HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A former security guard who hunted and killed women in remote east Harris County has been sentenced to life in prison, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Before his trial began, Steven Hobbs, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in connection to the deaths of Sara Sanford and Patricia Pyatt.
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“This defendant terrified and brutalized the women he attacked, but now families will be spared enduring a trial and he will be locked away until he is nearly 100 years old,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “He avoided being sent from county jail to state prison as long as he could, but with this sentence justice has been served and Steven Hobbs will never again set foot in Harris County.”
In 2002, Hobbs strangled and attacked Pyatt before her body was dumped in the San Jacinto River, according to the DA. Eight years later, he strangled another woman, later identified as Sanford, then handcuffed her arms and legs - hogtying her - before firing a gunshot to her head.
As many as six women claimed they were attacked by Hobbs, prosecutors said.
During an earlier hearing, prosecutors Sara Seely and Jennifer Meriwether said Hobbs had applied for a job with a small local police department before his arrest and that several women who were attacked but survived were on their list of witnesses to be called to testify during the trial.
“This is finally closure for all the families and the victims,” Meriwether said. “I think that’s important so that we can move our resources on to other cases and keep working to remove the case backlog. But most of all, this is for the victims.”
The case was investigated by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Pasadena Police Department, with assistance from the Secret Service.
Hobbs has remained behind bars since his arrest in 2011, making him the longest-serving inmate in Harris County.
He is eligible for parole at 101 years old, the DA says.