Podcast appearances and mentions of jessie misskelley jr

Join us while we provide updates on some of the cases we've already covered. We'll touch on the previously discussed disappearances of Taylor Johnson, Daniel Robinson, and Kimberly Avila as well as updates for the Cecil Hotel and Lake Lanier. We will also provide updates for the death of Dr. John Forsyth and the unsolved murders of both Mercedes Vega and Brian Egg.Additionally, there are updates relating to the investigation against Anthony Robinson, who has been dubbed the Shopping Cart Killer. We will also talk about Robin Murphy, who pled guilty in relation to the murder Karen Marsden. There was an important court win for Damien Echols of the West Memphis 3, who is seeking justice for three young boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers. Echols, along with Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin were suspected of murdering the young boy and spent 18 years in prison in relation to the crimes. If you have information relating to Mercedes Vega's murder, please reach out to the Silent Witness line at 480-WITNESS (for English) or 480-TESTIGO (for Spanish).If you have information on any of the missing persons cases we've covered, please reach out to the number listed on the missing person's flyer (see below as well).Kimberly Avila - (956)548-7060Printable Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K-gqrvg8l27KLjF1IzoRU3hjBGoEG-8L/view?usp=drive_linkTaylor Johnson - (410) 307-2020Printable Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12ULtRflRARcZD9XVBDENlU_746Ai2GvD/view?usp=drive_linkDaniel Robinson - (803) 200-7994 Printable Flyers: https://cdn.pleasehelpfinddaniel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/400910-David-Robinson-help_find-1UP-wBleeds-1.pdfhttps://pleasehelpfinddaniel.com/You can view printable missing persons flyers at: www.truecreeps.com/missingEpisodes introducing today's casesEpisode # 179 - The Unsolved Murder of Mercedes VegaEpisode # 145 - True Crime Digest 16 (includes case introduction for the suspicious death of Dr. John Forsyth)Episode # 118 - The Bizarre Murder of Brian EggEpisode # 102 - The Murders of Barbara Raposa, Karen Marsden, & Doreen Levesque (Fall River Cult Killings): Bridgewater Triangle & Satanic PanicEpisode #85 - Satanic Panic Injustice: The Murders of Steven Branch, Christopher Byers & Michael Moore and the West Memphis Three (Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley, & Damien Echols)Episode # 72 - The Disappearance of Daniel Robinson Episode # 93 - Lake LanierEpisode # 19 - Hotels That Kill: Cecil Hotel, H.H. Holmes' Castle, & Hotel San CarlosJoin our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/449439969638764A special thank you to our jam thief, Mary Quiton!https://www.patreon.com/truecreepshttps://www.truecreeps.com/shop

Ian Totten - West Memphis 3November 20A bestselling author of dark fiction, a ghostwriter, and true crime podcaster, Ian Totten is an all around strange dude with a passion for the disturbing and macabre, off color jokes, and amateur investigations. His work has been seen on CBS, and can be found anyplace books are sold.The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men.In July 2007, new forensic evidence was presented. A report jointly issued by the state and the defense team stated, "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants."Following a 2010 decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding newly produced DNA evidence and potential juror misconduct, the West Memphis Three negotiated a plea bargain with prosecutors. On August 19, 2011, they entered Alford pleas, which allowed them to assert their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them. Judge David Laser accepted the pleas and sentenced the three to time served. They were released with 10-year suspended sentences, having served 18 years.WebsiteYoutubeThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

On February 8th, 1994 Jessie Misskelley Jr, convicted of multiple murders, gave a confession to his lawyer while his hand was on a Bible. This week we dive deep into what occurred and was said.Join the Coffee ClubFacebookPatreonPlease check out this weeks sponsors:BlendJet 2:Use my special link https://zen.ai/deathcast to save 12% at blendjet.com. The discount will be applied at checkoutChinese Teacher Jessica: https://tinyurl.com/tcjessicaThe Deathcast is a production of Corpse Creek Publishing and Big Pond Podcasts#truecrime #TheDeathcast #Truecrimepodcast #WESTMEMPHISTHREE #WM3

This week we look at June 3rd, 1993, the day Jessie Misskelley Jr. confessed to the West Memphis Police Department and sealed the fate of his coconspirators.Join the Coffee ClubFacebookPatreonPlease check out this weeks sponsors:BlendJet 2:Use my special link https://zen.ai/deathcast to save 12% at blendjet.com. The discount will be applied at checkoutChinese Teacher Jessica: https://tinyurl.com/tcjessicaThe Deathcast is a production of Corpse Creek Publishing and Big Pond Podcasts#truecrime #TheDeathcast #Truecrimepodcast #WESTMEMPHISTHREE #WM3Show less

In the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, three young men found themselves entangled in a harrowing tale that would forever alter their lives. It was 1993 when the lives of three innocent boys were tragically cut short, and the blame fell upon the shoulders of the West Memphis Three. Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin, mere teenagers at the time, were convicted in 1994 for the heinous murders.The weight of justice bore down heavily upon them, as Damien Echols faced the most severe punishment - a sentence of death. Jessie Misskelley Jr. was condemned to a lifetime behind bars, with two additional 20-year sentences, while Jason Baldwin was sentenced to spend the rest of his days imprisoned.Throughout the trial, the prosecution painted a chilling picture, alleging that these young individuals had committed the unspeakable acts as part of a Satanic ritual. The courtroom was filled with whispers of dark forces and sinister intentions, casting a shadow of doubt over the accused.However, beneath the surface of this haunting narrative, questions lingered. Doubts began to emerge, challenging the very foundation upon which the convictions were built. The community, once gripped by fear and anger, now found themselves questioning the validity of the evidence presented.As time passed, the truth began to reveal itself, like rays of sunlight piercing through the darkest of clouds. The West Memphis Three, once seen as the embodiment of evil, became symbols of a flawed justice system. Advocates rallied behind them, tirelessly seeking justice and demanding a reevaluation of the case.Support Our SponsorsVisit 4 Patriots Use Promo Code SASQUATCH for 10% off your first purchase!Sasquatch Odyssey Is Sponsored By BetterHelpVisit HelloFresh Now For Your 16 Free Meals!Get Dave Here!Visit Hangar1 PublishingSupport The Showhttps://www.patreon.com/paranormalworldproductionsShow Website And Bloghttps://paranormalworldproductions.comAll The Socials And Stuff/Contact Brianhttps://linktr.ee/ParanormalWorldProductionsbrian@paranormalworldproductions.com Follow The Show On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeodysseyThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5309458/advertisement

