From the Holland-Springfield Journal On-line News dated "week of March 1, 2011"
Double homicide wasn't a random robbery
Sheriff's office advises neighbors not to worry
Springfield Township residents fearful that the recent double homicide may mean danger for the neighbors should not worry.
"It wasn't random. It wasn't a robbery. It was professional," Lucas County Sheriff's Sergeant James Schiavone said.
The sergeant gave an update on the murder investigation to the Springfield Township Trustees as part of his monthly sheriff's report at the February 22 meeting.
Lisa Straub, 20, and Johnny S. Clarke, 21, were found executed January 31 in a home on Longacre Lane, where Ms. Straub lived with her parents Jeff and Mary Beth Straub. Ms. Straub and Mr. Clark were found around 4 a.m., by Mr. Clark's family members. The couple had been suffocated with plastic bags over their heads and their hands bound.
Sgt. Schiavone said he believes the drug-related crime was a professional "hit," instigated by actions of the victims. The crime was not a random neighborhood robbery and the sergeant believes the suspects are likely no longer in the area. "Nobody needs to be worried about that," he added.
The sheriff's office is investigating the crime with the assistance of the FBI and the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). More than 100 people have been interviewed during the investigation, he said.
Ms. Straub and Mr. Clarke were discovered after his family had called 9-1-1 several times earlier that evening, concerned about their safety.
Speculation swirls in slayings
WIRE 10:13 PM FEB 13 2011
The brutal slayings of Lisa Straub and Johnny Clarke in a quiet neighborhood have more than a few people on edge.
Richard Degener lives just a few blocks from the Springfield Township home where the young couple were suffocated with plastic bags, and he said he now keeps his home-security system on during the day, double-locks the doors when he's home, and keeps a loaded shotgun by his bed.
"It's just such a heinous crime," Mr. Degener said. "You begin to feel terrified inside the sanctity of your own home."
Despite such fears, those close to the case and others who investigate or study homicide say the Jan. 31 killings do not appear to be part of some random home invasion.
Most agree that Ms. Straub, 20, and Clarke, 21, were killed by someone -- probably more than one assailant -- who went specifically to that house looking for something they may or may not have found. Detectives have termed it "a robbery gone bad."
"There's a lot of work involved in this. That's not random. That's targeted," said Doyle Burke, a retired Dayton homicide detective who teaches criminal investigation. "The average burglar or robber is armed, but they're not walking around with duct tape and plastic bags."
Frank Stiles, chief investigator for the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office and a retired Toledo police detective, said that when he took a drive by the Straubs' Longacre Lane home, he was struck by its location. It is not set back in a secluded spot that might appeal to a random burglar, he said.
"... That tells me they went there intentionally," Mr. Stiles said, adding there's "a good possibility" the killers knew the victims. "It gets a little personal when you put a bag over their heads. They definitely wanted them dead, that's for sure."
Autopsies showed both Ms. Straub and Clarke died of asphyxiation. Their wrists had been bound with duct tape and plastic bags were taped around their necks. Clarke's ankles also had been bound.
'It's very rare'
The way in which they died is unusual, to say the least. Although it is not uncommon for someone to commit suicide by placing a plastic bag over his or her head, a Toledo police historian who has examined homicides back to 1916 could not recall a single case in which the victim was suffocated with a plastic bag.
Firearms are most typically used to kill people, followed by knives. In the FBI's annual "Crime in the United States" report for 2009, 9,146 of the 13,636 homicides were committed with firearms, 1,825 with knives, and 611 with blunt objects. Just 77 were asphyxiations.
"It's very rare," said Jack Levin, an author and professor of sociology and criminology at Northeastern University in Boston. "The first thing I thought of was that this looks like more than a robbery. There are cases of homicide where the motives are mixed. What begins as a profit-motivated crime can easily turn into something that has more psychological roots."
In some cases, that might be the killer's need for power and control over the victims, possibly the desire to watch and feel pleasure in seeing them suffer, Mr. Levin said.
"In most cases you'd find kind of an up-close-and-personal method like strangling with the killer's own hands," Mr. Levin said. "This is a little bit more complicated, but it has the same purpose."
Mr. Levin said the case doesn't look like a typical robbery attempt. "There are cases where a robbery goes bad and the occupants of the house are murdered, but that's usually done with a stabbing or shooting ...," he said. "The killing is a means to an end. It's a way of silencing witnesses. This looks like something vastly more sadistic."
Louis B. Schlesinger, professor of forensic psychology at John Jay college of criminal justice at the City University of New York, said tying someone up and placing a plastic bag over the head "is not a typical or efficient way to kill somebody, so the first thing that comes to my mind is some sort of revenge-type killing, wanting them to suffer."
Possible motive
Family members of the victims say they are convinced the killers knew their victims and had targeted them.
Jim Verbosky, an uncle of Ms. Straub, said he is certain the killers knew that his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jeff and Mary Beth Straub, were out of town. He believes the killers had gone to the house to steal a safe containing cash -- a safe, he insists, that didn't exist.
"There is a kitchen with an island and an open eating area that went into an open family room. That was not ransacked, but you could tell there was a fight that ensued there," he said. "Plants were knocked over. Things were broken and knocked over, but upstairs, Mary Beth and Jeff's room was ransacked to the point where it looked like a TV show. All the drawers were out, and they had punched holes in the walk-in closet looking for a safe that never existed. There was no safe."
The Straubs, who were on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, went through the house when they returned, and the only thing missing, Mr. Verbosky said, was $84 or so in cash that they'd left in a change jar in their bedroom. Electronics, jewelry, computers were not taken.
"Everything was intact," he said. "Two computers, a laptop, a brand-new flat-screen TV -- everything. If someone is going to rob something and that was their motive, all of their electronics and all that stuff would've been gone."
'This is evil'
Clarke's mother, Maytee Vazquez-Clarke, first called 911 about 1:20 a.m. Jan. 31 after learning from a friend of her son's that he had been on the phone with a young woman whom he and Ms. Straub were supposed to pick up that night. The woman named Tiffany said she was talking to Clarke when he dropped the phone and confronted someone.
While Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke can be heard in a recording of her calls to 911 saying that Tiffany said Clarke yelled, "Who are you? What do you want?" Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke said last week that he actually never said, "Who are you?" "He said, 'What the [expletive] are you doing, bro? What are you doing here? What do you want?" Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke said. "Him and Lisa knew who these people were."
