On January 24, 2010 the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office announced that they discovered the body of 37 year old Tonya Hobbs dead inside a motor home parked at her husband’s sister’s home. She had been badly beaten about the head, neck and abdomen.
Missing though, was her 8 year old daughter, Aja Johnson and police believed that she had been abducted by Tonya’s estranged husband, Lester Hobbs. An Amber alert was issued for her soon after. Police also said that they did indeed consider Hobbs as a person of interest in connection with the death of Tanya Hobbs. Later they issued an arrest warrant out for not only abducting Aja but for the murder of her mother, Tonya as well.
Police say Hobbs was believed to be driving a 1992 Toyota Paseo with Oklahoma license plate #577BPW on it. They asked that if anyone spotting the car to please notify the sheriff’s office.
It had been reported that Aja’s grandmother said that Hobbs never liked Aja and she was afraid he had something planned (to do to Aja, apparently). She says he hated her and she was afraid he had already killed her.
According to attorney John Branch, Aja John’s father’s attorney without Aja’s medication her behavior become a bit erratic. She suffers from attention deficit disorder and sleep deprivation so without her medication her behavior is likely to cause her to irritate Hobbs. “If she’s not getting her sleep, then her behavior becomes more and more erratic,†said Branch. “And as her behavior becomes more and more erratic, we’re concerned even more for her safety.â€
The search for little Aja apparently seems to have come to an end as of yesterday. The Oklahoma police say they have found the Toyotya that Hobbs was using and the two badly decomposed bodies that they have every reason to believe is that of Lester Hobbs and Aja Johnson. An anonymous 911 call was received Monday reporting an abandoned car in the woods about 15 miles outside of Norman Oklahoma.
Although the bodies have not yet been identified Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said, “We have no reason to believe it’s not those two people.†The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office will have to use fingerprints to help identify Hobbs and dental records for Aja. Brown did indicate that some papers were found inside the car that could possibly be a suicide note. No weapon has been found and it has not been stated as of yet as to the causes of their deaths.
Terri Johnson, father of Aja, J.J. Johnson’s wife said she saw a video of the scene and she spotted a jacket outside the car which she recognized, “We saw the coat Aja took with her on the back rear tire of the car,†she said.
When he was told about the discovery, J.J. Johnson was immediately overwhelmed with grief but at the same time he also expressed relief and admitted for the first time that he had given up hope of finding his daughter a long time ago. According to newson6.com J.J. said this:
“As a parent, love for your child always burns, but for some odd reason that fire went out. I had a funny feeling something like this would happen. That gutless person he is, he would do something like this. I never wanted to accept it, but in the back of my head I knew he’d do something like this.â€
My heart goes out to the family. It has to be rough accepting your child is gone especially like this. I hope Aja didn’t have to suffer to much before she was killed. I pray Hobbs didn’t torture her and make her have to suffer all the time he had her. I pray that at some point he would have been good to her, making sure she was fed and cleaned. Of course more than anything I wish she never had to suffer through this ordeal at all but since she did and her life was in the hands of a crazy man.
Aja Johnson you was a beautiful little girl that didn’t deserve this. May God bless you and may you now rest in peace.
Jan Barrett
14 users commented in " Aja Johnson’s Body Believed To Have Been Found "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackJust look at Ajas beautiful innocent little face. I pray also she did not have too suffer. This poor child more than likely saw this monster murder her mother. I can only imagine how terrified this little angel was. If there were any family at all of Hobbs that helped him while he was on the run they should be punished severely!! They could have possibly saved this innocent childs life.
May little Aja rest in peace and God comfort her family.
God Bless Aja and all our other missing kids.My heart hurts for all of them.
How can you harbor hatred for an eight year old child? For Hobbs to take his own life too shows that maybe he was not a monster, but mentally ill. Most people who are just plain evil usually never hurt themselves. My heart aches for the family, and the tragic short lives of both the mother and especially Aja. Rest in peace sweet child and mother.
Another little angel found too late. This is so sad. Will we ever find our beautiful little Haleigh? I hope and pray so.
That better really be Lester Hobbs’ body. They better make 100% certain.
Why couldn’t he have just let her go, dropped her off somewhere? Did he really hate her that much?
I’m thoroughly sickened but not at all surprised. I fear Aja suffered immensely before her death. At the very least she is not suffering any longer.
Jan,thanks for reporting this another innocet little darling gone,her little joy snuffed out.How do we stop this? Jan this is happening so very often.But shes in the arms of Jesus now,never to suffer again.I get irritated with mine.But i havent hurt then as of yet,an never would.Alot in this case may have stemmed from problems between Hobbs an the woman he killed first.Adja may have just been there.Bless her heart she may have even seen what happened to her mom,thats why he didnt release her.Makes me sick in my heart about this.
