JACOB KUDLA and JOURDAN BOBBISH - 18 and 17 yo (7/2012)/ Charged: Fredrick Young and Ferlando Hunter - Westland MI

Families Fear Worst After Missing Teen’s Car Found Abandoned In Detroit

July 25, 2012 12:40 PM

WESTLAND (WWJ) - A Westland mom is asking for the public’s help to locate her missing 18-year-old son and his friend after the car they were driving was found abandoned in Detroit.


Jacob Kudla & Jourdan Bobbish (Family Photos)

Virgie Kudla said she last heard from her son, Jacob, around 10 p.m. Sunday when he and his 17-year-old friend, Jourdan Bobbish, were heading to a relative’s home on Detroit’s east side.

After her son didn’t return home that night, the concerned mother filed a missing persons report in Westland.

“Jake has never left home. He is the type that has to be in his own bed at night. It’s something he is known for. :) He and Jourdan left here on Sunday evening, saying they’d be back.  They visited uncle rich at about 11 pm and haven’t been seen since.  There has Been no phone activity on either boys phone since 11:11 Sunday night,” Virgie Kudla wrote on her Facebook page.

“Jake and I have a great relationship. We have never went a day without speaking or texting,” she said.

Meantime, Detroit Police found and impounded a 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier late Monday night which was seemingly abandoned at a west side apartment with its sound system removed.

When police ran the vehicle’s license plate, Jacob Kudla’s name came up and they notified his mother, who said the car was a recent gift from the boy’s father.

Detroit police confirmed that two people were arrested in connection with items taken from the vehicle.

Friends and families spent hours Tuesday searching neighborhoods in Detroit and passing out flyers, but the boys still  haven’t been seen or heard from.

As more time passes, families of both friends fear the worst.

Talking to WWJ Newsradio 950, Jake’s cousin Reba Jacobs, said it’s difficult not to worry.

“No, we don’t get much sleep but, you know, we have hope — just hoping they’re out there. You know, they haven’t found nothin’, so … we’re just handing out flyers and praying that they come home today,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said police asked them not to search on Wednesday because authorities have gathered a task force to help with the search and they don’t want them to interfere.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacob Kudla or Jourdan Bobbish is asked to call 248-961-1962 or 734-634-7896.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/07/25/families-fear-worst-after-missing-teens-car-found-abandoned-in-detroit/

Uncle says walking cane found from one of missing Westland teens

July 25, 2012 at 5:37 pm
By Tom Greenwood and George Hunter

Detroit— The hunt for two missing Westland teenagers last seen in Detroit has taken a number of twists and turns Wednesday with reports of gunfire and the recovery of a walking cane belonging to one of the teens.

Jacob Kudla, 18, and his buddy, Jourdan Bobbish, 17, were last seen Sunday night when they left the home of Kudla's uncle in the area of Hoover Road and Seven Mile.

Detroit police found Kudla's vandalized car Monday night near an apartment complex in the area of Beechwood and Linsdale streets, on the city's west side.

According to a second uncle of Kudla, the teenager's cane — used by the teenager following a high school football injury — was also found in the same area by police.

Tom Brown, who lives next door to the apartment complex where Kudla's 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier was discovered, said a white male driving a gray/silver pickup truck, showed up early Monday morning looking for Jacob.

"He kept yelling, 'Jacob, Jacob,' and then fired an Uzi-type weapon into the air," said Brown, 45. "This went on for about 30 minutes. I finally called police."

A number of other residents reported the same incident to Detroit News reporters. Detroit police couldn't be immediately reached for comment on the reports.

Rex Hickerson, Kudla's uncle, said Jacob relied on a cane after injuring his knee while playing football for Livonia's Churchill High School.

"Jacob's mother is in shock, but it hasn't hit her yet," said Hickerson, 66, of Clinton Township. "But when it does …"

Hickerson was among family members who have resumed their search Wednesday for the missing boys. The families intend to scour the area where the car and cane were recovered.

Detroit police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens earlier confirmed two men living in the two-story apartment complex had been arrested after they were found with parts that had been stripped from Kudla's car.

"We don't have any new news, but I am determined that we are going to find our boys today," said Virgie Kudla, Jacob's mother. "Yesterday, I was desperate; today, I am determined."

It wasn't immediately clear if they were being linked to the disappearances.

"Right now we're still trying to determine whether a crime was committed," DPD spokeswoman Yvette Walker said.

As time passes, families of both friends say they fear the worst.

"I have a lot of thoughts flying … some you don't want to think about," said Mike Bobbish, Jourdan's father. "There are a million thoughts."