It was Clarke's father, John P. Clarke, who kicked in the front door of the Straubs' home about 3:50 that morning after Lucas County sheriff's deputies twice had come to the house and found nothing amiss after an exterior inspection. He found his son and Ms. Straub between the kitchen and dining area and quickly tore the bags off their heads, but it was too late to save them.
"This is evil. This is gruesome. This was premeditated. This was planned," Mrs. Vazquez-Clarke said. She said she believes the motive "was the parents' safe and money, and they waited for the kids to be home alone."
'Disorganized' killers
Glenn Owen, a former police officer and Army investigator from Texas who develops criminal profiles, said it appears a "disorganized" killer attacked Ms. Straub and Clarke. He cited the chaotic crime scene where the victims' bodies were left in plain sight, and the weapons -- the plastic bags and duct tape -- were left behind as well. He suggested the killers are young -- 18 to 30 years old -- and likely are high school dropouts from broken homes. They may live with an older relative, and if they work, they have nonskilled jobs at a fast-food restaurant or gas station.
Mr. Owen said that although disorganized killers rarely plan an attack, it appears some thought went into this and that they may have known the victims.
"What caught me strange about this case was the mode of death, how they killed them with the plastic bags," he said. "Usually the disorganized killer gets really [angry] and shoots someone or stabs them. To me, it appears they wanted the young couple to suffer, a slow type of suffering."
No arrests have been made in the case.
Seeking information
Last week, the Straub family established a reward fund at Fifth Third Bank where they are accepting donations to help identify and convict those responsible for the double homicide. Lucas County Sheriff James Telb also announced that his office was offering a $5,000 reward for information.
Mr. Degener, who lives a few blocks from the crime scene, said he didn't know the victims but was thinking of donating to the fund. Asked why, he said, "One, the horrible, heinous nature of this crime and the terrifying thought that this could happen to somebody who's close to you. The proximity of it to us and to those I know around here and love, and I just think these folks need to be taken off the street because they're obviously sociopaths and God knows what they could do to somebody else."
Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call Crime Stoppers, 419-255-1111.
Picture of Johnny and Lisa at Christmas time this year.
BA: Caption under this photo:
Taken Christmas Night - I`m Glad I Spent Part Of My Christmas W. The Two Of You. & Lisa , I`m Glad We Had That Talk The Weekend Before You Passed. & Johnny , I`m Glad I Got To See You Just A Few Hours Before You Passed. I`m SOO Sorry You Guys Had To Go Through That. Your Both Forever In Our Hearts. Love You Johnny. "Live Everyday Like It`s Your Last , Because Tomorrow Isn`t Promised" Rest In Peace Johnny Clarke & Lisa Straub
Sheriff pursuing leads in Springfield Twp. murders
by Brian Schwartz
Posted: 03.07.2011 at 1:13 P
TOLEDO, OH -- Lucas County Sheriff James A. Telb says his department continues to pursue leads in the double homicide of Johnny S. Clarke and Lisa Straub that occurred in Springfield Twp. on January 31, 2011.
Deputies are confident that the murder was not a random act of violence and that the Clarke and Straub were targeted by their assailants. They do not believe the killers were "professionals" but have no motive for the crime as of now.
Deputies have conducted numerous interviews and polygraph examinations, according to the sheriff. The evidence collected at the scene continues to be processed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification and investigators are awaiting results of those tests. The F.B.I. have also dedicated resources to the investigation.
911 calls reveal mother's concern in double murders
Lamar Outdoor Advertising has advertisements placed on electronic billboards throughout the greater Toledo area soliciting leads and tips.
The sheriff is asking anybody with any knowledge of this crime to contact them via Crime Stopper at (419) 255-1111 or call the sheriff directly at (419) 213-4917. A cash reward is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murder.
TOLEDO, OH -- Still no arrests have been made in the gruesome murder of a young couple back in January. The Lucas County sheriff says whoever killed Johnny Clark and Lisa Straub was specifically targeting them.
Sheriff James Telb released a statement Monday saying investigators do not believe this was a random act of violence in the community. Also, they do not believe that this was a "professional hit".
The sheriff says information he has leads him to think Johnny Clarke, 21, and his girlfriend Lisa Straub, 20, were targeted back in January in her parent's house on Longacre Lane in Springfield Township. Clarke's family found the two tied up with bags over their heads.
Straub's parents were away on a cruise at the time. Sheriff Telb calls it a "heinous" crime. He says the motive remains unknown.
It is "unlikely" that the young couple found bound with plastic bags over their heads in Springfield Township in January were drugged by their killers, Lucas County Coroner Dr. James Patrick said.
Toxicology reports, which were released Tuesday, showed Johnny Clarke, 21, had either Percocet or Oxycontin and marijuana in his system. Lisa Straub, 20, had either Percocet or Oxycontin and Vicodin in her system, Dr. Patrick said.
In both Clarke and Ms. Straub the drugs were at "therapeutic levels," with nothing suggesting overdose-type levels, the coroner said.
Although the test does not show what dosage was taken or when, Dr. Patrick said the drugs were probably ingested "a few hours" before they died. "If your thesis is that somebody drugged them and then did this to them, that's unlikely," Dr. Patrick said.
No more tests are expected, Dr. Patrick said.
Clarke's mother, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, said her son was issued a prescription for Percocet on Dec. 17 for pain from a knee injury he had suffered while playing football at Bowsher High School. Mrs. Vasquez-Clarke said the doctor, whom she did not name, would not confirm the prescription for The Blade.
It is unknown whether Ms. Straub had a prescription for either drug.
Although the coroner said it is unlikely the couple were drugged, Mrs. Vasquez-Clarke said she "doesn't believe that for a second." She said a third person was probably in the Longacre Lane home and perhaps slipped the drugs into the couple's drinks because taking prescription drugs was "out of character for both of them. They didn't take prescription drugs."
Mrs. Vasquez-Clarke said her son probably did have marijuana in his system.
"Every kid I know that age has dabbled with marijuana," she said. "They weren't messing with Oxycontin or Percocet."
Clarke would turn 22 on April 15, Mrs. Vasquez-Clarke said, speaking of her son's birthday in the present tense.
Mrs. Vasquez-Clarke said she calls the sheriff's office at least five times a day, every day, hoping detectives are closer to solving the case and making an arrest.
"I am probably their worst parent nightmare, but justice needs to prevail for these kids," she said. "Only God knows my pain."
The couple were found in the home of Ms. Straub's parents, Jeff and Mary Beth Straub, around 3:50 a.m. on Jan. 31. Clarke's wrists and ankles were bound with duct tape, while Ms. Straub's wrists were bound with duct tape. Both were asphyxiated with plastic bags tied around their necks. The young couple were house-sitting for Mr. and Mrs. Straub while they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in the Caribbean.
