However, it was consistent with the hair of Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Stevie Branch. Somewhere along the way, the kids were murdered and thrown into a secluded, wooded area known to locals as Robin Hood Hills. Echols' attorneys finally got access Tuesday to the evidence they believe can exonerate all three men. As the movement to free the West Memphis Three gained traction, a number of celebrities joined the cause, bringing the case under more scrutiny. In 1994, a memorial was erected for the three murder victims. "[69] Byers has spoken to the media on behalf of the convicted, and has expressed his desire for justice for the families of both the victims and the three accused. Despite initially denying involvement in the crime, he eventually confessed, saying that he had helped detain the three young boys but left before Echols and 16-year-old Jason Baldwin, who were best friends, committed the murders. All Rights Reserved. The community's worst fears were confirmed. Each had achieved the rank of "Wolf" in the local Cub Scout pack and were best friends.[15]. Defense attorneys also pointed out that Griffis' doctorate was obtained through a notorious diploma mill and had been awarded with Griffis having never attended a single class. Early in the investigation, the WMPD briefly regarded two West Memphis teenagers as suspects. As reported by the Arkansas Times, examination of the shoe laces used to bind Michael Moore contained hair "not inconsistent" with that of Stevie Branch's stepfather, Terry Hobbs. Although the appeals were repeatedly denied, a new batch of DNA testing done in 2007 reignited the investigation. Did you encounter any technical issues? [25], Though he was informed of his Miranda rights, Misskelley later claimed he did not fully understand them. Police detective Bryn Ridge testified that he later lost those blood scrapings. According to Hutcheson, on May 19, 1993, she, Misskelley, and Echols attended a gathering of witches at a nearby field. ADVERTISEMENT 19. There was circumstantial evidence to suggest Byers knew more than he let on. Aug 21, 2003 #2 If you are speaking of West Memphis Three autopsy photos then the answer is -- not available online. Map of West Memphis (created using Google Earth) Purple pins indicate locations. [23], In July 2008, it was revealed that Kent Arnold, the jury foreman on the Echols-Baldwin trial, had discussed the case with an attorney prior to the beginning of deliberations. [27], Vicki Hutcheson, a new resident of West Memphis, would play an important role in the investigation, though she would later recant her testimony, claiming her statements were fabricated due in part to coercion from police. [59] The three entered into unusual Alford plea deals. Heavy metal music, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and horror movies were regarded as gateways to evil. [8] Initial police searches made that night were limited. In August 2011, White Light Productions announced that the West Memphis Three would be featured on their new program Wrongfully Convicted. You could visit the WMPD to see them but other than I can't think of where else they would be. [9] On May 9, during a formal interview by Detective Bryn Ridge, Echols mentioned that one of the victims had wounds to the genitals; law enforcement viewed this knowledge as incriminating. Spotting a small, black tennis shoe in the water, Jones radioed for help. Stidham has called the coroner's investigation "extremely substandard." The man reportedly wore a "blue cast type brace on his arm that had white Velcro on it", which would have made it difficult to tie up and murder three young boys. Idaho murders: Is Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen's failure to report deaths a federal crime? Classmates at Weaver Elementary School, the three were active in their Cub Scout troop and responsible enough to be trusted to roam their neighborhood without supervision. Such testing was not available previous times the evidence was tested. On November 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a lower judge to consider whether newly analyzed DNA evidence might exonerate the three. “If the testing reveals nothing worthwhile, the physical evidence would still be forever altered. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. Hobbs was the stepfather of Steven Branch, one of the boys found murdered in 1993, in West Memphis, Arkansas. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ During interrogation, West Memphis police suggested to Byers that he might have left the knife out accidentally, and Byers agreed with this. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), They wouldn't be able to pull the same tricks. In 2004 Hutcheson recanted, claiming that she had lied at the urging of the police, who had allegedly threatened to implicate her in the murders if she did not cooperate. Heavy Metal, Satanismus und drei bestialische Morde im Süden der USA, Benefizkonzerte und Hilfe aus Hollywood: Der Fall der "West Memphis Three . She has since expressed her belief that her ex-husband was involved in the murders, citing the discovery of her son's favorite pocket knife in Terry Hobbs' belongings. He said that the victims had died from a combination of blunt force trauma and drowning, in a crime which he believed was driven by personal cause. By Benjamin H. Smith Timeline Of The West Memphis Three Victims 1:53 Digital Original Motivations For Investigating The West Memphis Case 