Episode 25 The West Memphis ThreeIn this episode, the team is joined by Bob Ruff of the Truth and Justice Podcast to explore one of the biggest unsolved cases in the true crime world; The West Memphis Three.On May 5, 1993, Eight year olds Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch went out on their bikes in West Memphis, Arkansas, and didn't come home. A search led to the discovery of their bodies in a creek area known as Robin Hood Hills. All 3 had been murdered; the victims of blunt force trauma, and drowning. They were nude, and bound, and it appeared to investigators that at least one of them had been mutilated. In an era of 'Satanic Panic', police quickly focused their attention on 3 local young men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. They apparently were suspected because of their goth like appearance, and because they believed that that at least one of them, Damien Echols, was a Satanist. With no physical evidence connecting any of the 3 men to the crimes, it was a false confession, and lying witnesses that led to them being convicted for the murders. The 3 men served 18 years in prison before being released after the trio signed Alford Pleas in which they maintained their innocence but acknowledged that prosecutors have evidence to convict them. As part of a plea deal, they were given time served as their sentences.Now that the 3 are out of prison, they maintain their innocence, and want their names cleared once and for all, and for the real killer to be brought to justice. They have pushed to have physical evidence in the case tested for DNA that might clear them, but the state has refused to allow that to happen.30 years later, the case remains at a stand still. Did the police arrest the right men, or did the real killer get away with the brutal murders of 3 little boys? In this episode, the team sifts thru the details and evidence in the case, to figure out what happened, and who might be responsible. Bob Ruff worked on the documentary The Forgotten West Memphis Three that focuses on this case, and he shared his expertise and insights with the team.To find out how to join us live as we record each new episode of Citizen Detective, follow us on Social Media.Twitter- https://twitter.com/CitizenDPodFacebook Home Page- https://www.facebook.com/CitizenDetectivePodcastFacebook Discussion group- https://www.facebook.com/groups/233261280919915Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/citizendpod/?hl=enYoutube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSgvqIuf4-sEF2aDdNGip2wVisit our homepage: Citizendetectivepodcast.comTo support this podcast on Patreon and gain access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and our after-show 'The Scrum' visit Patreon.com/CitizenDetective Continue the conversation about this case with fellow Citizen Detectives over at Websleuths: https://www.websleuths.com/forums/forums/citizen-detective-true-crime-podcast.719/The Citizen Detective team includes:Co-Hosts- Mike Morford, Alex Ralph, and Dr. Lee MellorWriting and Research- Alex RalphTechnical Producer- Andrew GrayProduction Assistant- Ashley MonroeSuzanna Ryan- DNA ExpertCloyd Steiger- Retired Seattle PD Homicide DetectiveThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4610024/advertisement

Check out my brand new UFO podcast here: THEY'RE OUT THERE The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin sentenced to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. #crimehub #truecrime #truecrimestories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin sentenced to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. #crimehub #truecrime #truecrimestories Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Episode Is Sponsored By @thedizzlebrand & @heavenspantry This Episode In The BreakRoom We Will Be Discussing The Case Of The Wrst Memphis 3... The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. So Come Join Us As We Take A Deep Dive Into The Horrific Murders Of These 3 Young Boys And How The Killer May Still Be Out There ... As Always If You Miss This Live Veiwing You Can Catch It In The Archives Wherever You Listen To Podcasts So Visit The Website And Subscribe For Immediate Talking Junk Network Updates For All TJN Shows... www.talkingjunknetwork.com #westmemphis #truecrime #truecrimepodcast #westmemphisthree #damienechols #jessiemisskelley #satanicpanic #paradiselost #jasonbaldwin #strictlyhomicide #strictlyhomicidepodcast #moviereviews #unresolved #moviereviewer #truecrimemovie #reesewitherspoon #colinfirth #unresolvedpodcast #thebreakroom #terryhobbsisguilty #terryhobbs #westofmemphis #westmemphisarkansas #devilsknot #truecrimemovieclub #terryhobbsdonedidit #crime #bestfriendpodcast #talkingjunknetwork #googlepodcast See less

This episode we talk about: The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men. In July 2007, new forensic evidence was presented. A report jointly issued by the state and the defense team stated, "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants." Following a 2010 decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court regarding newly produced DNA evidence and potential juror misconduct, the West Memphis Three negotiated a plea bargain with prosecutors. On August 19, 2011, they entered Alford pleas, which allowed them to assert their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them. Judge David Laser accepted the pleas and sentenced the three to time served. They were released with 10-year suspended sentences, having served 18 years. If you liked what you heard from this episode and want to support us. Sign up for our patreon at https://www.patreon.com/dontblameus there you can get behind the scene footage of our not so clean for regular radio content. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dont-blame-us/support

The West Memphis Three is a group of men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment... OR WERE THEY? Be sure to send your case suggestions to thechocolatemilkpod@gmail.com and follow us on social media @thechocolatepod! Toodles BBs! 

Welcome back to episode 23 of the Totally Innocent Podcast! This week we take a look at the case of the west memphis three! This topic is quite mixed in terms of podcasts, a lot of people seem to complain that podcasters that cover this topic are extremely bias and always end up leaning one way. There is a reason for that. The way this case was handled was terrible and showed nothing but gross incompetence. If I was around back then I would 100% say "free the west memphis three. Fun fact, Damien Echols is who the character eddie munson from stranger things is based off of. Interestinly as well, a couple people have the last name Byers in this story, with the father of the victim being John Byers! Super cool! Want to write into the show? Send an email to cancelledcultproductions@gmail.com! The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.[1][2][3] Due to the dubious nature of the evidence as well as the suspected presence of emotional bias in court, the case generated widespread controversy and was the subject of several documentaries. Celebrities and musicians held fundraisers to support efforts to free the men.[4] In July 2007, new forensic evidence was presented. A report jointly issued by the state and the defense team stated, "Although most of the genetic material recovered from the scene was attributable to the victims of the offenses, some of it cannot be attributed to either the victims or the defendants." --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/totallyinnocent/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/totallyinnocent/support

