Oct 21, 2006 2:00 pm US/Central
Alleged Confession Allowed In Zion Murder Case
Man's August Admission To Killings Ruled OK To Use At Trial
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) ―
A judge ruled Friday that a
Zion man's alleged confession to killing his young daughter and her friend can be entered as evidence at his upcoming trial.
In a 37-page ruling, in
Lake County Judge Fred Foreman said the statements made by murder suspect Jerry Hobbs III were legally obtained. The ruling follows a hearing in August where police officers testified that they read Hobbs his rights three times while he was being questioned.
"The fact that the defendant did not invoke any of his rights suggests the mood of the questioning was not unduly burdensome and that he willingly participated in the questioning," Foreman wrote.
Hobbs is charged with the May 8, 2005, murders of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura, and her 9-year-old friend, Krystal Tobias. Prosecutors say Hobbs killed the girls in a fit of rage because his daughter refused to listen to him when he ordered her to leave a park and return home.
Assistant Public Defender Keith Grant on Friday said the publicity surrounding the case has made it impossible for Hobbs to get a fair jury trial and asked that the case be moved out of Lake County.
The extent of the media coverage of this case has been extreme and the local media has been the center of the storm," Grant said. "In another county it will be reported, but it will be less because the local connection will not be there."
Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Chancey asked Foreman to wait until jury selection begins before deciding whether to move the case. No trial date has been set.
The judge said he would rule on the change of venue request on Nov. 6.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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