Young couple, Lisa Straub, 20, and her boyfriend, John Clarke, 21, found dead inside Holland home bound, bags placed over heads

by Amulya Raghuveer
Posted: 01.31.2011 at 8:51 AM
Updated: 01.31.2011 at 9:20 PM

HOLLAND, OHIO -- Two people were found dead at a home in a quiet Holland neighborhood Monday morning and authorities say they believe the deaths to be homicides.

Holland Police and Lucas County Sheriff's deputies arrived at 2161 Longacre, just off Pilliod Road, early Monday morning. Inside the home, authorities found the bodies of Lisa Straub, 20, and her boyfriend, John Clarke, 21.

Authorities say they are investigating the deaths as homicides. The bodies were found in the kitchen/dining room area of the home with no visible gunshot or stab wounds. Each victim's hands were bound with tape and plastic bags were placed over their heads, according to the county coroner.

The couple is thought to have been killed some time between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. Exact causes of death are pending autopsies.

There was no forcible entry relating to a home invasion; however it appeared as if someone had been searching through a part of the home, according to Lucas County Sheriff's Detective Cathy Stooksbury.

Officials are looking into the possibility that this was an attempted robbery gone wrong.

According to the Lucas County Auditor's Real Estate website, the home is owned by Lisa's parents, Jeffrey and Mary Beth Straub. The couple was said to be out of the country on vacation as of Monday morning.

Authorities were called to the home Monday by Clarke's parents, who were unable to reach him by phone. Clarke is said to have been living at the Straub home.

Straub's friends gathered outside the home Monday despite having confirmation that their friend's body had been found inside. "I don't believe it," said Straub's best friend Sarah Mettler. "She's just a very nice person, always ready to do anything."

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A young Ohio couple were found slain inside their home, and police say they have no suspects or motive in the mysterious crime.

The Lucas County Sheriff's Office has identified the couple as 21-year-old Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend, 20-year old Lisa Straub. Their bodies were discovered shortly before 4 a.m. Monday by Clarke's father, John P. Clarke.

Johnny Clarke, left, and Lisa Straub were found slain inside their home Monday.

The couple lived with Straub's parents, who were out of town on a Caribbean cruise for their 25th wedding anniversary. The Straubs' home is on Longacre Road in Holland, about 15 miles southwest of Toledo, police said.

Authorities suspect the slayings occurred sometime between 1 and 4 a.m. Monday. The couple was last seen alive Sunday night, when Clarke picked Straub up from her job at a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant. They apparently made it home, but what happened to them afterward remains a mystery.

The elder Clarke broke into the Straubs' home after he and his wife made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the couple. Johnny Clarke's mother had a "gut feeling" that something was wrong, according to Lucas County Sheriff's Detective Cathy Stooksbury.

"They were found in a dining room/kitchen area of the home," Stooksbury told AOL News. "They both had plastic bags over their heads and their hands were bound with duct tape."

Stooksbury said neither victim had any obvious sign of trauma to their body indicating how they died but did confirm their deaths are being investigated as a double homicide. Autopsies were being conducted.

Authorities said several items were overturned inside the home -- suggesting there had been a struggle -- but, so far, authorities had not found anything missing from home. Straub's parents were flying home from their vacation and will be able to determine what, if anything, is missing, Stooksbury said.

According to The Toledo Blade, Clarke was a graduate of Bowsher High School in Toledo. He had reportedly been living with the Straub family for several months. Straub was a 2009 graduate of Springfield High School in Holland. She and Clarke had been dating for about two years, the newspaper said.

"Lisa was a good kid," Stooksbury said. "She was getting ready to go to nursing school. She worked a full-time job. Johnny was getting ready to go to barber school as well as back to college. They were described by people as very likable people. Very nice people."

Straub's uncle, Jim Verosky, told Fox Toledo News that her family is stunned by the killings.

"She had no enemies. She was a really great girl, always willing to help people out," Verosky said. "She was a great girl. ... She's going to be missed."

Clarke's uncle, Joe Cromer, expressed similar sentiments.

"Whoever thought you'd wake up and have to start planning your nephew's funeral?" Cromer told Fox Toledo. "Whatever happened today shouldn't have to happen to anyone. And we just want someone to come forward with any information. There has to be some hint of closure here. This is too much for anybody. You never expect that to go on."