1:05 Preview Timeline Of The West Memphis Three Victims 1:47 On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. }); John Mark Byers, who was suspected in the deaths of three West Memphis children in 1993, died in a car crash earlier this week, officials in Tennessee revealed on Friday, June 19. [6] The judge sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. The plea deal did not technically result in a full exoneration; some of the convictions would stand, but the men would not admit guilt. Best selling books such as Lawrence Pazder's Michelle Remembers and disgraced evangelical comedian Mike Warnke's The Satan Seller fueled the madness with tales of ritual abuse and human sacrifice. Police, however, remained focused on Echols, and they soon received help from Vicki Hutcheson, whose 8-year-old child was friends with the victims and claimed to have witnessed their murders but was unable to identify the assailants. - West Memphis, Arkansas, is an American town not much different than any other. Jason Baldwin had no idea what was happening when a fellow inmate at the supermax prison in Varner, Arkansas, woke him up early one morning in . His father said Byers may not have taken his prescription on May 5, 1993. On September 17, 2011, 48 Hours re-aired the episode with the update of their release and interviews from Echols and his wife, and Baldwin. 1 (2005), while still in prison. By Justin Sayles Jun 9, 2021, 6:30am EDT. None was found to match DNA from Echols, Baldwin, or Misskelley. After the initial investigation, the police failed to control disclosure of information and speculation about the crime scene.[38]. Also presented in the filing was new expert testimony that the supposed knife marks on the victims, including the injuries to Byers' genitals, were in fact the result of animal predation after the bodies had been dumped.[55]. All three were arrested in June 1993, though no physical evidence connected them to the crime and each had alibis. West Memphis Three Go Free In a major turn of events, an Arkansas judge today freed three men who were imprisoned for nearly 18 years for child murders they say they didn't commit. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ The 'West Memphis Three' were exonerated following the advent of improved DNA technology (West Memphis Police Department) John Mark Byers, who was suspected in the deaths of three West Memphis children in 1993, died in a car crash earlier this week, officials in Tennessee revealed on Friday, June 19. The 2022 Staff Picks: Our favorite Prezi videos of the year if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ [77], Investigative journalist Aphrodite Jones undertook an exploration of the case on her Discovery Network show True Crime with Aphrodite Jones following the DNA discoveries. Michael Moore was the son of Todd and Dana Moore. Free with Kindle Unlimited membership Join Now. Armed with this information, police interviewed Misskelley, who reportedly had an IQ of about 72. Echols self-published the memoir, Almost Home: My Life Story Vol. [54], On October 29, 2007, papers were filed in federal court by Echols's defense lawyers seeking a retrial or his immediate release from prison. ga('ads.send', { Omissions? I'm not stupid." Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. KAIT TV reports on the car crash death Thursday near Memphis of John Mark Byers, stepfather of one of the children killed in the West Memphis Three case. Jason Baldwin, along with Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. are known as The West Memphis Three, who are three men convicted in 1994 of the murders of three 8 year old boys, in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. However, the confession was at odds with facts known by police, such as the time of the murders. Dilation of the anus is a normal post-mortem condition. While other suspects were discussed on the Internet and in such media projects as the documentary West of Memphis (2012), law officials closed the cases. [9] Echols and Baldwin were close friends, and bonded over their similar tastes in music and fiction, and over their shared distaste for the prevailing cultural climate of West Memphis, situated in the Bible Belt. All three had been stripped naked and shackled with their shoelaces – their right ankles had been tied to their right wrists behind their backs, with their left ankles to their left wrists behind their backs as well. According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. Unaware of what was to come, Allen explained that he just wanted to ask him some questions. The West Memphis Three have garnered an extraordinary amount of attention since being convicted of a triple homicide in 1994 — a crime many believe Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie . [90], Echols' lawyers claimed that his condition worsened during the trial, when he developed a "psychotic euphoria that caused him to believe he would evolve into a superior entity" and eventually be transported to a different world. Echols is expected to appeal the ruling. She then claimed that the proceedings devolved into an orgy, at which point she asked Echols to take her home; Misskelley stayed. All three were released from prison that same day. [16] Christopher Mark Byers is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery East in Memphis, Tennessee.