So...Kathy Hobbs

[Fox Mulder]

What is the general consensus here with regard to her murder?

[JannTosh]

Originally Posted by Fox Mulder

What is the general consensus here with regard to her murder?

I believe it was confirmed she was killed by a serial killer named Michael Lockhart

[justins5256]

I think this was the story of a young, teenage girl out in a public place by herself who had the very unfortunate luck of running across a violent, predatory offender.

As ShriekoftheVultu mentioned above, there is apparently confirmation that she was murdered by a serial killer. Though I can't recall offhand if this person was ever officially charged with the murder.

I hope this doesn't sound cold, but I always thought her case was cut and dry and a classic example of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[RobinW]

I remember being shocked when I visited the Unsolved Mysteries website and noticed that Kathy Hobbs' case summary had quietly been moved to the "Solved" section:
http://unsolved.com/archives/katherine-hobbs

But, yes, everyone is pretty certain that Michael Lockhart was the killer. He was executed for some other murders in 1997, but apparently, carpet fibers found at the murder scene were matched to a stolen Toyota Lockhart was driving at the time, so even though they'll never be able to charge him with the crime, it appears the case is officially closed.

That said, I'd still be curious to know if that anonymous caller who claimed to have witnessed Kathy's abduction was telling the truth.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by RobinW

That said, I'd still be curious to know if that anonymous caller who claimed to have witnessed Kathy's abduction was telling the truth.

That anonymous caller mentioned two assailants. Do we know if Lockhart operated alone, or did he have a partner? That would be telling, IMO.

There were always some things about that call that bothered me immensely and made me lean in the direction of it not being legitimate.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by justins5256

That anonymous caller mentioned two assailants. Do we know if Lockhart operated alone, or did he have a partner? That would be telling, IMO.

There were always some things about that call that bothered me immensely and made me lean in the direction of it not being legitimate.

I see no indication that Lockhart ever had accomplices in any of his other crimes. I certainly hope he didn't have an accomplice when he murdered Kathy Hobbs because that would mean someone else has gotten away with murder.

I also don't believe the caller was legitimate, especially when he said he hadn't reported the abduction because he'd been "out of town for a few months". That isn't something who just "get around" to doing when you have some spare time on your hands.

[JannTosh]

What makes this case and creepy and sad is how Kathy Hobbs kept feeling how she wouldn't live for long and even wrote her mom some sort of farewell letter

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by ShriekoftheVultu

What makes this case and creepy and sad is how Kathy Hobbs kept feeling how she wouldn't live for long and even wrote her mom some sort of farewell letter

Absolutely. On the segment it was mentioned that a close childhood friend of Kathy's had died suddenly. In addition, her parents went through a divorce. Also, IIRC, her family had just moved to that area of Nevada not long before Kathy's murder, and it was also mentioned that she was having some difficulties adjusting. I think Kathy Hobbs had to deal with some very "adult" stuff at a young age, and that probably affected her outlook to the point where she wrote those letters and had the death obsession.

[cdr369]

I had read where they never prosecuted her killer, because he had already been confined and convicted of several other murders throughout the USA.

She definitely had premonitions of an early death.