Stooksbury said authorities have no suspects or people of interest in the case.

"We are still working leads that are coming in," she said. "We've got all different agencies helping us and we're making it a group effort."

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UPDATE: The Lucas County Sheriff's Department is defending its actions in the wake of the double-homicide. They say they twice responded to the 911 calls, but didn't see anything remotely amiss either time. And they can't just kick people's doors in on a hunch. See update after the jump...

The young couple's hands had been duct taped and there were plastic bags over their heads
​Johnny Clarke's mom called his cell phone early Monday morning, but didn't get an answer. That struck her as odd, since the 21-year-old from suburban Toledo was truly a "mama's boy." And that's when her sixth sense that something was wrong kicked in.

She called 911 for a welfare check at 1:24 a.m. She called again at just after 2. But when police arrived both times, they found no one home, no tracks in the snow, no indication of forced entry, nothing. So they let it be.

A few hours later, Johnny's dad John decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to Johnny's Springfield Township home at 4 a.m. and kicked in the door. That's where he found Johnny and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Straub, dead on the floor. Their hands were bound with duct tape and plastic bags were over their heads. They appeared to be suffocated to death.

There was no sign of a break-in, leading police to believe that the couple either knew their killers, or had let them in house for some other reason. It appears that someone had gone through a portion of the home looking for something, but that's the only evidence thus far.

Lisa was a pre-nursing student at Owens Community College who worked at TGI Friday's. Johnny was about to enter barber school.

Perhaps the saddest part is that Lisa's parents were on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 25th anniversary when they were informed of their daughter's murder. They were flying back to Toledo from Miami yesterday.

UPDATE: Johnny Clarke was talking on the phone when the killers arrived.

Johny Clarke was talking to a friend on the phone at 11 p.m. on the night of the murder. He was supposed to go pick her up, according to the Toledo Blade. "He was telling her he was going out the door," says his mom, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, in her first 911 call at 1:21 a.m. "And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, 'Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here?'"

The friend repeatedly tried to call and text both Johnny and Lisa after the incident, but didn't get a response. So she eventually went to their home to check on them. When she got no answer at the door, another friend called Johnny's mom.

Police said they found nothing alarming on their first check, nothing to believe that the couple would be in any danger. So they left.

But Johnny's mom called them out to the house again. This time John Sr. was there to meet them, as was Maytee Vasquez-Clarke and another relative. But there was still no visual sign of foul play. And police declined the Clarkes' entreaties to kick in the door.

So after the cops left, John Sr. went around back with a cousin and hoisted her up so she could see through a window. The cousin saw the couple taped and laying on the floor.

John Sr. ran to the front of the house and kicked in the door. Johnny and Lisa were on the floor near the kitchen. They were both bound with plastic bags taped around their heads. He tried to deliver CPR, but their bodies were already cold by then.

UPDATE II: Cops defend their response to the 911 calls.

The Lucas County sheriff's department is defending its actions in the wake of the murders. Major Ron Keel says deputies were sent to the scene twice that night. They arrived just seven minutes after Johnny's mom called at 1:21 a.m. and checked out the house for about 10 minutes.

They went back to the home after she called a second time about a half-hour later. This time they stayed for 36 minutes, looking in windows to see if they could find anything. But in both incidents they saw nothing amiss.

After seeing nothing to indicate danger, it would have been a tough call to simply kick down the door. Besides, Johnny's dad could have kicked it in at any time as well. If you're the man of the family, you don't need to wait around for cops -- or anyone else, for that matter -- to do what's right for your loved ones.

Though police are being ripped for their response, it's likely they just didn't look in the window that would have allowed them to see the bodies. A coroner has ruled that both Johnny and Lisa died of asphyxiation.

Lisa's uncle Jim Verbosky says he isn't blaming anyone.

"I understand how the system works and I understand what their probable cause is and I understand that if they don't have it, they don't have it, and they're liable for whatever damage they would cause," he told the Toledo Blade. "If they went to every 'check the safety' call and they start breaking doors down for everybody, it gets pretty expensive."

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Updated: Thursday, 03 Feb 2011, 11:19 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 03 Feb 2011, 7:15 PM EST

* Sharia Davis
* FOX Toledo News reporter

TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) - Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, the mother of 21-year-old John Clarke, believes her son and his girlfriend were set up to die.

