Report: Suspect to be charged in girls' murders
Father of one girl said to be with police, had been in jail

NBC News
The bodies of Krystal Tobias, 9, and Laura Hobbs, 8, were found Monday morning in a park in Zion, Ill.
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• Missing girls murderedMay 10: Two missing second-grade girls were found dead Monday in Zion, Ill., both stabbed multiple times. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
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MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 2:44 p.m. ET May 10, 2005
ZION, Ill. - An individual will be charged Tuesday in connection with the stabbing deaths of two girls from this town outside Chicago, police sources told the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday.
The newspaper did not elaborate. Police had earlier said they had no leads in the deaths of the second-graders, who were left to die off a bicycle path in a park.
The bodies of 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias, described as best friends who were always together, were discovered Monday around 6 a.m. local time by Hobbs' father and grandfather.
The grandfather, 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 the girls, 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.”
Police weren’t commenting on the case Tuesday morning, but Hollabaugh said investigators were questioning his son-in-law, Jerry Hobbs, and had also talked to Laura’s siblings about Hobbs.
Dad had been in prisonHollabaugh 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.
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• Officials discuss caseMay 10: Constance Collins, the Zion Elementary School District superintendent, and Dr. Richard Keller, the Lake County coroner, discuss the murders in Zion, Ill., with "Today" host Katie Couric.
Today showPolice 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.
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, Deputy Police Chief Clyde Watkins said Monday. The parents of the other girl called shortly afterward, and authorities with rescue dogs began searching that night.
Police visited the Hobbs’ home and took clothing worn by family members Sunday, the day the girls disappeared, Sheila Hollabaugh, the girl’s mother, told the Chicago Tribune in Tuesday’s editions.
No sexual assaultThe local coroner, Richard Keller, told reporters that "we have found no evidence of sexual assault.”
“The time of death was sometime during the night or early morning, but it may have been earlier than that, it's hard to say.” Keller mentioned that a light rain had fallen Sunday night, and said there were cool temperatures in the area overnight.
Keller told NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday that the girls were found fully clothed and that most of the stab wounds were to the neck.
Zion Police Chief Doug Malcolm said Monday that there were no leads on suspects yet. “It's a broad investigation; we're going everywhere,” he said. “There’s a lot of conjecture and a lot of rumors. ... There's no solid leads we're focusing in on. We have evidence technicians — the best in the business, I might add. No stone will be unturned.”
No weapons were recovered, though the girl's bicycles were found near the scene.
The park features a paved bike path, a ravine and trails made by mountain bikes.
Park called dangerousLaura Unrein, who lives near the park, said it was well known by parents as a place for children to avoid.
“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.”
Unrein added that she knew the best friends well. “When one left, the other left. They were always together.”
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