The Case of Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias: the Violation of Rights of Wrongly Suspected

Case overview

On May 8, 2005, in Zion, Illinois, 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias went to a nearby park to play together and when they didn’t return home by dinner, their families called the police. The police and the girls’ families started searching for them that evening. The next morning Laura’s father, Jerry Hobbs, found their bodies in the park. They were beaten and stabbed multiple times; there were a total of 31 stab wounds between both bodies. Immediately the police began to suspect Jerry because he found the bodies and because his reaction was abnormal. According to a Daily Herald article, “…Hobbs agreed to go to the police station for questioning...”. They interrogated him for 24 hours and eventually he confessed to killing the girls; stating he got angry with his daughter for leaving home when she was grounded. He says he punched Laura when she wouldn’t go home with him, but when Krystal pulled out a knife he took it and repeatedly stabbed both girls in a rage. The police got the ending of the confession on video tape, but I could not locate the questioning on tape. In the video of the confession a detective hands a typed confession to Jerry and states he typed it for Jerry since he didn’t want to write it out. The detective asks Jerry to read his statement aloud and makes sure to clarify that Jerry is doing this of his own will and that he was not coerced. Mr. Hobbs is unable to read the statement without sobbing at the details. The whole confession seemed very forced because the officer keeps making sure to state the confession was Mr. Hobbs’ decision, that he told it after being mirandized and that he was not coerced. It wasn’t just one time this was asked or stated, so it seemed off.

As per an article in the Chicago Tribune, “By 2007, scientists had found that semen recovered from Laura’s body did not belong to Hobbs. ” Yet, he was still not released from prison or granted bail. Mr. Hobbs remained detained until the DNA recovered from Laura was run through the system again and matched another individual living in the area at the time of the murder. The semen matched Jorge Torrez, whom, at the time of murders was 16 years old and was friends with Krystal Tobias’ older brother. In 2010, Jerry Hobbs was officially exonerated and released from prison after serving 5 years for a crime he did not commit.

Critical analysis

The first ten amendments of the US Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Simply put, they establish our basic human rights. The Fourth Amendment protects us from unreasonable search and seizure. All that means is the government may not search or seize you or your belongings without probable cause and a search warrant in most cases. Mr. Hobbs’ Fourth Amendment right was violated when they detained him without cause. As stated in the Chicago Tribune, “…police suspected him, in part because he had a criminal past and they felt his grief was insincere. ” Having a criminal past and not grieving the way most people grieve is not a reason to detain someone. There was no evidence indicating Mr. Hobbs was at the crime scene, let alone that he committed this horrible crime. Mr. Hobbs has stated that the officers would not allow him to leave when he asked to go home multiple times. The officers had every right to ask him questions but if they were going to legally detain and interrogate him they needed more reason than him not seeming sincere in his emotions and his criminal past. Along with his unlawful detaining, Mr. Hobbs was never made aware of his right to remain silent, or right against self-incrimination. This is a clear violation of the Fifth Amendment.

The officers are supposed to inform a person being detained and interrogated of their rights and make sure the person understands their rights. According to Mr. Hobbs the officers handed him a paper and told him to sign it as a formality of some sort. Mr. Hobbs signs it, unaware that he is waiving his rights. The officers should have verbally explained he had the right to remain silent and asked him if he wanted to waive that right. Since they would not let him leave, he was considered detained and should have immediately been read his rights. Given that they violated the Fifth Amendment, Jerry’s confession should not have been used against him in court, but because he unknowingly signed the waiver, it was. He was arrested for the double murder solely based on his confession.

Another right granted by the Fifth Amendment is the right to due process which just means a fair trial and treatment in the judicial system. This right was clearly violated in 2007 when they discovered the DNA from Laura’s body did not match Mr. Hobbs. As soon as they knew it was not his DNA he should have been released from prison. Unfortunately, he was kept in prison until the DNA matched another man which wasn’t until 2010. The Sixth Amendment gives a person being detained the right to an attorney before, during and after questioning. Mr. Hobbs says he asked for an attorney multiple times during the interrogation and was never given one. If he did in fact request one, questioning should have ceased immediately. Since they kept questioning him without an attorney none of the information they received should have held up in court. This case is very similar to a very famous case, Miranda v. Arizona. Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and raping a young girl and when he was taken into custody he confessed both on paper and verbally. He did challenge the ruling since he wasn’t aware of his rights given in the Fifth and Sixth Amendment. He never received a lawyer either, just like Mr. Hobbs. In both cases the convictions were upheld. However, we now have a procedure in place in which the officers questioning a person in custody must first read them their Miranda rights. Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Miranda were both convicted solely on their confessions given in custody. Unfortunately, Mr. Hobbs was innocent as proven in 2010.

Another amendment involved in arresting and detaining a person is the Eighth Amendment. It gives people the right against unreasonable and excessive bail. People think denying someone’s bail is unreasonable but depending on the seriousness and nature of a crime, it actually isn’t un reasonable. We don’t want someone who rapes and murders people out on bail. Considering the crime in this case is a double murder of two little girls, no bail seems fitting, so they didn’t violate his right with that ruling. However, once again, once they learned of the DNA not matching him, Mr. Hobbs should have at least been granted a bail with that knowledge.

Reflection and conclusion

In the end of this case it is clear Mr. Hobbs is innocent and his rights had been violated many times. I believe our system failed Mr. Hobbs in the worst way possible. I can’t imagine being arrested with no reason other than a bad past and my coping techniques. I can’t imagine being illegally detained and forced into a confession of a crime I didn’t commit. And worst of all I can’t imagine sitting in a cell for years while the police know the real murderer of my child is out free and his DNA was proof of that. Just recently the man who committed the crime actually confessed to the 2005 murders of Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias. Mr. Hobbs had to deal with being innocently held in prison for 5 years due to the police officers’ and court’s unjust and unconstitutional practices. Me later sued the county, court and police officers for nearly $8 million for their wrong doings, and he won!

References

1. Carlson, P. (2010). Murder in McHenry: The Shocking True Story of the 2005 Slayings of a Mother and Daughter. Skyhorse Publishing.
2. Goudsouzian, A. (2016). Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
3. Illinois Innocence Project. (n.d.). Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias. http://www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/cases/hobbs-tobias/
4. Johnson, S. (2010). The Quiet Man: The Murder of Father Richard Kohut. Amika Press.
5. Ryan, J. V. (2011). Dark Water: Flood and Redemption in the City of Masterpieces. St. Martin's Press.