In a historic verdict, Justice Fletcher Dawson has found Keith and Marisa Hobbs, and co-accused Mary Voss not guilty of extortion. Following the verdict, Marisa and Mary could be seen smiling and almost jumping with excitement in the courtroom.
Justice Dawson told the court “I harbor a reasonable doubt about the guilt of each of the three accused persons. I am simply not sure that the threat alleged in the indictment was ever made in an intentional attempt to extort the alleged victim to buy a house for Mary Voss.”
Dawson went on to say that some of the witness testimony including the alleged victim’s and Craig Loverin’s was unreliable. However, he also noted that Hobbs’s testimony was also at times unreliable and painted Hobbs in a more favorable light.
Dawson’s decision was 150 pages and he read around 60 of those pages to the packed courtroom.
The lawyer for the Hobbs couple, Brian Greenspan said on their behalf, “I can only say they were confident that this day would come that the allegations were always allegations they denied. There was a great deal of press and attention paid to those allegations that harmed them in many ways in the public and community and those allegations have been demonstrated to not be truthful or accurate.”
“Justice Dawson summarized the case with one simple phrase, it was an attempt by the investigation and the prosecution to put square pegs into round holes and that really summarizes this trial,” Greenspan added.
He goes on to say, “I don’t think anyone understands the strains of being wrongly charged with a criminal offense and the pressures that exist on a daily basis. It’s been a long time and this result has been a long time coming.”
Mary Voss and lawyer George Joseph Voss’ lawyer George Joseph tells us for his client the lead up to this trial has been non-stop despair.
“Unrelenting despair, being in the public eye, having her family’s name splashed across the paper each time,” Joseph says.
He went on to say she has always maintained her innocence and that if she committed any crime it was staying with an abusive partner.
“She’s so thankful and grateful that this is all over and she looks forward to moving on with the next chapter of her life,” Joseph adds.
Crown attorney Peter Keen says typical trials last one to two days and this one was much more extensive than others.
“This case lasted several weeks, it involved extensive written submissions, as the judge indicated there was a very extensive record, so when there’s a case with substantial information, of course, this case is complex,” Keen says.
Keen adds he’s not personally upset with the findings of the judge.
“So the work, in this case, was to put all the evidence forward to the court. So we put evidence forward that was helpful to us, the accused, helpful to the complainant and make sure all of that evidence comes out in court and that was the objective of this case,” Keen adds.
