Children's Bodies Found In Suburban Park

Arthur Hollabaugh says he had searched through the night for his missing granddaughter when he spotted something in bushes part way down a ravine: a child's bicycle. Minutes later, he said Tuesday, his son-in-law, Jerry Hobbs, was screaming that he had found the bodies of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura Hobbs, and her best friend, Krystal Tobias, who disappeared together on a Mother's Day bike ride.

"I went and I seen them from a distance," Hollabaugh, 51, told The Associated Press. "It was clear they were laying there."

Laura and 9-year-old Krystal were stabbed repeatedly and left a few yards off a wooded bike path near their homes in this small city near the Wisconsin line. On Tuesday, a memorial of flowers and balloons marked the area where the bodies were found a day earlier.

Police weren't commenting on the case Tuesday morning, but Hollabaugh said investigators were questioning his son-in-law and had also talked to Laura's siblings about Hobbs. Donald Meadie, assistant commander of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, confirmed late Monday that Jerry Hobbs had been questioned but said there were no suspects. He declined to comment further.

Hollabaugh said Hobbs had just returned to the area about a month earlier to reunite with Laura's mother after serving time in a Texas prison.

"Jerry just got out of prison for aggravated assault and I think they're holding that against him," Hollabaugh said. "I don't think he did it." Hobbs could not be reached for comment Tuesday; Hollabaugh said he was still with the police.

Police searched the family home and Hollabaugh said they took measurements of his shoe soles. "They went through our stuff, took clothes," he said, adding that they took the computer to see if the girl had been on any Internet chat rooms.

Grief counselors were being brought to Beulah Park Elementary, where the girls were best friends in the same second grade class. The pupils just read "Charlotte's Web" and "A Taste of Blackberries," both of which deal with loss, school superintendent Constance Collins said Tuesday.

"I think that those stories will serve as an excellent backdrop for what we're going to have to deal with today," she told ABC's "Good Morning America."

The girls' bodies were discovered in Beulah Park about four blocks from the school on Monday shortly after dawn. Police said no weapons were found and there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Zion, along Lake Michigan, was founded in 1901 by a religious faith healer as a utopian community. It has about 22,000 residents but retains a quiet, at times rural feel despite being on the edge of both the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas.

Laura Unrein, who lives near Beulah Park, said the area where the bodies were found is well known as a place to avoid. The heavily wooded park has a paved bike path, a ravine and trails made by mountain bikes.

"There have been incidents of kids beating up people and taking their wallets and park rangers have had to shoo people out of there for hunting illegally," she said, adding that it's also a popular hangout for teens to drink.

The parents of one of the girls had reported her missing about 8:50 p.m. Sunday, about two hours after she was expected home, Police Chief Doug Malcolm said. The parents of the other girl called shortly afterward, and authorities with rescue dogs began searching.

Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said it appears the girls were killed where their bodies were found; there was no evidence of sexual abuse.

"They were best friends. When one left, the other left. They were always together," said Unrein.

The killings stunned this town about 45 miles north of Chicago, prompting police and Beulah Park Elementary School officials to escort children directly onto buses at the end of the school day.

"I know that they were very sweet girls," said Julie Dobnikar, who teaches second grade at the school, adding that the girls' teacher is "very distraught right now."  -AP

Park Known As A Place To Avoid

Laura Unrein, who lives near Beulah Park, said the area where the bodies were found is well known as a place to avoid. The heavily wooded park has a paved bike path, a ravine and trails made by mountain bikes. "There have been incidents of kids beating up people and taking their wallets and park rangers have had to shoo people out of there for hunting illegally," she said, adding that it's also a popular hangout for teens to drink.

"Our children are told not to be down in that area," she said. "My husband and I don't go down there anymore because you hear the stories."

The parents of one of the girls had reported her missing about 8:50 p.m. Sunday, about two hours after she was expected home, Malcolm said. The parents of the other girl called shortly afterward, and authorities with rescue dogs began searching. A resident walking through the park discovered the bodies at dawn. Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said it appears the girls were killed where their bodies were found. They had both been stabbed multiple times, authorities said.