Vasquez-Clarke also said her son's unknown killer or killers had the attack all planned out.

MORE: Couple died of asphyxiation, coroner says
MORE: Murdered couple found bound, bags over heads

Mr. Clarke and Lisa Straub, 20, were found murdered early Monday morning inside Ms. Straub's parents Springfield Township home. Their hands were bound behind their backs and plastic bags were taped over the victim's heads.

Vasquez-Clarke thinks the attack wasn't random, and she still has a lot of questions about that night.

Mr. Clarke and Ms. Straub invited some friends over to play pool during the past weekend hours before the young couple were murdered, Vasquez-Clarke said.

"There was no breaking and entering. They knew who killed them because they let them in the house," said Vasquez-Clarke.

Around 1 a.m. Monday, the victim's mother received a disturbing phone call from a friend of her son's. That phone call has her questioning the investigation.

"Why would you wait two hours from 11 p.m. that night that you heard this disturbing phone call, to call me at 1:03 a.m. in the morning to tell me that you think something's wrong with Johnny and Lisa?," Vasquez-Clarke said. "Why didn't you call the police then?"

After receiving a 911 call to check out the house on Longacre Lane, Lucas County Sheriff deputies didn't see anything suspicious at the home and left the street. After two repeat 911 calls to the sheriff, Vasquez-Clarke's husband went to the home, busted open the front door.

He found his son and his son's girlfriend in the basement of the home.

Vasquez-Clarke says she understands investigators had to follow protocol, but she believes the outcome would have been different if they stayed.

"Was he alive when we were out there and we just didn't know because they wouldn't kick in the door? Or was he already gone?," she said.

The case remains under investigation. Vasquez-Clarke is asking for anyone with information to come forward. If you have information that can assist detectives, you are urged to call Crimestopper at 419-255-1111. You can remain anonymous.

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I am wondering if Lisa had a wad of cash on her from tips that night.

im wondering what the friends of the couple know? How sad for these familys!

Yes this is very sad! It has to be horrible for the family's to think the young couple might have still been alive when the police drove by the house.

I watched this on NG and had a lot of questions like the mother did.

Why did the girl he was talking on the phone not call 911 right then? No she drove over there..looked around...went home and called a mutual friend who called the mother who called LE. That took 3 hours.

I think they were dead by the time LE arrived.

The "killer" took no money except for 2 20dollar bills in a change jar. Actually the kids could have used that for pizza intending to pay it back later.

No sign of forced entry..leading them to believe they went in through the garage and then the kitchen.

Another mystery and two beautiful young people dead.

I think they were dead before the friend got there that night. She is wrong in not calling LE, do not think that would have saved the young couple's lives, but it might have helped LE start looking for the killers ASAP. The poor mother on the phone with her 911 call. She knew something was terribly wrong. The poor family members that went over there and looked in the window. They will see that image forever.
What a horrible way to die. Two beautiful lives snuffed out for no apparent reason.

I watched this on NG last night, and was horrified at such a senseless murder of two beautiful young people! I'm also wondering if it was someone who know the family personally, and knew that the parents would be away on holidays. Or, maybe it was random criminals who followed them home from the restaurant. So sad...

Anything new?

​UPDATE: Police now believe Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub were killed in a robbery gone bad. They say the killer clearly went through the house looking for something. Detectives are also checking to see if Johnny made enemies in prison, where he did a year for robbery. See update after the jump...

The young couple's hands had been duct taped and there were plastic bags over their heads
​Johnny Clarke's mom called his cell phone early Monday morning, but didn't get an answer. That struck her as odd, since the 21-year-old from suburban Toledo was truly a "mama's boy." And that's when her sixth sense that something was wrong kicked in.

She called 911 for a welfare check at 1:24 a.m. She called again at just after 2. But when police arrived both times, they found no one home, no tracks in the snow, no indication of forced entry, nothing. So they let it be.

A few hours later, Johnny's dad John decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to Johnny's Springfield Township home at 4 a.m. and kicked in the door. That's where he found Johnny and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Straub, dead on the floor. Their hands were bound with duct tape and plastic bags were over their heads. They appeared to be suffocated to death.

