"He Promised Me That They Would Find Joann": The Hobson Family After the Linden Well Identification, The Record, 2012

Name: "He Promised Me That They Would Find Joann": The Hobson Family After the Linden Well Identification, The Record, 2012
Uploaded: 2012-04-04T00:00:00Z
Duration: 3 min 7 s
Description: Days after Joann Hobson's remains were identified from a Linden well searched on Wesley Shermantine's information, her family spoke to reporters. Her sister read a statement; her mother described visiting Shermantine in prison. Shermantine is not heard.

Days after Joann Hobson's remains were identified from a Linden well searched on Wesley Shermantine's information, her family spoke to reporters. Her sister read a statement; her mother described visiting Shermantine in prison. Shermantine is not heard.

Subject: Wesley Shermantine
Recorded: April 3, 2012
Runtime: 3:07

Content warning: Concerns the murder of a 16-year-old girl and the recovery of her remains from a well; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a 3-minute-7-second video recorded by The Record, Stockton's daily newspaper, at a news conference held by the family of Joann Hobson on April 3, 2012, and posted on the paper's YouTube channel the next day. Joann's sister, Michelle Loftis, reads a family statement; a family member describes Joann; and Joann's mother, Joan Shelly (named in an on-screen strap, not in the audio), describes her visits to Wesley Shermantine in prison. Shermantine is not present and is not heard.

Historical Context

Joann Hobson, 16, disappeared from Stockton on August 29, 1985. Wesley Shermantine was convicted in 2001 of four other murders and sentenced to death; he was never charged in Joann's death. In early 2012, after Loren Herzog's suicide, Shermantine drew maps that led San Joaquin County Sheriff's investigators to an abandoned well on Flood Road near Linden. On March 30, 2012, the sheriff's department announced that remains from the well had been identified as those of Joann Hobson and Kimberly Ann Billy, 19.

Circumstances

The family spoke to reporters four days after the identification. Michelle Loftis read a prepared statement, and family members then answered questions, according to The Record's description.

What the Report Covers

The statement calls the family's wait "a very long 26-and-a-half-year journey," thanks detectives Bassett and Little (names as heard) and the other detectives, offers condolences to other victims' families, and urges Shermantine "to continue to work with law enforcement agencies so he can do the right thing for the other victims' families." A family member describes Joann as "small, but she carried herself like she was six foot two." Joann's mother says that on her first visit Shermantine gave her a location, which proved to be a place already searched with cadaver dogs, where Robin Armtrout had been found. She says that on a recent visit he promised her "that he would make sure that they find Joann," and that she believed him because "he had told me the truth all along." She says she is concentrating on Joann, "not concentrating on forgiveness."

What Makes the Recording Significant

The video records a victim's family's first public words after the identification, and a mother's own account of dealing directly with Shermantine to learn where her daughter was.

Archival Importance

A newspaper's own video of the news conference, from the paper that also posted the 1999 interrogation recordings of the case on its channel. It complements KCRA 3's coverage of the well search and ABC10's 2026 report on Cyndi Vanderheiden's father.

Important Caveats

Shermantine is not heard. The mother's name is not spoken; it is given by the video's on-screen name strap ("Joan Shelly, Joann Hobson's mother," at 01:24, during her passage). CBS News (January 2013) spells the surname "Shelley"; follow the strap's "Shelly" unless a better source settles it. The 00:55 passage is not attributed in the audio. The surname of the woman called "Debbie" in the search party is unresolved. The mother's statements about what Shermantine told her are her account. Shermantine was not charged in Joann Hobson's death. The spelling of her first name varies ("Joann" in The Record and Wikipedia, "JoAnn" in CBS13).

Michelle Loftis: My family and I would like everyone to know it has been a very long 26-and-a-half-year journey. We are very happy to know exactly where Joann is at now. We are grateful that she is coming home to us. We would like to thank Detective Bassett, Detective Little (names as heard; not verified), and all the other detectives for their dedication to our case, and along with the support they have given to our family. Our family would also like to send out our sympathy and condolences to all of the other victims' families. We do know the heartache you are going through, and we wish you peace. As for Wesley, we would like to urge him to continue to work with law enforcement agencies so he can do the right thing for the other victims' families. They, too, deserve to know where their loved one is. We appreciate all the love and support that we have received from our family, friends and coworkers.

Family Member: Joann was a very happy, full of life, energetic, outgoing teenager. She was small, but she carried herself like she was six foot two. She was just full of energy, feisty, just never had a bad word for anyone. Just really a nice kid.

Joan Shelly: The very first time I went up there to see Wesley, him and I... Of course, I went up there for Joann. I wanted to know about Joann and where she was. And he gave me a location, and we did go down to the location. It was my daughter Michelle, (family member or companion, name withheld), my boyfriend and Debbie [unclear: "Shepherd" (captions) / "Shephill" (Whisper) / "Sheple" (second machine pass)]. And when we went down there and we looked around, Debbie [unclear: "Shephill" (Whisper) / "Shuffle" (captions) / "Sheple" (second machine pass)] reassured me that Joann was not there. It was in a location where they had found Robin Armtrout, but she assured me no. She said they had been there with cadaver dogs, and people had searched, and she wasn't there.

Joan Shelly: All the times we had talked, I had urged him to please tell us where Joann was, and the rest of the victims in the Vanderheiden and Wheeler [unclear: "State" (Whisper) / "Street" (second machine pass) / "estate" (captions)], that, you know, we needed to know. And I don't know, you know, what brought all of this up to the surface, but once it came to the surface and he started, you know, talking to law enforcement and stuff like that, then I recently went back to see him. And he told me, he told me that he would make sure, and he promised me that he would make sure that they find Joann. And I believed him, because he had told me the truth all along, you know, from the very beginning, when we were in the courtroom in Santa Clara. Right now, at this time, I'm concentrating on Joann. I'm not concentrating on forgiveness or anything like that right now, at this time, because my plate is [unclear: "overflow" (Whisper; captions) / "overflowing" (second machine pass)]. [03:01: speech ends; silence to 03:07.] ---