[Anderson Cooper, Guest:] Tough story to cover tonight. We're looking at the case of two young girls in Zion, Illinois, killed. A quiet suburb north of Chicago. A place that has been shaken to its core. Today residents got another shock when the father of one of the girls, 8-year-old Laura Hobbs was charged with the killings. The arrest of Mr. Hobbs as an ex-convict recently released from prison has added another layer of horror and disbelief to the story.
[Unidentified Male:] Today we are filing two counts of first degree murder against Jerry Branton Hobbs III of Zion.
[Cooper:] Authorities in Lake County, Illinois believe they have their man, if not a motive.
[Unidentified Male:] There's no rational explanation or reasonable motive that can be ascribed to an act of horror like this.
[Cooper:] It was only last month that Jerry Hobbs got out of jail. He served almost two years for violating probation and for skipping anger management classes. According to Lake County, Hobbs has a criminal record that spans more than 15 years. He started off with small offenses. Possession of marijuana, resisting arrest. Then in 2001, was convicted of aggravated assault when he threatened Laura's mother with a chainsaw. There's no comfort in knowing that a parent, a father, might have killed his own child. But perhaps these charges will lessen the terror that has gripped Zion, Illinois.
[Mayor Lane Harrison, Zion, Illinois:] I would think it would make a tremendous difference to the community knowing that there isn't a randomized kind of situation where someone laid in wait, if you will. More importantly, the person who committed the crime's in custody and that should bring a great deal of comfort to our community.
[Cooper:] It is so hard to imagine. Outside the home of little Krystal Tobias, a vigil was held tonight for both the murdered girls. Police said today they believe that Krystal and Laura, who was her best friend, were killed Sunday evening on Mother's Day in the same park where they were found. In a town like Zion, two little girls well, they can certainly make a very big impression. Here's Keith Oppenheim.
[Keith Oppenheim, Cnn Correspondent:] They were described as inseparable friends. Eight-year-old Laura Hobbs enjoyed acting, 9-year-old Krystal Tobias liked to draw, liked being outdoors. They both lived on this same street just blocks apart. Krystal's family spoke Spanish, but these girls had no trouble communicating. Family members say they often had sleepovers at each other houses. And with such a close connection between their homes, the news that Jerry Hobbs, Laura's father had been charged with the murder of both girls, came as a painful surprise.
[Alberto Segura, Krystal's Brother:] It was very shocking. When we heard I didn't even believe it myself. You know, I don't know nobody that would kill their own daughter. I mean, that's just wrong.
[Oppenheim:] Their tight friendship in life has linked their families in death. This conversation with the grandparent of Laura Hobbs occurred before Jerry Hobbs was charged.
[Arthur Hollabaugh, Laura Hobb's Grandfather:] I know that our family and that family doesn't have money, but I wish some group would come forward and produce a reward to catch these people and get them out of Zion. So, we just don't want them around here.
[Emily Holllabaugh, Laura Hobb's Step-grandmother:] I have a lot of questions, but it's just mostly rage. And whoever could do this to two little girls. I can't talk about it anymore.
[Oppenheim:] Down the street, the relatives of Krystal Tobias were avoiding the media, but welcoming close friends like Maria Salgado, who told us about Krystal's mother, Christina. "I don't think she's doing well," she said. "She doesn't talk much at all." A minister who is working to raise money for both victims' families, told us about his visit with Krystal's parents.
[Arsen Tugen, Minister:] And we just embraced them, cried with them, prayed with them. Told them that we'll love them, we'll support them. We if there's anything that we can do for them, you know, we're here for them.
[Oppenheim:] The ministering may be a small step forward on a long road of grieving for two families. Both left with pain and questions about why two young lives came to an end. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Zion, Illinois.
[Cooper:] Well, before police announced the charges against Jerry Hobbs today, his father-in-law said that he was concerned that authorities might be trying to railroad his son-in-law because of his criminal record. He also said at the time, and I quote "I don't think he did it." Now the two men teamed up to search for the missing girls yesterday. And what the father found sent a small quiet city into a tailspin. CNN's Jonathan Freed spent some time with one family.
[Jonathan Freed, Cnn Correspondent:] Nine-year-old Kristella Florek used to play with her best friend on this hammock.
[Unidentified Female:] You think about Krystal next to you.
