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John Mark Byers, stepfather of Chris Byers and initially the subject of considerable suspicion himself, is shown calling Terry Hobbs a "baby killer" outside an Arkansas courtroom. They did not kill my son.. WebSeason 1 Episode 1 Preview: Host and investigator Bob Ruff explores the flaws from the original ""West Memphis Three"" case to lay the groundwork for his evidence-driven investigation. With the evidence mounting that all three accused had been innocent, the deal ensured that Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley would never be allowed to pursue civil action against the state of Arkansas for wrongful imprisonment. Morgan and Holland left town on May 10 and headed to Oceanside in California, their departure shocking many who knew them. Police on the case felt that there were cult-like and satanic overtones to the murders. His mother told him to be home by 4:45 p.m., and the two set off around 3:40 p.m. "But I didn't wear hats back then; my hair could have blown around anywhere.". Suspicion toward John Mark Byers would only increase when the bite marks on Steve Branch's forehead were discovered. On May 5, 1993, Branch was at home with his mother, Pamela Hobbs, and shortly after the end of school, Moore rode over on his bike and asked if his friend could take a ride with him. John Mark Byers, stepfather of Chris Byers and initially the subject of considerable suspicion himself, is shown calling Terry Hobbs a "baby killer" outside an Arkansas courtroom. The first of that evidence emerged during the filming of HBO's 1996 documentary on the case: 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills.'. In statements under oath, the three witnesses say that Michael Hobbs told them, "My uncle killed three boys in West Memphis." A subsequent search quickly found the bodies of Branch, Byers and While Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley may have begun to rebuild their lives, there is still no solace or closure for the families of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. However, during his time at the station, Aaron mentioned that his three friends had been killed at "the playhouse.". Echols, by most accounts, didn't even consider himself one. To this day, it is still unclear who is responsible for the brutal murders, and in hopes of uncovering new potential leads, investigative podcaster Bob Ruff reexamined the case in The Forgotten West Memphis Three, streaming now on Oxygen. Who Is The Real Killer Behind The 'West Memphis Three' Murders? Their clothing was found in the same creek, and some of it had been twisted around sticks that had been fixed into the muddy ditch bed. Some believe the police immediately thought there was some level of occult involvement in the triple homicide, yet this isn't the case. On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. The child claimed they were committed by Spanish-speaking Satanists. To understand the story of the West Memphis Three, it's important to remember the cultural atmosphere that was prevalent throughout America in the mid-1990s. He has devoted himself to writing, music and art. eventAction: 'click_adunit' eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. Standing 6-feet-5-inches tall and weighing 238 pounds, Byers was an imposing and threatening presence. Advances in DNA testing allowed forensics to be utilized on hairs found at the scene, with none again matching for the three imprisoned men. Judge David Burnett, the original trial judge, disallowed the presentation of the new information in his court in 2008, citing the DNA tests as inconclusive. However, once again, Misskelley claimed Baldwin pulled out a knife, despite the evidence presented by experts that no knife had ever been used. All three boys were naked and hogtied using their shoelaces, each ankle tied with a wrist behind their backs. Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers were only 8 years old when they viciously murdered in 1993. and "Do you know who killed those three boys?". In statements under oath, the three witnesses say that Michael Hobbs told them, "My uncle killed three boys in West Memphis." In 2010, the West Memphis Three were granted to appear before the Arkansas Supreme Court based on the new DNA evidence and potential misconduct by the jury. Kara Goldfarb is a writer living in New York City. Based on the way the boys were tied up hands bound on either side of the body to the same side ankle Clemente theorized the suspect is somebody who works with animal carcasses, a butcher or a hunter., [T]he ligatures are not restraining ligatures. LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas After three years of fighting to get new evidence tested for DNA, the state is saying the West Memphis Three petition should be tossed out. Echols unwisely began to tell the fanatical Driver tall tales about local cults and animal sacrifices when Driver became his parole officer, telling him that he followed Wicca. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! During the weeks that followed, law enforcement would only state that Echols was a source of information, not officially designating him a suspect despite looking at him more than anyone else. The Story Of The West Memphis Teens Wrongfully Imprisoned 18 Years For Satanic Murder. When three boys turn up murdered, a small town is desperate to find the killer. Attorney General Griffin expects Echols' legal team to refile in Craighead County, but he said that it won't make a difference in the long run. Byers had been a step-father to Christopher Byers, who along with his two eight-year-old friends Michael Moore and Steve Branch, had been killed in West Memphis on May 5, 1993, and whose murders remain unsolved to this day, almost three decades later. To learn more about the case, watch The Forgotten West Memphis Three" now on Oxygen. WebWest Memphis Three, three American men who in 1994, while teenagers, were found guilty of murdering three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, allegedly as part of devil worship. One of those people would be Pamela Hobbs. Residents talked of strange smells in the woods, painted children, and even alleged to have seen a baby sacrificed. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Into this misunderstanding step Damien Echols, 18, Jessie Misskelley Jr., 17, and Jason Baldwin, 16. ga('ads.send', { The hair would tie in with a reported sighting of a "disoriented" man on the night of the boys' disappearance. They would have been local and have a violent history, be familiar with the victims, and were engaging in a personal cause when they killed the boys. I believe there was an incident of over-disciplining one of the boys. They were 17, 16, and 18 years old respectively. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Local community members also rallied in support of the three, believing that their initial trial was unfair and handled incorrectly. Yet Misskelley kept talking, confessing again on Feb. 4. Speaking about Echols to The New York Times in 1993, high school teacher Jim Ferguson said, "he's like some wacko cult member.". While he was on medication that may have affected the outcome, including Xanax, it seems that his suspected involvement in the killings was a complete dead end. During the trial, Echols blew kisses to the victim's family, a sign taken by many as a sure sign of guilt. } To this day, it is still unclear who is responsible for the brutal murders, and in hopes of uncovering new potential leads, investigative podcaster Bob Ruff reexamined the case in . "We feel strongly that we are in the right. Echols, one of the West Memphis Three, and his legal team have hit another obstacle as they try to get the court's permission to test newly found evidence for DNA. They were released on Aug. 19, 2011. She was unable to say where this meeting was or who else was present. Many pointed to the irony in that insult, since Byers himself was considered by many to be complicit in not just the boys' murder, and the death of his second wife as well, who had passed away three years after her son's killing. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Branch had 21 particular wounds, including a large gouge to the left side of his face, with Byers having 62 differing injuries. Both Echols and Misskelley had dropped out of high school, while Baldwin continued to achieve high grades, making the pair something of an odd couple, known for their involvement in petty crimes such as vandalism. "We are planning to move ahead and test this evidence using the latest DNA technology available to hopefully identify the real killer(s) of the three children in 1993, and exonerate Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelley.". Whose blood was on the knife was uncertain as it matched both Byers and the victim, both having the same HLA-DQ genotype. An investigation of the murders looked into several suspects, including the stepfather of Steve Branch as well as two teenage boys who had abruptly fled to California shortly after the bodies were discovered. The West Memphis Three are Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., whoas teenagerswere convicted in 1994 of triple murder in West Memphis (Crittenden County). pg.acq.push(function() { After 18 years behind bars, they were freed. Devastating Photos Of Hiroshima Before And After The Atomic Bombing That Changed History Forever, Jury Finds Man Guilty Of Teaching Pug Nazi Salute [VIDEO], What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, black Americans are wrongfully convicted at a far greater rate, woman who was convicted for locking her deaf sister in a room for seven years. Echols interest in the occult as an outlet led him to Wicca, and he was a reader of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and English occultist Aleister Crowley. Watch: Man connected to 'West Memphis Three' learns evidence connected to the case is missing By Dominique Dillon, FOX13memphis.com July 08, 2021 at 5:53 pm CDT WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. eventAction: 'render' Clemente pointed out that the killer took his time to conceal the boys' bodies, clothing, and bikes. One such suspect was none other than Byers. That's mostly during the teenage years.". window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} Public opinion against him would only grow more robust when the testimony of Aaron Hutcheson was leaked to the press. "We are pleased that the evidence is intact," Benca said, according to WREG. They drew pentagrams, skulls, and snakes on art materials and surprised those at a football game by arriving dressed in black with black tears painted on their faces. eventAction: 'view' Tape recorded, Misskelley would claim that "When the boys came up, Damien grabbed one of them, I don't know which one and the other two tried to get Damien to stop, and then me and Jason come out and started grabbing them, started hitting them." Steve Edward Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore were all good kids. Grandmother with dementia died from face wound neglected by staff for days. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. The deal is a plea whereby a defendant maintains their innocence but recognizes that the evidence presented would be enough to convict them. We are one of the worlds fastest growing But in the process, the West Memphis Three get blamed for the crime they didn't commit. Meanwhile, Byers himself had a long history of drug use and violent criminal behavior, including domestic violence and threats to kill.