Herman Lee Hobbs - Currently Under Construction

How do you research a serial killer who's nearly a spectre in the world wide web of information? Nowadays most anything we're looking for is at the tip of our fingers with one click. As a blogger of a relatively small area, I am often contacted by people who want to know "Have you ever heard of - ", and 9 times out of 10 I have, and I can give people something as simple as a Wikipedia link which branches out to a plethora of information about nearly any said subject.

This was not the case for Herman Lee Hobbs.

Herman Lee Hobbs is considered a California Serial Killer by some, but only by suspicion. That is, he somehow, has managed to avoid prosecution as well as the Wikipedia Hall of Fame. In fact, the only proof of his existence is in a few snippets and in news articles about the killing of Brenda Ann Tucker.

I will go back to the early forms of research and begin researching old newspaper archives for this one.

Maybe this is why he's avoided Wikipedia, no one wants to piece this mess together.....

According to the FBI, over the years the definition of serial killing has changed. The number of victims, the time length between murders and motive have all played a part in what distinguishes what a serial killer is. A federal law was passed in 1998 by the United States Congress, formalized what criteria must be met to consider any murder perpetrated by a "Serial Killer". According to the Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998 (Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 51, and Section 1111):

"The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors."

Since then, the meaning has changed yet again and we are left with these criteria -

• one or more offenders (Think Charles Ng and Leonard Lake)
• two or more murdered victims
• incidents should be occurring in separate events, at different times
• the time period between murders separates serial murder from mass murder

In short - Serial Murder: The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.

So with this criterion in mind, we know that Herman Lee Hobbs MUST be responsible for more than one murder. But first I'll be happy to find him responsible for ANY murder.


Moving Forward -




Butte County Case

Brenda Ann Tucker

On May 17th, 1994 a mother of three by the name of Brenda Ann Tucker, 29, had gone missing after her clothing was found folded neatly, along with a towel, near a creek in Rackerby, and her car was found parked at a service station and market in Brownsville.

Leads were scarce and the Thermalito woman had remained on Yuba County's missing-persons list until 2001.

Flash forward to February 2001 when a logging company in the foothills of Yuba County were marking trees to be cut down, discovered a skull with a hole in it. Other fragmented remains were later discovered by the Sheriff's department in the vicinity. They had been there for some time. 6 years to be exact.

Yuba County Sheriff's department had the skull turned over to Northern California Forensic Pathology, which determined that the cause of death for this individual was a single gunshot wound to the back of the head, on the left-hand side, exiting the right. Yuba County Sheriff Virginia Black then sent the skull to California State University, Chico Anthropology lab, who then identified through DNA of family, that the skull belonged to Tucker.

A flood of witness calls come in through the Sheriff's Department saying that Tucker had been murdered. Why the sudden outpouring of witnesses, you may ask. That is because a man by the name of Herman Lee Hobbs had just been convicted to a sentence of 25 years to life for the 2000 rape of a 15-year-old girl; a girl whom he offered a ride home in his van and raped after feigning that the vehicle had broken down just above Forbestown.

At the time of arrest, the Yuba County Sheriffs Department obtained a warrant to obtain Hobb's DNA.

People suddenly felt safe enough to speak up of the death of Tucker now that they knew Hobbs was in prison. Calls also came in, claiming that Hobbs had raped them in the vicinity of where the skeletal remains were found.

According to an archived CBS 13 article, "During the court hearing, Hobbs learned it was his daughter Kristine who tipped authorities about his possible involvement in Tucker's disappearance. "She said they were having some sort of problem between them," said Sgt. Phil Spadini of the Yuba County Sheriff's Department. "Her father Lee Hobbs had told Kristine that Brenda had been running her mouth and he continued to bitch about that."

In 2001, court proceedings began for Hobbs. Dr. Thuron Murad testified that he had placed a photo of Tucker under a camera and stored it. The then transposed the image over the skull found earlier in the year. There was a significant match, helping further to identify her.

