There's absolutely no indication of that in this case. Prosecutors would only give up harassing Misskelley for his testimony when I threatened to hold a press conference and disclose their efforts to entice his testimony." 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. New evidence immediately began to come to light that cast even further doubts on the already shaky judgment and presented new and surprising suspects. } 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. After 3 years of fighting to get new evidence tested for DNA, the state says the WM3 petition should be tossed out and now, the attorneys are responding in court. Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were accused of killing three eight-year-old boys: Chris Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore. Byers had a long history of run-ins with the law and been accused of multiple violent crimes. It wouldn't be the only evidence that linked Hobbs to the murders, with his wife Pamela finding a knife that her son had carried with him in her husband's nightstand. Equally, Pamela's sister Jo Lynn McCaughey saw Hobbs washing clothes, bed linens, and curtains from Steve's room around the time of the killings. }); During part two of the documentary special, Ruff sat down with retired FBI Supervisory Agent Jim Clemente, who created a suspect profile to help narrow down the possible suspect pool. These three would come to be known as the West Memphis Three. All three were charged and accused of committing a Satanic murder. One of those people would be Pamela Hobbs. He suffered from "grandiose and persecutory delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, disordered thought processes, substantial lack of insight, and chronic, incapacitating mood swings." An attorney involved in the West Memphis Three case, in which three teenagers were convicted of killing three boys in 1993, is claiming that evidence related to the case that was believed to be lost or destroyed has been located at the West Memphis Police Department, local CBS affiliate WREG reported.Attorney Patrick Benca, who represents Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. While Morgan, Holland and "Mr. Bojangles" already seem to have more against them than Echols, the police were now focusing solely on the one angle and one suspect, getting Vicki Hutcheson to agree to have her home wired. reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. The West Memphis Three were charged with the murder of three boys in 1994. In statements under oath, the three witnesses say that Michael Hobbs told them, "My uncle killed three boys in West Memphis." He kept a calendar of the lunar cycle so he and Jones could patrol the county and check for covens. He has now resigned, and we know that none of the evidence was destroyed. If the offender came across the boys as they were doing something wrong or misbehaving, it would have been even easier to control and reprimand them, said Clemente. The friends rode over to Bobby Posey's house, where they learned Christopher had been whipped by his adoptive father, John Mark Byers, and planned to run away. They were mutilated and bruised, and their clothes were in the nearby creek. Police almost immediately turned their attention to Baldwin, Echols and Misskelley and suspected them of killing the boys. Efforts to release the West Memphis Three would be aided in 2003 when Vicki Hutcheson ultimately recanted her testimony, telling the "Arkansas Times" that everything she told police was a lie. However, the matter was sent to appeal, and Burnett was elected to the Arkansas State Senate, with his replacement being David Laser. Prosecutors argued that the three teenagers, with Echols as the lead, committed the murders as part of a satanic ritual. The three men spent nearly 17 years in prison before being released in 2012 after entering an Alford plea, pleading guilty while maintaining their innocence. It was a fact, leading investigators to believe he had inside knowledge of the case. WebThe West Memphis Three were the first people in West Memphis, Arkansas who were accused of murdering the three young boys. 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. Until 2007, when the discovery of new forensic evidence reopened the case and a new statute permitting post-conviction testing of DNA evidence came about. Baldwin would later say that he had been resistant to the plea as a matter of principle, but turning it down would have kept Echols on death row. Then read about the woman who was convicted for locking her deaf sister in a room for seven years. Goths, punks and skaters were in the ascendency, and Middle America was horrified. In many respects, the reaction to these new youth movements was nothing new, with the metal bands of the 1970s and 80s having faced similar condemnation as "the Devil's music." He also theorized that the killer knew the victims because he was able to control three victims without any help.. 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 . Who Is The Real Killer Behind The 'West Memphis Three' Murders? 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 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. The autopsy in full is harrowing reading, with Moore receiving 63 specific wounds, including ten skull fractures. 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." Youtube Mugshots of the West Memphis Three. 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. We will fully comply with any lawful request made regarding this case.". 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. Was there a serial killer still on the loose in Arkansas? Therefore, Misskelley had to be tried alone. Bike found near the "West Memphis Three" crime scene. 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. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. Right on the border of Tennessee, West Memphis was a bible belt city unaccustomed to much publicity. }) The Story Of The West Memphis Teens Wrongfully Imprisoned 18 Years For Satanic Murder. Public opinion against him would only grow more robust when the testimony of Aaron Hutcheson was leaked to the press. ET. He was 62. Terry Hobbs, meanwhile, still believes in the guilt of the West Memphis Three, telling Memphis ABC affiliate WATN in 2019 that "I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols are responsible for what happened to our children.". His behavior as it became apparent Echols, Misskelley, and Baldwin would be cleared of the murders, was questioned as well. Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023, Arkansas Supreme Court chief justice announces departure from WM3 case, West Memphis Three continue fight to get DNA tested. ADVERTISEMENT hitType: 'event', Benca and the West Memphis Police Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Jul. All three were second-grade pupils at Weaver Elementary School, with Branch being an honor student. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ Morgan and Holland left town on May 10 and headed to Oceanside in California, their departure shocking many who knew them. Trinocular Co-Axial 1500x Metallurgical Microscope with Top-Bottom Light with 2MP Camera, Trinocular Microscope with DIN Objective and Camera 40x - 2000x, Junior Medical Microscope with Wide Field Eyepiece & LED 100x - 1500x, Trinocular Inverted Metallurgical Microscope 100x - 1200x, Binocular Inverted Metallurgical Microscope 100x - 1200x. With the new evidence in hand alongside expert testimony that suggested the knife wounds and mutilation had been animal predation, Echols petitioned for a retrial. "We are trying to find the real killers. 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 Autopsies revealed that Byers died of multiple injuries, while the other two boys died of multiple injuries with drowning. An attorney involved in the West Memphis Three case, in which three teenagers were convicted of killing three boys in 1993, is claiming that evidence related to the case that was believed to be lost or destroyed has been located at the West Memphis Police Department, local CBS affiliate WREG reported. The time spent to conceal them could have been skipped completely if there was no known relationship to the victims, Clemente told Ruff. }); Entering a plea of not guilty, Richard Ofshe testified that Misskelley's confession had been a "classic example" of police coercion. The following morning, May 6, a far more thorough search throughout West Memphis began, Crittenden County Search and Rescue personnel leading the effort, including the use of a helicopter. "We are pleased that the evidence is intact," Benca said, according to WREG. Suspicion toward John Mark Byers would only increase when the bite marks on Steve Branch's forehead were discovered. Stating that he was "scared of the police," Misskelley confessed to murder. The use of shoelaces had yet to be revealed to the public, yet Martin was eventually cleared of any involvement. The blade had blood on the hinge, and HBO ordered Berlinger and Sinofsky to hand the knife to West Memphis police. Whose blood was on the knife was uncertain as it matched both Byers and the victim, both having the same HLA-DQ genotype. Attorney Patrick Benca, who represents defendant Damien Echols, wrote in a Wednesday statement that he located evidence from the case after being granted access to the police department through an Arkansas state court order, according to WREG.
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