Who killed John Riebe? Details explored ahead of The Devil Speaks on ID

Publish date: 2024-06-07

ID's The Devil Speaks chronicles the shooting death of John Riebe by a close friend and work assistant Eric Babos over finances and pending payments. Riebe's body was found by his daughters inside his Toledo home on December 15, 2004. He was shot seven times sometime in the afternoon hours that day.

The upcoming episode titled Dead Man Talking will air on the channel this Tuesday, April 25, at 7:00 pm ET. As per the synopsis of the episode:

"Father of two John Riebe is found dead from bullet wounds on the floor of his home in Toledo, Ohio; the investigation quickly turns on those closest to Riebe, and a series of phone calls and voice mails prove key in uncovering a shocking betrayal."

Babos was linked to the murder after an investigation revealed that he had made suspicious calls to the heating company where the victim had recently worked as a contractor. Riebe was an HVAC specialist and installed furnaces and other heating equipment for a living on a contractual basis. Moreover, tests found gun founder residue on the sleeves of the shirt he wore that day.

According to reports, Eric Babos was found guilty in John Riebe's shooting death in August 2005 and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

During Eric Babos' trial, it was determined that he murdered John Riebe over a delayed payment of $150

John Riebe pictured with his two daughter, Jamie and Nicole (Image via Find a Grave)

Reports state that during an August 2005 trial, Eric Babos was found guilty of killing John Riebe in his Sylvania Township home the previous December. According to the police, Babos became upset with Riebe, saying he owed him $150. The victim's teenage daughters found him lying in a pool of blood when they came home from school on December 15.

According to a WTOL 11 report, during testimony, Riebe's daughter, Jamie, testified detailing the occurrences from that tragic afternoon. She started by telling the court how both sisters were unable to open the house door because she did not have the key. Jamie revealed that her sister Nicole had already spotted their father's body through the window in a grisly crime scene.

Jamie Riebe further informed the court that she and her sister crawled into the house through the front window and found the 39-year-old lying face-down, covered in blood. The girls then flipped their father on to his back before calling 911.

The same WTOL 11 report stated that Jamie mentioned getting a call from Eric Babos at the house hours after the murder while the police were still at the scene. She testified before the court that during the phone call, Babos asked for his payment.

Authorities believed that a few days prior to John Riebe's killing, Eric Babos, his good friend and work assistant, had done some work for him at a heating company in Toledo, Ohio, as expected a payment of $150. He even made calls to the manager and owner of the heating company in question asking for his payment and allegedly seemed upset about the delay.

During Babos' trial in August 2005, the court determined that he shot Riebe over the pending payment and then fled the scene on foot minutes before his daughters returned home from school. After his conviction, Babos was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison and has unsuccessfully appealed for a re-trial on multiple occasions.

Learn more about John Riebe's case on the upcoming episode of The Devil Speaks on ID this Tuesday.

More from Sportskeeda

" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1484616, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1484616); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1484616) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1484616) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tLzOq6uso5WasaJ6wqikaKifpXqkwcutrKudX6y1sHnKoqOlnZRit7C0zWapop2SmnqlsdOaoKWrXZrFsbjOq5ydZZGdsqKwjK2fnmWUmsOquIysp56Zm6h6qrA%3D