Virgie Kudla said they are hoping their search will be bolstered with the help of volunteers.

"We're waiting for clearance from the Detroit Police Department so members of the Detroit 300 coalition can join us," Kudla said.

Jacob Kudla is a student at Schoolcraft College while Jourdan Bobbish attends Churchill High School in Livonia.

According to a release from the DPD, Kudla is 6-foot-1 and weighs 280 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair.

When last seen, Kudla was wearing a black T-shirt and black/gold/gray Air Jordan shoes.

Bobbish is 6-foot tall, weighs 200 pounds and has blue eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a grey and white shirt as well as white and gray Air Jordans.

Both teens are reported to be in good physical and mental condition.

According to Virgie Kudla, the boys have known each other for about five years.

"Both are good boys who haven't been in trouble," Virgie Kudla said. "Not like some the kids you read about. Jacob is a boy who always comes home at night and has never not kept in touch with me."

On Monday, Virgie Kudla filed a missing persons report in Westland and a second report to Detroit police on Tuesday.

Westland police consider the case to belong to the DPD since the missing boys were last seen at an uncle's house in the city, and the vandalized car was also found there.

Family members canvassed neighborhoods in Detroit on Tuesday, passing out flyers and talking to residents.

"The community that lives in the area where the car was found have cooperated beyond our expectations," Virgie Kudla said. "We have been absolutely astonished at the outpouring of care and support from the neighborhood.

"It's been wonderful, and we are grateful."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120725/METRO01/207250403#ixzz21kXVDRGf

Police believe two bodies found near Detroit's City Airport are missing Westland teens

Posted: 10:44 AM
Last Updated: 1 minute ago
By: WXYZ.com Web Staff

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Police sources believe two bodies found Friday morning are those of missing Westland teens Jourdan Bobbish and Jacob Kudla .

Their bodies were found face down, next to one another, in a field near Lyford Avenue and Gilbo Street, on Detroit's east side. That field is adjacent to Detroit's City Airport.

Positive identification has yet to be made. Both were found with bullets to the head, apparently shot execution style. The condition of the bodies has delayed their identification and they are being sent to the Medical Examiner.

As word of the discovery continues to spread, messages of condolence are being posted to a Facebook group setup to help find the two teens .

17-year-old Jourdan Bobbish and 18-year-old Jacob Kudla disappeared on Sunday night after leaving the home of Kudla’s uncle on Detroit’s east side. They were driving in a white 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier.

The next day, police found two men stripping that car near an apartment building on the city’s west side, near Beechwood and Linsdale. The men were arrested. The teens were nowhere to be found.

Police are calling those two men "persons of interest" and say they have been cooperating with the investigation.

A cane that Kudla used for an old injury was found near the car. Kudla’s uncle said he gave his nephew something for the pain that night.

Friend Amanda Yancey said Bobbish and Kudla planned to come to her house before they vanished. She said she spoke to Bobbish on the phone at 11:08 p.m. Sunday.

“He answered the phone like normal Jourdan and he never showed up,” said Yancey.

Thursday, about 200 people attended a candlelight vigil for the two missing Westland teens.

7 Action News crews are on the scene. Stay with us for more on this breaking story.

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/two-bodies-found-near-detroits-city-airport#ixzz21q9mPsya

Detroit police tell family member that bodies are those of missing Westland teens

1:02 PM, Jul. 27, 2012

Lighted lanterns floated off into the night sky as a crowd of family, friends and well-wishers held candles and offered prayers for the safe return of two Westland teens missing since last Sunday night after a trip to Detroit.

The candlelight prayer vigil was held Thursday in the parking lot of Livonia Churchill High School where Jacob Kudla, 18, and Jourdan Bobbish, 17, met and became friends.

The morning after the prayer vigil, the bodies of the teens were found in a field near City Airport - roughly five miles from the family member’s home where they were last seen. Both teens had been shot in the head. Detroit police officers broke the news to family members who were gathered near Joy and I-96 to resume searching for the teens near where their car had been recovered.

Redford residents Dan and Erin Sisty came to the vigil with four-year old son Aidan. Erin Sisty has an older son who is a close friend of Bobbish.

“Jourdan went on a lot of family vacations with us,” said Erin Sisty, whose son became friends with Bobbish when he was living in Redford.

Since learning of the teens’ disappearance, Dan Sisty said his stepson has been calling Bobbish without response.

“We want to support the family,” said Dan Sisty.

Erin Sisty wasn’t surprised by the large crowd that gathered for the pray vigil.

