This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," May 11, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: A killer's confession and the horrific details of the murders of two young girls. We need to warn you, what you're about to hear is very disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY PAVLETIC, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY CHIEF DEPUTY: Mr. [Jerry] Hobbs (search), the defendant, indicated that he went to the park and he was looking for Laura [Hobbs], who is his natural daughter. He said that she had been a little bit of a discipline problem. She had been suspected of taking some money from her mother. She had recently been grounded. And she had been recently, as recently as this weekend, had been taken off being grounded. He thought that the girl was having too much latitude as to what she can and can't do.
Between 4:30 and 7:00 o'clock on Sunday night, he said that he went out to the park. He said that he went out to the park, he was looking for Laura to bring her home. He said that he went out there. He was in the wooded area that's north of Beulah Park. He said that he saw her with Krystal. He said that he then confronted Laura and said, Come home. You're coming home with me. She said she didn't want to. An argument developed.
He then said, in his own words, that he had punched her twice, at least twice, in the face. She went down to the ground. Krystal [Tobias] then came to Laura's rescue. The defendant then stated that he punched her to the ground, as well. He then stated that during this period of time, Krystal, who was coming to the aid of Laura, had pulled out what he described as a potato knife. He said that once that potato knife was pulled out, he said that is when he then struck Krystal. He then took the knife from her and then repeatedly began to stab both girls in the bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Lake County (search) State's Attorney Michael Waller joins us live. Mike, I know that there's some limitations in terms of what you can say, ethically, under the Illinois rules, about the case, so stop me if I ask you one that's beyond. But how is it that the father even came in contact with the daughter on the night of Mother's Day?
MICHAEL WALLER, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Well, he was living, you know, in the family home. And Laura and Krystal were out playing in the neighborhood, and he went looking for them and encountered them in a relatively remote location, and as Jamie indicated, engaged in this absolutely brutal attack on these two little girls.
VAN SUSTEREN: Does it matter, Mike — I mean, the statement that he has given is a confession. It may be one that is not wholly, 100 percent true. It may be a way that he might think makes him look better. But does it matter if he lied a little bit in his statement?
WALLER: No. I've been in this business a long time. I've been a prosecutor for 24 years and have prosecuted numerous murder cases and handled many as state's attorney. It's not unusual to have a defendant give untruths in a statement where he admits his guilt. It's something we deal with all the time. None of us believe that this little girl had a knife. I mean, he referred to it as a potato knife, and apparently, that's some term that's used in Texas, a knife with about a four or five-inch blade. And you know, it's inconceivable that Krystal had this knife.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is the family cooperating with you? Because I know that the mother of the child, of course, has a relationship with the father. But is the family cooperating?
WALLER: Well, yes, they have. You know, you have to have some empathy for the family. You know, what they've gone through this week, losing their daughter and now having their husband or boyfriend charged, there's a roller-coaster of emotions. I haven't spoken directly to the family, but the investigators from the Major Crimes Task Force have, and they've provided information and answered questions. But you know, it's not unusual for the girlfriend or the wife to stick with the defendant. If that happens in this case, you know, I won't be surprised.
VAN SUSTEREN: I don't know if you need much more beyond a confession and corroborating circumstances. You do have two dead little girls, and he's apparently confessed to it. But have you also recovered evidence inside the house or someplace else that will also help prove your case?
WALLER: Well, we have seized numerous pieces of evidence, and we've submitted them to the crime lab. You know, the crime was uncovered on Monday, and it's now a cold, windy Wednesday evening here in Waukegan, and the evidence is en route to the crime lab and we won't get any results. We believe that we will have some physical evidence that will corroborate our case and link the defendant to the crime, but we don't know that yet for sure. But the investigation was ongoing, and whatever needs to be done will be done.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were any family members suspicious of him on Sunday night?
WALLER: Yes. No, I'm sorry, not on Sunday night. After the body was discovered, some of them expressed some suspicion, sort of the same suspicions that the police had. One of the factors was that, you know, he didn't get within 20 feet of the bodies when they were discovered on early Monday morning, and yet he gave the police a detailed description as to how the bodies appeared. And from the point that he was at, he wouldn't have been able to see the bodies.
And then the route that he took into this really isolated area where the bodies were found would not be a route that you would expect somebody who is just doing a general search to take. It was sort of, like, Well, I think I'll head over in this direction, where there doesn't seem to be anything, and then he found the bicycle and the girls' bodies. So there was some expression by family members — or at least one family member — of suspicion.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Sir, thank you very much for joining us.
Joining us live by phone is David Brodsky, the attorney for accused double murderer Jerry Hobbs. David, where do you begin in representing this man?
DAVID BRODSKY, JERRY HOBBS'S ATTORNEY: Well, you know, the court has appointed us, and we'll take that job very seriously. We're going to take, like in any case like this, a multi-pronged approach. We're not going to leave any stone unturned, and that really has to do with, first of all, the case itself, which at this point, we know nothing about, but also to find out about Mr. Hobbs. We need to get a complete background work-up on him, a social investigation, a psychological investigation. We need to consult experts in both the case in chief and in background investigation.
You know, I mean, this is a case, as I said before, we need to take very seriously, and it's going to be a challenge to overcome the intense media scrutiny and the feelings and the emotions that are involved in this case. But we're up for the challenge.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you had a chance to talk — I'm not going to invade the attorney-client privilege — but have you had a chance to talk to the family, the mother of the child, the grandfather?
BRODSKY: We've talked to some of the family members, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you have the sense that they're going to be of any help to you, or is this just too — at this point — because sometimes family members will stick by the accused, and sometimes they don't.
BRODSKY: Yes. You know, they don't know what to think right now. They're extremely confused, and they're distraught, and as State's Attorney Waller told you — I don't think I could have said it any better. I mean, you know, they don't know what to think at this point, and they're confused. And we'll see what happens. But with or without their cooperation — we hope with their cooperation — you know, we'll build a case here to represent Mr. Hobbs.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's a realistic timetable in terms of when you would expect this to go to trial, in light of the docket there?
BRODSKY: Yes. You know, I really have not even seen any police reports or had an opportunity to do anything on the case yet. So any estimate I could give you would just be, you know, guessing. But it's going to depend on the complexities of the case. It's going to depend on whether the state elects to seek the death penalty or whether they don't. It's going to, you know, depend on what kind of evidence there is or there isn't. And you know, the veracity of the statements, the way they look, our client's cooperation. It's going to depend on a lot of different things.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, David, thank you very much.
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