[17]. He also told mental health workers that he was "going to influence the world. eyewitness evidence surfaced 16 years later. Advertisement. [9], In October 2003, Vicki Hutcheson, who had played a part in the arrests of Misskelley, Echols, and Baldwin, gave an interview to the Arkansas Times in which she stated that every word she had given to the police was a fabrication. Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin were sentenced to life plus 40 years without parole. They were released after each was sentenced to time served and received a 10-year suspended sentence. Misskelley ignored this advice and went on to detail how the boys were abused and murdered. [14], Steve Edward Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore were all second graders at Weaver Elementary School. Upon further examination, it was concluded that if these marks were bite marks, they did not match the teeth of any of the three convicted. HBO executives ordered them to return the knife to the West Memphis Police Department. A Warner Bros. Although the Alford Plea set the West Memphis Three free, they are, at least in the eyes of the law, guilty, and therefore, the state of Arkansas is under no obligation to continue investigating the crimes at this time. The West Memphis Child Murders: Part 3. Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men. This page serves to dispel all the myths, lies, and misrepresentations surrounding the West Memphis Three case. Stidham overheard Judge Burnett discuss taking a lunch break with the jury foreman and heard the foreman reply that the jury was almost finished. On May 5th, 1993, Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were brutally murdered in West Memphis Arkansas. However, within the first crucial hours after the bodies were discovered, mistakes were made at the crime scene that negatively impacted the investigation. This January, Echols’ attorneys filed the petition for new DNA testing, saying it “might serve to identify the killer(s)” and bring justice to the case. A year after the DNA results were released, Hobbs sued Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for defamation, claiming she implied he was a murderer on the band’s website and at a 2007 rally, according to The New York Times. According to HBO's documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000), no blood was found at the crime scene, indicating that the location where the bodies were found was not necessarily the location where the murders actually happened. Hutcheson claimed that, at the Wiccan meeting, a drunken Echols openly bragged about killing the three boys. West of Memphis, the latest documentary about the case, suggests Branch's stepfather Terry Hobbs should be investigated for the crime. West of Memphis: Directed by Amy Berg. On May 5, 1993, three little boys from West Memphis, Arkansas, went out for a bike ride with a promise to their parents that they would be home for dinner. Judge David Laser then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. Also, my sister Jo Lynn told me that she saw Terry wash clothes, bed linens and curtains from Stevie's room at an odd time around the time of the Murders. In the years since the trial, John Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers, and Pamela Hobbs, mother of Stevie Branch, became vocal supporters of the West Memphis Three. [9] Friends and neighbors also conducted a search that night, which included a cursory visit to the location where the bodies were later found. [citation needed], On or about June 1, 1993, Hutcheson agreed to police suggestions to place hidden microphones in her home during an encounter with Echols. According to his mother, Christopher was a typical eight-year-old. In 1973, his parents had called the police to report that he was threatening them with a butcher knife. "I knew from when I was real small that people were going to know who I was," Echols said in 1994. His attorney focused on Misskelley’s confession, which he alleged had been coerced. He was also charged in 1990 for stealing $65,000 in jewelry from a store where he previously worked, and in 1992 for "conspiring to sell cocaine and with carrying a dangerous weapon.". Inconsistencies in Terry Hobbs' alibi, as well as revelations about subsequent violent acts, have also led many to believe that he may be the actual killer. [36] The court sentenced Echols to death and Baldwin to life in prison.[3]. Now, I see they can. "... (Detective Allen) told me if I knew anything, that there was a $35,000 reward, and if I could help them out, we'd get the money," said Misskelley, as quoted by Mara Leveritt in Devil's Knot. Having once been adamant on the West Memphis Three's guilt, he accepted their innocence and, instead, pointed the finger at Terry Hobbs, Steve's stepfather. WM3 Case - Links. In his efforts to win a new trial, Echols, 27 at the time of the appeal, claimed he was incompetent to stand trial because of a history of mental illness. Police refused an unsolicited offer of aid and consultation from the violent crimes experts of the Arkansas State Police, and critics suggested this was due to the WMPD's being under investigation by the Arkansas State Police for suspected theft from the Crittenden County drug task force. Christopher Byers was born to Melissa DeFir and Ricky Murray. [70], John E. Douglas, a former longtime FBI agent and current criminal profiler, said that the murders were more indicative of a single murderer intent on degrading and punishing the victims, than of a trio of "unsophisticated" teenagers. 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