There was no sign of a break-in, leading police to believe that the couple either knew their killers, or had let them in house for some other reason. It appears that someone had gone through a portion of the home looking for something, but that's the only evidence thus far.

Lisa was a pre-nursing student at Owens Community College who worked at TGI Friday's. Johnny was about to enter barber school.

Perhaps the saddest part is that Lisa's parents were on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 25th anniversary when they were informed of their daughter's murder. They were flying back to Toledo from Miami yesterday.

UPDATE: Johnny Clarke was talking on the phone when the killers arrived.

Johny Clarke was talking to a friend on the phone at 11 p.m. on the night of the murder. He was supposed to go pick her up, according to the Toledo Blade. "He was telling her he was going out the door," says his mom, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, in her first 911 call at 1:21 a.m. "And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, 'Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here?'"

The friend repeatedly tried to call and text both Johnny and Lisa after the incident, but didn't get a response. So she eventually went to their home to check on them. When she got no answer at the door, another friend called Johnny's mom.

Police said they found nothing alarming on their first check, nothing to believe that the couple would be in any danger. So they left.

But Johnny's mom called them out to the house again. This time John Sr. was there to meet them, as was Maytee Vasquez-Clarke and another relative. But there was still no visual sign of foul play. And police declined the Clarkes' entreaties to kick in the door.

So after the cops left, John Sr. went around back with a cousin and hoisted her up so she could see through a window. The cousin saw the couple taped and laying on the floor.

John Sr. ran to the front of the house and kicked in the door. Johnny and Lisa were on the floor near the kitchen. They were both bound with plastic bags taped around their heads. He tried to deliver CPR, but their bodies were already cold by then.

UPDATE II: Cops defend their response to the 911 calls.

The Lucas County sheriff's department is defending its actions in the wake of the murders. Major Ron Keel says deputies were sent to the scene twice that night. They arrived just seven minutes after Johnny's mom called at 1:21 a.m. and checked out the house for about 10 minutes.

They went back to the home after she called a second time about a half-hour later. This time they stayed for 36 minutes, looking in windows to see if they could find anything. But in both incidents they saw nothing amiss.

After seeing nothing to indicate danger, it would have been a tough call to simply kick down the door. Besides, Johnny's dad could have kicked it in at any time as well. If you're the man of the family, you don't need to wait around for cops -- or anyone else, for that matter -- to do what's right for your loved ones.

Though police are being ripped for their response, it's likely they just didn't look in the window that would have allowed them to see the bodies. A coroner has ruled that both Johnny and Lisa died of asphyxiation.

Lisa's uncle Jim Verbosky says he isn't blaming anyone.

"I understand how the system works and I understand what their probable cause is and I understand that if they don't have it, they don't have it, and they're liable for whatever damage they would cause," he told the Toledo Blade. "If they went to every 'check the safety' call and they start breaking doors down for everybody, it gets pretty expensive."

UPDATE III: Detectives believe the couple was killed in a robbery gone bad.

Detectives are saying the murders were likely a robbery gone bad. The house showed clear signs that someone had gone through it looking for something, but police won't say what -- if anything -- was taken. But police have found a digital scale in the home, suggesting that Johnny was dealing dope.

In the meantime, detectives are also looking into whether Johnny made any enemies in prison. Daniel St. Clair, Quintwez Sanders and Johnny were busted in 2007 for robbing two different men in Toledo at gunpoint. Johnny was just 18 at the time.

He pleaded not contest to second-degree robbery and was given three years in the slam. But a year later, the judge granted him early release and placed him on probation for three years. St. Clair has also been released, though Sanders remains in the slam on a 6-year sentence because he was the one carrying the gun.

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Wrapitup wrote:​UPDATE: Police now believe Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub were killed in a robbery gone bad. They say the killer clearly went through the house looking for something. Detectives are also checking to see if Johnny made enemies in prison, where he did a year for robbery.

This is interesting news - Johnny was in prison for robbery? It is possible that there is a connection to his murder!

Yea, I found that very interesting. I wonder if he ever told Lisa about his time in prison? Two beautiful lives lost! So sad!!!

Johny Clarke was talking to a friend on the phone at 11 p.m. on the night of the murder. He was supposed to go pick her up, according to the Toledo Blade. "He was telling her he was going out the door," says his mom, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, in her first 911 call at 1:21 a.m. "And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, 'Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here?'"

