[Most read] Column: A Catholic pastor speaks out about Trump. A body of a missing hiker has been found below Angels Landing in Zion National Park. His link to the Zion case came after Jerry Hobbs, Laura Hobbs' father, had previously confessed to the girls' murder after a long interrogation and was charged. Stone said the plea deal was more than symbolic for his client. host = new String(location.hostname); Birmingham police are investigating a homicide after a man's body was found in Zion City Thursday afternoon. Galveston Police Detective Jeff Banks talks Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, about the findings in the autopsy of "Little Jacob," a young boy found dead on the beach in October. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and had grown to 24,413 in 2010. Shanes added that Torrez “is beyond potential for rehabilitation,” and that his actions met the legal standard of heinous, which includes actions that are “hatefully and shockingly evil.”. They didn't find her, and then, about 9 o'clock, they called the police. [Most read] Trump farewell planned for Wednesday morning at military base ahead of Joe Biden’s oath of office, [Most read] COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area, [Most read] Members of Trump campaign behind rally that ignited US Capitol riot, records show, From running back to quarterback to receiver: How Libertyville’s Riley Lees ended his career at Northwestern and looks ahead to the NFL. Body of missing 18-year-old kayaker found in LI Coast Guard ends search for boat carrying 20 from Bahamas to Florida Long Island woman vanishes with 2-year-old daughter In going over details of the Zion case, Shanes said that Torrez knew the girls because he was friends with one of their siblings, and that after the murders, he joined the Marines “as an escape route” instead of as an honorable commitment. More than 13 years after the bodies of two young girls were found in a Zion park, one of the most heinous crimes in Lake County history was resolved through a plea deal Tuesday morning. if ( host.indexOf("edition.") Officials on Saturday identified the body that was found in Zion National Park earlier this week, ruling the death a suicide. ZION, Illinois (CNN) -- Two girls, both under 10 and described as best friends, were Monday found killed in a wooded park near a small Illinois town. CNN's Keith Oppenheim contributed to this report. The latest charges come after Hobbs was released on parole for his last Wichita County convictions in May 2017 that included evading arrest. Laura's grandmother, Emily Hollabaugh, said the girls may have gone to the park for a picnic. It's a heinous crime. } ‘Maybe the season gets pushed back,’ IHSA says. Johnny Williams, a man's body was found in the middle of a road around 2:30 p.m. "Her brothers and sisters went out looking for her. The victim hasn't been identified and it's unknown at this time who he died. CHICAGO (CBS)– A man was killed on Friday during a stabbing in Zion. What you did is repugnant to every moral of civilized society.”. A man was found dead Sunday after going missing during a hike in Zion National Park, the National Park Service announced. ZION, Illinois (CNN) -- Two girls, both under 10 and described as best friends, were Monday found killed in a wooded park near a small Illinois town. The body was found around 8:20 a.m. in Refrigerator Canyon. Until officials announced incorrectly that Jerry Hobbs committed the murders, parents told reporters they were walking their children to school, and local and national reporters, as well as the curious, crowded outside of the Zion police station and near the scene of the murders as Zion police and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force investigated the crime. Stone suggested an abusive childhood helped form the adult Torrez became. Torrez, a former Zion resident, was linked by DNA evidence in 2014 to the killings of 8-year-old Hobbs and 9-year-old Tobias in the Beulah Park nature area. Zion murder case informant found dead ... to stand trial on 18 counts of murder alleging he killed the two girls and left their bodies in a Zion park. Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The body of a man was found in a retention pond Monday morning in north suburban Zion. ZION CITY, Ala. (WIAT) — UPDATE (10/18/19): The body of an adult male was found in the Zion City area Thursday afternoon. “I just want to say we’re glad it’s over,” she said after the hearing. != -1 ) { The body of a 47-year-old man reported missing Monday afternoon in Zion National Park was found Wednesday at the end of a dead-end spur off the trail he was hiking. Authorities in Florida believe they have found the body of a missing mom in a vehicle submerged in a lake. The bodies were discovered at Beulah Park around 6 a.m. (7 a.m. //-->. "This is an unusual occurrence for our community, and we are going to do everything we possibly can to bring this to a quick resolution," Mayor Lane Harrison said. “One murder is a tragedy,” Shanes told Torrez. Some parishioners walk out. "Apparently these girls were best friends and had last been seen riding their bikes together earlier in the afternoon," Malcolm said. Police were alerted Saturday afternoon to a body near a rock pile in an empty lot near Lebanon, Illinois, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Home to about 23,000 people, Zion is 44 miles north of Chicago. He added investigators have "no solid leads.". Tracey Lynn Rieker, 44, disappeared Sept. 30 … Six of seven hikers who were in a slot canyon in Utah’s Zion National Park have been found dead and one person remains missing, officials said Wednesday. Sheriff Booker did not say whether the deaths are considered suspicious. All external sites will open in a new browser. Shanes said both the state of Virginia and the federal government have approved the provision of the plea that calls for the transfer of Torrez from Red Onion. Judge Daniel Shanes said the killing of the two girls, as well as Torrez’s conviction in a separate murder and other abductions and assaults, placed Torrez at a level beyond most murder defendants. ET) to say that her daughter had failed to return home as scheduled at 7 p.m., the chief said. After the hearing, Stone said that having represented Torrez for a long time, he got to know him, and that despite his actions, “There is a spark of humanity in that young man.”. WATCH: BODY FOUND IN ZION CITY The body was found … A bearded Torrez stood quietly throughout the hearing without speaking, other than to acknowledge he understood the agreement and was waiving his right to a trial. ", Hollabaugh said Laura was "a typical 8-year-old girl" who "always had a smile for everybody," and Krystal was "just as sweet as Laura was.". "I have a lot of questions, but it's just mostly rage at whoever could do this to two little girls," she said. He said the police investigators who interviewed Hobbs were often praised by the previous Lake State’s Attorney’s Office administration, and the charging of Hobbs was instrumental in Lake County building a reputation for wrongful convictions. "A couple of younger boys had seen them over at the park playing about 5:30 or 6 o'clock, and I guess that was the last time anybody saw them," Hollabaugh told Chicago television station WLS. He said his main goal in negotiating the deal was to see Torrez transferred from Red Onion Prison, which Stone called “an evil, racist facility.”. Zion police say a Waukegan man who was stabbed during a fight in a Barberry Lane apartment died after being taken to a nearby hospital. Bodies Found in Zion Identified. Keller said there were "obvious injuries" and that police were looking for murder weapons. According to Sgt. Authorities say a man has died at Zion National Park in Utah after suffering a medical emergency. Krystal Tobias’ mother, Marina Tobias, was among several Tobias family members who watched the plea deal and sentencing play out Tuesday morning. The two victims were Daniel Chidester, 23, and Jesse Scaffidi, 23, both from Las Vegas, Nevada. Three men and one woman have been killed in flash flooding in Zion National Park and three others are missing, park officials said. By Sun-Times Wire Jun 22, 2020, 2:16pm CDT The Birmingham Police Department says they are investigating the incident as a homicide at this time. (Family photos provided by the Zion Police Department) SPRINGDALE, Washington County — A body believed to be that of a man who went missing in Zion National Park on Monday has been found, park officials said Wednesday. An unidentified middle-aged woman's body was found in a remote area in Zion early Monday evening, according to authorities. A search and rescue team found the body of the 19-year-old Savannah McTague on Thursday. It's a crime against not only those kids, but against all of us.". }else { A hiker's body was found in Utah's Zion National Park on Friday morning, according to Salt Lake Tribune. Although Hobbs won a multi-million dollar settlement after being cleared, he was later arrested and imprisoned on drug charges. "They were out all night helping us search," he said of the volunteer group. Autopsies determined both girls died of multiple stab wounds. He said police put out flyers urging residents to look for the girls, but did not take further steps because "there was no indication that there was any specific foul play.". In exchange for guilty pleas by Torrez on two counts of first-degree murder, one for each girl, 16 other counts against Torrez were dismissed. But the agreement does formally find Torrez guilty in the deaths of Hobbs and Tobias, puts a 100-year sentence on the books and resolves the case more than a decade after the murders occurred. Under