Mr. and Mrs. Straub are continuing to live day to day, hoping for case-cracking information to surface, said Jim Verbosky, Lisa Straub's uncle and family spokesman.
"Considering their lives have been thrown apart forever, the whole family, we're a pretty tight-knit family, and everybody's lives are obviously changed," Mr. Verbosky said. "Now we're hoping that something happens as far as, you know, an arrest or whatever, but we're going to continue to let the authorities do what they have to do."
Calls to officials at the Lucas County Sheriff's office for comment were not returned.
COUNT PARTY DESCRIPTION ABBREV.
1 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II AGGRAVATED BURGLARY & 2941.145-FIREARM SPEC F1
2 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II AGGRAVATED ROBBERY & 2941.145-FIREARM SPEC F1
3 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II ROBBERY F2
again, i need to stress this is NOT related to Johnny and Lisa case. but since we have followed the career of this person who is somewhat connected to them, i am posting the latest court activity.
interpret it as you wish, i will not interpret it.
LUCAS COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
J. BERNIE QUILTER, CLERK
700 ADAMS STREET
TOLEDO, OHIO
TIME: 5:31:36 PM
DATE: 6/29/2011
CASE: G -4801 -CR -201101954-000
TITLE: S/O V AARON GRIFFIN
JUDGE: GENE A. ZMUDA
FILING DATE: 6/24/2011 CASE TYPE: CR CRIMINAL
MONETARY AMOUNT: DOCKET/PAGE:
ORIGINAL COURT: TAX TYPE:
PREVIOUS CASE NUMBER: STATE OF OHIO NUMBER:
Party Counsel Prosecutor
DEFENDANT 1:
GRIFFIN AARON P II
3161 DALEFORD DR
TOLEDO, OH 43614 BEAU HARVEY
4197200400
425 JEFFERSON
SUITE 910
TOLEDO, OH 43604 KEVIN A. PITUCH
COUNT PARTY DESCRIPTION ABBREV.
1 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II AGGRAVATED BURGLARY & 2941.145-FIREARM SPEC F1
2 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II AGGRAVATED ROBBERY & 2941.145-FIREARM SPEC F1
3 (D -1)GRIFFIN AARON P II ROBBERY F2
DATE SEQ EVENT
6/24/2011 1 Title : OPN:ORIG INDICT BOOKED
AGG BURG W/FIREARM SPEC
AGG ROBB W/FIREARM SPEC
ROBBERY
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/24/2011 2 Title : BND:NO BOND SET (CLERKS)
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/27/2011 1 Title : WAR:WARRANT ISSUED BY CLERK
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/27/2011 2 Title : HRG:ARRAIGNMENT SET
June 29, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/27/2011 5 Title : WAR:WARRANT SERVED ON DEFENDNT
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/28/2011 3 Title : RTNHERIFF SERVED WARRANT
SERVED ON 6/27/11
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
6/29/2011 1 Title : ARR HELD AND COUNSEL APPOINTED
770-000015587 issued by 226 ()
June 29, 2011. Court Reporter LYNETTE SHINDORF, Assistant
Prosecutor KEVIN PITUCH, and Defendant, AARON P GRIFFIN II
present in court.
Indigency hearing held. Defendant notified of application
fee for appointment of counsel. BEAU HARVEY appointed as
counsel. Counsel present and arraignment held.
Defendant acknowledged receipt of a copy of the
indictment, waived any defects as to time, place or manner
of service, and waived its reading in open Court.
Defendant entered a plea of not guilty.
Matter set for pretrial and bond hearing on July 6, 2011
at 1:00 p.m.
Bond hearing held. Bond ordered set at $25,000.00 no 10%
allowed as to count 1, $25,000.00 no 10% allowed as to
count 2 and $15,000.00 no 10% allowed as to count 3 for a
total aggregated bond of $65,000.00 no 10% allowed.
Defendant to be re-interviewed by pretrial for an updated
bond report and defendant to cooperate with pretrial.
JUDGE GENE A. ZMUDA
PARTY : D1 - GRIFFIN AARON P II
There are days when Maytee Vasquez-Clarke visits her son, Johnny Clarke, several times a day. She lies next to him, talks to him, prays for him.
She wishes her son a good night.
It has been six months since Clarke, 21, and his girlfriend, Lisa Straub, 20, were found dead inside Miss Straub's parents' Springfield Township home.
Mrs. Clarke's husband found their bodies on the floor just before 4 a.m. on Jan. 31. The couple's hands were bound with duct tape, and they had plastic bags over their heads.
The killer came prepared.
At the Lucas County Sheriff's Office, Detective Jeff Kozak keeps reminders of the couple tacked to the wall at eye level across from his desk. There are printouts of the electronic billboards that feature a photograph of Clarke and Miss Straub with "double homicide victims" in bold red letters, the program and a prayer card from Miss Straub's funeral, and a list of questions and thoughts the detective turns over in his mind.
Written in black marker on lined notebook paper, No. 1 reads, "Who knew mom/dad were out of town?" No. 4: "Brought tape with them!"
The case, the circumstances, are troubling.
Detectives work the case every day. They say they are leaving no avenue unexplored, no question unasked.
"Everywhere I go, I have a working file on the homicide with me," Detective Kozak said, putting a hefty brown expandable file on his desk. It is with him, at his side, 24 hours a day, no matter where he goes.
He never knows when the phone will ring with that one bit of information that will put all of the puzzle pieces together.
"I can't tell you how many interviews I've done and how many polygraphs I've done," Detective Kozak said.
A tall filing cabinet in the detective bureau is will likely to be filled soon with information from the investigation.
Investigators are working on filling the fourth drawer now.
"We have more than 100 items in evidence," said Detective Phil Williams.
Detectives Kozak and Williams have been on the case since Day One. About 4 a.m. on Jan. 31, they got the phone call and shortly after were inside the Longacre Lane home.
'It's a nightmare'
It was horrific.
Miss Straub's parents were on a cruise celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary when family members had to call them home.
Jeff and Marybeth Straub could not be reached for comment. Jim Verbosky, Miss Straub's uncle who has been acting as the family spokesman, did not return calls for comment.
"It's a nightmare," Mrs. Clarke said. "I think about it every second of every day of every night of every minute of every hour. It's the worst nightmare. The worst pain. The worst sadness, despair, anguish, the feeling of dread from the time I wake up until I go to bed. It breaks my heart every time I open my eyes and they aren't in the room."
