May 9, 2006 7:53 am US/Central
Father's Indictment Stands In Zion Girls' Slaying
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) ―
A Lake County judge has refused to dismiss the grand jury indictment of a father accused in last year's Mother's Day stabbing deaths of his young daughter and her best friend.
Jerry Hobbs III, 35, is charged with killing his 8-year-old daughter, Laura Hobbs, and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias on May 8, 2005, at a park near their homes in Zion. Prosecutors have said Hobbs killed them because he became enraged that his daughter was outside when she was supposed to be grounded for stealing $40 from her mother.
He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Defense attorney David Brodsky had requested the indictment be dismissed, arguing in court Monday that the Lake County Major Crime Task Force made "reckless misrepresentations of the truth" to the grand jury.
"There is no physical evidence of any kind linking Jerry Hobbs to these crimes," he said.
But prosecutors say lab tests are still being conducted on some items connected to the murders.
Judge Fred Foreman also on Monday refused to discard a videotape of Hobbs reading a confession that Brodsky alleged was prepared by police. Foreman said a state law requiring police departments to record interrogations in homicide cases was not in effect when Hobbs was arrested.
Hobbs remains in the Lake County Jail. His trial is scheduled to begin July 10.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