The friend repeatedly tried to call and text both Johnny and Lisa after the incident, but didn't get a response. So she eventually went to their home to check on them. When she got no answer at the door, another friend called Johnny's mom.

I can't understand why the friend didn't call 911 immediately! If I had heard that exchange, I would have called right away.

lisette wrote:

Johny Clarke was talking to a friend on the phone at 11 p.m. on the night of the murder. He was supposed to go pick her up, according to the Toledo Blade. "He was telling her he was going out the door," says his mom, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, in her first 911 call at 1:21 a.m. "And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, 'Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here?'"

The friend repeatedly tried to call and text both Johnny and Lisa after the incident, but didn't get a response. So she eventually went to their home to check on them. When she got no answer at the door, another friend called Johnny's mom.

I can't understand why the friend didn't call 911 immediately! If I had heard that exchange, I would have called right away.

Lisette I would have called 911 too! I think in the world we are living in today you just can't be too careful!

I have been thinking of this case many times throughout the day, today.

What I have come up with is--the reason the friend did not call 911 right away is because with this age group, it is easier to discuss via cell phone or text what should be done. These devices enable users (especially young people that grew up with them) to keep in touch with anyone at any time. Therefore, there is a delayed reaction to emergency situations. There is a need for approval and acceptance of their actions and they can have that immediately (for themselves)whilst the--in this case victims--maybe suffer for their postponment.

I just want to add one small piece of info that will make you all look at this ALLOT DIFFERENT..

I have listened to all 911calls that night/early morning.Repeatedly on a couple of those calls..

In the last 2 calls it is VERY EVIDENT That Maytee{Johnny's mother} is very suspicious of Tiff. and she lets the dispatcher know her thoughts as well as accuse and put Tiff on the spot after she pulls in behind Tiff{and a friend}'s vehicle blocking Tiff's vehicle where she could not leave{blocked Tiff's vehicle iin the driveway@the Straub residence [i.e. the scene of the crime]}..Mom also gives the license plate info to dispatcher..as This Mom's motherly instincts were telling her something just isn't quite right..nor is it all adding up..

I will paste a link at the bottom of this post so that you all may hear for yourselves what I am about to tell you..

Not only did Tiff wait a couple of hours..but Tiff actually called another friend of Johnny's and thats who actually notified Johnny's parents as to the "supposed" last phone btwn Tiff and Johnny..and that he nor Lisa had been heard from or seen since..

Tiff states that after the "supposed" phone call where she was on the phone with Johnny as Johnny/Lisa were leaving Lisa's house to come and pick her up..to give Tiff a ride back over to Lisa's house to "hang out"..she says that she hears the phone drop and then the blah..blah..blah..about that she hears Johnny saying WHO ARE YOU?..WHAT DO YOU WANT?.. and phone goes dead..

Tiff says that she continued to attempt to get ahold of both of them by text and by calling and that their phones were CUT OFF.. after not being able to get them she decides to hop in the car and drive over to see that their ok{not to call the police and report this troubling exchange and now noticeable disappearance of these two}..but to hop in the car and go check it out herself{yeah right? I say}..

She says that she went and knocked and was ringing the doorbell no one answered..still phones were shut off..SHE EVENTUALLY DECIDES TO CONTACT JOHNNY'S FRIEND SHERITA WHO THEN SETS IN MOTION THE CONTACT MADE WITH JOHNNY'S PARENTS AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT 911 CALLS.

Most importantly {and MOST DAMNING IMO}Tiff tells mom and dispatcher that when she got worried cuz of the exchange she heard combined with the fact that Johnny/Lisa never showed up to "supposedly" pick her up to just go back to their house..that she decided to go by the house herself to check things out..and that she{Tiff} was worried because when she had gone by Lisa's home that ALL THE LIGHTS WERE ON INSIDE THE RESIDENCE{yet no one answering}AND THAT THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE HAD BEEN RANSACKED..MAKING A POINT TO POINT OUT SPECIFICALLY THAT THE CABINETS WERE RANSACKED..

Imo that above BOLDED statement made by Tiff is what will be what "hangs her"{and whoever the accomplice[s] is/are}..

