Benca and the West Memphis Police Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. and "Do you know who killed those three boys?". Who killed Stevie 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. Entering a plea of not guilty, Richard Ofshe testified that Misskelley's confession had been a "classic example" of police coercion. The use of shoelaces had yet to be revealed to the public, yet Martin was eventually cleared of any involvement. While his repeated confessions may seem incriminating, Lawyer Dan Stidman would say in a 1999 letter to the court that "Absolutely nothing Misskelley told the officers or prosecutors would ever be admissible against him. He was 62. However, he was far from the only person of intense interest with two other teenagers, Chris Morgan and Brian Holland, attracting early interest. 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. However, a hair "not inconsistent with" Steve Branch's stepfather, Terry Hobbs, was found, and crucially it was tied into the knots of the bindings that had hogtied one of the children. While the three, better known as the West Memphis Three, entered an Alford plea and are therefore not innocent in the eyes of the law, DNA evidence suggests someone else is responsible for the 1993 murders of James Michael Moore, Stephen Branch, and Christopher Byers. The plea deal was accepted. Whether justice has been done in the case of the West Memphis Three depends on entirely who you ask. Explaining why the test may have indicated this, Martin suggested he believed "the father of Steve Branch killed the boys" and that he suspected shoelaces would have been used to tie up the victims, as "logic tells him that the killer would use something already there." Writing under penalty of perjury to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Pamela would say that he ex-husband kept dentures in a lock-box. Increasingly alarmed, searchers saw a black shoe floating in a muddy creek that afternoon. Who Is The Real Killer Behind The 'West Memphis Three' Murders? Christopher Byers' father, Rick Murray, was one of the early voices to speak out against the West Memphis Three's convictions, with Pamela Hobbs perhaps becoming the most vocal. Before the case could again reach the courts, Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were allowed to enter Alford plea deals. Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were accused of killing three eight-year-old boys: Chris Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore. Echols was generally seen as the dominant personality where Baldwin was concerned. Some believe the police immediately thought there was some level of occult involvement in the triple homicide, yet this isn't the case. ga('ads.send', { It became humiliating, something I'd do everything I could to hide from the rest of the world. 1:53 Digital Original Motivations For Investigating The West Memphis Case 1:05 Preview Youtube Mugshots of the West Memphis Three. Who killed Stevie The Story Of The West Memphis Teens Wrongfully Imprisoned 18 Years For Satanic Murder. In 2000, Berlinger and Sinofsky would produce "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations," a sequel to their 1996 film. He had an extensive collection of animal skulls, including dogs and cats and local rumors said that he had killed a dog, while no evidence was ever provided. Police on the case felt that there were cult-like and satanic overtones to the murders. The DNA of these three children is likely in that evidence," said Lonnie Soury, a member of Damien Echols' legal team. The police were called, but he had left by the time they arrived, and nobody from law enforcement entered the bathroom until the next day after the discovery of the bodies. Kara Goldfarb is a writer living in New York City. Hutcheson was accused of settling from her employer and forced to bring her young son, Aaron Hutcheson, to the interview. ADVERTISEMENT They were 17, 16, and 18 years old respectively. All three spent most of their days as any other mid-1990s teenagers - listening to rock music, watching pro wrestling on television, and either poking around under the hood of a car or simply hanging out and causing trouble. Example video title will go here for this video. Attempting to shelter from a storm, the two broke into a trailer and were charged with burglary and sexual misconduct. However, during his time at the station, Aaron mentioned that his three friends had been killed at "the playhouse.". }); 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. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ He admitted the crime on June 3, June 11 and Aug. 19 and implicated others. Whose blood was on the knife was uncertain as it matched both Byers and the victim, both having the same HLA-DQ genotype. Then, after determining the boys final movements, Bob meets with a DNA expert to discuss new technology that might break the case wide open. While the three, better known as the West Memphis Three, entered an Alford plea and are therefore not innocent in the eyes of the law, DNA evidence suggests someone else is responsible for the 1993 murders of James Michael Moore, Stephen Branch, and Christopher Byers. Standing 6-feet-5-inches tall and weighing 238 pounds, Byers was an imposing and threatening presence. At one point, he told locals he obtained superpowers from consuming human blood and was often seen to have sharpened his fingernails and drawn deliberately provocative tattoos on himself. Talking with police and his lawyer present in the room, he would ignore advice from his counsel to remain silent and detailed how the West Memphis Three had abused and murdered the victims. 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). }); "I want to live and to continue to fight for our innocence. It is easy for many to look at the South as hillbilly central, full of prejudice and backward attitudes, with somewhat elitist attitudes often prevalent when discussing the case. On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. No ritual paraphernalia or markings were found at the scene, and many in the police believed those responsible had been sexual predators or strangers from outside the town. If they thought they could trust the person who was the actual threat, then that person could get close enough to them to control them so that they couldn't run away," he told Ruff. By Benjamin H. Smith Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? Both had histories of drug offenses, and Morgan claimed to police he suffered from memory loss and blackouts, stating he "might have" killed the three boys. He took one of them I don't know which one cut him on I think it was on this side of his face.". Prosecutors in the case argued that Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley had killed three boys the prior year as part of Satanic rituals. How seriously anyone took the Mulder and Scully of West Memphis is uncertain, but they certainly took Echols seriously. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. If the judge makes the decision to deny the state's request for dismissal, then Attorney General Tim Griffin will get a chance to respond to that decision. The state of Arkansas was hoping to do like they do in so many other cases with poor people, with people who are powerless to defend themselves. Public opinion against him would only grow more robust when the testimony of Aaron Hutcheson was leaked to the press. There was circumstantial evidence to suggest Byers knew more than he let on. Neighbors would recall that the abuse suffered by the boy was horrific, describing the whippings as a regular occurrence. Quoted by WMC-TV in 2013, Jacoby said, "They said close to the crime scene because at one time I did walk near where they had found the kids with Terry Hobbs, his father-in-law, his wife," adding. Who killed Stevie Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Steve Edward Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore were all good kids. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ }); 'West Memphis Three' case: John Byers, suspect and stepfather of one of the slain boys, dies in car crash. His behavior as it became apparent Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin would be cleared of the murders, was questioned as well. A prime example of the issues with the confession was that Misskelley was giving false information that was believed accurate by police at the time, stating that he saw Echols and Baldwin go into the woods with the three boys and rape them. "He had to spend this time because if he didn't, he would get caught. This is where the calluses on a man's hand are bigger than his conscience, and dreams get drowned in sweat and tears.". People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. All three appealed the convictions. Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? 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. Moore. 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. Eventually, three local teenagers, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin, were zeroed in on as the prime suspects. 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