Mrs. Clarke keeps reminders of her son everywhere. Inside her home, she has five shrines to her oldest boy -- one in her bedroom and four downstairs.
There are dozens of photos, if not 100, on her iPhone. She has a photo of Clarke taped to the dashboard of her father's minivan.
On her arm is a new tattoo that says "JC One Love." She plans to add portraits of her son and Miss Straub.
Asked how she's doing, the mother of three said she is "horrible."
It hasn't been easy losing her son, who was also her best friend, she said.
She said she goes to her son's resting place -- she will not refer to it as the cemetery or grave -- at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park every day, sometimes multiple times. She and her 8-year-old son, Jacob, tend to the site, trimming grass around the stone or adding flowers or angels to the elaborate decor, which is visible from the road.
She doesn't leave the house unless it is to visit her son's resting place, and she won't let her other boys visit their friends. The children all have to play at her home.
"I'm stuck in my room day and night unless I'm going out there with him," Mrs. Clarke said. "I feel guilty going out without him because he's not here. … I'm afraid to let [Jacob] go out and play. It has made me really paranoid."
At Clarke's resting place last week, Mrs. Clarke was wearing a red memorial T-shirt and pajama pants.
"I don't even get dressed anymore," she said, hiding behind dark sunglasses.
Her son Jacob stood at her side pointing to various grave sites asking questions about the deceased.
Mrs. Clarke has at least three Facebook pages dedicated to her son and Miss Straub and to finding the person responsible for the "horrendous, sick acts."
Her family, she said, is suffering.
There's never healing
Her 15-year-old son, Jovanny, has "enclosed himself in his room where he doesn't really want to talk to anyone or do anything." Mrs. Clarke pulled him out of school and now he takes classes online.
She and her husband fight -- she blames him for not being able to revive the couple when he broke down the door to the Straubs' home.
"I will scream at him: Why couldn't he bring them back to life? Why couldn't he breathe life into them?" she said. "He says he tried. It is life in hell on Earth every single day."
Mrs. Clarke is not working and her husband is taking time off.
"He's afraid to go to work because he thinks he needs to protect the house because these people are still out there," she said.
Each passing day only gets harder, she said.
"There's never healing," she said. "You never heal from something like this."
Mom will not rest
Lucas County Sheriff’s Detective Jeff Kozak said he keeps the file on the Springfield Township slayings with him at all times and works on the investigation daily.
In an April interview, Mrs. Clarke said she had re-enacted the crime scene in her living room. She bound her hands and positioned herself like Miss Straub and tried to pull a plastic bag off of a stuffed animal's head with her feet -- acting as if the toy was her son.
She's a mother who will not rest.
She was calling the sheriff's office multiple times a day, sending emails and text messages to detectives.
Now she works through daily email messages with Maj. Ron Keel. She wants to know if progress is being made and if the case is still being worked on.
"Be assured, we are working on it daily," Detective Kozak said. "It's my case. I'm not closing it. Period."
Detectives Kozak and Williams knew from the start the case would be difficult.
"It was something I'd never seen before and, in talking to other detectives, they hadn't either," he said.
But the physical toll -- the detectives haven't taken any time off since the homicide -- matches the emotional toll.
"A double homicide is rare to begin with and to have two kids who seem so innocent and are so young, it makes it more heinous," Detective Kozak said. "It's awful, and, you know, we've all got kids."
The detectives don't always go to funerals of cases they work, but the Straub family asked them to come to Miss Straub's private ceremony.
"You get very close very fast with a victim's family," Detective Kozak said. "I wanted to go anyway. Our last picture of Lisa was not something you want to remember, and we wanted to show our support for the family."
When the case started, information and tips coming into Crime Stoppers were flooding detectives' desks. As time has gone on, the information has slowed down.
The detectives start their day by checking Crime Stopper tips and analyzing the information they have.
Is there something, anything, they haven't looked at yet? What are they missing?
Still, they are confident they will solve the case.
"A majority of our day is spent working the case," Detective Kozak said. "Even the stuff that sounds ridiculous we follow up on. We will not put this one away."
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin with breaking news out of Ohio. A frantic 911 call by a mother absolutely hysterical over her missing son and his girlfriend. The young couple -- they`re just about to walk out of their home in the Toledo suburbs when they make a phone call to their friend. Well, suddenly, the phone drops and the 21-year-old son screams out, Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here? Then they are never heard from again.
After two separate 911 calls to police, the family breaks down the front door to find the house ransacked and two bodies sprawled across the kitchen floor. The gorgeous couple, Johnny and Lisa -- they`re brutally murdered, bound with duct tape, plastic bags over their heads. Tonight, we have the chilling 911 calls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to get the police out to Longacre Lane! My son is in the basement, tied up with a towel (ph). I just saw him through the window. The police were (EXPLETIVE DELETED) earlier and did absolutely nothing!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ripped off the bag off my son`s head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) both of them tied up (INAUDIBLE) bags on their heads!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And went to her and did the same.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both cell phones are on the ground, and we can see the people. Him and his girlfriend are tied up in the basement!
911 OPERATOR: All right, we`ll get them out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out here! I told them earlier and they (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Ma`am, you need to calm down. We`ll get them out there. But yelling at me isn`t...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re unconscious, ma`am!
911 OPERATOR: OK. You said they`re unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. A gorgeous young couple brutally, brutally murdered inside their home in the Toledo, Ohio, suburbs, bound with duct tape, plastic bags over their heads. And they fought hard to survive. We have just obtained the shocking 911 calls.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Lucas County 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! We just called the police here...
911 OPERATOR: On Longacre?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. But we need a rescue squad! He`s got a bag over his head! We can see through the window! Please!
911 OPERATOR: We`ve got them on their way already, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Yes, I`m sorry!
911 OPERATOR: That`s all right. Stay on the line. I`m going to transfer you, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
911 OPERATOR: OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We beg you, come forward, come forward and let us all have some peace. And that poor girl! They did not deserve to die.
911 OPERATOR: Cell phones on their bodies?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With cell phones on their bodies!
911 OPERATOR: She`s unclothed with (INAUDIBLE) pants on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She only has pants on! And their hands are tied!
911 OPERATOR: OK. All right, we`ll get them out there, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
911 OPERATOR: I need you to calm down. We`ll get them out there, OK?
911 OPERATOR: I have the address. We`ll get them out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good-bye!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Let us go straight out to David Lohr, crime reporter for AOL.com, joining us tonight from Ohio. David, what happened?