the negotiated agreement, convicted murderer Jorge Torrez, 30, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced by a Lake County Circuit Court judge to 100 years in prison for the brutal Mother’s Day 2005 slayings of Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias. While he was extradited to the Lake County jail from Virginia in 2014 to face charges in the Zion case, Torrez is currently on death row and serving life sentences for a previous murder conviction and other violent crimes. Prior to Torrez being returned to Lake County, he already had been convicted of the strangulation murder of Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Amanda Snell, 20, who lived in the same barracks as Torrez when he served in the Marines at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia. The girls were reported missing by their parents Sunday evening. He said police conducted a search with help from a rescue dog and local citizen volunteer group. The mother of one of the girls called police at about 8:50 p.m. (9:50 p.m. One Dead, Nine Missing In Norway Landslide. No initial signs of sexual assault were found, he said. As the reality of the events sunk in, grade school officials described Laura Hobbs as an active reader who enjoyed acting out stories with puppets, and Krystal Tobias as artistic. The town was founded in 1901 as a utopian society by a Scottish minister, Dr. John Alexander Dowie, according to its Web site. North Chicago School District 187 enlists tutoring program to fight ‘COVID slide’, Man lived inside O’Hare for 3 months before detection, prosecutors say, Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 50 new deaths, 3,385 new confirmed and probable cases announced Monday, A ‘healthy’ doctor died two weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine; CDC is investigating why. After the girls’ bodies were discovered, with Jerry Hobbs aiding police in the search, the Zion murders quickly became national news. The cause of death appeared to be multiple stab wounds with a knife, said Lake County Coroner Richard Keller, adding at an afternoon news conference that autopsies were still under way. Williams said the death is being investigated as a homicide. Zion police reported to a call of a fight in an apartment in the 4100 block of Barberry Lane around 10:00 p.m. Maurice Harris, 47, was last seen Monday afternoon at the trailhead of the East Rim Trail on the way to a shuttle stop, according to a statement from the park. document.write('Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Posted: 0324 GMT (1124 HKT)'); Ten years after Krystal Tobias and Laura Hobbs were stabbed to death in Zion's Beulah Park, trial for the latest murder suspect awaits. The area coroner said Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias died from "stab wounds" but were not sexually assaulted. “It has been a very long time, and this ensures he’ll never do anything like that to anyone else.”. Torrez was sentenced to five life sentences at the state level in Virginia, and is sentenced to death at the federal level for Snell's murder. Officers responded about 11:30 a.m. after maintenance workers from a nearby apartment complex saw the body in the pond in the 1500 block of Lorelei Drive, according to Zion police. DECATUR — The Macon County coroner on Thursday said toxicology results would be needed to determine the cause of death for Kimberly D. Mashburn, who was found dead in the Keller earlier said the girls were found in a wooded area and were not covered. “You are a serial killer,” Shanes told Torrez in approving the plea and sentence, which followed lengthy negotiations between Lake County prosecutors and defense attorney Jed Stone. Zion police late Monday said in a news release that they recovered a body from a retention pond in the 1500 block of Lorelei Drive at approximately 11:30 a.m. Monday. Subscribe | What is RSS: Date: April 28, 2010 Contact: Ron Terry, 435-772-0160 The two men whose bodies were located in Zion National Park on Monday, April 26, 2010 have been identified and family members notified. ET); police did not identify the person who found them. Rescuers on Friday found a dead body and continued searching for … He said no DNA evidence had been found so far. ZION, Ill., May 9 - Two second-grade girls who spent Sunday riding bikes around this working-class town on the edge of Lake Michigan were found dead of stab wounds … Hobbs pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession, among other charges, in Oklahoma, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with the last 10 years suspended pending successful probation, according to court records. document.write('Monday, May 9, 2005 Posted: 11:24 PM EDT (0324 GMT)'); host = host.toLowerCase(); “They both enjoyed playing outside.The children very much appreciated them,” said Constance Collinis, who