Suspect attended church after killing four, police report reveals
Mark Duane Edwards Jr. allegedly killed four people and seriously injured a fifth in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 14, 2002, and then went to church, according to a state police report. The 20-year-old is charged with the shooting deaths of Larry Bobish Sr., 50; Joanna Bobish, 42; their daughter, Krystal Bobish, 17; and her unborn 5-month-old son. After the shooting, Edwards allegedly set their Kennedy Street Extension home on fire to cover up the crime. If convicted of first-degree murder, Edwards could face the death penalty.
Police said when they arrested Edwards on April 18, he first asked that an attorney be present during questioning. A report from investigating trooper John Marshall indicated that he left to accommodate that request while Cpl. John J. Tobin remained with Edwards.
Tobin, according to a report filed in court documents Tuesday, “… was (talking) aloud about the virtues of God and the reason why Edwards had gone to church on this given Sunday.”
At that time, wrote Marshall, Edwards said he wanted to talk about what happened “to make peace with God,” and waived his right to an attorney, according to the report.
The police interview with Edwards was four pages of an estimated 1,000 filed by District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon in the case. Many of the police reports, which are provided to the defense and made public record, deal with the autopsies of the Bobishes and the medical care provided for Larry Bobish Jr., the young son of Larry Sr. and Joanna who survived the attack.
Edwards allegedly shot Bobish Jr., also known as “LJ,” in the head and then stabbed him in the neck. Then 12, LJ escaped his burning house and was found by an off-duty state police corporal who was delivering newspapers in the area with his three sons.
Police said that Edwards initially denied fatally shooting any members of the Bobish family, blaming it instead on his companion in the day and a half before the killings.
Marshall, however, told Edwards he believed he was lying and asked him if he truly believed in God.
After that, police said Edwards agreed to tell them the truth.
Police said Edwards gave them this account of what happened. Edwards and his companion bought a vial of “wet,” a PCP-formaldehyde mix, from Larry Sr. on April 12, but decided later to go back and rob him of additional drugs.
Edwards and his companion went to the Bobish home later that day and asked for six vials of “wet.” As Edwards pretended to count out money, his companion pulled out a gun and held it to Larry Sr.’s neck. The two fled and Larry Sr. shot at them as they jumped in a car and drove away, said police.
Edwards and his friend smoked two of the bottles and then split the remaining four between them. Over the next day, April 13, Edwards said Larry Sr. paged him repeatedly. When he called Bobish back, he demanded that Edwards either bring back the drugs or pay him $500.
If he did not pay the Bobishes, Larry Sr. threatened to call police and have him arrested for robbery like he did Edwards’ uncle, Terrance Lett.
Lett, according to police, robbed the Bobishes at their home at gunpoint. LJ was not home at the time and charges were dropped against Lett after the Bobishes were killed because there were no witnesses to tie him to the alleged robbery.
Edwards eventually ended up at Johnson’s Collins Avenue home, where he slept until about 5 a.m. on April 14. When he woke up, Edwards told police he smoked two bottles of “wet” by himself and then walked to the Bobishes’ home.
There, Edwards “went crazy” and shot Larry Sr. and then Krystal. He didn’t remember shooting Joanna or LJ, but told police he did remember wrestling with the boy. Edwards did not mean to shoot Krystal Bobish, and held her. Before he left, Edwards lit part of Larry Sr. and Joanna’s bed on fire.
Police said that Edwards’ companion denied any involvement in the killings.
According to police, Edwards put his statement into his own handwriting, and he did so in a convoluted form of words in a column. In one complete thought, police said, Edwards wrote that he shot Larry Sr. He followed that with three lines and wrote the word “upset.”
On another page, police said Edwards wrote a column of words and phrases, including “one love.” He also wrote he was “sorry,”; “But can’t”; “change to”; “past just”; “half to”; “deal with”; “the future”; “Sorry!”
Discovery documents listed 41 potential prosecution witnesses in the death penalty case, including police, neighbors of the Bobishes and friends and acquaintances of Edwards, who said they heard him talk about killing the Bobishes.
Police said LJ told them that “Marky” killed his family and seriously injured him. Police said LJ also picked Edwards out of a photo line-up while still hospitalized on April 18. The youngster was released from Children’s Hospital on April 29 and still has the bullet from the attack lodged in his head.
LJ was placed in the custody of the county’s Children and Youth Services and given an alias, according to discovery documents. He is currently in foster custody.