In 1993 three young boys, Chris Byers, Michael Moore and Steve Branch were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. Three teengaers. Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin, known as the we memphis three, were convicted of the murders. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual. Missing evidence may shine new light on who really killed Chris, Michael and Steve Source material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three?fbclid=IwAR1ttexxyhd6Xq3v_oW78VWj3MgUCaW4bCMemOPuCW18EXiHbXIp31pnpXU https://arktimes.com/news/cover-stories/2011/08/24/timeline-of-events-in-the-west-memphis-three-case?fbclid=IwAR1qFSmb3jGO_QHoPOWsV-4PiQWoqEkYj9wfK7RSn5Nq2U4omYC8rde4U2U https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/587211-evidence-believed-to-be-lost-in-west-memphis-3-case-reportedly-found-at DNA For The Win- Sixteen-year-old Fawn Cox was killed in the bedroom of her home while the rest of the family slept on July 26, 1989. Someone climbed up and broke into her window, sexually assaulted her, and killed her. With the help of DNA, her murder has finally been solved. https://www.kcpd.org/media/news-releases/new-dna-technology-solves-31-year-old-murder-case/?fbclid=IwAR0aMzKbTdC1CYeaFsBlPF2iqqO1-8F1lujR_gQuEZj5swM3O1u_ut3XhfA Oh, Idaho- Bingham County Sheriff, Craig Rowland, assaulted a group of young women with a gun in November. He has been charged with that crime, but not removed from his position as Sheriff. https://www.eastidahonews.com/2021/11/sheriff-under-investigation-after-allegedly-threatening-church-youth-group-and-leader/ https://www.eastidahonews.com/2021/12/bingham-county-sheriff-ordered-to-surrender-guns-at-initial-hearing/?fbclid=IwAR1u2zlIyazqLISe-Tl4j5ei0BoFjenJXVTNApuvpZNt_Oink3Aw2mY7aMI SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd85RJRW6kn51aM2un6ButA/featured *Social Media Links* Facebook: www.facebook.com/truecrimeparanormalTPS Facebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/215774426330767 Website: https://www.truecrimeparanormalpodcast.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@truecrimeparanormal? Our Latest Video: https://youtu.be/s_-GRheuFX8 Check Out Some of Our Previous Uploads! Chad's Creepy Phone Call https://youtu.be/pPX8L-nmQ5g Kurt Cobain-Will we ever know the truth? https://youtu.be/HdPbuzW3PtI The Lamanite Placement Program of the Mormon Church https://youtu.be/3vNmwSq3Nr0 True Crime Paranormal on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5gIPqBHJLftbXdRgs1Bqm1 True Crime Paranormal on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-paranormal/id1525438711?ls=1

Den 6 maj år 1993 hittas tre 8-åriga pojkar mördade i ett skogsområde i West Memphis, Arkansas. Staden chockas av brutaliteten i morden och polisen går snart ut med information om att dessa mord är utförda i enlighet med satanistiska ritualer. Tre unga killar grips och döms för det här dådet, vilket leder till stor medial uppmärksamhet. Men utifrån vilka bevis dömdes egentligen dessa ungdomar? Och den stora frågan som många än idag ställer sig är om dom faktiskt är skyldiga?Innehållsvarning:I det här avsnittet berörs bland annat ämnet våld och övergrepp mot barn.Vill du vara med och stötta podden? Länk till vår Patreonsida (tillgång till extra avsnitt, bonusmaterial med mera):https://www.patreon.com/rysarpodden Länk till vår merchbutik hos Podstore:https://www.podstore.se/podstore/rysarpodden/ Maila oss:rysarpodden@gmail.com Följ oss på Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/rysarpodden/ Följ oss på Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/rysarpodden See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film, Making a Murderer, was shocking you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993. Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted. There's only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they're innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials. Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders' view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared. The author recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Those interviews include a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He's been credited in numerous documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death. Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children. Echols, a troubled teen with a seedy past, was immediately identified as a possible suspect. His best-friend, Jason Baldwin, and another teen known to them, Jessie Misskelley Jr., are arrested June 3, 1993, and charged with murder. No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. Read how they, referred to as the West Memphis Three, toiled in prison for years as their case stagnated in the Arkansas judicial system. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence surfaced. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface. No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Witches is written in an easy to read, narrative-style form. Grab a copy today. 3 years ago #ed, #george, #in, #jared, #memphis, #memphis:, #opperman, #report, #the, #the west memphis three, #three, #west, #witches

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film, Making a Murderer, was shocking you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993. Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted. There's only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they're innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials. Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders' view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared. The author recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Those interviews include a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He's been credited in numerous documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death. Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children. Echols, a troubled teen with a seedy past, was immediately identified as a possible suspect. His best-friend, Jason Baldwin, and another teen known to them, Jessie Misskelley Jr., are arrested June 3, 1993, and charged with murder. No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. Read how they, referred to as the West Memphis Three, toiled in prison for years as their case stagnated in the Arkansas judicial system. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence surfaced. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface. No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Witches is written in an easy to read, narrative-style form. Grab a copy today.3 years ago #ed, #george, #in, #jared, #memphis, #memphis:, #opperman, #report, #the, #the west memphis three, #three, #west, #witches

Did you know it is possible to be sentenced to life in prison or even death for a crime you didn't commit? Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr did not... until it happened to them.      If you want to discuss more about the case with us visit our Instagram @fromcrimetocrime       

On this weeks episode, Andrew speaks to Terry Hobbs. Terry Hobbs is the stepfather of Stevie Branch. On May 5, 1993 three boys were reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. The next day, the bodies of the three boys were found in a drainage ditch. They had been stripped naked and hogtied with their shoelaces. Three teenage boys were arrested for the crimes, who would be labeled 'West Memphis Three'. The teenage boys were charged and convicted, based off of a confession from Jessie Misskelley Jr, which he would later recant. In 2011, the three men were released under an Alford plea, after 17 years of fighting their convictions.Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unforbidden-truth/id1531427832Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/UnforbiddentruthSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2pR7TgAdNX1rdvIIadm6mx?si=SerVo14nQBqUmRSU_ztwEg&dl_branch=1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUePWe5xZsertnRvejzTQlg

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film Making a Murderer was shocking, you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993.Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted.There’s only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they’re innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials.Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders’ view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

***WARNING THIS EPISODE IS EXTREMLY LONG, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME AS WE MAKE OUR WAY THROUGH THE END OF THIS CASE!*** The trials of Jessie Misskelley Jr and Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin continued to rock the media outlets from the moment Fogleman got up to start opening arguments. The three boys had no idea how what would happen in the weeks during the trial would change the next 20 years of their life. With the deck stacked, the West Memphis 3 never gave up hope that their innocence would prevail. This black mark on the American Justice System is one to stay, as technically speaking all three men have yet to be exonerated. This episode is going to jump as the testimony did in the courtrooms in 1994; witnesses were called to the stand more than once answering questions over and over in different areas of this murder trial. Stick with me as we make heads or tails of the mounds of testimony given and how it took 2 juries less than 48 hours to convict all 3 teens. Home (mysite.com) is the link to dive into if you are still wanting more out of this case- I caution you as this could become never ending.... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/truecrimelibrarian/support

