Billy Blair, 74, and his wife, Virginia Carol Blair, 71, were allegedly shot and killed after 17-year-old Cordarius Hobbs broke into their home in Mendenhall, Mississippi, on June 3. During a July preliminary hearing, relatives of Hobbs said the teenager had previously done work for the couple, including cleaning and other household tasks.
An incident report from the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department obtained by INC News described Hobbs as a “troubled juvenile” and said investigators considered him a suspect in several other crimes reported in the surrounding area.
Billy Blair and Virginia Blair were killed on June 3. (Family Handout)
“…When we first arrived I and other Deputies and Investigators believe the suspect could be a troubled juvenile known to us as Cordarius Hobbs who is also suspected of many other home burglaries as well as auto theft in this immediate area,” the incident report states.
Hobbs’ grandfather, Billy Newsome, said he believes the teen had been asked to come to the Blairs’ home for work on the day of the alleged shooting, but he insisted his grandson is innocent.
“My grandson used to work for the man, why you gone rob a man that you work for,” Newsome said. “Why you gone stay there that long and you know the police out there, and then you gone wait until everybody gets there to run, it just ain’t adding up, something just ain’t right here.”
Cordarius Hobbs faces murder charges in addition to several more felonies. (Rankin County Jail)
According to a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigator, three contractors arrived at the Blairs’ residence around 10 a.m. on June 3 to install a generator and noticed an open car door with multiple guns stacked on the seats. The workers later contacted the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department at about 11:30 a.m. to request a welfare check.
By noon, the investigator said that officers arrived and were met with shots fired at them, starting a nearly two-hour-long standoff. Hobbs was captured after trying to run away from officers, the official said, adding that the teen was unarmed when he was caught.
Carol Blair was found curled in the fetal position in a bedroom, shot three times in the back of the head, the investigator said in court. Her husband was found lying on his back in the kitchen with three gunshot wounds to his face.
Hobbs’ defense attorney, Zachary Vaughn, told INC News in a statement that Hobbs has been respectful and courteous in their meetings.
“I have visited with my client several times in the short time I’ve known him and he has always been very respectful and courteous to me,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn argued after a court hearing that there’s a lack of direct forensic evidence connecting the teenager to the shooting.
“There was nothing to say he’s a principal, he’s the one that pulled the trigger on these things,” Vaughn said. “One of the things alone was, one of the victims was shot twice on one side of the head and once on the other. I think that’s pretty compelling that somebody else may have been in there. There’s a lot of things that are possible, just a tremendous amount of things.”
Cordarius Hobbs allegedly killed both Billy Blair and Virginia Blair. (Rankin County Jail)
“When you have an officer say there’s no one that can identify him at the time of the shooting, I just don’t see how that adds up,” he said.
Hobbs is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of burglary, in addition to 10 other charges. He was denied bond.
In a statement on Facebook, the couple’s family previously said, “We are crushed in spirit, bruised, and brokenhearted, but we are not alone.”