DAVID LOHR, AOLNEWS.COM (via telephone): Well, Jean, this all started out with that phone call that you heard from Johnny Clarke`s mother. It was placed to the Lucas County sheriff`s office right after 1:00 o`clock Monday. And what had prompted that call was she had received a call from a friend of her son`s. The friend said that he was supposed to pick her up that night. She called him around 11:00 o`clock to confirm he was coming. Well, during that conversation they were having, it sounded like he dropped the phone. And she could hear him in the background saying something to the effect of, you know, Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here? And then right after that, the phone went dead.
She tried to call back, couldn`t reach him. She got in her car, drove out there. The door was locked. The lights were on, but nobody was answering. She peered inside, you know, through a door window or something of that nature, and saw where it looked like things were out of order. So that raised enough concern within her that she contacted the mother, and then the mother contacted police.
CASAREZ: All right. To Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. Let`s go through these 911 calls because there wasn`t just one. There was a total of three of them, Alexis.
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Jean, a total of three calls. Now, the first two are the most important. The first call was made by the mother to 911 at 1:21 in the morning. She calls, she says she`s concerned about his son. He`s not answering his phone. His girlfriend is not answering his phone, not answering texts.
The second call comes in at 2:07 AM. But police do respond to that first call. They send four cop cars out to the residence. This is Lisa Straub`s parents` residence. They look around. They ring the doorbell. They knock on the door. They peer into windows. And they say nothing`s unusual. They leave.
It`s not until 2:07, when that second call comes in, that things start to escalate and the concern rises.
CASAREZ: OK, so let`s go through this again. David Lohr, all right, Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub, all right, 21 and 20 years old, they`re house-sitting because her parents are on a cruise. He gets a call because they`re going to go pick somebody up. And all of a sudden, the friend on the other line hears him say what?
LOHR: He says, who are you? What do you want? And what are you doing here? And then right after that is when the phone went dead.
CASAREZ: Right. And isn`t it probably, Who are you, what do you want and why are you here, right? So those are the three sentences that this friend hears. Now, Alexis, then the phone goes dead, and this friend, she keeps trying to call them back because she hears that something`s wrong. She knew something was wrong. She couldn`t reach them, so she goes over to the house, right?
WEED: Right, she goes over to the house. She drives over. She herself looks into the house. Now, she tells the mom, reportedly, that the house looked like it had been ransacked. We don`t know why she says that. We don`t know how much of a view she was able to get into this home. And that`s when the mother starts to place these calls.
CASAREZ: So how were bodies finally bound, Alexis?
WEED: Jean, they were found, unfortunately, by Johnny Clarke`s father. He eventually goes over to the house with the mother and a cousin of the mother. They boost the cousin up to peer into a very small opening of the window where the blinds were not closed. He looks in. He sees his son on the floor. And eventually, when cops do come back to the home for a third time, they find the couple bound, their hands bound by duct tape, plastic bags over their heads and duct tape around the neck area of both individuals.
CASAREZ: So they were able to see that peering in the home. So two 911 calls. Police went to the home two times. But they didn`t see what the family saw when they merely looked in the window.
Everybody, we want you to listen to some of this. This is the first 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?
911 OPERATOR: Toledo 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am, my heart is beating out of my chest. I just got a call from one of my son`s friends.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her phone number, I have it right here. She just picked my husband up, too. My son and his girlfriend live out at Longacre Lane. I believe that`s Holland. This girl says she was on the phone with my son and his girlfriend. And he was supposed to go pick her up. He was telling her he was going out the door. And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here? And she said she just drove by the house, and the house looked ransacked. All the lights are on. My son`s not answering and neither is the girlfriend.
911 OPERATOR: Is she still there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she just came by here to pick up my husband, my son`s dad. And I`m here with the other two younger kids.
911 OPERATOR: All right, what is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Maytee Vasquez-Clarke. Oh, my God! I have the girl`s phone number that he was talking to, that heard all this going on in the background.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son`s girlfriend`s parents are out of town. They left for Puerto Rico two days ago. I don`t know how to calm myself down. My heart`s beating out of my chest!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And Joining us right now is a family member. Lisa Straub`s uncle is joining us from Detroit, Michigan, Jim Verbosky. Thank you so much for joining us. Mr. Verbosky, what are the police telling you tonight?
JIM VERBOSKY, LISA STRAUB`S UNCLE: First of all, thanks for having me on the show tonight. Mary Beth and Jeff are in daily contact with the -- with the local authorities, the Lucas County Sheriff`s Department, as well as the FBI. We really haven`t heard too much today as what has transpired as far as the investigation as of today.
CASAREZ: Do they believe that it is more than one person that launched this home invasion that resulted in the death of your niece and her boyfriend?
VERBOSKY: The investigators?
CASAREZ: Yes.
VERBOSKY: Or us?
CASAREZ: Both.
VERBOSKY: I think the way that both of those two were murdered, there`s no way that one person could have done what they did to both of them in the heinous way that they were both killed. So we believe -- we believe that more than one person was involved in this. As far as the investigation goes, we trust them and we`re sure that they`re going to carry this investigation out in the proper manner.
CASAREZ: Are you concerned at all -- is your focus at all that the police went out two different times, the second time saying 30 minutes, but did not go into that house?
VERBOSKY: Well, we`re here in northwest Ohio, and prior to Monday, we had about a half of foot of snow on the ground. The sheriff`s deputies indicated that there were no footprints, fresh footprints in the snow anywhere around the house, anywhere around the residence, which led us to believe that when -- that whoever was involved in this situation entered in through the garage door.
So as far as us -- as far as we are concerned, I believe that, you know, they did their job the way they should have done their job. They followed their own protocols as far as, you know, checking the residence, making sure everything was secure. So we don`t believe that was an issue.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am, my heart is beating out of my chest!
911 OPERATOR: I understand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
(INAUDIBLE) open the door so whenever (INAUDIBLE) gets here, you can let them in. I have to sit down on the bed, son. Oh, my God!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four cop cars were already out at this residence. They`re not there, and her car is in the driveway. I want to know where my son`s at.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to know where my son and his girlfriend are at. I want to know if they got abducted by whoever tried to assault them and rob them. And it`s pretty funny that this girl named Tiffany, which is there right now by the residence, waits two hours to call somebody to report this.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Well, like I said, we were out there. There was nothing going on there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, where is my son and his girlfriend, and her car is in the driveway?