Because upon Johnny's parents arriving at Lisa's house..followed by multiple squad cars full of officers arrived during those 1st 2 911 calls and dispatches..
ALL OFFICERS AND JOHNNY"S parents searched the perimeter of the home over and over..all windows..doors locked.. and trying from multiple and various different doors/windows no one could see into the home to see that anything was out of place and/or suspicious..THUS YOU HAVE BOTH OF THOSE TIMES THAT COPS WERE DISPATCHED..YOU HAVE THEM LEAVING WITHOUT MAKING FORCED ENTRY INTO THE HOME...They had no grounds..nor any reasons..nor anything looking suspicious or out of place for LE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE FORCED ENTRY INTO THE HOME.

It is only HOURS after cops had left and Johnny's parents and a cousin refused to give up or leave that after many many attempts of finding even a place where they could get a glimpse into the home that finally it was when the father boosted the cousin up and over his head all the way to the top of where the window met the brick.. that it was from this angle that by the cousin looking down into the closed blind thru a teeny slit... IT WAS ONLY THEN could they begin to try and make out any visual of what was on the inside of that house..

It was only after all of this time and work put into finding a way to maneuver to find any visual that the cousin finally screamed for them to call 911 back immediately that she could now see what looked to be as two bodies on the ground partially clothed both with hands behind their backs..Mom makes the call and you can hear in the back ground that upon now boosting dad up to look he sees what looks like son's cell and then also sees the bodies with the bags over heads.. That's when dad went to front door and busted into the home immediately ripping the bag from his sons face intending to administer CPR..when he found that his sons face was stiff and would not move..his face was cold to the touch..at which time he goes to Lisa and rips hers open and then as you know the head laceration and the pool of blood from the bag..etc..etc..

The mom Maytee KNEW UPON ARRIVING AT THAT HOME AND SEEING YOU COULD MAKE NO VISUAL OF THE INSIDE OF THE HOME YET TIFF HAD STATED MULTIPLE TIMES THAT SHE CAME BY AND SAW INSIDE RANSACKED ESP CABINETS..

MAYTEE KNEW THAT SHE HAD TO BE INVOLVED AND SHE MADE NO BONES ABOUT ACCUSING HER AS WELL AS ALERTING DISPATCH{which BTW one dispatch ofcr deserves to be fired as well as some sort of punishment for how she handled..spoke.and treated this mother on that emergency 911 call..infuriating IMO}

**Anyone interested can listen to 911 calls at this link{kind of long but well worth a listen IMO..to see what I am speaking about in my above post}
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NosyNeighbor wrote:
It is only HOURS after cops had left and Johnny's parents and a cousin refused to give up or leave that after many many attempts of finding even a place where they could get a glimpse into the home that finally it was when the father boosted the cousin up and over his head all the way to the top of where the window met the brick.. that it was from this angle that by the cousin looking down into the closed blind thru a teeny slit... IT WAS ONLY THEN could they begin to try and make out any visual of what was on the inside of that house..

It was only after all of this time and work put into finding a way to maneuver to find any visual that the cousin finally screamed for them to call 911 back immediately that she could now see what looked to be as two bodies on the ground partially clothed both with hands behind their backs..Mom makes the call and you can hear in the back ground that upon now boosting dad up to look he sees what looks like son's cell and then also sees the bodies with the bags over heads.. That's when dad went to front door and busted into the home immediately ripping the bag from his sons face intending to administer CPR..when he found that his sons face was stiff and would not move..his face was cold to the touch..at which time he goes to Lisa and rips hers open and then as you know the head laceration and the pool of blood from the bag..etc..etc..

Welcome to VH, Nosy Neighbor! I also listened to the 911 calls (close to 15 mins long), and had similar thoughts as yours. My heart went out to the mother, who is obviously in distress as she thinks about what might have happened to her son & his girlfriend. I also think she is "right on" with her motherly instincts about Tiffany. She (Tiffany) did sound suspicious on the 911 call - too calm, almost like she had rehearsed her speech. I do think she may have been involved in some way, and I hope that LE will be investigating her thoroughly!

The only question I have, Nosy, is the part of your post that I quoted above. I didn't hear any of that on the 911 calls, and I'm just wondering where you got that info? Could you please provide a link? :thanks:

It's amazing to me that the cops were there and left without seeing the bodies. Yet, the cousin had the smarts to hoist himself up and see any tiny space available to see inside the home and he DID see his cousin and the cousin's gf, head bagged, hands bound. Dead.

