GUILTY OH - Johnny Clarke, 21, & Lisa Straub, 20, murdered, Springfield Twp, 31 Jan 2011

[colette]

The killers brought the bags and tape with them. A bag with tape was found next to the bodies. Really I think they would be dead in less than 10 minutes with the bags tight around their necks. (probably about 6 minutes) But they had injuries to the neck area, so strangulation is a possibility too. I really don't see a way that someone could tie a plastic bag around someone's head and think that they could live. Sounds like premediated murder.

 

[girlinblue]

I was reading fast and didn't quite see the mention of neck injuries or strangulation. But you could strangle someone/cut off their air supply to the point of passing out, and then stop. The timing of the T call is just precarious. Say they wanted to knock them out, WITHOUT injuring them... Bags on their heads, maybe they watch too much TV (these can't be hardened, epic smart killers), and think, we'll just do this, and then they'll wake up or get free and call for help or "we" can call for help after leaving and then they'll be alive. I dunno. Not trying to be devil's advocate. It's just so mind boggling and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Maybe I'm just hoping that the intent wasn't to make these kids suffer, that it wasn't that sinister, for those poor kids' sake.

 

[colette]

Girlinblue, I know what you mean, it's hard to believe someone could be so callous to kill in this way. I was re-reading some clips and noticed that the bags were tied not taped, the tape was on their hands and Jonny's ankles. But still a bag tied on someone's head is not going to allow for much air for long. I just hope some fingerprints or DNA was left and arrests will be soon. Someone who would do this should not be free a moment longer.

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110205/NEWS02/110209564/0/images

 

[anthony1]

Girlinblue, I know what you mean, it's hard to believe someone could be so callous to kill in this way. I was re-reading some clips and noticed that the bags were tied not taped, the tape was on their hands and Jonny's ankles. But still a bag tied on someone's head is not going to allow for much air for long. I just hope some fingerprints or DNA was left and arrests will be soon. Someone who would do this should not be free a moment longer.

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110205/NEWS02/110209564/0/images

i really think that the blade may have made a typo. everything i have read states that the bags were taped at the necks with injuries to the neck. now i'm curious. i'm gonna have to go back and re-read some articles cuz i certainly don't wanna ask the family.

 

[Norwegian]

Girlinblue, I know what you mean, it's hard to believe someone could be so callous to kill in this way. I was re-reading some clips and noticed that the bags were tied not taped, the tape was on their hands and Jonny's ankles. But still a bag tied on someone's head is not going to allow for much air for long. I just hope some fingerprints or DNA was left and arrests will be soon. Someone who would do this should not be free a moment longer.

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110205/NEWS02/110209564/0/images

If only JC ankles were tied.... why wasn't it possible for him to defend himself better? I mean, with arms free... that is quite an advantage.

Anyone knows anything about this? Am I missing something?

 

[notsoconfused]

If only JC ankles were tied.... why wasn't it possible for him to defend himself better? I mean, with arms free... that is quite an advantage.

Anyone knows anything about this? Am I missing something?

I believe what they stated was ONLY JCs ankles were taped and NOT LSs. Both of their wrists were taped but only JCs ankles.

 

[LillieBelle]

I have relatives that lock the door between the garage and the house every night and especially when they are gone (Even if the exterior doors are locked and the garage door is down). They often hide a key in the garage near the door to the house and it is quick to unlock.

We had family friends who were robbed by someone driving down the road, pressing extra garage door openers, and it randomly opened up their garage.

I think the door companies don't have that issue anymore and the frequency needs to be copied, but keeping the door to your garage locked is an extra layer of security.

We ALWAYS lock the door between our garage and home. Our bedroom is right above the garage and one night I heard the garage door open and my husband had just come in the bedroom and I asked him why he opened the garage door and he said, "I didn't"... I jumped up and ran outside screaming "I've called 911" (I hadn't yet) and found my car door ajar, the middle console opened, and apparently "whoever" had found my garage door opener and used it to open the garage. The perps ran away, but took the clicker with them. We couldn't find the instructions to change the code, so we now keep the garage door unplugged unless we need to use it. Scary!

 

[anthony1]

I believe what they stated was ONLY JCs ankles were taped and NOT LSs. Both of their wrists were taped but only JCs ankles.

this is the correct version!!

 

[Harmony 2]

i really think that the blade may have made a typo. everything i have read states that the bags were taped at the necks with injuries to the neck. now i'm curious. i'm gonna have to go back and re-read some articles cuz i certainly don't wanna ask the family.

Autopsies showed both Ms. Straub and Clarke died of asphyxiation. Their wrists had been bound with duct tape and plastic bags were taped around their necks. Clarke's ankles also had been bound.

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110213/NEWS02/110219816

Note: the article is new... dated today

Anthony1 have you heard back on being verified?