Semen was discovered on the black pants belonging to Tucker near the creek in Rackerby. It was a match to Hobbs. The towel found at the scene was later determined to have belonged to a relative of Hobbs.

According to the Appeal-Democrat, "Hobbs was a long term methamphetamine user who had been manufacturing the drug for his own use. Tucker was seen at Hobbs' residence the day she disappeared and witnesses report seeing Hobbs' leave the house immediately after Tucker did."

He lived in the vicinity at the time where Brenda went missing from and had lived where her body was found, previously.

Despite the damning evidence mentioned above, according to the Butte County Cold Cases website, the case against Hobbs was later dismissed by a judge in Yuba County for insufficient evidence and the case still remains open today. This conflicts with a report by ChicoER that says the case was closed and Hobbs was indeed held responsible for Tucker's death. I believe the dismissal is more likely as it's stated in several pieces of archival data I have looked at.

"When he got convicted (of the 2000 rape) - and people knew he wasn't going to be out and about - people started coming forward with information," Yuba County sheriff's Sgt. Phil Spadini said. "That information led to our belief that Herman Hobbs was probably responsible for several homicides."



Flashback -

Ukiah Daily Journal, July 20th, 1966

The truth is, Hobbs was known for trouble since the time he was a kid. In 1966 he was busted by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department for grand theft auto. In the paper, it said he was 19 and living in Rio Linda. I guess for that reason alone, it's no surprise he could be connected to the crimes below.

Hobbs was paroled from state prison in 1972 after being convicted of three Sacramento gas station robberies, where he continued to live throughout the 70's.

An obituary in a 1977 edition of The Press Tribune places Hobbs as a resident of Rio Linda through at least until that year. He moved to the Yuba County foothills in 1981.

The North Highlands and Rio Linda Girls

Terri, via Findagrave.com

Terri Maree Pata

During the '70s, several girls were found murdered in the vicinity of North Highlands, California. One was a 13-year-old girl by the name of Terri Maree Pata. Terri had last been seen leaving Rio Linda Junior High School early, after complaining of a headache. She never made it home.

She was written off as a runaway and nothing more came of it, until 9 days later when her body was found fully clothed stuffed head first into a culvert, in a drainage ditch by a man collecting aluminum cans off Long Tree Road, a mile west of El Centro Rd near Elverta Road. She was found 6 miles from her home.

Terri's case appeared similar to other unsolved cases in the area that occurred in the 1970s.

The Petaluma Argus-Courier
February 1, 1975

According to the Sacramento Bee, most of those bodies were so badly decomposed, that detectives were unable to obtain a cause of death into any of them. It was difficult to determine whether or not sexual assault had occurred with any of the girls, except one, Terri Prata. An autopsy performed on the young girl determined that sexual assault had occurred and DNA was obtained.

An autopsy showed that the killer had slit her throat and stabbed Terri repeatedly, at least 27 times, about the face, back, and body.

The sperm sample that was taken, was compared to DNA taken from Hobbs, and it was a match.

He lived only a block from Terri during this time.

2004, Hobbs was arrested at Pleasant Valley Prison in Coalinga and brought to Sacramento to answer for the killing of Terri Maree Pata.

He pled no contest.

Stephine Black

The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California)
12 Nov 1974

Oct. 24, 1974, a short distance from where Terri Pata was last seen, young Stephine Black had been walking from her home on the 7100 block of 18th Street to her school bus stop. She was a sixth grader at Orchard School.

Her school books were found at the 18th and Q St. school bus stop.

Her grandfather James Black said he had last seen Stephine as she was leaving for school, where she kissed him goodbye and headed out the door at 7:45 a.m. that morning.

Up until a week and a half prior, she thought that her grandfather was her dad. That is until it was revealed to her that a young woman named Violet, whom Stephine believed was her sister, was truly her biological mother.

The only reason I believe this pertinent to mention is that, in 1974, this was included in almost every article, as if this was revealed as a possible clue into her murder. It's obvious it had nothing to do with why she was murdered.