The investigation into the murders of Steven Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore is taking a turn- the statement early on from Investigator Gitchell regarding occult activity and Satanism is only going to grow bigger with the reports of a juvenile probation officer Jerry Driver. Unsuspecting teen, Damien Echols would earn himself a top spot on the top of Gitchell's suspects all because he was trying to find his way in the world, needing something to believe in. A teen with a low IQ would provide Gitchell the story he would need to take down Driver's boy, the only once capable of committing a murder like this, along with a quiet heavy metal, concert tee wearing 16 year old. The world would know their faces but they wouldn't get the whole story.... **The audio recording of Jessie Misskelley Jr. is provided by callahan.mysite.com; I highly recommend those engrossed in this case go check out this website you'll find more than you could ever imagine... Make sure you are following the Librarian on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so that you never miss an upload or an update from the Librarian. Remember the March's design of the month has only hours ticking before it leaves the site for good, make sure you head over to www.thetruecrimelibrarian.com to pick up your gear before the clock runs out! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/truecrimelibrarian/support

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film Making a Murderer was shocking, you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993.Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted.There’s only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they’re innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials.Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders’ view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared.The author recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Those interviews include a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He’s been credited in numerous documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death.Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children.Echols, a troubled teen with a seedy past, was immediately identified as a possible suspect. His best-friend, Jason Baldwin, and another teen known to them, Jessie Misskelley Jr., are arrested June 3, 1993. They are charged with murder.No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. Read how they, referred to as the West Memphis Three, toiled in prison for years as their case stagnated in the Arkansas judicial system. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence was discovered. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface.No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Witches is written in an easy to read, narrative-style form. Grab a copy today. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Conclusion of our look into the False Confession of Jesse Misskelley Jr.

*****WARNING THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DETAILS IN THE MURDER OF THREE 8 YEAR OLD BOYS***** Stemming from the conversation on Richard Jewell, Lee starts his series on False and/or Coerced confessions with Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. and the false confession given to police during a murder investigation made infamous by the documentary series Paradise Lost I, II & III and also West of Memphis. The Paradise Lost series is available to stream on HBO Max. West of Memphis available to purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray from all major retailers. Link to the transcript and audio of Jessie's first confession: http://www.dpdlaw.com/JessieFirstStatement.htm Link to the transcript of the second statement: http://callahan.mysite.com/wm3/jlm_june2.html

This week we have Mads telling us all about the falsely accused teenagers known as The West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr.The West Memphis Three were accused of murdering 3 young boys in their area, Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. The boys bodys were found naked, bound, and bloody in a wooded area in West Memphis Arkansas leading investigators to for some reason believe this had to be the work of Satanists. How does police suspecting Satanists lead to 3 innocent young boys being convicted or murder? Listen to the episode AND maybe check out the incredible 3 part HBO documentary Paradise Lost to find out!Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and have a great week!Twitter: @CrueTrimeInstagram: @cruetrimepodcastYoutube: Crue Trime A True Crime PodcastEmail: cruetrimetruecrime@gmail.com

Grab a beer and join us tonight as we continue our series on the West Memphis Three! In part two we will introduce Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols. We will cover how these three ended up on the radar of law enforcement, and their experience through the juvenile system. We will also cover the questioning and confession of Jessie Misskelley Jr., and the eventual arrest of the three teenagers.  https://www.necronomipod.com https://www.patreon.com/necronomipod Want to advertise/sponsor our show? We have partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. They’re great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started. Necronomipod on AdvertiseCast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey Spooksters! Today we are continuing on the topic chosen by our patron, Brianna - The West Memphis 3. Tara will pick up where we left off and continue on with the investigation. We'll discuss the events leading to the arrests of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr, and Jason Baldwin. Then walk through the trials, how their release happened, theories, and other suspects.    If you'd like to write/send anything to us we have a PO Box! Our address is:  3 Spooked Girls PO Box 5583 JBER, AK 99505-0583   Check out the following link for our socials, Patreon, to register for our KRAMPUS DAY EVENT to benefit Toys for Tots & more  https://linktr.ee/3spookedgirls Sources from today's episode - www.3spookedgirls.com/sources   Have a personal true crime story or paranormal encounter you'd like to share with us? Send us an email over to 3spookedgirls@gmail.com   Thank you to Sarah Hester Ross for our intro music!         

Hey Spooksters! Today we are bringing you another Patron Select. This episode is dedicated to our Patron, Brianna!  She has chosen the BIG case of the West Memphis 3 so we'll be bringing this to you in two parts. Today, Jes will give us background and timeline of the murders of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and James 'Mike' Moore of West Memphis, Arkansas.  After that Jes will dive into the backgrounds of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr, and Jason Baldwin. Then we'll wrap up Part One with how those three boys began to be on the radar of authorities.  Part 2 will air next Thursday! If you'd like to write/send anything to us we have a PO Box! Our address is:  3 Spooked Girls PO Box 5583 JBER, AK 99505-0583   Check out the following link for our socials, Patreon, to register for our KRAMPUS DAY EVENT to benefit Toys for Tots & more  https://linktr.ee/3spookedgirls Sources from today's episode - www.3spookedgirls.com/sources   Have a personal true crime story or paranormal encounter you'd like to share with us? Send us an email over to 3spookedgirls@gmail.com   Thank you to Sarah Hester Ross for our intro music!         

In this Episode Teresa covers the HBO documentary called Memphis 3, the story of 3 Teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie MissKelley Jr.  who were accused and convicted in Arkansas for the murder of 3 young boys. Follow along with Teresa and Crew as they discuss their thoughts on this truly Deranged Case.