If left to the cops, those two poor kids would still be on that floor when Lisa's parents had returned from Puerto Rico. Can you imagine?

My faith in LE grows smaller day by day.

Rainbow said:

The only question I have, Nosy, is the part of your post that I quoted above. I didn't hear any of that on the 911 calls, and I'm just wondering where you got that info? Could you please provide a link?

I agree and thought the same thing.

UPDATE: Relatives now believe the killers were looking for a safe that didn't exist. Though holes were punched in the walls and rooms were tossed, the bad guys left behind jewelry, computers and TVs, leading relatives to believe they were looking for a bigger score. See update after the jump...

The young couple's hands had been duct taped and there were plastic bags over their heads
​Johnny Clarke's mom called his cell phone early Monday morning, but didn't get an answer. That struck her as odd, since the 21-year-old from suburban Toledo was truly a "mama's boy." And that's when her sixth sense that something was wrong kicked in.

She called 911 for a welfare check at 1:24 a.m. She called again at just after 2. But when police arrived both times, they found no one home, no tracks in the snow, no indication of forced entry, nothing. So they let it be.

A few hours later, Johnny's dad John decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to Johnny's Springfield Township home at 4 a.m. and kicked in the door. That's where he found Johnny and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Straub, dead on the floor. Their hands were bound with duct tape and plastic bags were over their heads. They appeared to be suffocated to death.

There was no sign of a break-in, leading police to believe that the couple either knew their killers, or had let them in house for some other reason. It appears that someone had gone through a portion of the home looking for something, but that's the only evidence thus far.

Lisa was a pre-nursing student at Owens Community College who worked at TGI Friday's. Johnny was about to enter barber school.

Perhaps the saddest part is that Lisa's parents were on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their 25th anniversary when they were informed of their daughter's murder. They were flying back to Toledo from Miami yesterday.

UPDATE: Johnny Clarke was talking on the phone when the killers arrived.

Johny Clarke was talking to a friend on the phone at 11 p.m. on the night of the murder. He was supposed to go pick her up, according to the Toledo Blade. "He was telling her he was going out the door," says his mom, Maytee Vasquez-Clarke, in her first 911 call at 1:21 a.m. "And all she heard was the phone drop and heard my son saying in the background, 'Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing here?'"

The friend repeatedly tried to call and text both Johnny and Lisa after the incident, but didn't get a response. So she eventually went to their home to check on them. When she got no answer at the door, another friend called Johnny's mom.

Police said they found nothing alarming on their first check, nothing to believe that the couple would be in any danger. So they left.

But Johnny's mom called them out to the house again. This time John Sr. was there to meet them, as was Maytee Vasquez-Clarke and another relative. But there was still no visual sign of foul play. And police declined the Clarkes' entreaties to kick in the door.

So after the cops left, John Sr. went around back with a cousin and hoisted her up so she could see through a window. The cousin saw the couple taped and laying on the floor.

John Sr. ran to the front of the house and kicked in the door. Johnny and Lisa were on the floor near the kitchen. They were both bound with plastic bags taped around their heads. He tried to deliver CPR, but their bodies were already cold by then.

Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend Lisa Straub were suffocated to death with plastic bags over their heads, leading some to believe this was very personal

​UPDATE II: Cops defend their response to the 911 calls.

The Lucas County sheriff's department is defending its actions in the wake of the murders. Major Ron Keel says deputies were sent to the scene twice that night. They arrived just seven minutes after Johnny's mom called at 1:21 a.m. and checked out the house for about 10 minutes.

They went back to the home after she called a second time about a half-hour later. This time they stayed for 36 minutes, looking in windows to see if they could find anything. But in both incidents they saw nothing amiss.

After seeing nothing to indicate danger, it would have been a tough call to simply kick down the door. Besides, Johnny's dad could have kicked it in at any time as well. If you're the man of the family, you don't need to wait around for cops -- or anyone else, for that matter -- to do what's right for your loved ones.
What is this? Is this the law up in Toledo or what?

Though police are being ripped for their response, it's likely they just didn't look in the window that would have allowed them to see the bodies. A coroner has ruled that both Johnny and Lisa died of asphyxiation.

Lisa's uncle Jim Verbosky says he isn't blaming anyone.

