Viable suspect: Terry Hobbs #1

[Justiceseeker35]

This discussion is so old I'm having trouble remembering my exact thought process, but I don't remember ever saying the bike would have had to have been on S. McCauley. My point was, TH would have had to have found where ever MM stashed the bike, in order to dispose of it -- but my greater point was, why would he even need to do so (find it at all), if MM stashed the bike before the abduction/murder occurred at TH's house? He wouldn't need to find it at all, and also, if JCB's sighting of the boys with one bike is true (which isn't, imo), TH wouldn't have even known that MM had a bike at all that day, since he arrived home after MM had picked up CB.

In short, JCB's sighting of the one bike is extremely relevant, considering that both bikes would eventually be found in the bayou. If they (the bikes) were separated at any point that day (which I doubt, but I digress), then reunited later, it would be a pretty substantial facet. However, since I don't believe pretty much anything about the JCB sighting, I don't believe the bikes were separated that day at all; they were with the boys from the moment MM went to pick up CB, to the moment they were abducted, to the moment they were disposed in the bayou. To me, this is the most logical conclusion.

Ok let's think about things in a different light. In a situation like this a neighborhood and kids playing bikes, who is the responsible adult here? I mean who is ultimately responsible for the kids. I believe that the responsibility ultimately falls on the Hobb's family. Meaning that all the boys went over to SB house to play with bikes. PH left for work leaving TH in charge of the kids. Perhaps his stand offness could be just a result of absolving himself of the guilt and responsibility for not keeping a close enough watch over the kids. Perhaps in TH's mind SB was "missing" but he was most likely angling to stay out later and play. So TH blew it off to go hang out with a friend. From other sources and his past record he seems like he was not a stand up guy. Maybe all he really hid was an irresponsible attitude towards watching children who aren't his own. But if he didn't do it then who did???

 

[Userid]

I understand your point, but I honestly think you are taking way too many liberties here. PH did not "leave TH in charge of the kids." The kids were technically missing (at least SB was, at 4:30 pm when he was supposed to be back) when TH took PH to work; they both left together. Second, I would consider all the families of all three of the boys technically responsible. Quite simply, there is no definitive proof that TH ever came in contact with any or all of the boys that day, other than the more-than-suspect JCB sighting given 14 or so years after the fact. As far as past records are concerned, JMB's is just as shady. I'm not trying to say that TH is a good guy -- I couldn't even say that if I wanted; I don't know the man and never will -- but if you're choosing on convicting him on his past record, you might as well convict JMB and even DE while you're at it.

Anyone who knew at least one of these victims, could have committed these crimes: whether it be an immediate family member, a secondary family member, an acquaintance of a parent/step, a parent of a friend of at least one of the victims, a person of authority to the boys (teacher, etc.), the list can go on and on. It doesn't necessarily have to be an immediate family member, especially in such a relatively tight knit community where everybody knows one another. Not to mention the very real possibility that a stranger could have committed these crimes -- more unlikely, granted -- but certainly not in the realm of complete impossibility.

 

[Compassionate Reader]

Again, why didn't TH tell PH that SB was still missing until he picked her up shortly after 9 pm on May 5,1993? This has been mentioned many times previously, but I have never heard an acceptable explanation for his silence. Furthermore, why didn't TH go by Catfish Island while searching for SB? It seems a very logical place to look, at least to me. I still contend that all questions will be answered when we discover why TH "is not now and never has been" a suspect in these murders. IMO, that is the strangest thing about these murders.

 

[Userid]

Again, why didn't TH tell PH that SB was still missing until he picked her up shortly after 9 pm on May 5,1993? This has been mentioned many times previously, but I have never heard an acceptable explanation for his silence. Furthermore, why didn't TH go by Catfish Island while searching for SB? It seems a very logical place to look, at least to me. I still contend that all questions will be answered when we discover why TH "is not now and never has been" a suspect in these murders. IMO, that is the strangest thing about these murders.