[Freed:] But Krystal Tobias is never coming over to play again. Kristella and her family are wrestling with their emotions.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm so sick. It just hit me. I'm so sick. I couldn't get out of bed. Every time I tried to get out of bed, I thought I was just going to faint.
[Freed:] The Floreks say losing Krystal is like a death in their own family. [on camera]: So, Krystal lived over where? On the other side...
[Unidentified Male:] Directly on the other side.
[Freed:] They used to watch Krystal cross the field behind their house on her way home to make sure she's safe. Are you guys angry about what happened or are you too sad to even feel anything else right now?
[Unidentified Male:] The anger's starting to build.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] I think, emotionally the sadness has taken a huge toll on us where we couldn't feel anger. But not like some people are right away were enraged. But I get more more mad every time we talk more and more about it.
[Freed:] Dora is grappling with guilt, because her family wasn't home on Sunday afternoon when neighbors say they saw Krystal and Laura playing on the hammock waiting to see if Kristella would come outside.
[Unidentified Female:] That's why I told him if she would have been OK. She would have been alive. She would have had no reason to go anywhere.
[Freed:] Kristella has a reminder of Krystal, a scrapbook they were making in scrap books, where Krystal pasted a picture of best friend Kristella. A simply scrap book, now turned into something precious, something Kristella wants to finish for both of them. [on camera]: So what have you been tell your own kids? What have you been telling Kristella?
[Unidentified Female:] She's not going nowhere. I mean, not even in behind the backyard by herself. We're just going to watch her like a hawk.
[Freed:] For now, the family knows it's need to grieve, but hopes the pain will pass quickly. Now, Anderson, there is some relief here in this community of Zion tonight. Now the police have said that the person responsible for this, the police are accusing the father of this. And people hearing that, at least, according to police, it was not a random act Anderson.
[Cooper:] But they haven't really said anything about a possible motive have they?
[Freed:] No, not yet. They were saying that because the bond hearing had not happened yet, as of late this evening, we were not even aware as to whether or not the father had retained counsel. We're hoping to hear more on that tomorrow, at tomorrow's hearing. Which is going to take place right now it is scheduled, Anderson, for 10:00 a.m. Central time at the Lake County Courthouse.
[Cooper:] All right. Jonathan Freed, thanks very much. For a second grader, the murder of a classmate is an overwhelming piece of news to try to absorb. The murder of two classmates, that is simply unthinkable. Mary Lamping is assistant superintendent for special services for Zion Elementary School District 6. We spoke to her earlier today. Dr. Lamping, how do you deal with something like this in a classroom?
[Mary Lamping, Asst. Supt. Special Services:] What we did is we mobilized crisis intervention teams into the schools where the two girls resided, as well as, schools where we had siblings. And those teams consisted of social work and psychologists. And they we prepped the teachers ahead of time to work in whole groups with the kids, and then isolate kids that were really having problems to do individual counseling with. So we, especially, in the class where the two girls were, the teacher did a remarkable job with the students. And it really went as well as we can expect.
[Cooper:] How do you I mean, you can't explain it to adults. How do you try to explain it to second graders in the classroom of these two girls? What did specifically the teacher I mean, how did she do it?
[Lamping:] Well, we talked a lot about the teacher talked a lot about, you know, what people had heard, what parents had told them. And then she relayed one of the real neat things she did was to talk about the issue of showing emotions and crying, is she went back to two books that the children have been reading over the course of the school year. And one was "Charlotte's Web" and the other was "The Taste of Blackberries." And within those books there was a lot of emotion in both books. And children some children cried during the reading of those books. And she talked about she related it back to that, and how well how students show emotions in different venues. And that really helped kind of ease the situation and get the kids ground in what they knew about and what they had already experienced.
[Cooper:] What does death mean to a second grader?
[Lamping:] It means different things to different kids because some kids might have already experienced death in their families or in with friends. And some may have not experienced them at all. And we're looking for feelings to come out, not just today and not just tomorrow, but we're going to see delayed reaction to this for many days and weeks to come. Do the kids I mean, you asked the kids what they knew, about what they had heard. Did they know a lot? I mean, did they know that one of these girl's father was had been apprehended? No. At the time when we talked to the students was in the morning, and we were going off confirmed information, simply that, at that point, that the children were killed. We did not have any confirmed information that there was a relative or any suspect that was in custody. So, we were basically talking about the fact that these two children had died and they were friends and classmates and family members of people that these children knew.
