The official autopsy report for 7-year-old Aja Johnson was hand delivered to her biological father J.J. Johnson on Friday.  Six months after the little girl went missing, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office lists the child’s official cause of death as “violent death with possible neck injury.”  The bodies of Aja Johnson and Lester Hobbs were located in a rural area in Norman, Oklahoma nine weeks after he abducted her.  A law enforcement source on the ground told me that because of the decomposition, Hobbs and Aja most likely died about a week after the initial murder of Tonya Hobbs in January. “He got in that area, probably to lay low for a few days, got in there with the storm and maybe got trapped.  One thing led to another, couldn’t get the vehicle out, and would have to walk out on foot… he chose to stay.”  My source says Aja’s body was found outside the vehicle and Hobbs was found inside the car.  The medical examiner’s report indicates Hobbs died from drinking antifreeze, and there were not any signs of antifreeze in Aja Johnson.

Investigators say Aja was abducted and her mother was found beaten to death inside an RV in Geremanio.  When the case broke, investigators issued an arrest warrant for Lester Hobbs charging him with the first degree murder of his wife Tonya Hobbs and the kidnapping of his step-daughter Aja.  Deputy U.S. Marshal Templeton told me a hammer was used to beat Tonya, and a knife was used to stab her.  The knife was found at the scene. 

At the murder-suicide scene, a law enforcement source there told me he found a letter, “not technically a suicide note, mainly it was blaming Tonya’s mother and sister for the problems with him and Tonya.  It was blaming everyone else for his wrongs in life.  It was one last shot at making someone feel badly about himself.”  My source believes the note was written over a day or two due to the change in handwritings.  I also learned that Hobbs had notes all over his trailer. He would often just write things down when they came to mind.

Hobbs is a convicted felon, and according to court documents, was not supposed to have any contact with Aja. I spoke with Alice Dunkin, Tonya Hobbs mother, and missing 7-year-old Aja Johnson’s grandmother before her granddaughter’s body was found. She told me “Lester does not like Aja. He is mean to Aja. He has made her eat jalapeño peppers, and has a paddle with her name on it. I’ve seen bruises he has left on her little behind. I don’t know why, or if it’s her medical problem, or what.”

I asked Alice specifically about the domestic violence with Lester Hobbs leading up to her daughter’s death, and she told me, “he has slapped her, and one time she had a black eye, but I never dreamed it would go this far.” Alice wanted to speak out to Lester Hobbs about the way he was treating her daughter, but Tonya was scared and asked her never to say anything because if she got him upset he may take it out on her. “I had to bite my tongue, I hated to do that,” Alice says. Tonya was in the hospital three times over the last few months because of blood clots in her knees and lungs. According to her mom, Tonya wasn’t able to work, and didn’t have any health insurance.

Tonya leaves behind three children: a 15-year-old son, a 13-year-old daughter, and 7-year-old Aja.

Tags: abduction, Aja Johnson, amber alert, anti-freeze, child abduction, dangerous, Lester Hobbs, missing, murder, Oklahoma, suicide, tonya hobbs, u.s. marshal, winter

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