The confession of a Zion man that he killed his daughter and her friend on Mother’s Day 2005 will be allowed at his trial, a Lake County judge ruled Friday, rejecting arguments that it was coerced.
Jerry Hobbs, 36, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his daughter, Laura, 8, and her friend, Krystal Tobias, 9. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
No physical evidence links Hobbs to the crime, authorities have said.
“The court finds that under the totality of the circumstances, the defendant’s confession was voluntarily given and is admissible at trial,” Judge Fred Foreman wrote in a 37-page ruling.
Foreman noted that Hobbs slept during breaks from police questioning and that his videotaped confession was made almost eight hours after he confessed orally to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
Hobbs’ attorneys, Lake County public defender David Brodsky and assistant public defender Keith Grant, argued during several days of hearings in August and September that Hobbs was deprived of sleep and food before he confessed. Both declined to comment on Friday’s ruling.
Hobbs initially said he discovered the girls’ bodies early on May 9, 2005, the day after they disappeared. Police questioned Hobbs from 7:20 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at his home and police stations in Zion and Waukegan, according to Foreman’s ruling. Questioning resumed at 2:50 p.m. but stopped at 3:30 p.m. for three hours while police went to a briefing, Foreman wrote.
Police brought Hobbs dinner from McDonald’s at 6:30 p.m. and resumed questioning from 6:50 p.m. until about 2 p.m. the next day, when he read a written confession in front of a video camera, Foreman wrote.
Hobbs was not questioned in a “coercive atmosphere,” Foreman decided, noting in his ruling that police asked Hobbs to remain in a Waukegan substation while they went to a meeting. Hobbs said he would stay as long as he could smoke, according to the ruling.
Foreman noted that Hobbs consented in writing to a search of his house as well as to a voice stress test that was supposed to help determine whether he was telling the truth.
Also Friday, Grant argued for a change of venue for Hobbs’ trial. “This case has achieved attention in Lake County that is unprecedented,” he said.