In this Episode Teresa covers the HBO documentary called Memphis 3, the story of 3 Teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie MissKelley Jr. who were accused and convicted in Arkansas for the murder of 3 young boys. Follow along with Teresa and Crew as they discuss their thoughts on this truly Deranged Case. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/teresa-gabelman/support

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=blood+on+black&qid=1559059428&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XNLYB8QUIQ7F&keywords=where+the+monsters+go&qid=1559059470&s=gateway&sprefix=where+the+monsters+go%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059536&s=gateway&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1559059573&ref_=sr_1_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059573&s=gateway&sr=8-2   Prologue   There is the myth of the West Memphis 3 -- innocent teenagers railroaded by malicious police and prosecutors into murder convictions because of the way they dressed and the music they listened to, there being no evidence against them except the prejudices of Southern white Christians. And then there is the reality --- three criminally inclined young thugs involved in occultism who gleefully tortured three 8-year-old boys and then brought the justice system down upon them based on multiple factors, including a series of confessions, failed lie detector tests, failed alibis, eyewitness sightings and a history of violence.  The second volume in this series, following "Blood on Black," continues to examine the evidence against Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols in the murders of Christopher Byers,  Michael Moore and Stevie Branch on May 5, 1993.     Misskelley, Baldwin and Echols met up that afternoon just outside Lakeshore Estates Trailer Park,  according to the multiple confessions of Misskelley. Echols and Baldwin were drinking beer. Misskelley had a bottle of whiskey jammed down into his pants.  Misskelley had been told the plan was to go to West Memphis and beat up some boys.  They walked about two miles into woods known as Robin Hood or Robin Hood Hills, just behind the Blue Beacon truck wash located on one of the network of service roads in West Memphis, Ark.,  where east-west Interstate 40 and north-south Interstate 55 briefly merged.   Echols knew the woods well, having lived in the nearby Mayfair Apartments, frequently walking through the area as a shortcut between his home in West Memphis and his friends in the trailer parks and having been spotted in the woods recently by an acquaintance.   Michael, Stevie and Christopher Byers, all second graders at Weaver Elementary School,  lived south of the woods and,  like other children in the area, visited the woods frequently to play. That afternoon they were spotted heading toward Robin Hood around 6,  close to the time their killers entered from the north.   When Echols heard the children approaching, he began making sounds to lure them in, while Misskelley and Baldwin hid.  Then, according to the confessions of Misskelley, and indicated by the blood patterns at the scene and other evidence, the teens jumped the 8-year-olds, beat them viciously, stripped them of their clothes, mutilated Stevie's face, castrated Christopher,  sexually molested them, hogtied them and dumped them in a muddy ditch, where Michael and Stevie drowned. Christopher already had bled out from his wounds.  Misskelley quickly left the scene, which was scrupulously cleaned up.  Echols was spotted walking along the service road near the crime scene later that evening in muddy clothes.   After frantic parents sparked an extensive search for the missing children, their bodies were discovered the next afternoon by law enforcement officers. Tales of strange rituals held in the woods by mysterious strangers spread quickly among the crowd gathered near the crime scene.  As detectives and other officers gathered information and talked to witnesses or potential suspects, Echols quickly drew the scrutiny of officers.  Besides the talk among the boys' neighbors, the ritualistic aspects of the murder -- including the way the boys were bound, and timing possibly influenced by setting, proximity to a pagan holiday and celestial events -- furthered suggested occultism as an impetus for the killings.  Local officers were familiar with Echols as a dangerous, mentally ill teenager immersed in witchcraft.  Among the many tips coming into police were reports that Echols had been seen near the crime scene that night and that he was heavily involved in a cult.   A series of police interviews with an all-too-knowing  Echols did nothing but deepen suspicions. Echols failed a lie detector test, thereafter refusing to talk.    Police heard that Echols had been telling friends about his involvement in the murders. Vicki Hutcheson, an acquaintance of Misskelley who also was friends with the Byers family, decided to "play detective.  As a result of her investigation, and statements from her son, Aaron, who had been a playmate of the dead boys,  the West Memphis police brought in  Misskelley for routine question  about his acquaintance with Echols.   After he, too, failed a lie detector test,  he gave the first of a number of confessions about his involvement, along with Echols and Baldwin, in the murders.    Arrests quickly followed.   Baldwin never offered an alibi at trial;  after a series of conflicting statements about his activities that day, Echols admitted in testimony that his description of his alibi changed to meet circumstances;  Misskelley tried out several alibis, in between his confessions, none of which were sufficient to convince jurors that he had nothing to do with the murders. The real-life horror story continues to play out in the second volume  of this series,  with Echols' background and mental illness extensively documented in the first book, "Blood on Black," along with incriminating details on the other two killers.  Baldwin and Echols have been given an opportunity to respond to questions regarding the case but gave no comment, blocking contact via social media.  Contact  via social media with the reclusive Jessie Misskelley was blocked.  Questions posed via social media to Matt Baldwin, Stacy Sanders-Specht, Pamela Metcalf (Pam Echols/Hutchison), Angela Gail Grinnell, Constance Echols Mount (Michelle Echols), Garrett Schwarting, Kenneth “Lilbit” Watkins,  Stephanie Dollar,  Holly George Thorpe, Jennifer Bearden and John E. Douglas were not answered. The former Deanna Holcomb, who still lives in Arkansas under another name, gave no answer to a Facebook query on an account that otherwise appears active.  Heather Dawn (Cliett) Hollis threatened legal action to prevent her name from being used (an empty threat on a number of legal grounds) and otherwise refused to explain the many discrepancies in her stories.  Domini Ferris (Domini Teer) graciously and freely gave a phone interview.  Susie Brewer responded with a forthright, honest update on her troubled relationship with Misskelley.   Much of the following was drawn from the official record in the words of actual witnesses, friends and neighbors of the killers and their victims.  Some misspellings, etc., in the transcripts have been corrected to facilitate comprehension;  obvious transcription errors or lack of punctuation have been addressed, if  not completely resolved.  Excerpts from transcripts have been minimally edited for readability, sense and flow of narrative. Some information, such as the multiple confessions, has been repeated to set forth as complete a record as feasible. Quotes represent evidence as  recorded, as well as common usage in the Arkansas Delta.   Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Fogleman once said that it would take a book of 1,000 pages to tell the story of the case.  These two volumes by no means exhaust the topic.  If the case was not so controversial, the story could be told in a standard true-crime format of some 300 pages or so.    Given the one-sided narrative that has  dominated this case,  these two volumes have the stated purpose of  showing the case against the  West Memphis  3 killers.  No attempt was made to offer the many counter-arguments made by defense attorneys and others benefiting materially from the case  or  explore the views of the many virtue-signaling  "supporters"  of the West Memphis 3 killers, since  the overwhelming bias of Hollywood, the media and academe  has been generously aired for many years.  Other than those already noted, any errors are the author's.