911 OPERATOR: How would I know that, ma`am?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace. Johnny and Lisa -- they were so in love, 20, 21 years old. Lisa was beginning nursing classes, to be a nurse, and Johnny was training to become a barber. Their bodies were found with duct tape around their hands, around their wrists, and a paper sack -- plastic bag over their head, with duct tape around the neck. Cause of death, asphyxiation.
We`re taking your calls live tonight. Cindy in Ohio. Hi, Cindy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean.
CASAREZ: Thank you for calling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if they had any chance of escaping this at all, or if somebody was after them or if they was on cell phones when they made those 911 calls.
CASAREZ: Good question. To C.W. Jensen, retired police -- Portland police captain, joining us from Portland, Oregon. They didn`t have any way to escape, that`s what I say, because of how the bodies were found.
C.W. JENSEN, RETIRED PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Yes. Based on the description, it would seem that there was certainly more than one person that came in, confronted these two young people, and you know, then God knows what happened over that course of time. I`m sure it was frustrating for the police officers to get out there. I`ve gone on many calls like this in the past, and you go and you`re really limited on what you can do to go inside a house. You`ve really got to be able to articulate a problem.
I think it`s strange that this girl goes to the house, sees some things that disturb her, and she calls the mother instead of calling the police and being there and be able to explain what she sees in the house that`s suspicious.
CASAREZ: And waiting two hours to do anything. We hear that on the 911 tape. To Pat Brown, criminal profiler. We did some legal research to look at what the legal standard is in Ohio. It is an objective, reasonably based standard that someone in the house may need aid or attention. That allows officers to go in. That wasn`t done on two repeated 911 calls.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I`m a little concerned about that myself because there was clearly an indication that -- as long as they believed this girl, anyway, and what her phone call stated, that a stranger -- there are strangers -- and I believe there`s more than one -- strangers had gotten into the home that these two people did not know and they felt threatened. And then these two people were no longer answering the door or left the home. So I think there would be more reason -- I`d take a little bit more time looking around, as best I could, like the parents eventually did, you know, peeping in everywhere, to make sure there wasn`t something going on in there.
CASAREZ: Let`s go to the lawyers, Joey Jackson, defense attorney out of New York, John Manuelian, defense attorney joining us tonight from Los Angeles. Joey Jackson, do you realize that the police, in coming there two different times -- the first time, they stayed I think 11 minutes, the second time they came, 30 minutes. They knew that the 911 call said that the son had said, Who are you? Why are you here? And it`s the family that had to find the bodies with the plastic bags over the heads?
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is a horrific circumstance, by all means, Jean. You know, I mean, listen, in terms of probable cause or objective standard, whatever you want to call it, there`s more than ample here. You have a phone call to 911 repeatedly by the mother. You have the girl who`s describing the friend who is saying it`s ransacked. The lights are on. You have the car there. And they`re not there. It`s problematic. And even if you say there was no objective, credible reason or probable cause, Jean, what about an exigent circumstance? Something needed to be done. Something needed to be done immediately, and it wasn`t done and it`s unfortunate. And I hate to besmirch the character of our members in blue. They protect us. They keep us safe. But something is amiss.
CASAREZ: You know, Joey, I respect the police. I love the police. I applaud for what they do every day of our lives to protect us. But John Manuelian, there is plain view to look in a window to see what has happened. Now, we understand the family had to boost the cousin up on the shoulders of the father of Johnny to look in and see the bodies, but yet it was able to be done.
JOHN MANUELIAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, it was, but you got to understand something. And I`m not trying to defend anybody at this point. But we don`t have the police reports. We don`t know what they did. It`s easy to start judging them at this point. It`s way too early in the investigation. They were there twice, one for 11 minutes, the other one for 36 minutes. I`m sure they did do all of the obvious things like checking the windows and so forth And I`m sure if they saw the house was ransacked, they would have went in.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Lucas County 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. We just called the police here...
911 OPERATOR: On Longacre?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. But we need a rescue squad. He`s got a bag over his head! We can see through the window! please.
911 OPERATOR: We`ve got them on their way already, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, ma`am. I`m sorry!
911 OPERATOR: That`s all right. Stay on the line. I`m going to transfer you...
(CROSSTALK)
911 OPERATOR: OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: OK, what did -- what did your son tell her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son was, like, Hey, Tiff, we`re on our way out the door. We`re coming to get you. And then all she hears is the phone drop and my son Johnny saying, Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here? Who are you? And no more -- no more answers. That`s all she hears. And then she says that she starts getting worried because neither of them are answering the phone. And she goes out there by the house and she sees all the lights are on and the cabinets look ransacked.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace. A young couple in Ohio -- they weren`t only murdered, they had their wrists bound with duct tape. They had plastic bags over their head with duct tape to secure them so they would be asphyxiated.
We`re talking your calls live tonight. Dale in California. Hi, Dale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean. This is very upsetting that the family had to find these people.
CASAREZ: It is. It definitely, definitely is.
To C.W. Jensen, retired Portland police captain. I know it`s difficult to make these calls and to make these judgments, but if it is an objective reasonable man standard that security may be an issue, or even a welfare check, it just seems as though something more could have been done. Don`t know if it could make a difference, so in reality, it may not matter. But in principle, another time, it could.
JENSEN: Well, I can tell you from my experience, sometimes it`s really frustrating because you do want to go into a residence, but that objective standard is fairly high. I can remember going on calls where people had an elderly relative that they hadn`t heard from them, and you know, you want to go in, but you just can`t go into everyone`s house any time you want.
I`m sure they went out there. They looked into windows. I`m sure they did a reasonable job. This isn`t the first, you know, suspicious kind of case like this that they`d investigated. And unfortunately, you know, hindsight being 20-20, obviously, they would have liked to have gone in there. As you said, who knows what they saw when they looked in there? Who knows what was taking place inside that house?
CASAREZ: Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer joining us tonight from New York, what else did the family see when they looked inside the house?
WEED: Jean, like I said before, this cousin of the mother was propped up, looking in through a window. They see the son in there first. They also see cell phones thrown on the ground. And that`s when the father went back around to the front of the house, kicked in the door and found his son and the girlfriend lying there, hands bound, bags over their heads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever did do this...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Needs to pay!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... they planned it. They planned it because they went to that house with tape and bags. I hope and pray the cops find them before I do!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen, ma`am, I am a concerned mother. My son was at Long Acre Lane with his girlfriend house sitting. Lisa Straub lives there. Because her parents went to Puerto Rico two days ago.
I get a phone call about a half an hour ago from his friend Sherita that some girl named Tiffany called her saying that Johnny and Lisa were supposed to pick her up at 11:00, and she was on the phone with Johnny, my son, when he was walking out of his house, his girlfriend`s house, with his girlfriend to come get her and supposedly she heard a guy in the background screaming at my son. And my son saying, what do you want, who are you, get away from us and what have you.
