The Hobbs Family Secret

[Junebug99]

Ahhhhhhh I bet you're right, I was hoping for something more incriminating than hearsay, although I think the nephew passed a lie detector.

[Cappuccino]

No, it wasn't the nephew who took a lie detector. Three of his friends took polygraphs, and they, along with one of their mothers and iirc two others, made statements under pain of perjury. Only one of those peoples' testimonies could be used in court, (the one who overheard Hobbs say it himself), but I think a Grand Jury could take testimony from all of them.

[Pensfan]

Let me guess.......
The first and only vacation outside of Arkansas for this nephew and his buddies will be for them to travel to NYC for all the morning talk shows' interviews. (I desperately need an emoticon showing a smilie holding a tv channel changer.)

[Cappuccino]

The nephew lives in Florida, so guess again.

[Junebug99]

Originally Posted by Cappuccino

No, it wasn't the nephew who took a lie detector. Three of his friends took polygraphs, and they, along with one of their mothers and iirc two others, made statements under pain of perjury. Only one of those peoples' testimonies could be used in court, (the one who overheard Hobbs say it himself), but I think a Grand Jury could take testimony from all of them.

Thanks for clearing that up. I have another question, I read that there was Dna on Stevie's penis that didn't match up to anyone, does anyone know what type of DNA it was?

[Cappuccino]

It was a foreign allele, there wasn't enough to tell what type of DNA it was. Looking at the way the bodies were handled with no gloves on, that DNA probably belongs to a morgue worker or someone involved in the autopsy, but there's no way to tell.

[AngelontheRiver]

According to the Commercial Appeal:

He (Hobb's brother) said his son and the three friends had a falling out and this is their way to get even. Braga's team acknowledged that Hobbs Jr. had given information to police against two of the three witnesses.

Seriously ridiculous.

[Junebug99]

Originally Posted by AngelontheRiver

According to the Commercial Appeal:

He (Hobb's brother) said his son and the three friends had a falling out and this is their way to get even. Braga's team acknowledged that Hobbs Jr. had given information to police against two of the three witnesses.

Seriously ridiculous.

Maybe if they hadn't of had the falling out they would have kept the secret, just because it may be revenge doesn't mean it's not true, they did pass a lie detector test.

[Cappuccino]

Two of the witnesses have an obvious reason for a grudge, but what about the third one? Michael Hobbs didn't give evidence against him, he is still friends with the Hobbs family, which is why his name hasn't been released to the press. So what's his motive?

[AngelontheRiver]

Originally Posted by Cappuccino

Two of the witnesses have an obvious reason for a grudge, but what about the third one? Michael Hobbs didn't give evidence against him, he is still friends with the Hobbs family, which is why his name hasn't been released to the press. So what's his motive?

You tell me. I'm just putting the facts out there.

[Cappuccino]

I'm afraid I can't tell you, because I can't see why he would lie. He has no grudge, he's still friends with Michael Hobbs Jr., he's not under any threat of any kind of prosecution, he's not a child like Aaron Hutchinson, nor is he a teen like Jessie or Michael Carson.

I'm not gullible enough to take his statement at face value, but I don't see any reason to dismiss it out of hand either. I'd like to know more....

[Compassionate Reader]

We all know that Hobbs can lie without blinking an eye. What about his brother and nephew? These statements should at least provide a reason for questioning those two under oath. They can deny to the media, but will they, under oath and penalty of perjury, continue to deny? I think this deserves further investigation.

[twall]

More from Pam

Pam Hobbs on WM3, Her Ex, and Meeting Damien Echols

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news...5E7zo.facebook

[Rdw1981]

Originally Posted by Pensfan

Let me guess.......
The first and only vacation outside of Arkansas for this nephew and his buddies will be for them to travel to NYC for all the morning talk shows' interviews. (I desperately need an emoticon showing a smilie holding a tv channel changer.)

Really hope that wasn't a stab at Arkansans I for one have traveled all over country. If it wasn't a stab please excuse; I just get sick of all the barefoot hillbilly redneck uneducated jokes. There are plenty of educated refined cultured people in my state.

[Mountain_Kat]

Originally Posted by Rdw1981

Really hope that wasn't a stab at Arkansans I for one have traveled all over country. If it wasn't a stab please excuse; I just get sick of all the barefoot hillbilly redneck uneducated jokes. There are plenty of educated refined cultured people in my state.

I'm in East TN...I feel you. The stereotypes are just beyond ridiculous. To hear some people blather, you'd think we have no colleges in the whole of TN. No doctors, no lawyers, no bankers, no engineers or teachers...why shoot, the only thing we know of life is the outhouse and the swimmin' hole. ;-)

[Compassionate Reader]

I'm from KY, and I heard it all, too. For some reason, there were a lot of students in my university from the East coast. They called us girls "briar broads" and asked us how old we were when we got our first pair of shoes and if our mothers had to nail them on. Yeah, those stereotypes die hard.