 

[oceanblueeyes]

http://toledoblade.com/article/20110213/NEWS02/110219816

Note: the article is new... dated today

Anthony1 have you heard back on being verified?

This part is very interesting.

Was this another Billings type of crime, I wonder?

Excerpt:

Jim Verbosky, an uncle of Ms. Straub, said he is certain the killers knew that his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jeff and Mary Beth Straub, were out of town. He believes the killers had gone to the house to steal a safe containing cash — a safe, he insists, that didn't exist.

"There is a kitchen with an island and an open eating area that went into an open family room. That was not ransacked, but you could tell there was a fight that ensued there," he said. "Plants were knocked over. Things were broken and knocked over, but upstairs, Mary Beth and Jeff's room was ransacked to the point where it looked like a TV show. All the drawers were out, and they had punched holes in the walk-in closet looking for a safe that never existed. There was no safe."

 

[angela]

I initially thought this would be solved quickly. I still believe Tiffany knows more than she is telling but LE is going to have a hard time proviing it. I really hope they have a lot more evidence than we are being led to believe. Hopefully the DNA evidence will solve it without a doubt.

 

[girlinblue]

This part is very interesting.

All the drawers were out, and they had punched holes in the walk-in closet looking for a safe that never existed. There was no safe."

Okay, so, why would someone think there was a safe if one never existed? I'm so frustrated by this. It's hours away from me and I have no personal connection, but I AM SOOOO FRUSTRATED.

 

[seekinjustice]

http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/justice.for.johnny.and.lisa/posts/101006959978498 WOW - That's all I have to say.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Okay, so, why would someone think there was a safe if one never existed? I'm so frustrated by this. It's hours away from me and I have no personal connection, but I AM SOOOO FRUSTRATED.

That's what I would like to know...where did the idea of a safe come from? Someone had to have discussed a safe with someone. Who? This brings to mind In Cold Blood. Shudder.

Thanks for the link Ocean....there was much more detail there, finally.

 

[girlinblue]

http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/justice.for.johnny.and.lisa/posts/101006959978498 WOW - That's all I have to say.

Reading that as you posted. Having the same thoughts.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I can only locate the one FB page for JC and LS when I search and it shows older posts from Friday. How can I view the newer posts? Or am I on the wrong FB page? (I obviously rarely use FB so I appreciate any help here!)

 

[seekinjustice]

I can only locate the one FB page for JC and LS when I search and it shows older posts from Friday. How can I view the newer posts? Or am I on the wrong FB page? (I obviously rarely use FB so I appreciate any help here!)

Is it the Justice for Johnny Clarke & Lisa Straub? The first post has about 160 comments. I will post that link http://www.facebook.com/#!/justice.for.johnny.and.lisa

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Is it the Justice for Johnny Clarke & Lisa Straub? The first post has about 160 comments. I will post that link http://www.facebook.com/#!/justice.for.johnny.and.lisa

Thanks so much seekinjustice...I'm a little slow this morning...now off to read the comments.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Okay, so, why would someone think there was a safe if one never existed? I'm so frustrated by this. It's hours away from me and I have no personal connection, but I AM SOOOO FRUSTRATED.

I think we all want to see justice served, girlnblue.

People can talk and they can really put out things that are not true. Maybe someone thought there was a safe with cash in it since this family is upper middle class. Do the Straubs own a business or businesses that are known to take in cash?

Word can get around ......even if the words are merely made up gossip.

It really makes more sense to me than these kids being the target. They simply were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Imo, what was the target was the home the perps thought were empty at the time. Imo, it cant be dismissed that this happened when the parents were out of their home and gone on a vacation.

Nor can it be dismissed that it seems it was their bedroom that was the focal point of whomever invaded that home uninvited.

IMO

 

[Sonya610]

Well they did keep Iraqi Dinars in the house, and probably a whole lot of them.

The rumor of those could be construed as "cash" implying a safe, but apparently the police found some or all of them. Did the killers find them and not realize what they were? Did the killers miss them? Surely they were stored away in a box or other container so if the police found "some" they probably found them all.

It really makes more sense to me than these kids being the target. They simply were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Imo, what was the target was the home the perps thought were empty at the time. Imo, it cant be dismissed that this happened when the parents were out of their home and gone on a vacation.

Yeah I agree. At first I thought it was a hit or for drugs, but if the killers spent a lot of time tearing up the parents bedroom closet they obviously were there for another reason (i.e. the fictious safe full of cash).

I also think people are putting WAY TOO MUCH STOCK in the availability and usefulness of DNA evidence. First off, even if DNA was found on the bodies (i.e. the tape, plastic bag, etc...) and could be identified it does not mean the killers DNA is in the database, and they police can't force people to give DNA samples without a very good reason. Secondly, if the killers had been over to the house they could explain away any found DNA by saying "oh yeah I was over there a few weeks ago" (unless it is on the tape or bags etc...). Thirdly DNA is not that easy to find.