    https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=blood+on+black&qid=1559059428&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XNLYB8QUIQ7F&keywords=where+the+monsters+go&qid=1559059470&s=gateway&sprefix=where+the+monsters+go%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059536&s=gateway&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1559059573&ref_=sr_1_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059573&s=gateway&sr=8-2     "THEY WERE GOING TO GO OUT AND GET SOME BOYS AND HURT THEM."     The initial confessions on June 3, 1993, were the basis of the charges against Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols. The “Paradise Lost” films and many subsequent references to that confession frame it as the result of a 12-hour interrogation, with the implication that police browbeat the none-too-bright Misskelley into a false confession. The times are on record. The facts vary greatly from the “Paradise Lost” timeframe. At an 8 a.m. squad meeting that morning, West Memphis Police Department officers “discussed at- tempting to pick up Jessie Misskelley Jr. in reference to his being a member of cult that Damien Echols and Ja- son Baldwin are said to be members of. Check possibili- ty of his being a witness to homicide or any statement he may have overheard from Damien or anyone con- cerning the homicide.” Mike Allen went to the Misskelley home and was told Jessie Jr. was not there but his father was at his job at Jim's Diesel Service. Allen talked to Jessie Sr. at 9:45. Jessie Jr. was picked up at the home of Vicki Hutcheson. Allen and Jessie Jr. drove to the police sta- tion. A subject description was filled out at 10 a.m., listing the 17-year-old's height as only 5-1, with his   422 BLOOD ON BLACK     weight at 125. He had an “FTW” (Fuck The World) tat- too on his right arm, tattoos of a skull with a dagger, the initials of a former girlfriend (A.H.) and “N.W.A.” on his left arm and a “Bitch” tattoo on his chest. Allen interviewed Misskelley. Ridge observed. Allen and Ridge took separate notes. According to those notes, Misskelley said Echols was “sick” and drinks blood, that Echols was always in the company of Baldwin and that Echols had a girl- friend, Domini, skinny, pregnant and red-haired. Misskelley said he had known Echols for about a year. According to Allen's notes, Misskelley said he last saw Echols about three weeks before at Highland Trailer Park at the home of Vicki (Vicki Hutcheson). “I told her he's sick.” Misskelley said he had never been in Robin Hood Hills. Ridge's notes indicated Misskelley said he had not seen Damien in over two months and did not know anything about the murders. Misskelley denied any in- volvement in Satanism. He acknowledged introducing Hutcheson to Echols three weeks before (after saying he had not seen him in two months). According to both sets of notes, Misskelley had heard rumors that Damien and Robert Burch had com- mitted the crimes. Misskelley said he was working with Ricky Deese along with Josh Darby on roofing the week of the mur- ders; on May 5, he got off at 5 p.m. and went home and 'The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers, Vol. I'   stayed home. There was no mention of wrestling, so- cializing  or a police call. Misskelley said he went to the skating rink a lot and saw Echols there nearly every time he went. He had seen Echols with Carl Smith and Baldwin. Misskelley saw Baldwin get into a fight and get his nose busted at Lakeshore, and saw Echols stick his finger into the blood and lick it. He agreed to take a polygraph. Allen read Jessie Jr. his rights around 11 a.m. Misskelley signed the form. The police determined that Misskelley Sr. needed to sign a consent form. Little Jessie had been read his Miranda rights and signed similar papers on at least four previous occa- sions: in 1988, twice in late October 1992, and again that March. He had been put on probation for stealing flags from school in 1988, part of a harebrained plan to build his own raceway. Thirteen-year-old Tiffany Allen filed a police report on March 12, 1993, accusing Misskelley of punching her in the mouth. At 11:15 on June 3, Allen was driving with Jessie Jr. riding in the front seat when they spotted Jessie Sr. driving a tow truck on Missouri Street. The three met at the corner of Shoppingway at Chief's Auto Parts. Big Jessie, who had been to prison and was familiar with the legal system, signed a waiver allowing Jessie Jr. to undergo a polygraph exam.         424 BLOOD ON BLACK     Jessie Jr. was advised again of his rights by Bill Durham at around 11:30 a.m. in preparation for the exam. Jessie Jr. initialed and signed the form. Three charts were completed, at 11:55 a.m., 12:03 and 12:11 p.m., with about 15 minutes spent on an in- terview after the tests. After analysis, Durham announced around 12:30 p.m.:  “He's lying his ass off.” Durham indicated Misskelley gave deceptive an- swers of “No” to these questions: 3.  Have you ever been in Robin Hood Hills? 5.  Have you ever took part in devil worship? 7. Have you ever attended a devil worship cere- mony in the Turrell/Twist  area? Are you involved in the murder of those three boys? Do you know who killed those three boys? Misskelley broke down after being told he failed the test, and immediately began to confess, as officers took notes. From 12:40 to 2:20, Ridge and Gitchell con- tinued interrogating Misskelley, who admitted he saw Echols and Baldwin kill the three boys. Misskelley said he had received a call from Bald- win, with Damien on the line in the background, the night before the murders. “They were going to go out and get some boys and hurt them.” Baldwin and Echols wanted him to go with them; Misskelley heard Damien tell Jason that he 'The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers, Vol. I'   ought to tell Misskelley that they were going to get girls or something but Jessie knew what was planned. Misskelley had gotten three calls about the killings, one the day before, one the morning of the murders, one “after dark.” In the last conversation, Baldwin was on the line but Misskelley could hear Echols in the background saying, “We did it. We did it. What are we going to do now? What if somebody saw us?” He said it sounded as if Baldwin was at home on that call, since he heard Baldwin's brother in the back- ground. Misskelley couldn't give more exact times on the calls. Misskelley said he saw photos of the victims dur- ing a cult meeting. Misskelley was shown a photo of Christopher Byers. After he “looked hard” at the photo, Misskelley said it was the “Moore boy” and said the boy was  in the Polaroid shown at cult meetings. He said that a 15-year-old friend of Jason's named Ken, who wears a long coat, would bring a briefcase to the meetings, always held on Wednesdays. The brief- case contained guns, marijuana, cocaine and a picture of the three victims in front of a house. He did not know who had the briefcase, which was never found. Misskelley said Echols had been in the woods watching the boys prior to the attacks. He said Echols had been watching the boys for a long time, that he was hanging out at the skating rink to find boys. He told of- ficers that Echols and Baldwin had sex with each other.     