"They were best friends. When one left, the other left. They were always together," said Unrein.

The killings stunned this town about 45 miles north of Chicago, prompting police and Beulah Park Elementary School officials to escort children directly onto buses at the end of the school day.

"I know that they were very sweet girls," said Julie Dobnikar, who teaches second grade at the school, adding that the girls' teacher is "very distraught right now."

Dozens of anxious parents waited until their children emerged from the front doors of the school, then put their arms around their kids or clutched their hands as they walked to their cars.

"I'm concerned for their safety," Cynthia Taylor said of her granddaughters, ages 5 and 6. "It's bad and scary that people could be so cruel to innocent kids."

The Associated Press Contributed To This Report

Father Denied Bond, Allegedly Confesses

A father was arrested on murder charges Tuesday, May 10, 2005 in the Mother's Day stabbings of his 8-year-old daughter and the little girl's best friend, who were killed after they went biking in a park.

Jerry Hobbs, who was recently released from prison, had led police to the bodies just off a wooded bike path early Monday, claiming he spotted them while searching for his daughter, the girl's grandfather, Arthur Hollabaugh, claimed.

Hobbs, 34, was questioned through the day about the deaths of Laura Hobbs, 8, and Krystal Tobias, 9.

Both girls had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly in the woods and left to die, Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said. He said the girls were found side-by-side and did not appear to have been sexually assaulted.

No motive was given at a Tuesday news conference, but a states' attorney told reporters that a bond hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday morning. At that time, he said, evidence against the suspect would be presented.

Hobbs' Reaction Raised Questions

Jerry Hobbs, just out of prison, led police to the girls himself. They wanted to know how he found them. They kept asking him questions. Finally, after hours of being interviewed, Hobbs was charged with both murders, a crime that stunned this small city near the Wisconsin line.

"I think its safe to say his reaction to questions piqued the officers' interest to question him further," prosecutor Michael Waller said in announcing the charges Tuesday.

Waller would not discuss possible motives for the killings but said details would come out when Hobbs appeared in bond court Wednesday.

"This horrific crime has terrorized and traumatized the Zion community and, I think it's safe to say, people of good will everywhere," Waller said. "There's no rational explanation or reasonable motive that can be ascribed to an act of horror like this."

The county coroner, Richard Keller, said the girls were found side-by-side, facing up and did not appear to have been sexually assaulted. They appeared to have been killed near where they were found, he said.

"If it was him, then good thing they brought him down," said Krystal's 15-year-old brother, Alberto Segura. "We never thought a father would do that to a daughter. They were just babies. They didn't do anything wrong."

Recent Criminal History

Hobbs has an extensive criminal history dating to 1990 in Texas, including arrests for assault and resisting arrest, according to records kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

For the two years up until April 12, he was in a Texas prison serving time for assault involving an argument with Laura's mother, Sheila Hollabaugh, during which he grabbed a chain saw and chased neighbors through the trailer park where they lived, according to Rick Mahler, assistant district attorney for Wichita County, Texas.

No one was hurt in the 2001 incident and someone subdued Hobbs by hitting him in the back with a shovel, Mahler said.

Hobbs was sentenced to 10 years probation but failed to appear for required meetings, so his probation was revoked in 2003 and he was imprisoned until last month.

Arthur Hollabaugh said Hobbs had been living with the Hollabaughs after his release. He said he worried authorities might be trying to railroad Hobbs in their search for the girls' killer.

"Jerry just got out of prison for aggravated assault, and I think they're holding that against him," Hollabaugh said before police announced charges against Hobbs. "I don't think he did it."

Hollabaugh described the search for his missing granddaughter and said he and Hobbs were in the woods shortly before dawn Monday when they spotted Laura's bike part way down a ravine in the brush.

Minutes later, he said, Hobbs was screaming that he had found the bodies. "I went and I seen them from a distance," said Hollabaugh. "It was clear they were laying there."

At the entrance to Beulah Park, more than a dozen young children stood quietly around a growing memorial of flowers, balloons and stuffed animals.

One sign read: "May your angels rest peacefully in heaven."