When I was teaching, one year for Homecoming, the Student Council planned a week of "dress up" where each day was a different theme, ending with School Spirit Day. One of the days was Hillbilly Day, and the sad part is that this school was in the South - Texas to be exact. I was so offended that I went to the administration and asked them if next year there could be a N-word Day.

I made my point, and the next year Hillbilly Day was replaced by Hawaiian Shirt Day. I've said this before, but Southerners are one of only a few groups of people that it's still OK to ridicule We really shouldn't ridicule any segment of society.

[EntreNous]

Originally Posted by Rdw1981

Really hope that wasn't a stab at Arkansans I for one have traveled all over country. If it wasn't a stab please excuse; I just get sick of all the barefoot hillbilly redneck uneducated jokes. There are plenty of educated refined cultured people in my state.

Middle Tennessee here. Nashville area. I also hear you loud and clear, Rdw1981.

[EntreNous]

Originally Posted by Compassionate Reader

I'm from KY, and I heard it all, too. For some reason, there were a lot of students in my university from the East coast. They called us girls "briar broads" and asked us how old we were when we got our first pair of shoes and if our mothers had to nail them on. Yeah, those stereotypes die hard.

When I was teaching, one year for Homecoming, the Student Council planned a week of "dress up" where each day was a different theme, ending with School Spirit Day. One of the days was Hillbilly Day, and the sad part is that this school was in the South - Texas to be exact. I was so offended that I went to the administration and asked them if next year there could be a N-word Day.

I made my point, and the next year Hillbilly Day was replaced by Hawaiian Shirt Day. I've said this before, but Southerners are one of only a few groups of people that it's still OK to ridicule We really shouldn't ridicule any segment of society.

CR, the shoe questions only spoke to their obvious lack of knowledge. I hope you educated them accordingly.

[Compassionate Reader]

You could say that I gave them an earful! You know me. I'm not shy in expressing either my opinion or my outrage at an injustice.

I don't understand why people will believe stereotypes explicitly. I realize that stereotypes exist because so many people from the group act a certain way, but prejudice is, in part, prejudging someone based on stereotypes. It's part of what convicted Damien - people prejudging him because he was different or had possible mental health issues, etc. It truly sickens me!

[Nova]

Originally Posted by Compassionate Reader

Cappuccino,

I respectfully disagree about an exact fiber match. It is my understanding that the newest fiber testing can, in fact, identify an exact garment as a source for a fiber....

Can someone explain how that is possible? (I'm not a chemist, so I'm just asking for the general concept.)

I've watched enough Project Runway to know that fabric, after weaving and dying, is produced in a bolt of cloth, a yard or two wide and many, many yards long. From that bolt, countless garments will be made.

It would seem to me that all garments made from one BOLT might be microscopically identical, but I don't see how individual garments made from the same bolt of fabric could be distinguished chemically.

And wasn't that the problem with original fiber evidence? That the fibers found matched any number of items at the local WalMart? Maybe identifying the exact bolt of cloth would narrow the field further, but we still won't have reached the precision of DNA.

[Nova]

Originally Posted by Rdw1981

Really hope that wasn't a stab at Arkansans I for one have traveled all over country. If it wasn't a stab please excuse; I just get sick of all the barefoot hillbilly redneck uneducated jokes. There are plenty of educated refined cultured people in my state.

I'm sure there are. We elected one of them President a few years back. I voted for him twice.

But if you don't like the way the state of Arkansas is portrayed, then your anger should be directed at the WMPD and a state legal system that kept 3 innocent men in prison for almost 20 years.

Hillbillies shall be known by their actions.

ETA: FWIW, the Arkansans I know here at WS tell me privately that my jokes at the state's expense don't go nearly far enough, that the political and legal situation there is far worse than I can imagine. Just sayin'...

[Compassionate Reader]

Originally Posted by Nova

Can someone explain how that is possible? (I'm not a chemist, so I'm just asking for the general concept.)

I've watched enough Project Runway to know that fabric, after weaving and dying, is produced in a bolt of cloth, a yard or two wide and many, many yards long. From that bolt, countless garments will be made.

It would seem to me that all garments made from one BOLT might be microscopically identical, but I don't see how individual garments made from the same bolt of fabric could be distinguished chemically.

And wasn't that the problem with original fiber evidence? That the fibers found matched any number of items at the local WalMart? Maybe identifying the exact bolt of cloth would narrow the field further, but we still won't have reached the precision of DNA.

I had a computer crash a while back and lost all of my research sites, but there's some new technique that can actually link a fiber to a specific garment. I'm flabbergasted by it, too, but that's what I read. Right now, I'm a bit busy, but when I have the time, I'll try to find the site again.

ETA: This may not be the original research I found, but it is similar.

http://www.urj.ucf.edu/vol1issue1/russo/