"I understand how the system works and I understand what their probable cause is and I understand that if they don't have it, they don't have it, and they're liable for whatever damage they would cause," he told the Toledo Blade. "If they went to every 'check the safety' call and they start breaking doors down for everybody, it gets pretty expensive."

UPDATE III: Detectives believe the couple was killed in a robbery gone bad.

Detectives are saying the murders were likely a robbery gone bad. The house showed clear signs that someone had gone through it looking for something, but police won't say what -- if anything -- was taken. But police have found a digital scale in the home, suggesting that Johnny was dealing dope.

In the meantime, detectives are also looking into whether Johnny made any enemies in prison. Daniel St. Clair, Quintwez Sanders and Johnny were busted in 2007 for robbing two different men in Toledo at gunpoint. Johnny was just 18 at the time.

He pleaded not contest to second-degree robbery and was given three years in the slam. But a year later, the judge granted him early release and placed him on probation for three years. St. Clair has also been released, though Sanders remains in the slam on a 6-year sentence because he was the one carrying the gun.

UPDATE IV: Relatives believe the killers were looking for a safe.

"There's a lot of work involved in this. That's not random. That's targeted," Doyle Burke, a retired Dayton homicide detective, told the Toledo Blade. "The average burglar or robber is armed, but they're not walking around with duct tape and plastic bags."

That has led some to believe that the perpetrators knew the victims, and that this was personal. Slowly suffocating the couple to death would indicate they wanted Johnny and Lisa to die slowly -- and painfully.

But Jim Verbosky, Lisa's uncle, believes the bad guys knew Lisa's parents, Jeff and Mary Beth Straub, were out of town for their anniversary. He also says they were looking for a safe that didn't exist.

"There is a kitchen with an island and an open eating area that went into an open family room," he told the Blade. "That was not ransacked, but you could tell there was a fight that ensued there. Plants were knocked over. Things were broken and knocked over, but upstairs, Mary Beth and Jeff's room was ransacked to the point where it looked like a TV show. All the drawers were out, and they had punched holes in the walk-in closet looking for a safe that never existed. There was no safe."

All that was stolen was $84 in cash from a change jar. Valuables like jewelry, TVs and computers were left behind.

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Here is a portion of an article that is referring to what I said in my above post..

snipped for specific portion
So after the cops left, John Sr. went around back with a cousin and hoisted her up so she could see through a window. The cousin saw the couple taped and laying on the floor.

John Sr. ran to the front of the house and kicked in the door. Johnny and Lisa were on the floor near the kitchen. They were both bound with plastic bags taped around their heads. He tried to deliver CPR, but their bodies were already cold by then.

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I will continue looking around for more detailed info because it was actually in a video interview where I heard/saw this more detailed version was given..but as I said the above portion does specify these specific events that happened in those early morning hours :(

**and thanks so much for the warm welcomes.. I have been thoroughly tickled to have received such a friendly welcome by you guys..am looking forward to getting to know you guys and hear you alls thoughts..views..opinions on these cases**

Wow, Nosy. This case is very, very sad.

Anything in town regarding Tiffany being involved in drugs, herself?

Welcome to VH. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

Jul 27, 2012

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The jury has reached a verdict in the Samuel Williams capital murder case.

Williams has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt on all five charges, including two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated burglary.

The decision came around 10:45 Friday morning. The jury deliberated for about five or six hours Thursday, and then met again Friday morning before releasing their decision after seven hours of deliberation.

The main evidence they had to base their decision on was a cigarette butt found at the scene with Williams' DNA on it.

During the week, the jury heard from a man Williams met in jail, who said Williams told him about his involvement in the crime.

The jury also heard phone calls Williams made from jail. In some calls he denied his involvement, but in one call he made to Cameo Pettaway's brother, Williams said, "That was supposed to be me and you. Your little brother stepped up."

Overall, the jury decided that was enough to say Williams was responsible beyond a reasonable doubt.

The mitigation portion of the trial begins Monday. The same jury will decide whether Williams will be sentenced to death.

On Thursday afternoon Pettaway, who was also accused in the deaths of Johnny Clarke and Lisa Straub, was acquitted of all his charges after Judge James Bates decided there was not enough evidence to convict him. Pettaway's case never went to a jury.