“He used to live in Redford, so some teachers came. There are also teachers and friends from here,” she said.

Morgan Barr, Rachel Core and Amber Wyman came to the vigil from Dearborn - they are friends with Jourdan Bobbish’s older brother Josh.

“I’ve been close to Josh for a long time, so it was important for me to show support,” said Barr.

“I’m here to show support for the family and let them know they aren’t alone,” said Core.
Bobbish was about to start his senior year at Churchill while Kudla had graduated and was now attending Schoolcraft College.

When the bodies were found, family and friends were gathered expecting to resume search efforts Friday morning in the area of Joy and I-96 in Detroit near where Kudla’s 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier had been recovered Monday afternoon.

The teens had gone to the east side of Detroit to visit Kudla’s uncle. They left Sunday night and hadn’t been seen or heard from since.

Two men were arrested for stealing the stereo equipment from the Cavalier but charges have not yet been filed. Kudla’s cane, used after recent knee surgery, was found behind the apartment building where the car was located.

Where the teens went, who killed them and how they ended up across the city from their vehicle are questions that have yet to be answered.

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120727/NEWS24/120727003/Detroit-police-tell-family-member-bodies-those-missing-Westland-teens

Westland teens' families await results of autopsies on 2 bodies found in Detroit

July 28, 2012

Family members of a missing Westland teen plan to visit the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office today to see whether one of the two bodies found in a vacant Detroit lot Friday morning was that of Jacob Kudla.

A passerby found the decomposing bodies near Coleman A. Young International Airport, on the city's east side. Police said they are believed to be those of Kudla, 18, and his friend Jourdan Bobbish, 17. The two were reported missing Sunday after they failed to return home from a visit to Kudla's uncle, who lives on the city's east side, family members told the Free Press.

Kudla's family gathered at their home late Friday, anticipating any information from the police and medical examiner's investigation.

"He's a great kid," said Kudla's cousin, Reba Jacobs, 28, of Detroit.

"He's a big mama's boy. They ate dinner together every day. He called her every day at 4:30 p.m. to find out what was for dinner," she said.

At the Bobbish home, about a half a mile from the Kudlas, a dozen cars of friends and family members crowded the street, and another dozen were parked in the driveway and on the lawn of the large, semirural lot. Two men shooed away the news media, one saying, "It's just too fresh -- they're not talking to anybody."

The Wayne County medical examiner has scheduled autopsies on the bodies for today. The examiner's office said late Friday that it was awaiting dental records before making a positive identification.

Around 9:45 a.m. Friday, Detroit police were called to Lyford between Van Dyke and French roads. The bodies were discovered 10-15 feet from the road in high grass. Around noon, the bodies were removed from the field and taken to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

Kudla's mother, Vergie Kudla, previously said she believes the boys were carjacked as they left the uncle's house. Jacob Kudla was getting marijuana from a family member for pain relief, his mother said. State officials would not release information on whether the teen had a medical marijuana identification card.

Kudla's white 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier was found abandoned Monday at Beechwood and Linsdale on the city's west side.

Two men were arrested Monday in connection with the teens' disappearance after they were found in possession of items taken from Kudla's car; they were still in custody Friday night, Detroit police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

But neither had been charged, Stephens said. Detroit police were awaiting a decision by Wayne County prosecutors on possible charges, she said.

Stephens would not comment on whether the two are suspects in the deaths of the men found Friday. Nor would she discuss how the men had died. "We're waiting on the medical examiner for that," Stephens said.

If the bodies are those of the Westland teens, it would make them the third and fourth slaying victims from Westland this week. The bodies of two other Westland men were found about 9:45 a.m. Sunday on Hickory Street near Cherry in Inkster. The men had each been shot several times and were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Friday that the bodies have been identified, but family members have not been notified.

For the few residents of the east-side Detroit neighborhood where the bodies were found Friday, the events were maddening, especially because city grounds crews were out mowing Thursday and appear to have stopped just a few feet from where the bodies were left. The city recently instituted a policy whereby it mows the perimeter of vacant lots in distressed areas such as those near the airport, instead of the full lot, in order to save money.

"Most of the time, they're not getting killed here. They are just getting dumped," said Hazel Walker, 46, who has lived on Lyford since she was a teenager.

She said there are no working streetlights on the blocks of Lyford between Van Dyke Avenue and French, making it easy for people to do everything from deal drugs to dump trash or bodies near the few houses that dot her neighborhood.