OK, four cop cars were already out at this residence. They`re not there. And her car is in the driveway.
JOHN P. CLARKE, MURDER VICTIM JOHNNY CLARKE`S FATHER: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found them and I ripped off the bag off my son`s head. Then went to her and did the same.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV Network in for Nancy Grace tonight. Thank you for joining us.
A young couple, in love, planning their lives together and now they are murdered. Who murdered this young couple? Johnny Clarke, Lisa Straub, who murdered them? Police are on an all-out search tonight to try to find out who the murderers were of this couple.
I want to go straight out to David Lohr, crime reporter for AOL.com, joining us from Ohio tonight.
Let`s look at this timeline and let`s start from the beginning. Everything started around 11:00 at night, right?
DAVID LOHR, CRIME REPORTER, AOLNEWS.COM: Yes, that`s correct. 11:00 is when the girl spoke with Johnny. For whatever reason, she waited two hours to call the mom. She called the mom at 1:00 a.m. then the mom calls the police department. The cops go out there shortly after that. It`s about 20 after 1:00.
As you mentioned, they were on the scene for 11 minutes. Left. She called them again around 2:00. They were there within 10 minutes, left -- stayed for about 30 and then left. And then it was after that that the parents finally went out there on their own and the third 911 call came in at 4:00 a.m. after they unfortunately found them deceased inside the home.
CASAREZ: All right. Joining us tonight is Lisa Straub`s uncle -- joining us, Jim Verbosky who is joining us from Detroit, Michigan.
Jim, thank you for joining us. Now you have said something before that really struck me. You said that no footprints were found in the snow. So it`s believed that the perpetrator or perpetrators entered through the garage.
JIM VERBOSKY, UNCLE OF MURDERED 20-YEAR-OLD NURSING STUDENT, LISA STRAUB: That`s correct. Like I said, we have about a half foot of snow on the ground here, and there were no fresh footprints anywhere in that house, and the layout of the house is, you would enter through the garage -- the garage door would have been up, then we would entered through the door and then gone right into the kitchen.
They did have a security alarm system in the home, but that was deactivated.
CASAREZ: Where was their car at the time? Would it have been in the driveway or in the garage?
VERBOSKY: I believe it was in the driveway.
CASAREZ: Do you know if police searched for tire tracks in the snow that were not Johnny`s or Lisa`s?
VERBOSKY: I don`t know that.
CASAREZ: Because if there weren`t any footprints in the snow, they had to get to that garage some way. I would think those tire tracks extremely viable to them.
Another question I want to ask you, your sister and her husband, Lisa`s mother, had planned I`m sure for a long time -- it was a 25th wedding anniversary cruise that they went on, right?
VERBOSKY: That`s correct. The driveway was dry at the time of this incident. We were kind of between two different snowstorms here. So the driveway was not snow covered at that time nor were the roads.
And yes, Mary Beth and Jeff, they did plan this cruise for several months obviously, and they left on Friday.
CASAREZ: Do you think the perpetrators planned this while they were away because it would have been much more difficult to have four people in the home versus two?
VERBOSKY: I would only be speculating if I gave you my opinion. But you know like I said, this was not -- this was not one person who did this.
CASAREZ: Now the home was in disarray, that`s what we`re hearing. When your sister and brother got home, and I know that the cruise stopped to allow them to fly back to Ohio immediately, did they tell you that anything was missing from that home?
VERBOSKY: When they got home, they arrived in near blizzard conditions here at Detroit, and then drove to Toledo. The following morning, they were interviewed by the local authorities and the FBI. Subsequently then they ended up going over to their home.
They walked through the home with the sheriff deputies and the FBI, and basically what was missing was two $20 bills out of a change jar. So this whole ordeal, whoever did this, got $40 out of this.
CASAREZ: To Kathryn Smerling, psychologist joining us tonight out of New York. I`m trying to find motive here. I`m trying to find out if this was a botched robbery. Two $20 bills is not a robbery. This is personal.
KATHRYN SMERLING, PH.D., PSYCHOLOGIST: It certainly does sound like a personal vendetta. And no parent should have to go through what these dear parents are going through right now. My heart is out to all of them. But this does sound like something that was planned, something that was premeditated and something that was very well organized by people that knew that they were alone.
CASAREZ: To CW Jensen, retired Portland police captain. I just got to get your take on this. What motive do you see to do this?
CW JENSEN, RETIRED PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Well, it wouldn`t surprise me that this whole thing was to be a robbery/burglary, strong arm robbery getting into the house. It`s not a coincidence that the adults, that the parents were gone. I would say that probably the suspects knew that they were going to be gone based on information they got from friends of the victims.
And they came there specifically because, A, they thought that no one was there, and maybe they were surprised that the young man and the young lady were there at the time. But I would be very surprised if the suspects weren`t known in some way to the victims.
GRACE: And I`ll tell you what I`m wondering. I`m wondering if that friend that immediately went over to the house, when she felt something was wrong, if the perpetrators were in some form or fashion still in there, got scared, and didn`t take anymore than the $20 or $40.
I want to go to Dr. Vincent Dimaio joining us tonight from Bexar County, San Antonio, Texas. He`s the former chief medical examiner.
And Doctor, so many, many questions but first of all, beside Lisa was a pool of blood that was found in that home, and beside Johnny, there was no blood. Can you explain the blood at all beside that one victim?
DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: She would have had to have been injured prior to being asphyxiated. Maybe she was struck on the head and had scalp laceration. Because if she had any injury to the head after the plastic bag was put on, it could have gotten out, would have been contained in the bag.
CASAREZ: When the bodies were found or when the father of Lisa ripped the bag off his daughter to try to see if he could be resuscitated, her face was very cold to the touch. Her body was cold. What does that tell you? This was about -- I think a little after 3:00 in the morning. What does that tell you about time of death?
DIMAIO: Well, usually you can feel a body being cold. It takes about an hour, an hour and a half, because you know it initially retains the heat. The rest of the time determination would have to be whether she was or he or she were in rigor mortis. That would have been an important analysis.
CASAREZ: Is there anything that you can use to determine time of death?
DIMAIO: You use a bunch of things, like the -- whether the body is cold, whether the body has stiffened into rigor mortis. But usually your time is very vague. It`s, you know, plus or minus maybe a couple of hours. It would suggest that the couple were dead for at least an hour, maybe two hours prior to death if the body felt cold.