Stephine was described as a quiet and mature girl who loved school. She was even known to help tutor other kids. Her school principal recounted the girl fondly and said she was "the type who does a great deal to please in the classroom".

18 days later, two 16-year-old boys who were rabbit hunting and discovered the 11-year-old girl’s small body was found in a rice paddy west of Brewer Lane, in the Riego area. She was located some 25 feet from Jackson Road in Placer County, just shy of Sutter County.

According to the Press Tribune, she was among a stand of water tulles and cattails, shielded from motorists by a levee.

She was just five miles from her home.

Authorities suspect she was placed under the water shortly after she disappeared because her battered body was so badly decomposed that authorities couldn't determine what had happened to her, but immediately suspected foul play as she was found only wearing a blouse and some miscellaneous jewelry.

She was identified via dental records.

To this day, while suspicions are high in Hobb's involvement, no one has been held to answer for Stephine's murder.

SUSPICIONS-
Other North Highlands - Rio Linda Murders of Young Girls


Katherine Harlan

Throughout different coverage of events, it talks about "four other murders of young girls of similar age found murdered in the vicinity of North Highlands during the 1970s.". While I was able to find an abundance of missing and murdered girls throughout the Sacramento region (and beyond) for this decade, it was extremely difficult to pinpoint any particular crimes that authorities may have been looking at. But, one did jump out at me.

This was the case of Katherine Dee Harlan (often misspelled Harland).

Whether or not Katherine was a victim of Hobbs, I don't know for certain, but here is what I do know, they are eerily similar.

On March 7th, 1979 Katherine Harlan, affectionately known as "Kathy", disappeared when she was on her way to her school bus stop. The 9-year-old was found March 11th by fishermen in a drainage canal in Sutter County near Powerline Road, about 15 miles from her home.

The Press Tribune, June 8, 1979

A 33-year-old man by the name of Fred Franklin Robinson was arrested in connection with the crime of kidnapping and murdering of the child, after being pinpointed in a line up for another 1977 crime against a 22-year-old woman named Katherine (Catherine?) Ann Hagenbuch of Citrus Heights. (Seen to the right).

This gets confusing because, in articles, newspapers refer to both victims as "Katherine", but it's important to remember we have 2 victims here.

Hagenbach had been attacked and stuffed head first into a culvert off Barton Road in east Roseville after being abducted from a shopping center off Greenback Lane and San Juan Avenue.

As for the Roseville man accused of the crimes, he's only described as "mentally retarded with the IQ of 63" and was captured March 8th after the 9-year-old had been killed. (Seems a little strange since her body wasn't recovered until the 11th)

Police said he had confessed to abducting and strangling the child and dumping her body in a North Highlands trash bin. (again odd, since she was found in a canal in Sutter County)

His charges according to The Press Tribune included, "murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, attempted rape, assault with the intent to commit murder, and assault with the intent to commit rape and oral copulation" for the 22-year-old victim, and then "kidnapping and murder" for Harlan.

He pled innocent to all charges, despite authorities claiming he had confessed to strangling the young girl.

A material witness, a meat cutter by the name of George Carreras was able to place Robinson across town at a Regional Bus Station on Vernon St, within a 10-minute window to the time the young girl had gone missing. He saw him again, the following day, at the same Bus Station wearing the same clothes, as it was part of his routine. He learned of Robinson's arrest on the 10th which he said struck him funny, "because I had seen 'Freddie' on Wednesday morning.". He informed police about Robinson's whereabouts but was disappointed when he learned that his statement had been "lost".

From there, at least two more witnesses came forward vouching for the fact that Robinson was nowhere near the area where Katherine Harlan went missing.

An autopsy of the child showed that she was not strangled to death, but rather beaten to death. (Again, both contrary to Robinson's alleged "confession")

By May 1979, it's apparent things were looking pretty sloppy in the prosecution of Fred Robinson. The judge placed a gag-order for the murder trial, which included 9 felony counts. The courts claimed the gag order was put in place to "protect the rights of the defendant" (Robinson).

