A trans-identified male currently serving a sentence for sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl has now been ordered to stand trial on first-degree murder charges as evidence has emerged connecting him to the past crime.
Hannah Tubbs, born James, came to widespread notoriety in February of this year after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a young girl in the bathroom of a family restaurant in 2014.
Tubbs was two weeks shy of his 18th birthday when he followed the 10-year-old into the bathroom of a Denny’s in Palmdale, California, grabbed her by the throat, and forced his hand down her pants. He only stopped his attack when someone entered the restroom, and then ran away before he could be detained.
In a case that caused widespread outcry, Tubbs, now 26, was handed a two-year sentence and ordered to serve it in a juvenile detention center for female youth. It was quickly revealed that Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón had repeatedly refused to transfer Tubbs’ case to adult court, limiting the scope of possible sentencing options. Tubbs was also cleared from having to register as a sex offender upon release.
Soon after Tubbs was moved to youth treatment center, audio was leaked of a call between Tubbs and his father in which the man was heard laughing and boasting about the lenient sentence being arranged for him.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a strike, but they’re gonna plead, I’m [going to] plead out to them and then plead guilty. They’re going to stick me on probation. And it’s going to be dropped. It’s going to be done, done. I won’t have to register,” Tubbs said during the call, excitedly exclaiming “Nothing!” when his father asked what the consequences of his actions would be.
But now a dramatic new layer to the disastrous case has been revealed as Tubbs is being ordered to stand trial on first-degree murder charges related to the 2019 death of Michael Clark.
According to local KGET coverage, Clark’s decomposed body was discovered in the Kern River in August 2019. Prosecutors brought charges against Tubbs earlier this month after ongoing investigation into the case resulted in enough evidence for a Judge to bound Tubbs for trial.
A preliminary hearing held on Monday heard testimony from a Sheriff Investigator stating that multiple witnesses said Tubbs admitted beating Clark to death with a rock. The two had allegedly gotten into an altercation related to Tubbs stealing a $100 Western Union transfer Clark had received from his father.
Tubbs was arrested in 2019 on unrelated charges, and was questioned on Clark’s disappearance before the body was located. While in detention, Tubbs was heard on a recorded jail call telling his father to ‘wipe’ his phone.
Evidence presented at the preliminary hearing also included Google GPS data retrieved from Clark’s cellphone, which tracked the device’s location. At one point after Clark’s disappearance, the device was located in a Von’s grocery store. CCTV footage from the store was reviewed, and Tubbs was seen in the store Clark’s phone was present.
District Attorney’s Office Investigator Don Krueger stated that during a May interview with Tubbs on the crime, Tubbs blamed a former friend for Clark’s death.
Tubbs also told Krueger that he “blacks out” when he gets angry and sometimes cannot remember what he has done. He also stated he had a “transgender side” and an “enforcer side.”
After being booked on the murder charge, Tubbs was moved from the juvenile detention center he had been serving his molestation sentence in and was sent to Kern Valley State Prison — a male facility — and placed administrative segregation.
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