Man admits killing daughter over refusal to go home

Man admits killing daughter over refusal to go home
Thursday, May 12, 2005
By P.J. Huffstutter, Los Angeles Times

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- Jerry Branton Hobbs III, accused of murdering his
8-year-old daughter and her second-grade classmate as they played in a
park over the weekend, told prosecutors that he punched and then
stabbed the girls 31 times because his daughter refused to come home
with him.

During a hearing yesterday at the Lake County Courthouse, prosecutors
described how the 34-year-old man had admitted in video and oral
statements to the "slaughter" of Laura Hobbs and her best friend,
9-year-old Krystal Tobias.

Hobbs said he sought the girls out in a wooded area of Beulah Park on
Mother's Day when Laura was late returning home. When she refused to
leave, he reportedly told investigators, he punched her at least twice
in the face.

He then punched Krystal when she came to her friend's aid, and claimed
to have taken a small knife away from the child. Then, Hobbs said, he
stabbed and killed them.

Investigators still were searching yesterday for the weapon used in
the crime. But Michael J. Waller, the Lake County state's attorney,
said he didn't believe that Krystal was carrying a weapon -- described
as a "potato knife" with a 4-to-6-inch blade.

"This guy's 6-foot-1, and these are 8- and 9-year-old girls," Waller
said at a news conference after the hearing. "This man has a terrible
problem controlling himself. This is about rage."

Hobbs, who has a lengthy criminal record, was released from a Texas
prison last month after serving two years for domestic assault. The
officer who responded to the 2001 incident said he saw Hobbs chase
several people with a chain saw.

Judge Victoria L. Martin denied Hobbs bail. Prosecutors said they have
not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Hobbs' next court date
is scheduled for June 9.

Hobbs came to this community of 23,000, located about an hour north of
Chicago, in an effort to reconcile with his daughter and her mother,
Sheila Hollabaugh. Neighbors said they often heard fighting coming
from the home.

Laura and Krystal disappeared Sunday evening. Hobbs joined other
family members in a community search. Before dawn Monday, he was
walking along the bike path that cuts through Beulah Park. He dashed
into the underbrush and, crying, shouted that he had found the bodies,
authorities said.

When investigators interviewed Hobbs on Monday, he told them that he
couldn't bear to get closer than 20 feet to the bodies. But police
grew suspicious when Hobbs "described the wounds in detail -- details
he couldn't have known unless he'd been much closer," Waller said.

Prosecutors said Hobbs later told them that he was upset with
Hollabaugh for being too lenient with their daughter for having taken
$40 out of her purse. Hollabaugh reportedly had grounded Laura, but on
Mother's Day let her invite Krystal over to play.

This "man" if you want to call him that, is a real sick-o and should be put
to death, or at the very least in the general popultion of the Prison -
letting the other prisoners know WHY he is there!

Rob

"sunny" wrote in message
...
Man admits killing daughter over refusal to go home
Thursday, May 12, 2005
By P.J. Huffstutter, Los Angeles Times

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- Jerry Branton Hobbs III, accused of murdering his
8-year-old daughter and her second-grade classmate as they played in a
park over the weekend, told prosecutors that he punched and then
stabbed the girls 31 times because his daughter refused to come home
with him.

During a hearing yesterday at the Lake County Courthouse, prosecutors
described how the 34-year-old man had admitted in video and oral
statements to the "slaughter" of Laura Hobbs and her best friend,
9-year-old Krystal Tobias.

Hobbs said he sought the girls out in a wooded area of Beulah Park on
Mother's Day when Laura was late returning home. When she refused to
leave, he reportedly told investigators, he punched her at least twice
in the face.

He then punched Krystal when she came to her friend's aid, and claimed
to have taken a small knife away from the child. Then, Hobbs said, he
stabbed and killed them.

Investigators still were searching yesterday for the weapon used in
the crime. But Michael J. Waller, the Lake County state's attorney,
said he didn't believe that Krystal was carrying a weapon -- described
as a "potato knife" with a 4-to-6-inch blade.

"This guy's 6-foot-1, and these are 8- and 9-year-old girls," Waller
said at a news conference after the hearing. "This man has a terrible
problem controlling himself. This is about rage."

Hobbs, who has a lengthy criminal record, was released from a Texas
prison last month after serving two years for domestic assault. The
officer who responded to the 2001 incident said he saw Hobbs chase
several people with a chain saw.

Judge Victoria L. Martin denied Hobbs bail. Prosecutors said they have
not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Hobbs' next court date
is scheduled for June 9.

Hobbs came to this community of 23,000, located about an hour north of
Chicago, in an effort to reconcile with his daughter and her mother,
Sheila Hollabaugh. Neighbors said they often heard fighting coming
from the home.

Laura and Krystal disappeared Sunday evening. Hobbs joined other
family members in a community search. Before dawn Monday, he was
walking along the bike path that cuts through Beulah Park. He dashed
into the underbrush and, crying, shouted that he had found the bodies,
authorities said.

When investigators interviewed Hobbs on Monday, he told them that he
couldn't bear to get closer than 20 feet to the bodies. But police
grew suspicious when Hobbs "described the wounds in detail -- details
he couldn't have known unless he'd been much closer," Waller said.

Prosecutors said Hobbs later told them that he was upset with
Hollabaugh for being too lenient with their daughter for having taken
$40 out of her purse. Hollabaugh reportedly had grounded Laura, but on
Mother's Day let her invite Krystal over to play.