Not guilty plea in wife's death
A 61-year-old Fairfield man accused of the midFebruary death of his wife sat silently, looking haggard and lacking sleep, as his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea to a murder charge Thursday in Solano County Superior Court.
Gregory Grant Hobson's attorney, Solano County Chief Deputy Public Defender Oscar J. Bobrow, entered the plea during the early afternoon session in Department 11, where Hobson faced jail arraignment, in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
Hobson registered no visible emotional response to Bobrow's statement to Judge William J. Pendergast during the brief proceeding in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
The judge then assigned the case to Department 23, Judge John B. Ellis' courtroom, and ordered Hobson to return there at 8:30 a.m. April 13 for a readiness conference and a preliminary hearing setting.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Flynn will lead the prosecution. His criminal complaint, filed Feb. 21, indicated investigators believe Hobson killed Anu Anand Hobson, 53, of Fairfield, on or around Feb. 14, Valentine's Day.
Gregory Hobson's latest court proceeding came two days after Fairfield police confirmed Anu Hobson's death and nearly four
weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of her death.
As previously reported, DNA testing revealed that burned remains discovered March 3 in rural Fresno County belong to Anu Hobson. The remains, found with the aid of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, were in the custody of the Fresno County Coroner's Office and were to be transferred to the Solano County Coroner's Office.
The Hobsons were last seen Feb. 13, their silvercolored 2021 Toyota Tacoma spotted on roadway
surveillance cameras a day later near Elk Grove Boulevard in Sacramento. The couple was reported missing Feb. 15, and Gregory Hobson was arrested the next day near Walters Road and East Tabor Avenue in Fairfield.
Although Anu Hobson was not found at the time, investigators said that “based on evidence collected thus far, police believe she has been killed.”
After his arrest, Gregory Hobson was booked into Solano County Jail, where he is being held without bail.
During previous court proceedings, Pendergast granted him time to hire an attorney, use the services of a public defender temporarily or, if unable to pay for a private lawyer, maintain the Public Defender's services. Hobson retains the right to hire an attorney of his choice at any time during the course of his legal proceedings.
The judge also heard a request from the District Attorney's Office for a protective order against Hobson regarding the safety of his children.