This isn't necessarily that strange to me. I understand why you think it is and I don't blame you. I won't argue that you're wrong, because you're not: it's a legitimate question. But for me, it isn't like the guy waited a month like Casey Anthony or something. According to his account, he was out looking for SB. He didn't know there was anything wrong, necessarily, at that point; and probably just assumed he would eventually find him before picking up PH. We don't know if he did or didn't drive by Catfish Island or exactly where he searched in the entire neighborhood -- he very well may have. The thing to remember about Catfish Island, however, is that is was located in a very dangerous, high traffic area right by the highway/on-off ramps just off 7th street, on the west side of the street (not east; i.e. not the neighborhood/BB/76/discovery site side). Crossing 7th street alone would have been scary for 8 year olds. Perhaps this logic, and maybe the warnings any parent would give for their child to stay away from such a high traffic area, played into why TH didn't search there (if indeed he didn't search there; again, we don't know).

 

[Cher Lockhomes]

TH was at Jacobys at least twice. As we know from PH's statements, the Jacobys had a home phone. TH could have rang PH up, and asked if she had seen Steve, or informed her that he couldn't find him.

"And uh Terry left he really didn’t tell me where he was going he left. So I leave because David and Bobby didn’t even live half of block they lived five or six houses down I didn’t have a home phone, so I walked to David and Bobby house to use the phone to call the police department. Have you heard anything? Have you seen em? You know calling the hospitals and--every thang"

TH knew that SB was out with MM. Did he check on the Moore's house after the 5 o'clock period when he took PH to work? No, he first returned to the Moore's house at about 8:20 - 8:30, three and a half hours later.

Did he check on hospitals, police stations ? These are elementary steps a responsible parent would take.
Is that serious searching ? Not my idea of it!

When he picked PH up, did he then ask her if she had seen or heard anything of him ? No he walked straight to the phone, didn't say anything to her, rang the police.

Strange that he was scouring the neighbourhood for Four hours, yet no one in the neighbourhood could confirm seeing him. Sorry, I almost forgot the Ballards.

 

[Userid]

^ He didn't check the Moore's house again because he had already checked there with Pam (they went there before TH dropper her off at work). He eventually did go around there again, where he discovered that the police had been called by JMB.

By the time he arrived at Jacoby's SB was barely missing for an hour.

JMB confirmed in his original police reports of searching with TH. Jivepuppi:

After 8:30 (indefinite) Mark Byers statement: Mark Byers together with Ryan, encounter Dana and Terry Hobbs outside Moore's house. Mark Byers statement: "It's now probably 8:30. It had got dark. And Terry [Hobbs] said, well, he was going to spread out down, you know, towards where they were found.

DJ also corroborated searching with TH, saying he drove around with him in his car.

Ballard's sighting place AH in TH's driveway, even though DJ and his wife have stated that she was at their house when TH left their house.

 

[zencompass]

Lately I've been wondering what would have occurred had T.H. phoned his wife at work to tell her that Stevie still had not arrived home at 6 pm or even 7 pm.

T.H. had to have known that she would have panicked and left work. She would have called the police. She would have contacted the other parents.

Given the strong bond she shared with her son P.H. likely would have gone to the police station and demanded they help her search.

She would have contacted her family and they would have arrived to search right away. Her bond with her son was so strong that she would have alerted as many people as she could to search. But she would have had to have the knowledge that Stevie had still not come home. The only person who could give her that knowledge was T.H.

Would it have made a difference if searchers had been in the woods May 5th at 7 pm or even just after - still during daylight? I don't know but it makes me wonder.

I wish that T.H. had made that call.

From Declaration of Pamela Hobbs dated May 20, 2009:

45. I felt Terry's behavior was strange when he came to pick me up from work. If Terry's son and my stepson had been missing, I would've been upset and shaking. I would've been real concerned and I would've told Terry that his son was missing before I even got on the phone. I would've called Terry at work if it was his son. I would've told him I can't find your son and I need some help. Terry did not do that. He just walked to the phone and made his call. When Terry came out to the car he simply said that he had filed a police report that Stevie was missing.

45. I do not know if it was "mother's intuition," but right then I thought the worst. Stevie was not a misbehaved child who would run away from home, so I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong when it was after 9 p.m. and he could not be found. My first instinct and my first thought was that he was dead.

 

[Cher Lockhomes]

Thanks Zen, those are excellent thoughts!

 

[bessie]

Please continue at Thread #2.

Viable Suspect: Terry Hobbs - #2

Some posts already have been moved.

Thanks.

Bessie