426 BLOOD ON BLACK     Baldwin had a folding knife and always carried a knife, while Echols did not. Misskelley said he “didn't want to be a part of this,” that Echols and Baldwin were killers while he was not. Misskelley described meetings of a "Satanic cult" held in different places,  including Robin Hood, at which they would build fires of paper, wood “and stuff.” Misskelley said, “Someone brings a dog and they usually kill the dogs.  They will skin the dog and eat part of it.” The animal killing was part of the ritual; if a person ate the meat, he became part of the group. Misskelley named some attendees: Christina Jones, Dennis Carter, Jason, Damien, Adam, Ken, Tiffany Allen and Domini (he didn't know most of the last names). Jones and Carter were friends with Misskelley. Those subsequently interviewed by police denied any involvement in the occult. Generally eight or nine people would attended, and had an orgy afterward (three on one, he said). Ridge: “Jessie told of one occasion he had gone to the scene of the murders and sat down on the ground and cried about what had happened to the boys. He had tears in his eyes at this time telling about the incident. I felt this was a remorseful response about the occurrence and that he had more information than what he had re- vealed at this point.” Those close to Jessie had seen signs of guilt and remorse. 'The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers, Vol. I'   Misskelley's friend, Buddy Lucas, later told offi- cers that on May 6, at about 9 a.m., a tearful Misskelley had confessed his involvement in the crimes from the night before. Lee Rush, Jessie Sr.'s girlfriend, lived in the family trailer. After Jessie Jr.'s arrest, three police officers visit- ed the Misskelley home and secured the scene until a search team could arrive. Det. Charlie Dabbs wrote: “While sitting in their living room for approximately two hours, and during conversation Mr. and Mrs. Misskelley talked about dif- ferent incidents. During the conversation, Mrs. Misskel- ley got to talking about how Jessie Jr. was waking her up at night crying and having nightmares. Every time she went into his room he would be crying hysterically and he would tell her it was because his girlfriend was moving away. She told us it happened a number of times, and that she could not believe his girlfriends' moving would cause that kind of hysterical behavior, but that little Jessie had been acting strange.” Det. Tony Anderson wrote: “During the course of this conversation Mrs. Misskelley made the statement, ‘I knew that something was wrong, a few nights ago little Jessie was in his room and crying so loud and sobbing so hard that it woke me up, I went in and asked him what was wrong?, his reply was that his girl friend was moving to Florida.'         428 BLOOD ON BLACK     “Another short period of time passed and Mrs. Misskelley made the same identical remarks again about little Jessie crying and waking her up!” Deputy Howard Tankersly wrote: “We sat there for 2 or 3 hours making casual conversation with each other and the Misskelleys. At one point Misskelley's wife stated that one night Little Jessie awoke her he was crying and screaming. He asked him the next date what was wrong and he stated that his girlfriend had him up- set, as she was suppose to be moving to Florida.” Between 12:40 and 2:20 p.m., police broke down what little resistance Jessie Jr. had with a series of adept moves, such as showing him a picture of a victim. Misskelley was already talking freely when Gitchell played a tape-recording of an eerie voice say- ing: “Nobody knows what happened but me.” The voice was Aaron Hutcheson. Misskelley told Gitchell and Ridge: “I want out of this! I want to tell you everything!” He did just that. Misskelley explained through tears what hap- pened. Ridge, also brought to tears, said in his notes: “Jessie seemed to be very sorry for what had happened and told that he had been there when the boys were first coming into the woods and were called by Damien to come over to where they were.” Preparations began for taping the confession. At 2:44 p.m., Misskelley was officially arrested for murder after being informed of his Miranda rights. 'The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers, Vol. I'   From 2:44 p.m. to 3:18 p.m., he confessed again in a tape-recorded session. Because of discrepancies (Misskelley later said he deliberately misrepresented key facts), Gitchell con- ducted a followup tape-recorded interrogation some- time between 3:45 and 5:05 p.m. Work started on obtain- ing search and arrest warrants for Echols and Baldwin. The total time between Misskelley first being brought to the police station and the conclusion of tap- ing that day was 7 hours and five minutes, with 2 hours and 19 minutes between the time the tape recorder was turned on and the last of the recording. Interrogations with Misskelley as a suspect began at 12:40 and ended at 5:05, a span of four hours and 25 minutes with inter- vals of down time. Misskelley had brought in around 10, much of the time between 11 and 12 was spent securing permission from his father for a poly- graph. He was telling all after a mere two hours and 40 minutes. Claims in the second “Paradise Lost” movie that the interrogation lasted 12 hours were highly mis- leading. Misskelley was offered food at 3:22 p.m. but “he refused saying that he couldn't eat anything.” He was given two cigarettes. He drank a Coke about the time of the followup interview. He was asked again if he wanted to eat at 5:05 p.m. He refused, but “did go ahead + get something to eat.”     430 BLOOD ON BLACK     He was given a hamburger and a coke at 6:15 p.m. and was asked if he needed to go to the restroom at 6:33 p.m. At 9:06 p.m., Ridge, Gitchell and Fogleman ap- peared for a probable cause hearing before Judge “Pal” Rainey. Warrants were issued allowing immediate searches. At 10:28 p.m., police cars descended upon High- land Trailer Park, Lakeshore Estates and Broadway Trailer Park. Baldwin and Echols were arrested at the Echols trailer while watching a horror film, “Leprechaun.” Echols' parents were at Splash Casino in Tunica County, Mississippi, about 50 miles away. Damien, Michelle, Domini and Jason were celebrating the last day of school, although Jason was the only teen attending school. Well into the prosecution of the case and after his conviction, Misskelley talked freely; at times he made claims of mistreatment and untoward coercion by po- lice. He continued to swear he was innocent when talk- ing to his father and family but talked of his guilt with police. Various officers and attorneys, both for the prose- cution and defense, heard his confessions in a variety of settings and circumstances. Misskelley consistently told them that Baldwin and Echols killed the three boys on May 5 in Robin Hood Hills in his presence and with his cooperation.                

