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

[Pharlap]

Coffeehead over at ctv said they heard NBC5Chicago 10pm news reported the girls were found this morning by 'not a jogger' but Laura's father who is now and has been questioned all day. Listed as a POI by the news, and says he was recently released from a TX prison.

Just something to add:angel:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050509zion,1,4949577.story?page=2&coll=chi-news-hed

http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=IC9Pza160SyiF2ZiSy17MES5SvjgcLT_rmVSHQ9HaY8MfqU-&name=Beulah%20Park&csz=%20IL&country=us&cs=10&qty=12&ds=g


http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?addr=beulah+park&csz=zion%2C+illinois&country=us&new=1

 

[PsychesKnot]

Early yesterday afternoon, I posted a couple of links on another board here at WS, with links of videos of Mr. Goetz. At that early point, I was curious about a couple of inconsistencies between his two taped comment videos. In one he says his wife saw the girls while he was at work in the morning. In the other he says HE did. In one video he says someone came to his house looking for the girls that night. In the other video, a reporter says he said someone CALLED to see if the girls were there. I suspect that one is a reporter's mistake.

As far as Goetz having anything to do with it, I question now what I did then -- that the girls would have been missing all day and that he said he was at work. The girls were seen by others well after that time. I don't think he would have done something to the girls later in the evening for a chalking incident earlier. Possible, not probable.

Dusting their family car is curious as well. If the car was in the driveway while the girls were playing around the garage, it would not be in the least suspicious for their fingerprints to be on the outside of it. Even if they were inside it, it would prove little, as some children do play around in the car if the parents leave it unlocked.

-----------------

Re: the father finding the body--

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050509zion,1,4949577.story?coll=chi-news-hed
(must register or use Bugmenot.com password/logon of [email protected]/tribune)

Hollabaugh and a police source said Hobbs' father discovered the bodies.

Hollabaugh said a relative was interviewed by police early Monday evening. Police confirmed that the relative was interviewed. Investigators left the Hobbs home with several bags of what they called evidence Monday afternoon, and Sheila Hollabaugh said police had taken clothing family members had worn on Sunday.

Other info from that article quotes Goetz's wife as saying that the girls intended to play in the ravine area and her own daughter asked to go with them, but she would not allow it.

Other info from that article--

Laura went to the beach and kite flying early in the day then to Krystal's. They were at a friend's home until around 4pm then went to another little girl's home. She was not there but neighbors saw them in the girl's backyard hammock, then a little later on their bikes in the neighborhood.

------------

Just a scattered FYI --

Krystal has a 15 year old brother.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GIRLS_DEAD?SITE=ILJOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[RobertStJames]

1) Hobbs' father found the bodies
2) Timeline is really weird
3) Only one bike found
4) Check out the quote from the 12yr old "playmate" Qadira Williams
5) The girls were not allowed to play in that park. They went anyway, but only after visiting at least three of their friends houses.

RstJ

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11605054.htm

 

[PsychesKnot]

More on father finding body --
http://www.nbc5.com/news/4466309/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65172

NBC5's Amy Jacobson said the girls were both stabbed in the neck. Their bodies were found side-by-side, face up at about 6 a.m. in the tall grass by Hobbs' father, who was being interviewed by police Monday night, Jacobson reported. Police were calling Hobbs's father a "person of interest" in the case. Evidence technicians also took the clothes Hobbs was wearing out of the house.

Another link --

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/050905_ns_zion.html

The father of one of the young victims, Jerry Hobbs, discovered the bodies while walking through the nature area near Beulah Park around 6 a.m., according to Laura Hobbs's mother and the major county crimes task force.

Police found one girl's bicycle near one of the bodies and possibly another bike nearby.

and from Krystal's brother --

Krystal Tobias' older brother is confident his sister's killer will be caught.

"She was innocent. There was no reason for her to be out there in the woods. It was some sick guy out there doing this," said Alberto Tobias, victim's brother.

At that website are several links to videos. One has the above quote delivered by Krystal's brother, standing in a doorway. Also comments from Laura's grandparents, visual of their homes, modest but well kept it appears. The reporter states that Laura's father had only moved there from Texas in the past four weeks, but does not mention the prison angle.

 

[lauriej]

Hello all,

this is a dreadfully tragic crime. The missing bike makes me wonder if that could have been part of the motive. i know that sounds odd but maybe they met someone, or a group of people close to their own age and an altercation broke out because someone wanted the bike and the girls resisted and, well we know the sad outcome. Stranger things have happened and people killed over less ...

blaize

................the missing bike is huge! those little girls were on their bikes all day, there's no way someone hasn't reported 'finding one of them'..

..........a bike is also a HUGE piece of evidence to conceal, it will be found.....

...tragic story............2 more little angels in heaven....................do we have to wake up every monday morning to another case ????

 

[MistyM]

I just don't get it. Are these killings becoming more rampant or is the media just reporting on them more? We are truly in the end times

i think it always has gone on, it's just reported more now. a few hundred years ago people didn't really treat kids like humans at all. they would do things like move and leave the kids with the house, or just throw them out with the garbage if they died. today we treat our pets better than people used to treat children. unfortunately there are still sickos out there who kill children. but we care alot more now what happens to them than we used to.

 

[ThoughtFox]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0505/09/ng.01.html

Transcript from CNN's Nancy Grace, with Marc Klaas and the Coroner:

Illinois Police Find Bodies of Two Little Girls

Aired May 9, 2005 - 20:00:00 ET

 

[ThoughtFox]

So much bad news for children today! I already posted this somewhere else - there must be four threads just on this case alone in four different places.

Nancy Grace Transcript, with Mark Klaas and Coroner, May 9
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0505/09/ng.01.html

Discussion of the bikes, the area in general, the stab wounds, and possible motives.