By July, the Judge in the case dismissed charges after the district attorney's office decided they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute the 33-year-old. Charges were dropped for both the death of Harlan, as well as the kidnapping and attack on Hagenbuch.

After all, was said and done, District Attorney Jeff  Marschner released a statement that said, "The thing you have to understand about the Hagenbuch case, is that there is still the possibility we are dealing with a look-alike person.

She can still believe 100 percent that she picked out the right face, it's just on the wrong body. (about the Harlan case) Unless something dramatic happens, its dead-ended right now."

The case of Kathy Harlan has never been solved and is still on the Sacramento County Sheriff's cold case list. If you have information on this case, submit a tip here.

Harriet Elizabeth Riley

So when we're talking about young girls in the area of North Highlands, my memory is triggered by a thought I have about seeing a little girl with a yellow ribbon in her hair who had been murdered. I was born at Kaisers on Morse Ave in Sacramento, lived the first year of life on Gilman Way in North Highlands and my dad worked at McClelland AFB most of my life. So when I hear of history in or near North Highlands it jumps out at me. That's why this particular little girl jumps out at me, but I must admit her name escapes me. It's not until I look at the cold cases page I posted for Kathy that I see her again.

Her name is Harriet Elizabeth Riley and her story will sound familiar.

Harriet and I have 1 thing in common besides both having lived in the exact same North Highlands neighborhood in the 70s. Both of our fathers also worked at McClelland AFB. It's no secret that NH was home to crime, but from the looks of this article, the during the 70s it was teeming with it. In fact, only 2 years after this crime, my parents moved to Rio Oso to get away from the crime.

On Thursday, January 9th, 1975, 6-year-old Harriet headed off to Larchmont Park at 3:45 p.m. and was told to be home by 5:15 p.m. When she had not shown by 6 p.m., her mother Mamie had grown apprehensive. A website, Pretty Death Seller, outlines events really well.

Mamie called the police.

By Thursday night, over 200 volunteers, along with the sheriff's department and helicopters were scouring the area for any signs of Harriet. Come Friday morning, the search yielded nothing until about 9:30 a.m. when a woman discovered the six-year-old's body in the dumpster at the Terry Crest Apartment Complex.

She had been suffocated to death and was found wrapped in a plastic sheet, with a plastic bag put over her head.

Photo cred "PrettyDeath Seller"-
“Searchers, investigators gather behind apartment where the body was found”
(Sacramento Bee, 10 January 1975)

 In a sad turn of events, Mamie, who was home with the news on waiting to hear news of her whereabouts, learned from the TV that her daughter had been found dead. Seems the media got ahold of the news before investigators could get to her mother.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Mamie would feel the heartbreak of losing a loved one, at the hands of an unknown killer. September 21, 1971, Harold her husband had just got home sometimes after midnight when a perpetrator shot him in the left-hand side of his back through the kitchen window. That crime remains unsolved.

Were the two murders connected or just an unfortunate twist of fate that reflected life in NH at the time?

Map of the location from The Sacramento Bee

As if this story could not get any stranger, it does just that.

A week after her body was found, Sheriff Duane Lowe made his "findings" public, in hopes of relieving “some of the apprehensiveness and some of the anxiety that exists in the community,”.

He determined after talking to two six-year-old boys who had allegedly been playing with Harriet that late afternoon. The Sheriff said that they described that the trio had been playing "a game" at one of the boy's homes, which included tying Harriet's ankles together and covering her face in plastic.

The Sheriff deemed this a "tragic accident" and reassured the community that no malice was intended. “They are telling the truth as far as they can go. I’m completely satisfied with the validity of their statements.”, he said.

Case closed? Not quite.

Even the Sheriff himself had to admit there were a ton of holes in the story.

Mainly, who carried, lifted and discarded the 6-year old's body into the dumpster several blocks away? What two six-year-olds on earth could pull that off?

In the end, Sheriff Lowe acknowledged that the boys themselves couldn't manage to dispose of the body, so in some extent, an adult MUST be involved.

