Woman's return renews interest in teen's death
Investigators are revisiting the unsolved death of a McKeesport teenager following the arrest of a school security guard accused of sexually exploiting another girl who had been missing for more than a decade.
"There are two 14-year-olds involved in cases very close to one another, and we'll be investigating him again to see if there's any link," Allegheny County Police Lt. Chris Kearns said Thursday.
Police interviewed Thomas John Hose in 1998 after the partially clothed body of Kimberlie Krimm, 14, was found in a cemetery within view of Hose's Soles Street home. There was no indication then that he was involved with Krimm's death.
Tanya Kach, 24, who disappeared in 1996 when she was an eighth-grader at Cornell Middle School, where Hose worked as a security guard, re-emerged Tuesday and told police Hose had held her captive. That rekindled the Krimm investigation.
Kearns declined to say whether police obtained DNA or other evidence from Krimm's body or the crime scene at the McKeesport-Versailles Cemetery.
Krimm's mother was a cafeteria worker at Cornell.
"At lunchtime, we all had to be in the cafeteria with the students, so I got to know him," Jean Krimm said.
Her daughter had problems, she said, and often had run-ins with Hose at the school.
"Kimberlie did not like that man," said Krimm, who was contacted yesterday by county homicide detectives. She said they told her they are re-examining her daughter's death, which was never ruled a homicide.
Kach told police Hose insisted she keep track of their sexual activity in a calendar book "so he could brag to co-workers and friends of him in engaging in sex and how often," according to a police affidavit.
Although the allegations against Hose date back 10 years, the statute of limitations will not be an issue, prosecutors said. In cases of sexual assault on children, prosecutors have 12 years after the victim turns 18 to file charges.
Police also are investigating the role a McKeesport beautician played in helping Kach flee from home and move in with Hose.
Judy Sokol told police she cut and dyed Kach's hair in 1996 as a favor to Hose and Kach, even though "she knew Hose was engaged in an inappropriate relationship," according to the affidavit.
Kach said yesterday that Sokol cut her hair very short and dyed it red. Kach normally wears her hair long and blonde.
The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families even contacted Sokol about Kach's whereabouts shortly after she disappeared, prompting the beautician to sever her ties with the pair, the affidavit states, but it does not explain what Sokol told CYF caseworkers.
County police said they are investigating why CYF contacted Sokol in relation to Kach's disappearance.
A spokeswoman for CYF said state confidentiality laws prohibit her from commenting.
County police Sgt. Richard Mullen said investigators will meet with the district attorney's office to discuss whether Sokol should be charged.
Investigators interviewed Hose's parents, Howard and Eleanor Hose, and his son, Justin, 22. They believe the elderly parents lived in the home throughout Kach's captivity and that the couple learned about her presence only recently.
"It does sound odd that they say they didn't know she was there, but that's what they're saying and we believe that to be the case," Mullen said.
Hose surrendered Wednesday and was arraigned on charges of statutory sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. District Judge Thomas Miller set bond at 10 percent of $2,000 and ordered that Hose be evaluated by the county jail's behavioral clinic.
District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. might ask a Common Pleas judge today to increase bond.
"Because the evidence suggests that crimes may have been committed against a 14-year-old child that would involve substantial, mandatory sentences upon conviction, District Attorney Zappala has directed a review of the district judge's decision with respect to bond," said Zappala spokesman Mike Manko.
Hose cannot post bond until the psychological evaluation is complete, and defense attorney James Ecker said Hose likely will not be seen by the clinic staff until today.
Hose is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. April 6 in McKeesport.
Ecker said his client plans to plead not guilty.