was superintendent of the Zion Elementary School District at the time. Laura Hobbs, 8, left, and Krystal Tobias, 9, were found stabbed to death in Beulah Park on May 9, 2005. The body had been in … ST GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 News) - The body of missing hiker reported on Wednesday has been found in the Angel's Landing area of Zion National Park, according to St. George News. Due to his previous life sentences and his death penalty case, barring unforeseen legal circumstances, it’s unlikely Torrez will serve any of the 100-year sentence he received Tuesday, which was 50 years for each of the two Lake County murders. "We do have two murdered children, and we don't have anybody in custody," Zion police chief Doug Malcolm said. “I hope this will bring a small amount of closure to the families and to our community.”. Stone also took some shots at Lake County, stating that the county jailed Jerry Hobbs after his confession was “coerced” by local police investigators, and “the state was ready to send him to the gallows.”. (Family photos provided by the Zion Police Department), [Most read] Man lived inside O’Hare for 3 months before detection, prosecutors say, [Most read] A ‘healthy’ doctor died two weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine; CDC is investigating why, More coverage: 10 years after 2 girls killed in Zion, families still await justice », [Most read] Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 50 new deaths, 3,385 new confirmed and probable cases announced Monday. Laura Hobbs, 8, left, and Krystal Tobias, 9, were found stabbed to death in Beulah Park on May 9, 2005. The population was 22,866 at … Low-risk high school sports return in three regions, but basketball and football remain in limbo. Officials on Friday identified the person found dead Thursday morning as 19-year-old Savannah McTague and said she was a Maine resident who worked for Xanterra at Zion Lodge. Malcolm said: "No stone will be unturned. Hobbs recently made news with another arrest again this month, according to a Wichita Falls, Texas, television station, which reported Hobbs, now 48, was jailed in Archer City after a police pursuit Sept. 4. Father guilty of killing 9 of his children, Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards. Birmingham police are investigating a homicide after a body was found in Zion City Thursday afternoon. World News | Agence France-Presse | Saturday January 2, 2021 . Shanes was referring not only to the murder of Hobbs and Tobias, but also a separate murder conviction in Virginia, as well as the abduction of three women, one of whom Torrez left for dead after sexually assaulting and strangling her. Shanes said the Zion girls were “brutally stabbed to death.” Noting specifics of the injuries, he said the girls were stabbed a combined 31 times. Hobbs spent nearly five years in Lake County jail before he was exonerated in 2010 by DNA evidence that pointed to Torrez. At least one of the girls' bicycles was found at the scene. Man found dead at Zion National Park after medical emergency. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 News) – The body of a missing hiker was found below Angels Landing, a popular trail with 1,500-foot drop-offs with handrails along the most narrow and dangerous part of the route. “He will spend the rest of his life in prison, but he deserves to be treated like a human,” Stone said. Zion had three reported murders in 2002 and none in 2003, according to the police department's annual reports. “I’m very happy that justice has finally been done in this case,” Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim said Tuesday. The report states that following a chase from Highway 79 into Wichita Falls, Hobbs was charged with evading arrest and possession of meth. Authorities identify man found shot dead in Zion Officers found the 44-year-old in a grassy area with several gunshot wounds, police said. Malcolm said the bodies were found off a bicycle path in a wooded area on the north end of the city park. The cause of death is unknown at this time. “Your murder of these two girls was reprehensible. Also, Torrez — who previously had been convicted of murder in an unrelated case in Virginia — will be able to move from Red Onion State Prison in Virginia to a federal Department of Prisons facility, likely in Terre Haute, Ind., according to Stone. They also found his wife, 53-year-old Dawn R. Whitney dead in the bathroom. Zion Shooting: 28-Year-Old Man Dead, 8-Year-Old Boy Among 3 WoundedZion police said officers responded to a call of shots fired shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday on the 2300 block of Joppa Avenue. Along with the murder of Snell, Torrez also has been convicted of abducting three women in Virginia in February 2010, one of whom he raped, sodomized, strangled and left for dead.