Two tribute albums, Free The West Memphis 3 (2000) and Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three (2002), helped generate funds for their ongoing legal costs. Hobbs says he hopes the three eventually tell the truth one day and apologize, but until then Hobbs says he has to live with the story that many people believe. us, helping us look for 3 kids.". Morgan had a lengthy history of alcohol and drug abuse and was presumed to be familiar with all three boys as he used to drive an ice cream truck in their neighborhood, and in a polygraph exam, detectives in California determined he was showing deception when he denied involvement in the murders. ga('ads.send', { Police never questioned Terry Hobbs during the original investigation of the crimes, but after new evidence was revealed that his DNA was found at the crime scene in 2007, he was questioned by West Memphis Police Department on June 21, 2007. . Multiple instances of contradictory statements. In 1994 . He was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in February 1994, according to the Los Angeles Times. Jesse Misskelley's Confession Whats known is that three 8-year-old boys Steve "Stevie" Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993. After a motion for the tests to exonerate Echols, Misskelley Jr., and Baldwin was approved in 2004, examiners found a human hair on the shoe of Michael that did not belong to any of the defendants. Residents Jamie Clark Ballard and Carlos Seals were reportedly the last two people to see the boys alive, as reported in Oxygen's "The Forgotten West Memphis Three.". "He would have been a heart breaker if. After about an hour, Pam Hobbs' sister came out and talked. For a start, there's the minimal DNA evidence found at the crime scene. Officer: "Daylight? Posted May 20, 2011 I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols [sic] are responsible for what happened to our children, Hobbs told Memphis ABC affiliate. Morgan had come to the attention of the authorities after they found that he abruptly departed West Memphis for Oceanside, California, just four days after the bodies were discovered. After bringing up the idea the boys may have been playing in some manholes, he quickly tells the officer that he does not know anything about it. Instead, hes decided to be surprised like the rest of us. "He thought he was helping by adding to the story," his attorney Dan Stidham told 48 Hours in 2010, "but he turned himself from a witness to an accomplice. was our couch, that, that picture got tooken. manhole theory. Despite being the parent of one of the murdered boys, he was never officially interviewed by the police at the time the murders took place. They were both found guilty on three counts of capital murder, according to the Arkansas Times. Officer: "David Jacoby. The victim shared a home with Pamela Hobbs, his mother; Terry Hobbs, his stepfather; and Amanda, his half-sister, who was then four years old. Daily Mail Reporter The manuscript was finalized yesterday! "I can't understand why exactly people are glossing over the obvious when it comes to Byers and the death of Melissa Byers and all the things that Byers has said and done since this trial," says Echols from jail. The word "just" is used to minimize things. ga('ads.send', { The one that was alive. Others. The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new evidentiary hearing for Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley in the fall of 2010. He does not finish his second sentence. }); In the middle of a knot that had been tightened, there was hair jammed in the middle of that knot, said a forensic expert in the film. }); Everyone has a story and this just happens to be mine, said Hobbs. In 2007, DNA found at the crime scene was tested. In their quest to clear the names of the "West Memphis Three"Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. who were teenagers when they were convicted for the 1993 killingsthe filmmakers decide that they have found the actual murderer: Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the murdered boys. All these years later, the country is still divided on who murdered those three little boys in Arkansas in 1993. How much is reliant on faulty memories? None of the DNA matched the three teenagers found guilty of committing these murders. Following a series of documentaries that cast doubt on the investigation and law enforcements conclusion, high-profile supporters began to rally behind the imprisoned teens, later dubbed the West Memphis Three.. The police then decided to interview Hobbs. Prosecutor Brent Davis would not comment about the DNA, but did file a report acknowledging that DNA from the West Memphis 3 was not discovered at the crime scene. and Mike, no Stevie and Mike, on each side of him, I think. OF BILLY WAYNE STEWART AND BENNIE GUY A witness said she saw the boys on their bikes around 6:00 p.m. Like Echols, Misskelley was a high school dropout and was known for getting into fistfights and trouble around town, according to The New York Times. Prosecutors then offered the West Memphis Three a plea deal. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Collette By Miss Elaine Vintage Green Terry Cloth Zip Lounge Robe Housecoat at the best online prices at eBay! Officer: "Did you go into the woods before you picked up Pam?" The sneaker ligatures in which Terry Hobbs' DNA was found in," Soury said. Eight-year-olds Stevie, Michael and Christopher were best friends and Cub Scout members who attended Weaver Elementary School, where they were in second grade. The bodies of Stevie, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers, all eight years old, were found naked, tied with their shoelaces and mutilated in a ditch in West Memphis, Arkansas in May 1993. Forensic experts say DNA evidence ties Hobbs to the crime scene and that neighbors saw him with the boys that night. were talking about. The gruesome nature of their murders led investigators to theorize there was a satanic element to it -- something that wasn't too farfetched in the Bible Belt considering 'Satanic Panic' was still making the rounds back then -- and zero in on Echols, Misskelley Jr., and Baldwin, mischief-makers with an unruly reputation that preceded them. Terry Hobbs is 51 years old and was born on 03/13/1971. Anybody else?" The most significant specimen was a hair found in one of the shoelaces used to tie up the dead boys. eventAction: 'click_adunit' Crime and poverty rates are significantly higher than the national average and the Bible Belt city ranked as the most the most dangerous in the state in 2018, reported, Residents Jamie Clark Ballard and Carlos Seals were reportedly the last two people to see the boys alive, as, John Mark Byers, Christophers stepfather, reported the boys missing to the West Memphis Police Department at approximately 8 p.m., reported local newspaper the, The following day, authorities launched an extensive search for the boys where they were last seen playing a wooded area off Interstate 40 known as Robin Hood Hills.. (Source: News Channel 3) Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were detained as suspects in the murder. "I was out looking until 4:30 a.m. Jessica drove. Gave this away the day before his house was searched. I also guarantee that after printing, there will still be typographical or grammatical errors that I/we missed. Hobbs was charged with assault and criminal trespass. The following year, lawyers working for the West Memphis Three presented the new DNA tests, which showed no link between them and the 1993 murders, according to the Arkansas Times. This is not a theory of who did this, this is evidence, said an attorney. Do you wish you had a different story? asked Hall. The second-graders' bodies were found bruised and mutilated in a West Memphis, Arkansas, ditch; . talking about." Just this March, lawyers for Hobbs ex-wife, Pam Hicks, and the father of another victim, Mark Byers, paint a more detailed picture: that Hobbs killed the boys with three other men after a day of drinking and smoking pot. hitType: 'event', People can say whatever they want to say. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. The boys had been stripped naked and they had been hog-tied. Both Terry and Vicky will be in attendance. While there was a startling lack of physical evidence, a combination of a coerced confession and the prosecution painting them out to be pantomime villains via their haircuts and brooding dressing styles to a conservative jury doomed them. But it was the testimony of Misskelley, who was brought in for questioning on June 3, 1993, that led to the teenagers' arrests. This is very suspicious. "It'stheir job to do what they do.". And in publicly making the case against him, they perpetrate a similar sort of injustice to the one they originally set out to correct: relying on questionable evidence to prosecute in the court of public opinion. The DNA was consistent with only 1.5 percent of the population, but it matched Hobbs's. Two private investigators looking into the case on their behalf eventually turned their sights on Terry Hobbs, Steve's stepfather, because his story did not add up -- he had claimed that he had begun searching for the boys at 6 pm on the day they had disappeared when in reality, they had only been reported missing at 9 pm. Another hair found on a tree stump near the crime scene was found to be consistent with the DNA of David Jacoby, a friend of Hobbs, according to court documents. Details below! was found at the crime scene. He said that one of the boys had likely been mutilated more than others, raising suspicion because, "at the time Echols made the statement, there was no public knowledge that one of the children had been mutilated more severely than the others.". Terry Hobbs: "I know I seen umm a picture, and I don't know if this means anything. hitType: 'event', let gads_event; That was you know, help calling, While the Arkansas State and U.S. Supreme Courts repeatedly denied the West Memphis Threes appeals, a new batch of DNA testing done in 2007 showed that no genetic material on the crime scene evidence was a match to Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. ), The tale of three metal-loving misfits who may have been scapegoated for being different resonated with many, including several prominent musicians, celebrities and activists, including Johnny Depp and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Terroristic threats against ex-wife. Other evidence is even more circumstantial. Davis said he believes the West Memphis 3 are guilty,but he has agreed to allow thedefenseto do more DNA testing. }); Despite this evidence, no charges have ever been brought against Hobbs, who still firmly believes that Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley are guilty of the . In Jackson's mind, the courts have already failed. eventAction: 'view' },false) 16:05, 29 Mar 2013. There should be a time when you draw the line and you say you don`t cross this line and its been crossed, said Hobbs. from North Wall inside women's Jason Baldwin and Damien Echels of "West of Memphis" arrive on the red carpet at the Cinema Vanguard Award Tribute to Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo held at the Arlington Theater on February 4, 2012 in Santa Barbara, California. They were not reported missing until later that evening. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Or did you just hear Terry Hobbs: (Nods yes) The witness said he contacted the West Memphis police to tell them what he had learned but no one ever returned his call. Until recently, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were the ones who got the bad rap in this complicated and confounding case. You can get your copy Here. Hobbs says he has considered contacting the makers of the Devils Knot, the movie coming out this year, to find out if they are portraying him as a bad guy. Sadler is then allowed to claim that Hobbs would make Stevie watch him masturbate, and that he also molested Stevie's sister, Amanda. Later in this portion of his interview he would estimate there were "20 to 40" people searching. Is this mixture of facts, conjecture, and speculation enough to prove Hobbs guilty? Thursday, Hobbs told Action News 5 he didn't do it. So you didn`t even see them that day at all? asked Hall. However, Jacoby can't seem to recall the exact sequence of events that nightperhaps understandably, given that it took place 18 years ago. A neighbor once accused him of attacking her. Possesses many knives. might be pertinent, or, or have some value uhh to this case at all. Hobbs says he is a victim in the story and has even tried to file lawsuits against those whove said otherwise but says, because hes seen as a public figure, lawyers tell him that he doesnt have a case. To this day, it inspires fierce debate and accusations of guilt, while the facts and evidence remain contested. some of the people that was there and check, but I don't know what they's Contradictory explanations as to why his search focused near the discovery woods. He then picked Pam back up eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Echols friend, Jason Baldwin, 16, was subsequently wrapped up in the investigation, and a third teenager, Jessie Misskelley Jr., 17, also came under scrutiny. Officer: "You said that uhh. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr.were arrested and convicted for the crimes, despite a majority of the evidence being circumstantial. At one point, the filmmakers attempt to construct a motive for the crime. I think uhh, that little Byers boy. He moved away to live with his daughter and son-in-law, Jessica and David Combs, in Macclenny when Hurricane Michael hit last October. might forward to the prosecuting attorney if, if necessary, ummm," This thing will beat you down if you let it and I chose not to let it control my life., Hobbs says his ex-wife knows he is innocent, She knows better., But says Hicks, as well Byers, are wrapped-up in a story thats turned into an industry, To me, they`ve all tried to capitalize and they have turned our tragedy into a money making business ., He says that business, and Hollywood hype, has set the real killers free, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley. Hair containing DNA consistent with Hobbs' was found on one of the shoelaces . A different neighbor recalled seeing Hobbs with the three boys soon before they disappeared on the night of the murders, even though Hobbs denies it. He then goes on to tell the officer about something that he did not see but only heard about. To this day, it is still unclear who is responsible for the killings. A 1996 appeal filed by Echols and Baldwin states that the boys' clothing and bicycles had been found strewn around the crime scene. Reese Witherspoon, laughed Hobbs. The story of Echols, Misskelley Jr., and Baldwin, as well as the gruesome murders and trial that followed, was chronicled in a three-hour special, 'The West Memphis Three: An ID Murder Mystery,' that premiered on Investigation Discovery on Sunday, April 5 at 9/8 c. 'Stop it!' The ensuing manhunt, trials, and convictions captivated the small town and drew big-time media attention. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { West Memphis police believe the killers to be three teenagers in a satanic cult: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of eight-year-old victim Stevie Branch, has been named in documents released in Marian, Arkansas by the attorneys for Pam Hobbs, Stevie's mother. Thursday, Hobbstold Action News 5 he didn't do it. The DNA results also revealed, according to court documents, that most of the DNA at the crime scene came from the victims, but some of it cannot be connected to the victims or the defendants. Baldwin was given life without parole, while Echols was sentenced to death by lethal injection. In 1993, such . ", The officer saw that earlier Hobbs contradicted himself so he now asked for clarification about whether he saw or heard about the picture. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Damien Echols, along with friends Jason Baldwin and Jesse Misskelly, were convicted of murder in 1994, in connection with the murders of Chris Byers, Michael Moore, and Steven. kevin ryan covenant house salary, irony in the importance of being earnest act 1, where is deca nationals 2022,