The area is about 3 miles from where another teen's body was found in a vacant lot almost three years ago. Matthew Landry, 21, was fatally shot in the back of the head; his decomposing body was found Aug. 13, 2009, in a house at 14711 Maddelein. Landry was kidnapped from the Quiznos in Eastpointe by Ihab Maslamani, who had been on a three-day crime spree.

Landry's death drew attention to the problem of abandoned houses in neighborhoods. Maslamani was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Kudla and Bobbish are friends through Churchill High School in Livonia, where Bobbish will be a senior in the fall and Kudla graduated last year. Kudla is a student at Schoolcraft College, his mother said.

The Facebook group Help the Cause: Find Jourdan Bobbish and Jake Kudla has been flooded with condolences since news outlets began reporting the discovery of the two bodies earlier Friday.

Crime Stoppers had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the teens' safe return.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120728/NEWS01/307280101/Westland-teens-families-await-results-of-autopsies-on-2-bodies-found-in-Detroit?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

Medical Examiner confirms two bodies found Friday in Detroit are those of missing Westland teens

Posted: 11:55 AM
Last Updated: 26 minutes ago
By: Kim Russell

WESTLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) - The Wayne County Medical Examiner has identified the bodies of two young men found Friday in a Detroit field as two missing Westland teens. The heartbreaking news has been delivered to their families.

Dental records were used to identify them.

Jacob Kudla and Jourdan Bobbish went missing last Sunday night after visiting a relative on the city's east side. Since then, relatives have been searching the neighborhood where they disappeared.

The car they were driving was found Monday behind a rundown Detroit apartment. Two men were arrested at that building. The men told police they stole parts from the car, but had nothing to do with the disappearance of the teens. The men are expected to be arraigned today at 36th District Court in downtown Detroit.

On Friday, the two bodies were discovered face down, next to one another, in a field near Lyford Avenue and Gilbo Street, on Detroit's east side. That field is adjacent to Detroit's City Airport.

Both were found with bullets to the head, apparently shot execution style. Sources say the bodies were badly decomposed. The condition of the bodies delayed their identification.

Thursday, about 200 people attended a candlelight vigil for the two missing Westland teens.

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/bodies-found-identified-as-missing-westland-teens#ixzz21wGYNgTo

Charges for two men in connection with case of two Westland teens found dead in Detroit

Posted: 07/28/2012
Last Updated: 2 hours and 38 minutes ago
By: Bob Kuszynski

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Two men are charged in connection with the case of the missing teenagers from Westland whose bodies were found Friday in a field on Detroit's east side .

The Wayne County Prosecutor's office is charging 39-year-old Casey Jason Green and 40-year-old Larry Videz Anderson with the larceny of items from a motor vehicle, which is a 5 year jail term.

They also are being charged with obstruction of justice, worth 5 years in prison and tampering with evidence, which could bring 4 years.

The vehicle involved in the charges is a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and was found in the 8500 block of Beechwood in Detroit, behind an apartment building, earlier this week.

This is believed to be the car that was used by two teenagers from Westland, 17-year-old Jourdan Bobbish and 18-year-old Jacob Kudla. Bobbish and Kudla were found dead Friday. They went missing on Sunday night.

Saturday, the Wayne County Medical Examiner confirmed the identification of their bodies.

Charges for Green and Anderson, both of Detroit, were in 36th District Court.

Earlier this week, 7 Action News learned that Green and Andreson, the two men charged by the Prosecutor's office, have already spent years behind bars.

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/charges-for-2-men-in-the-missing-westland-teenager-case#ixzz21zLePZA6

Joint memorial service for Westland teens set for Saturday

6:24 PM, July 30, 2012

Memorial services are scheduled this week for two Westland teens found shot to death.

Services for Jourdan Bobbish, 17, are set for 11:30 a.m. Friday at Morning Star Church, 29863 Dawson, Garden City. The service is open to the public, and a luncheon will follow at the church, according to a statement from the family Monday.

In addition, a fund has been set up in memory of Bobbish. Donations can be sent to any Fifth Third Bank branch. Checks should be addressed: “For the Benefit of Jourdan Bobbish.” Money raised will be directed to “causes that honor the legacy of Jourdan Bobbish,” according to the statement.

Visitation for Jacob Kudla, 18, will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Christ Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 14175 Farmington Road in Livonia, Kudla’s cousin, Reba Jacobs, said Monday. The memorial service, which will be open to the public, will begin at 11 a.m. at the church.

The family is in the process of creating a memorial fund for donations to a cause in the teen’s name in lieu of flowers, Jacobs said.

The teens’ bodies were found Friday in a field on Detroit’s east side. They had been missing since July 22.