CASAREZ: And the reason I`m touching on that is when this gets to trial, that can be important to corroborate with phone calls and times and other forensic evidence that they may gather from the scene.
To Joey Jackson, defense attorney. There is an all-out search tonight by police to try to find the perpetrators of this. They`re going to look for latent prints. What else do you see that may be incriminating to someone you could represent in this case?
JOEY JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, certainly, Jean, if there was a struggle here, there would be a full body of DNA all over that place. And as a result of that, it would match the defendant or defendants to the actual crime scene. This is going to be problematic. And finally, as you know, Jean, this is a death penalty jurisdiction and I certainly would suppose if they catch them, they will apply it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYTEE VAZQUEZ-CLARKE, MURDER VICTIM JOHNNY CLARKE`S MOTHER: They weren`t in there, and they came out way too quick and I kept begging them, please, is my son alive, is my son alive. Lord, tell me my son`s alive. And he wasn`t.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god. You need to get the police out to Long Acre Lane. My son is in the basement tied up in the house. I just saw him through the window. The police were (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out here earlier and did absolutely nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. All right. We`ll get them out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both cell phones are on the ground and we can see the people, him and his girlfriend are tied up in the basement.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK, all right. We`ll get them out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cops out here. I told them earlier. And they weren`t listening to me.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. Ma`am, you need to calm down. We`ll get them out here. But yelling at me isn`t going to --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re unconscious.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re unconscious, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK, you said they`re unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. All right.
VASQUEZ-CLARKE: They did not deserve to die. Nobody deserves to die this way. I could see a natural death, but a murder? You`re going to tie somebody up and put bags over their head, face and around?
CLARKE: They`re going to do something -- why don`t you just shoot them and leave them alone? They made them suffer. They made them suffer and lose their --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: We are learning some news right now that search warrants have been executed on that home in Ohio. They found a key with the number 544 stamped on it. That was under the body of Lisa. What was that key to?
I want to go out to David Lohr, crime reporter, AOL.com joining us from Ohio. With the release of these search warrant affidavits, what else was collected at the home?
LOHR: Well, Jean, they seized a number of items. Cell phone parts was listed on there. It said that they were strewn about the home. So it sounds like possibly their cell phones were broken. So they took a bunch of items from the kitchen area and these are kind of interesting, they took Ziploc bag, pieces of white baggies and digital scales.
Some other things included security documents. Some foreign currency and other things like that. But as far as the most interesting thing I think is the key you mentioned with 544 stamped on it. I mean is that a motel key? Is it a locker key? It will be interesting to see where that key takes investigators.
CASAREZ: Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer, what else can you tell us from these search warrant affidavits?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Jean. They also seized from the home DVDs, cardboard boxes, like David said, currency, Iraqi currency, as well as currency from other countries. They took DNA swabs.
And Jean, we also know that a lot of the items in the home were overturned when police finally came in and searched the home.
CASAREZ: You just have to wonder if they were searching for something they couldn`t find. The warrant also describes black, pink interband pants under the neck and the wrists were taped together, but not her ankles. We`re talking about Lisa right now.
But Clarke, Johnny Clarke`s ankles were taped. So he had more duct tape on him, maybe he was tougher to fight off, and so they duct taped his ankles, too.
We`re taking your calls live. Julie in North Carolina, hi, Julie.
JULIE, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hello.
CASAREZ: Thank you for calling. What`s your question?
JULIE: Hello. I`m an interrogator and I know they`re going to have a field day with this friend that didn`t call for two hours. I want to know what her motivation was to not call 911? She said she felt that there was something wrong when she called the mom. But she could have saved their lives.
And my question is, I was wondering how far away she was supposed to be when she made the call, when she heard them talking over the phone? And how long it`s going to take for them to get the pings off the tower to see if she was actually, you know, at a far away distance?
CASAREZ: Boy, Julie, you are a great interrogator.
Jim Verbosky, joining us tonight who is Lisa Straub`s uncle, from Detroit, Michigan.
Do we know why this friend took two hours to call another friend who then called the family?
VERBOSKY: Actually, we don`t. We know that -- we know what you know. We really -- prior to 6:00 in the morning, Lisa`s side of the family, our side of the family, we had no inkling that anything was even going on. I got up that morning to check the weather at 6:00 and our local news station was bringing the story live. That`s kind of how we found out about it.
CASAREZ: Gee, what a way to find out.
CW Jensen, retired police chief joining us from Portland, Oregon. The pings, this friend that didn`t call for two hours, authorities, in fact, she never really called authorities, she called a friend who called the family. The pings of where she was and when she went over to that home, that`s critical to this investigation.
JENSEN: Right. It`s interesting, you know, we have the story that she had this strange phone call and then made a series of phone calls to tell other people about this. Did that actually happen? Who knows? So I think that that`s what they`ll be looking at, her cell phone records, they`re going to be looking at -- to see where she was, what a normal person would do in that situation if they go to the house and see something wrong, they would call the police, they would wait for the police, and when the officers got there, that person would articulate to the officers why they thought it was ransacked in the house.
Because I don`t know how everybody else may have their house clean or unkept, so it would have been critical for her and normal for anyone to wait for the police. And so I`m sure that they`re looking at her story very closely.
CASAREZ: To Melissa in Illinois. Hi, Melissa.
MELISSA, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hi, Jean. Thanks for taking my call.
CASAREZ: You`re welcome. Thank you for calling.
MELISSA: I agree with you, this seems like a very personal crime. Robbers typically don`t want to run into people in a home. And with her car parked in the driveway, they would have known that someone was there.
Did either the young man or the young woman have anybody that was romantically interested in them that was, you know, scorned or felt put off and would have done something?
CASAREZ: It`s a good question. I think this is a developing case. It is in its infancy. That`s a question investigators will look at.
A suspect was arrested Thursday in the Jan. 31 slaying of a young Springfield Township couple who were found with their wrists bound by duct tape and plastic bags covering their heads.
The suspect, Samuel Todd Williams, 24, 1626 Kelsey Ave., was arrested by Lucas County sheriff’s deputies and charged with two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of domestic violence.
He was booked in the Lucas County jail.
Johnny Clarke, 21, and Lisa Straub, 20, were found dead in Ms. Straub’s parents’ Longacre Lane home.
Investigators have said they believe the pair were killed in an apparent robbery attempt that occurred while Ms. Straub’s parents were out of the country on a Caribbean cruise.
The sheriff’s office had said at the time the crime was not a random act of violence and that Ms. Straub and Clarke were targeted.
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