I just wonder how many warning signs the family looked over,or missed,Grandmother says he hated her,why didnt she or somone step in an keep her.However i cant blame a grieving family.As they didnt harm her.It was the mother chioce of man,an we never know what were getting.Its so sad.
Jan;
Thank you for your coverage of Aja’s case. I remember the day you first posted about her. SUch a tragic and sad story.
As I watched for bulletins to come in yesterday I had still been praying that the 2nd remains would be other than AJa but knew in my heart the truth.
I wish so much he had just let her go. If he was going to suicide anyway, why not let her leave. Did he put her out of the car to kill himself and she froze? Was she too afraid to seek help? Did he kill himself after murdering her?
I’m so sad…..Aja….I guess you celebrated Jesus Birthday with him last Christmas after all. May his loving embrace heal all your wounds and fill you with peace & love.
I’ll never forget you.
Ex-neighbor to Hobbs & ex-friend tell reporters they told Norman LE to search that very area. LE now claim they searched there some very early on and found nothing to warrent a research or to believe Hobbs was there.
This may get ugly! Is this another case of LE issues hampering a case?
HGm @ 8:25 am – You said, “Aja….I guess you celebrated Jesus Birthday with him last Christmas after all.”
– – –
Aja was not abducted until late January….
http://codeamber.org/jotsonok
Excerpt from article: “Monday, Jan 25, 2010
The State of Oklahoma issued the Amber Alert Monday morning (1-25) after the girl was reportedly abducted by the suspect from her home in Geronimo late Sunday.”
– – –
And Vaquero posted yesterday that a report said it looked like the bodies might have only been there a couple of weeks or so (the report talked about using fingerprints for ID).
So Aja was alive at Christmas, abducted about January 24 and may possible have been alive until a few weeks ago.
Sorry, my above post was in reponse to HGm’s at 4:25am
My post may be met with opposition and that’s ok.
Firstly I do not believe the entire story as it is being told as far as Hobbs goes entirely. I would like to note that I do not intend to victimize the victims in this case. My point is to express that I am viewing the case as objectively as possible. Nothing more and nothing less.
I believe that Hobbs had some serious issues. That is a given. I think the man should have been locked up a long time ago. On the same token the Mother is known to be a liar. She outright and intentionally lied to Aja’s Father about where she was taking Aja that day.
I believe that it is possible that Aja’s Mother may have had a history of lying when it suited her own personal needs.
Lying to her own family members, her ex husband and possibly others was potentially a common occurance.
Also I consider the statements made by some of Aja’s own family members who said things like that they had seen Hobbs beat Aja so bad that she had bruising and could not sit down? Really? Was DCF and/or 911 called immediately and did she actualy witness the abuse taking place? If DCF and/or 911 was not called then it begs the question, WHY NOT!
Apart from flat out lying to Aja’s biological Father, Aja’s Mother also violated a court order by taking Aja over to see Hobbs.
Hobbs was known to have a criminal history that included acts of violence. Was Hobbs own family life growing up just as violent? What was his relationship with his family members, siblings etc…? Would they have anything nice to say about him at all?
Also too is that Aja’s Mother had sought out a restraining order against Hobbs for allegedly threatening to hit the Daughters in the head with a hammer yet as abusive and heinous as that would be she neglected to follow up in seeking an actual order.
My question is this, Was the Mother possibly lying about the claims she had been making against Hobbs? Is the reason why Hobbs assaulted her like he did due to the fact that she had caused this already deeply troubled and potentially volatile man to snap?
http://www.newsok.com/missing-girls-dad-searchers-cling-to-hope/article/3435522?custom_click=pod_headline_crime
A quote from Aja’s Father regarding Lester Hobbs and Hobbs relationship with little Aja:
” “Lester always seemed quite loving toward her,” Johnson said. “He seemed to favor that little girl, even more than his own.”
This case is very heartbreaking no matter how you look at it.
RIP little Aja.
YES DHS WAS NOTICIFED!!!!!! they where removed twice from the home and placed back with hobbs and tonya because the case work stated that hobbs had a strong hand and that is what aja needed. There where several things the case workers was tols about but that i was alright for him to put her threw mental abuse.I KNOW for a fact the lester HATED AJA, when she would hug him he would creng (spelling) and you could see it. This was a very sad case but tony i know left him several time i went to DHS for help and the same case worker would take her back and tell her that he was a good man to work it out with him. So i mean i think DHS could have helped alot more than what he didnt and tell he that if you go back to him with him that we will take your kids away permente. AJA older sister told the same case worker do not send aja home, that she was ok but that lest would hurt aja and was hurting and and that she was afraid that one day he would kill her.
OH and he had a record a mile long with drinkin and drivin and also assults. his ex wife that he was with before tonya put him in prison for the same thing
i will miss yo+u
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