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An alcoholic and narcotics addict, Cobb financed his expensive habits through robbery, eventually turning to murder. Convicted in the fatal beating of a Georgia holdup victim , Cobb was serving life when he escaped from the state prison, at Jessup, in April 1965. A federal warrant was routinely issued, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid confinement. On July 20, 1965, 58-year-old Frances Johnson, a door-to-door cosmetic saleswoman, vanished from her home in Tampa, Florida. One day later, Joe Cross, a gas station attendant in Dade County, noticed blood dripping from the trunk of a customer's car. Cross made note of the license number, which matched that of Frances Johnson's missing vehicle. Upon recovery, the car yielded fingerprints , and Joe Cross identified Cobb's mug shot as a likeness of the nervous driver. Frances Johnson's decomposing body was discovered on September 26, beneath a quilt, on a deserted path northeast of Tampa. An indictment for first-degree murder was returned against Hoyt Cobb, and his name was added to the FBI's "Most Wanted" list on January 6, 1966. Five months later, to the day, a tip led federal officers to the address in Hialeah, where their man -- as "Robert Jones" -- had been residing. Cobb was taken into custody without resistance and returned to Tampa for his murder trial.
An alcoholic and narcotics addict, Cobb financed his expensive habits through robbery, eventually turning to murder. Convicted in the fatal beating of a Georgia holdup victim , Cobb was serving life when he escaped from the state prison, at Jessup, in April 1965. A federal warrant was routinely issued, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid confinement. On July 20, 1965, 58-year-old Frances Johnson, a door-to-door cosmetic saleswoman, vanished from her home in Tampa, Florida. One day later, Joe Cross, a gas station attendant in Dade County, noticed blood dripping from the trunk of a customer's car. Cross made note of the license number, which matched that of Frances Johnson's missing vehicle. Upon recovery, the car yielded fingerprints , and Joe Cross identified Cobb's mug shot as a likeness of the nervous driver. Frances Johnson's decomposing body was discovered on September 26, beneath a quilt, on a deserted path northeast of Tampa. An indictment for first-degree murder was returned against Hoyt Cobb, and his name was added to the FBI's "Most Wanted" list on January 6, 1966. Five months later, to the day, a tip led federal officers to the address in Hialeah, where their man -- as "Robert Jones" -- had been residing. Cobb was taken into custody without resistance and returned to Tampa for his murder trial. |
