No moves yet in double-murder case, but defense wants speedy resolution

Both sides in the Jerry Hobbs III case agreed to hold their positions Wednesday while the investigation continues into evidence that may clear Hobbs of the 2005 murders of his daughter and another little girl.

But one of Hobbs' defense attorneys said they want the investigation to move at all deliberate speed and they do not intend to wait an extended time for it to conclude.

"The bottom line is we want our guy out," Assistant Public Defender Greg Ticsay said. "We would prefer that he be out right now."

The DNA profile of another man, who the attorneys will not identify but say is in custody in another state, has been matched to semen found on the body and clothing of Laura Hobbs, 8.

Deputy State's Attorney Jeff Pavletic told Circuit Judge Fred Foreman the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force has reopened the investigation and is pursuing leads generated by the match.

"We are being proactive in investigating this information," Pavletic said. "We are proceeding with diligence and dispatch."

Foreman agreed to give investigators two weeks longer to look into the case, and Assistant Public Defender Keith Grant said the defense team would wait until then before making any attempt to free Hobbs on their motion.

"We have maintained all along that Jerry Hobbs did not commit these crimes and we are interested in the results of this investigation," Grant said. "The state has been sharing the information they have with us in a timely manner and we expect that will continue."

Laura and Krystal Tobias, 9, were stabbed to death on May 8, 2005 in a Zion park and Hobbs found the bodies the following day.

According to testimony during an October 2006 hearing to suppress Hobbs' confession, police testified Hobbs volunteered to go to the police station for questioning at 7 a.m. on May 9.

Task force investigators said their interest in Hobbs was fueled by several "red flags" in his responses to their questions. That included his detailed description of the condition the girls' bodies that he claimed he saw from at least 20 feet.

Det. Charles Scheltz testified he first told Hobbs he believed he was involved in the murders between 2 and 3 p.m.

Scheltz said Hobbs, who had signed a form waiving his right not to answer questions, denied the accusations and agreed to take a voice stress analysis test around 9:30 p.m. He was told just after midnight May 10 that the results indicated he was lying.

The questioning continued, Scheltz said, until Hobbs confessed around 4:40 a.m. to stabbing the girls with a knife that he said Krystal had attacked him with after he struck Laura.

Later that morning, Hobbs showed detectives the area in the park where he said he had thrown the knife but no one could find it.

Defense attorneys claimed at the hearing Hobbs' confession was coerced, but presented no evidence to support that claim and Hobbs did not testify.

Assistant State's Attorney Michael Mermel said the DNA sample was discovered on Laura's body and clothing shortly after the investigation began.

A partial profile of the DNA was developed, Mermel said, but it was not complete enough to be entered into the national database of DNA samples of felons.

A defense expert developed a more complete profile in 2007, Mermel said, but it could not be entered into the database for comparison because the expert's lab did not meet federal certification standards.

On June 25, Mermel said, the FBI agreed to enter the numeric signature of the defense DNA profile into the database and the match with the unnamed offender was registered.

Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said Wednesday he stands by the autopsy report on Laura Hobbs that said there were no signs the girl had been sexually assaulted before her death.

Keller said all the DNA samples taken from Laura were on the outside of her body or on her clothing, even though Hobbs' attorneys have suggested the pathologist could have missed evidence of sexual assault during the autopsy.

Hobbs is set to go to trial in October, but both sides of the case indicated it is unlikely a trial will be held that soon after the new development.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=392204">Prosecutor: DNA links Lake Co. double murder to new suspect <span class="date">[7/6/10]</span></a></li>

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