The case is still is under investigation by Detroit Police. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAKUP (800-773-2587).

http://www.freep.com/article/20120730/NEWS01/120730066/joint-memorial-service-for-westland-teens

Gag order issued in case involving slain Westland teens

August 9, 2012 at 1:27 pm
By Christine Ferretti, The Detroit News

Detroit— A gag order was issued Thursday in a case involving two Detroit men jailed on charges connected to the disappearance and death of two Westland teens found shot in a field on the city's east side.

Casey Green, 39, and Larry Anderson, 40, did not appear in 36th District Court Thursday for an anticipated preliminary examination on charges of larceny, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence.

Instead, attorneys bickered over the sharing of information with media, discovery and a potential witness. The hearing was rescheduled for 11 a.m. Monday.

Green and Anderson were arrested July 24 while removing items from a vehicle belonging to Jacob Kudla, 18. The teen and his friend, Jourdan Bobbish, 17, had disappeared two days earlier after visiting the home of Kudla's uncle, Richard Baxter, near Seven Mile and Hoover in Detroit.

Prosecutors said Green and Anderson were spraying the exterior and interior of the car with a bleach solution.

The men are not charged in the murders, which remain under investigation.

Judge Deborah Lewis Langston put the gag order in place. It will bar attorneys and law enforcement from speaking to the media about the case involving Green and Anderson and the continuing homicide investigation.

The teens' bodies were discovered July 27 by two Detroit residents as they were looking for scrap metal. Kudla and Bobbish had both been shot in the back of the head.

Investigators found Kudla's 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier partially stripped near an apartment building at Beechwood and Linsdale on Detroit's west side. Among the items missing were a stereo, amplifiers, speakers and jumper cables. Kudla's walking cane was found nearby.

An attorney for Green was not in court Thursday.

Anderson's lawyer, Marvin Barnett, on Thursday called Baxter a "person of interest" to the defense and urged the judge to writ him over to the courthouse Monday for the hearing. Langston refused.

"I'd like to talk to him," said Barnett, adding he may call Baxter as a witness at the probable cause hearing.

"I may want to chit chat under oath."

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Harrison told Langston that there's nothing that suggests Baxter was present or saw the car being stripped.

"Demanding a grieving uncle come in on this case and testify is unnecessary," Harrison said.

Baxter, 44, who has five drug offenses on his record, was arrested last week on a probation violation for supplying the teens with marijuana and pills on the night they disappeared.

Detroit police detectives interviewed Baxter several times in connection with the double homicide; police have not named him as a suspect.

Baxter is being held in the Macomb County Jail on $5,000 bond.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120809/METRO01/208090399#ixzz235JxJgir

Slain Westland teen's uncle due in court Wednesday

Posted: Aug 29, 2012 9:44 AM CDT
Updated: Aug 29, 2012 9:44 AM CDT
By MyFox Detroit Staff

DETROIT (MyFox Detroit) - The man to last see two Westland teens alive is set to go before a judge.

Richard Baxter is due in court today for a probation violation hearing. According to court records, he violated his probation by giving drugs to his nephew Jacob Kudla and Jacob's friend Jourdan Bobbish.

Baxter reportedly gave the teens painkillers the night they went missing back in July.

Their bodies were found days later in a field on Detroit's east side.

No one is charged in their deaths just yet, but two men are charged with stealing the teens' car and trying to cover up the evidence.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/19406635/2012/08/29/slain-westland-teens-uncle-due-in-court-on-probation-violation

2 Men Will Stand Trial In Murders Of Westland Teens in 2012

July 16, 2014 10:21 PM

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – A Detroit judge has ordered two men to trial on first-degree murder charges in the drug-related killing of two Westland teens in 2012. The bodies of 17-year-old Jourdan Bobbish and 18-year-old Jacob Kudla were found in a field on Detroit’s east side.

District Judge Michael Wagner ruled that there’s enough evidence to try 25-year-old Fredrick Young of Detroit and 23-year-old Ferlando Hunter of Jackson.

One witness testified that Hunter had the teens get out of the car trunk, get on their knees and “they shot the one boy in the head and he fell, and he said they shot the other one a couple times but he didn’t fall so that’s when they shot him in the head – that’s when he died.”

Jourdan Bobbish’s father, Mike, was in the courtroom for the Wednesday’s proceedings and spoke with WWJ afterward:

“It sucks to hear the details, but you got to make sure they never come out,” said Mike Bobbish.
Authorities say the teens went to a house in Detroit looking to buy drugs but instead were robbed, tortured and shot.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/07/16/2-men-will-stand-trial-in-murders-of-westland-teens-in-2012/