[Cooper:] Does it I mean, this may be a stupid question does it make it harder to explain to a second grader if, in fact, it is the father who committed these crimes? Or, I mean, does it is it easier if it's a stranger? Or I guess, neither is really easy.
[Lamping:] I don't think either's real easy. However, the fact that somebody is in custody helps the community deal with this, so that we're not afraid that there's somebody out there, in a stranger- danger type of situation, that could be potentially taking other children. So, that eases our minds a little bit. We still have to deal with the fact that this was a family member of one of the children and the families were close. That's going to complicate things a little bit. But we also have to watch the reaction of our families and of the children in the classrooms and in the district to see where we proceed from here.
[Cooper:] It's not an easy thing to proceed from here.
[Lamping:] No.
[Cooper:] Mary Lamping, appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.
[Lamping:] Thank you.
[Cooper:] In a few moments, we're going to look at the question of seat belts on school buses: should your kids have them on the bus that they ride? We're going to look at this video. Kids bouncing around on a bus. Ask yourself why are not why aren't seat belts mandatory? Then we're going to hear from parents of a child who was in an accident, on why seat belts may not be necessary. All sides. First, it is about 12 past the hour right now. Let's check in with Erica Hill at Headline News. Hey, Erica.
[Erica Hill, Cnn Headline News:] Hey, Anderson. A report out of the former Soviet republic of Georgia now says an object that looked like a hand grenade may have been thrown in President Bush's direction earlier today while he was addressing a crowd there. The Secret Service, working with the FBI, the State Department, and Georgian authorities, investigating a report that the object landed within 100 feet of the president. It did not explode. In northern Iraq, raids over the past three days have netted U.S. and Iraqi forces more than 30 suspected terrorists, weapons and munitions, and also uncovered a car bomb factory. Security forces discovered three prepared car bombs, one of which had already been in place. At some point this month the Army says it will likely order a one-day recruiting standoff in which 7,500 Army recruiters around the country will spend the day reviewing their procedures. A CBS News report today cited at least two cases in which recruiters are accused of going too far. In one, a volunteer got advice on how to pass a drug test; another, a prospect was threatened with arrest if he didn't report to a recruiting station. And check out this little munchkin, the little girl from Tucson, Arizona. Very cute. What's her name? That's a darn good question. Nobody knows. You see, she just doesn't have one. A year-and-a-half after she was born, her parents still haven't named her. They say no single name really seems to fit her personality. Mom and dad are working on it, though. Until then that they call her baby or boby. Munchkin face. And, I know, on your show earlier, you were taking names. I mean, if it's a girl, Erica is nice, with a C, though.
[Cooper:] Erica with a C? Someone else mentioned Andersonia, which, I don't know, doesn't really work...
[Hill:] I think you could make Anderson for a girl.
[Cooper:] Oh, do you really?
[Hill:] Yeah, she'd be the cool kid with a different name.
[Cooper:] Yeah, thanks, Erica. Hill. Yeah, whatever. Talk to you again in maybe about 30 minutes. We'll see. Thanks very much. Coming up ahead on "NEWSNIGHT," a murder mystery that is just unfolding in a place where murders aren't supposed to happen.
[Unidentified Male:] I want to stress at this time that this community is in no danger. We are not at this time looking for a suspect.
[Cooper:] Three adults and three children killed in a quiet mountain town. A murder case more than 40 years old, and the power it still holds over one man's life.
[Unidentified Male:] This case, it worked on me a long time. I really don't believe that there has been a single day in 40 years that I haven't thought about this case.
[Cooper:] He was a young reporter in Mississippi whose life changed forever when three young civil rights workers were murdered. How dangerous is your child's school bus?
[Unidentified Female:] Last night we had some emotional issues when he was trying to go to sleep, thinking he was back on the bus.
[Cooper:] A bus ride that turned deadly. Would seat belts have helped? How this country works.
[Unidentified Female:] Some of my favorite images that I've captured on the road are usually the people that have been in their jobs for most of their lives.
[Cooper:] She took her camera on the road to capture Americans at work in all 50 states, in all kinds of jobs. From New York and around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT