Waukegan, Ill. – The man accused of stabbing to death his 8-year-old daughter and her best friend hunted his child down in a park in a fit of rage because she was supposed to be grounded for stealing money, prosecutors said Wednesday.
A judge denied bail for 34-year-old ex-convict Jerry Hobbs after prosecutors said he admitted in videotaped and written statements to beating and stabbing his daughter Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias on Mother’s Day.
He claimed the older girl pulled a knife on him, but prosecutors said they doubt that.
The girls were found dead Monday in a park in Zion, the day after they went on a bike ride and never returned. They had more than 30 stab wounds between them, and Laura was stabbed in each eye, prosecutors said.
“You can see through the injuries to these two individuals the rage that was exhibited. This was a slaughter of two little girls,” prosecutor Jeff Pavletic said.
Hobbs said he thought Laura had stolen money from her mother, prosecutors said. She was supposed to be grounded on Mother’s Day, but her mother let her go out, so Hobbs went out to find her and bring her home, Pavletic said.
“Mr. Hobbs believed that her mother was too lax in her supervision of Laura,” the prosecutor said.
When Hobbs found the girls, Laura refused to go home, and he beat and stabbed the girls, prosecutors said.
Hobbs told investigators that Krystal pulled the knife to defend her friend, and he wrested it away. But prosecutors said they doubt the little girl was carrying a knife.
“It was a brutal beating, repeated punching of the two little girls and then repeated stabs. It’s pretty horrible,” State’s Attorney Michael Waller said.
Hobbs has a criminal history dating to 1990 in Texas, including arrests for assault and resisting arrest.
Just last month, he was released from a Texas prison after serving time for an assault in 2001. He had argued with Laura’s mother, Sheila Hollabaugh, then grabbed a chain saw and chased neighbors until someone hit him in the back with a shovel, according to prosecutor Rick Mahler in Texas. No one was injured.
Hobbs was sentenced to 10 years’ probation but failed to appear for required meetings and was thrown in prison in 2003.