Long story short, both boys parents retained legal counsel and refused to cooperate with investigators any further maintaining no wrongdoing. Both boys went to state custody and the parent's homes were deemed unfit, but by April 1975 all allegations had been dropped.

“None of the allegations in the petitions could be proved,” Judge William Gallagher said, “There wasn’t sufficient evidence. So the petitions were dismissed.” He also stated the court “didn’t have anything directly related to the crime in front of us.”

The family sued Sacramento County and Sheriff Lowe, which became a firestorm of outcry from the Sacramento Area Black Caucus. The question was asked- had this been a white family, would this child's death had been disregarded as a simple "accident" so quickly? To read more on this visit Pretty Death Seller's Entry.


To this date, Harriets case remains unsolved and is still on the Sacramento County Sheriff's cold case list. If you have information on this case, submit a tip here.



Yuba County Cases


Jennifer Lynn Wallis

Wallis was last seen near her Dobbins, California home on November 14, 1997. She was reported missing by her estranged husband in November 1997 after she failed to meet him as scheduled. She has never been heard from again. Authorities believe she's missing under suspicious circumstances.

In addition to the Tucker case, investigators have looked into a series of homicides that they believe Hobbs may have been involved in, dating back to 1974. Those cases include the 1997 disappearance of Jennifer Lynn Wallis.

Very little is known about Jennifer's case or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

Please contact the Yuba County Sheriff's Investigative Unit (530) 749-7777 with any information regarding her case.

YCSO report #97-6228

Plumas County Cases

The Keddie Murders

There has been some buzz for sometime at KeddieWhy and at Keddie28 over Hobbs being a possible suspect in the Keddie Murders of Cabin 28. These murders occured in 1981, the year that Hobbs moved to the Yuba County foothills.



2/9/19 - Giving this a break tonight as of right now been on this for 10+ hrs.

If you are checking back today for updates in real time, let me know in the Facebook post about this and commenting "YELLOW RIBBON" :)


** CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION**

The forward notes are for my reference and will be elaborated on -

This launched an investigation into more homicides dating back as far as 1974. These included-

2004 convicted of raping and murdering 13-year-old Sacramento girl Terri Maree Pata on January 21, 1975. *COMPLETED*

four other murders of young girls of similar age found murdered in the vicinity of North Highlands during the 1970s. *WORKING ON* /????

Stephine Black found in a Placer County Rice field in Placer County 18 days after she disappeared from her Rio Linda bus stop October null 1972 *COMPLETED*

Jennifer Lynn Wallis, 35, of Dobbins who was reported missing by her estranged husband in November 1997 *ONGOING*

Internet sleuths have even tried to pinpoint the Cabin 28 Keddie murders on Hobbs.

"Kathy Howard was a young girl who went missing from a market in Quincy in 1973, so I guess they are not including her case in their list. As far as I can determine, he was living in Rio Linda and Elverta until about 1977 or so."










He is now incarcerated in Chino and will be eligible for parole in December 2025, according to the State of California Inmate Locator.

































Sources

The FBI Website - https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#two

Appeal Democrats - https://www.appeal-democrat.com/arrest-made-in-yuba-murder-brownsville-man-charged-in-foothills/article_cb9cac0d-e55f-54a5-9154-6cb433c51fdb.html

CBS 13- https://web.archive.org/web/20020923210418/http://www.calweb.com/kxtv10/news-story/September2001/090701/HOBBS-DNA.htm

California State Inmate Locator - https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/Details.aspx?ID=T74396

ChicoER- https://www.chicoer.com/2014/11/03/butte-county-sheriffs-office-searching-for-tips-on-missing-cases

UCLA digital Library "Sacramento Bee" - http://digital.library.ucla.edu/websites/2004_996_023/pdfs/Sac%20Bee%20May%2027.pdf

News paper archives - https://www.newspapers.com

Pretty Death Seller - https://prettydeathseller.com/2017/11/05/harriet-riley/