The grandfather said he looked and could see the girls bodies and said this monster was screaming and crying by them.

 

[madgallico]

Yes. I do not want to place blame on the mother. Some how this guy had the her and her father thinking he was fitting in well.

Becba, I didn't think you were blaming her. It's just so terrible to think that if he had not been there this would not have happened. He wasn't out of prison for very long at all. :furious:
It's amazing how that idiot could fool everyone & then do something so horrible. I can just imagine the poor family thinking "if only".

I heard on Nancy Grace that the girls were riding one bike. Geez, I remember doing that with my best friend & the happiness I felt then riding together laughing & so carefree! I would have never thought that my own father would be murdering me in the next few hours. Oh God...I just cannot imagine what they went through. Like someone said here earlier..."someone had to die first". The confusion in their young minds. How could he do this!!!!! :furious: :furious: :furious: :furious:

 

[PolkSaladAnnie]

Like someone said here earlier..."someone had to die first". The confusion in their young minds. How could he do this!!!!!

Since 1990, this ehem, 'father' had been in regular trouble with the authorities. A vile, lawless and wild character who never cared for common morals, principles and/or scruples.

He never knew the meaning of love; he obviously commanded through terror, threats and appalling abuse. He was last jailed, in part, for skipping anger management therapy and failing to meet with his probation officer ~ one lethal loose cannon, if ever we witnessed one, just waiting for an opportunity to explode.

I felt much earlier on that this killing was an uncontrollable rage, triggered or increased through alcohol and/or drugs ... and all because the little girls were not 'where they were supposed to be'. At least his own daughter was not where she was 'supposed' to be.

The fact that he 'cried and screamed' when he 'found' their bodies indicates he knew darn well what he did was wrong and those actions were a weak attempt to cover up.

In fact, I can see him lunging at his own dau first, considering she was not home and it was Laura he was initially after; perhaps her little friend tried to escape. Realizing she was a witness, he caught Kristal and dragged or took her back to where his own dau lay.

Murdered two innocent little girls because he is an offensive, controlling person. UGH! JMHO. Chronic situation. Instant elimination for him, too, IMO.

 

[PolkSaladAnnie]

The 'missing bike' issue clarified.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/na...=bal-nationworld-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true

My error: I'd read earlier they were riding 'their bicycles' ... hence I assumed 2 bikes were involved.

The second last paragraph describes how these two little girls were playing together in the sunshine and bike-sharing ... winding their way through the suburb with one little girl on the handlebars and the other riding the bike. Poor little angels !!! Blissfully oblivious while they played of the horror that lay before them as dusk approached...

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-girlsdead11.html

..........
Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller and other officials tied Hobbs' explosive anger over the weekend to a routine parent-child disciplinary issue but wouldn't go into detail about it. Sunday's rage appears to have been connected to an incident in which his daughter, Laura, had been grounded by her mother until Monday.

The girl had been let out of the house by her mother a day early because of the pleasant weather and because it was Mother's Day, officials said. Hobbs may have been upset by the one-day reprieve.

After double-riding Laura's bike around their far north suburban neighborhood Sunday, Laura and her best friend Krystal Tobias, 9, failed to return home at the end of the day, setting off a police search.

But, Lake County authorities said, even before Laura and Krystal were reported missing, Hobbs had stabbed and beaten them to death. He had gone out looking for Laura and Krystal and erupted when he encountered the girls in the park near their homes, authorities said.

Girls 'victims of circumstance'

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said authorities believe Hobbs' anger initially was directed at his own daughter and that Krystal likely was killed simply because she was with Laura.

"It's safe to say both of the girls are victims of circumstance,'' Waller said in announcing first-degree murder charges against the 34-year-old Hobbs.

.......................

The law enforcement source said Hobbs has "a real problem controlling his anger,'' describing the murders as seemingly "just a classic case of uncontrollable rage.''

Hobbs, who could face a death sentence if convicted of the killings, gave police a statement that the source described as a "confession.'' Forensic evidence also ties him to the killings, the source said.

The two girls, both second-graders, frequently slept over at each other's homes, which are only a block apart on Gilboa Street.
................

 

[golfmom]

Laura stole $40 from her mother's wallet. She and Krystal spent the money together. Jerry Hobbs was furious that not only Laura was ungrounded, but that she was playing with Krystal in particular.

Laura & Krystal B.F.F.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ay11,1,5525445.story?page=3&coll=chi-news-hed

The Tobias family joined a candlelight vigil outside their home Tuesday night. After a prayer, the Tobiases walked down the street to the Hollabaugh home. Another prayer was said, and the mothers of the two girls wept and embraced.

"It wasn't their fault," Segura said. For Mother's Day, Santiago Tobias said, Krystal had decorated a clay flowerpot with colored Styrofoam that spelled "I love you mom" on one side and "Krystal" on the other.

She also gave her mother "coupons" good for two days of watering the plants, one hour of helping with the housework, one big kiss and hug and one hour of peace and quiet.

The coupons came in a red envelope marked with "XOXOXO."

 

[golfmom]

More speculation from a morning radio show ...

Host was saying that after Jerry murdered the girls he realized that he could be tied to the scene so he *needed* to be the one to find their bodies to explain any physical evidence.

 

[lady-eowyn]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0505110277may11,1,5525445.story?page=3&coll=chi-news-hed

The Tobias family joined a candlelight vigil outside their home Tuesday night. After a prayer, the Tobiases walked down the street to the Hollabaugh home. Another prayer was said, and the mothers of the two girls wept and embraced.

"It wasn't their fault," Segura said. For Mother's Day, Santiago Tobias said, Krystal had decorated a clay flowerpot with colored Styrofoam that spelled "I love you mom" on one side and "Krystal" on the other.

She also gave her mother "coupons" good for two days of watering the plants, one hour of helping with the housework, one big kiss and hug and one hour of peace and quiet.

The coupons came in a red envelope marked with "XOXOXO."

That's about all I have right now (besides anger)...

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Jeana, can a blame Texas for awhile if it turns out to be the daddy? He was supposed to serve 10 years for that aggravated assult charge.

I heard that he was supposed to serve two years and he served it all. That's why he was released with no supervision, no parole, etc.

 

[golfmom]

I heard that he was supposed to serve two years and he served it all. That's why he was released with no supervision, no parole, etc.

I made a mistake initially, they said he was to have 10 years probation. The only reason why he served anything was because he didn't follow his probation including ANGER MANAGEMENT. What jerk would rather go to prison than check in with a probation officer and take a couple of classes?