I just want to say that I have a 9-year-old son, my youngest, and I have gotten much more protective of him than I was of my older kids. They used to walk to school, since we lived one block away. They always had a group, but now I feel badly that I let them do when they were so young. The old school has been torn down, and my youngest gets driven everywhere, even to the bus stop 2-blocks away. Especially since there is some construction near his stop, and there are workmen who are strangers driving around all the time. It makes me extremely nervous, knowing what I know now about abductions and opportunity. Watch your kids, folks!

 

[PsychesKnot]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-girlsdead10.html

The source also said the girls had been stabbed multiple times and appeared to have had their throats slashed or stabbed. They both had facial bruises and injuries suggesting they had been kicked, according to the source.

More at link

 

[audrey77]

i think it always has gone on, it's just reported more now. a few hundred years ago people didn't really treat kids like humans at all. they would do things like move and leave the kids with the house, or just throw them out with the garbage if they died. today we treat our pets better than people used to treat children. unfortunately there are still sickos out there who kill children. but we care alot more now what happens to them than we used to.

Yeah... just look at the Doe Network and you'll see that it's been going on for a long time.... Just not reported.

 

[golfmom]

Father of Hobbs has been named as a "person of interest"

http://www.nbc5.com/news/4466309/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65172

........
NBC5's Amy Jacobson said the girls were both stabbed in the neck. Their bodies were found side-by-side, face up at about 6 a.m. in the tall grass by Hobbs' father, who was being interviewed by police Monday night, Jacobson reported. Police were calling Hobbs's father a "person of interest" in the case. Evidence technicians also took the clothes Hobbs was wearing out of the house.

Police, though, were also pursing dozens of other tips in the case, and are trying to get in touch with approximately 85 sex offenders who live in the area, Jacobson reported.
...........

 

[golfmom]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/308224p-263701c.html

..............
Hollabaugh said Laura's father, Jerry Hobbs, found the bodies about 6 a.m. yesterday in the woods of Beulah Park, though police would not confirm who discovered them.

Hollabaugh said cops were interviewing relatives, and had taken clothes some of them wore on Sunday.

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

Note: in an article I found a reference that he had just *rejoined* the family. I think they moved to IL from Florida.

 

[amandab]

1) Hobbs' father found the bodies
2) Timeline is really weird
3) Only one bike found
4) Check out the quote from the 12yr old "playmate" Qadira Williams
5) The girls were not allowed to play in that park. They went anyway, but only after visiting at least three of their friends houses.

RstJ

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11605054.htm

Without my having to register, can you tell me what the playmate's quote was?

 

[karmarama]

This is so sad!


For some reason, I have a feeling that maybe a young offender is responsible? maybe 2 people? I really hope I am wrong!

Praying for those little girls and their families.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-girlsdead10.html

.........
A law enforcement source said a relative of one of the victims found the bodies, which were in such a wooded, remote area that investigators used an all-terrain vehicle to reach the site. The relative was questioned extensively Monday, the source said.

The source also said the girls had been stabbed multiple times and appeared to have had their throats slashed or stabbed. They both had facial bruises and injuries suggesting they had been kicked, according to the source.

The girls were lying near each other and it appeared they had been slain where their bodies were found, said Dr. Richard Keller, the Lake County coroner. There were no signs either girl had been sexually assaulted, he said.
...........
Laura and Krystal had been friends since Laura moved to Zion from Florida with her family last August, relatives said. Her father had recently rejoined the Hobbs family in Zion, a working-class bedroom community of 22,000 near Waukegan, Kenosha, Wis., and the Great Lakes Naval base in North Chicago.

The Tobias family has lived in Zion for about 10 years, said the uncle. The girl's parents, Santiago, 39, and Christina, 37, had moved to the United States from Mexico about 17 years ago "to find a better life,'' said Joachim Tobias.
...........

 

[golfmom]

"Laura Hobbs was known as the neighborhood for her punctuality. She had a 7 p.m. curfew and as that time drew near she would lecture other kids that "it's time to come in," said Qadira Williams, a 12-year-old playmate."

If you use www.bugmenot.com you can get the password/email to enter.

 

[golfmom]

Musing out loud...

1. This is not the kind of community someone would kidnap a child for ransom. This is a very blue-collar, working-class community.

2. Somehow I feel that this was a retaliation type crime ... lots of anger & violence involved. The timing of these murders is very telling ... mother's day with the obvious assumption here to target a mother.

3. That a parent found these girls doesn't disturb me too much. If one of my children was missing, well I'd be out looking. However, when the news first broke I thought "hope LE checks out the person who found the girls." Additionally, the recently *rejoined* the family does perk up my antenna.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

1) Hobbs' father found the bodies
2) Timeline is really weird
3) Only one bike found
4) Check out the quote from the 12yr old "playmate" Qadira Williams
5) The girls were not allowed to play in that park. They went anyway, but only after visiting at least three of their friends houses.

RstJ

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11605054.htm

From what I heard on the radio this morning, this guy was recently released from a Texas prison and has been in almost constant "questioning" by police since he found the bodies of these two little girls.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Without my having to register, can you tell me what the playmate's quote was?

you never have to register to read an article. Cut and paste the link to the article at www.bugmenot.com
and it will give you a user name and password to use.

 

[mrs4point0]

Father Of Slain Girl Questioned In Deaths
Man Labeled 'Person Of Interest'

..........Hobbs' father -- who found the bodies and alerted authorities -- was interviewed by police Monday night, NBC5's Amy Jacobson reported. Police called Hobbs's father a "person of interest" in the case and evidence technicians also took the clothes Hobbs was wearing out of his house, Jacobson reported...........

http://www.nbc5.com/news/4470143/detail.html