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Hobbs NM Press

Guildford florist a budding champion

EVERYTHING is coming up roses for award-winning florist Sophie Hobbs of Angel Flowers in Guildford. The bridal bouquet she created for her September wedding dazzled judges in a national online competition. The 29-year-old newly wed of Ellenbrook scooped the most votes in the entire challenge and beat her closest contender in the flowers to carry section by more than 200 votes on Thursday. “We were first time entrants and first time winners; we’re very humbled by the incredible support of our family, friends, local small businesses and community,” Sophie said. Sophie has worked as a florist for 12 years. She qualified at Flowers Design School in Inglewood and was awarded “student most likely to succeed”. In 2013, Sophie was named the WA Winner of the Interflora Rising Star Competition. Judges said the rich colour palette and elegant design of the bouquet stole their hearts. Sophie picked her favourite colours of berry tones, lush pinks and reds for the arrangement featuring many varieties of roses, anemones and berries. http://www.communitynews.com.au/news/Guildford-florist-a-budding-champion/7679315

Prostitutes accused of suffocating floral designer during rough sex

Chelsea floral designer suffocated to death in 2012 after two male prostitutes bound and gagged him so tightly he couldn’t breathe, prosecutor Lanita Hobbs told a Manhattan jury Monday at the men’s murder trial. Grifters Edwin Faulkner, 33, and Juan Carlos Martinez-Herrera, 35, allegedly killed John Laubach, 57, after a night of rough sex then ransacked his pad and fled to Florida. They were busted a few days later with suitcases stuffed with Laubach’s China, antique silver, statutes and jewelry, Hobbs said. Faulker admitted to cops that he inadvertently caused Laubach’s death when he choked him during consensual rough sex. But Hobbs argued Laubach died after the men bound and gagged him with an electrical cord cut from a lamp and duct tape so they could rob him. The tape caused him to asphyxiate within minutes, she said. John LaubachPhoto: Patrick McMullan “The defendants may not have intended the death of John Laubach, but there is no doubt they recklessly engaged in conduct that killed him,” the prosecutor said in Manhattan Supreme Court before Justice Bonnie Wittner. The men’s defense lawyers told the jury that they were guilty of... http://nypost.com/2015/09/28/male-prostitutes-suffocated-floral-designer-during-rough-sex-prosecutor/

Male prostitutes accused of kidnapping, murdering and robbing New York florist ...

John Laubach was found dead in his New York apartment in 2012. Picture: FacebookSource:SuppliedAssistant District Attorney Lanita Hobbs argued Faulkner and Martinez-Herrera had planned the whole thing, targeting him and eventually kidnapping him.“This case is about the greed of the defendants and how far the defendants were willing to go to get what they wanted,” she said.After the death of Mr Laubach, the pair travelled to Orlando, Florida where they were caught spending cash from items stolen and pawned from the victim’s apartment, including cuff links.In another instance, one was caught on surveillance video attempting to use Mr Laubach’s credit card after the murder.But defence lawyers told the court Mr Laubach’s death was the result of consensual S&M gone wrong.“John Laubach died engaged in raw sex for which no one is criminally responsible,” Faulkner’s lawyer, Daniel Scott, said.Martinez-Herrera’s lawyer, Daniel Parker, told the court: “The evidence will show that after Mr. Laubach died that these two young men did certain things which at first blush might not make sense to you.They argued Mr Laubach gained arousal from being humiliated in bed and enjoyed the act of sexual asphyxia.An attempted argument over sexual paraphilia, known as “sexual behaviours or i... http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/male-prostitutes-accused-of-kidnapping-murdering-and-robbing-new-york-florist-in-rough-sex-act/story-fnu2q5nu-1227561114294