n a 2004 story in the Arkansas Times, Vicki Hutcheson said about the trip to the esbat: “Every word of it was a lie.”  Lie or not, her testimony played no role in the Echols/Baldwin case and was not crucial to the conviction of Misskelley.  Jurors there were largely convinced by the confession, particularly where Misskelley described chasing down Michael. Some jurors told reporters that the occult trappings were not particularly convincing and were ultimately irrelevant to reaching a guilty verdict.  Though she later claimed coercion,  police interviews indicated Vicki was eager to play a starring role in the investigation, perhaps with hopes of collecting a reward. As Bray described her role in his notes on a June 2, 1993, interview: “She said she was trying to play detective because she had heard Damien was involved in devil worship and she thought it might be connected to the murders.” In 2004, Hutcheson told the Arkansas Times that she only testified as instructed by the West Memphis PD, under a threat that she would have her child taken from her and that she could be implicated in the murders.  There was no evidence of a police threat.   She testified in 1994 that “West Memphis knew nothing” about her plan to “play detective” when she set up   meetings with Echols. “I decided that on my own. Those boys I loved, and I wanted their killers caught.” As for the $30,000 reward, “it had nothing to do with it.” She did receive help from law enforcement in checking out occult books from the library, in an effort to impress Echols, and in setting up a recording device under her bed. Police said the resulting tapes were of such poor quality as to be of no use; she claimed to hear high-quality recordings.   She testified she never met John Fogleman until a month or two before the trial.    Her statements were filled with largely unsolicited and unschooled details about interactions with Misskelley and Echols.    Aaron considered Michael and Christopher his best friends, dating from when he lived on East Barton.  According to his mother, “those were his only friends.” In a May 28, 1993, interview with Ridge and Sudbury, she described picking up Aaron after school on May 5:  “I was waiting in where the teachers park on the side of Weaver Elementary, and watching for Aaron. It was approximately 15 after 3, and Michael Moore came to one side of my truck and Christopher Byers to the other and Aaron you know close to them … and they were telling me Ms. Vicki there's a Cub Scout thing tonight, and Aaron  needs to go, and Michael's father is their troop leader and  … Michael was really incessant upon Aaron going, and uh, they just keep saying there's a Cub Scout thing. Ms. Vicki … he has to go, he has to go. And I said no this is Wednesday night. Cub Scouts are tomorrow Thursday night and they just kept on. Finally you know, they got it through he wasn't going to go, because I just thought they wanted to go and play, and um, he said well then can Aaron just come to my house, and you can pick him up in two hours. Which I had done frequently so he had assumed I would do it then, and I just said no because I had some errand to ran. Aaron did not go. … I went home.” She went to the grocery about 5:30 and stopped somewhere to eat, with Aaron in tow. “He was never alone.”  They got home “probably about eight or so.”  Among her errands, she would tell prosecutors, was going to the liquor store to purchase two bottles of Evan Williams whiskey for Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Dennis Carter, who were both underage. His mother's story on May 28 contradicted any stories Aaron told about his trip to Robin Hood that afternoon. She gave a different version of Aaron's activities for May 5 on June 2, abruptly becoming unable to account for him that afternoon while he was nominally under the care of a babysitter. The June 2 version gave Aaron time to go to the woods.   On May 6, after discovering his friends were missing, she pulled Aaron out of school and took him over to the Moore house. She said, “Todd asked Aaron if he might know did Chris or Michael say anything  to him, to the effect where they might be. He said no, there, you know you can tell when your child is lying and it was like he knew something was up. And uh, he said after we had left the Moores coming out of their door he told me Mama let's to go the club house. We need to go to the club house.” She had been to the site before,  the “clubhouse” being boards nailed up in a tree.  She was not able to get there because the entry at the dead end of McCauley was cordoned off by police.  The question persists as to whether there was a “clubhouse.” Jessie Misskelley in one confession mentioned the “clubhouse” and then corrected himself, saying he had been thinking of a clubhouse near Highland.  Aaron gave little description of the clubhouse, which he repeatedly mentioned. It may have been formed largely by imagination —- whether by the boys or just Aaron.  Boys commonly stake out territory as “clubhouses,” treehouses  and “forts”  in play. Old boards at the scene could have been part of the “clubhouse.” “Aaron told me that um he and Michael and Chris visit their club house every day and they rode their bikes and they were spying on 5 men and ah I asked him who they were and he said I don't know Mom who they were I just you know we just spying on em. I said why would you be spying on 5 men, you know? And he said well they were there every day so we would watch them. I said what made you interested in them. He said because they paint themselves and they have dragon shirts and they talk in Spanish. And I say, Aaron, they talk in Spanish how do you know that's Spanish? I mean, you don't know Spanish. He said well I don't understand what they're saying, and they sing bad things, and I said like what kind of bad things. My father being a preacher, Aaron has been in my church quite often, you know, and … “He said they sing about the Devil, and, you know, that we love the Devil and um he said, I think that they love the Devil more than God, Mom. And I told him … why didn't y'all leave why didn't you come home, were you scared? They said no we hid. They couldn't see us. … I said so y'all went there every day.  He said we went there every day but wouldn't go on Friday. And I told him why how do you know Friday? And he said, well because that's the day before the weekend, you know, the last day of school and I know that it was Friday and they didn't come. And ah, I said okay what happened? What did they do? And he said well when they first saw them you know they sat around a fire in a circle by this tree … they did this like several times and then they'd sing a song and they'd … dance around the tree. Then he told me that these 5 men took their clothes off. And I said Aaron you know that they took their clothes off, why didn't you leave? And he said because we were scared. And they were scared, I guess, of getting caught then and ah he said Michael kept telling him that it was an Indian thing they were supposed to do and Chris said no they're getting ready to have sex. And I told Aaron, Aaron doesn't know about sex and we talked about it and all the books that you've seen um he said that they had their peters in each other's butts and said they watched. … And I just got into detail with him. With the sex thing. … “I know he's telling the truth.” Vicki added: “Jessie Misskelley had told Aaron that um the boys killer had been found. And ah Aaron was ecstatic over it. He was very happy…. “He later found that that wasn't true … “… What's really weird is that he said you know exactly that it was a Satanistic group, namely the Dragons.” She also related that she had heard third-hand that Robert Burks — actually Robert Burch — had told a teen girl that he had killed the boys and would kill the girl if she talked.  Burch, whose name came up repeatedly in the investigation, talked to police and offered no alibi, but there was nothing but rumor and an acquaintance with Baldwin and Misskelley linking him to the case.  Vicki also named some of Damien's friends in the Satan worshippers:  Shawn “Spider” Webb, “Burks,” “Snake,”  “Jason, some little boy named Jason, I don't know his name he lives in Lakeshore,” and Misskelley.   “There's a guy he calls Lucy but everyone else calls Lucifer. … He's an older guy he's, he's probably closer to my age, thirty. … I haven't really been real up close with him you know I've seen him in a car, um, he's got brownish hair and he does have a big nose. … I believe he had glasses on.”  She said Lucifer drove an old beaten-up car “like an Impala or Caprice. … It looked like ah primer color. You know like they were gonna paint it.” The mysterious “Lucifer” popped up again and again in descriptions of the cult in Lakeshore, with varying characteristics, though consistently described as older than the teens.  In her May 28 interview, Vicki described how, shortly after the killings, she sent Aaron out of town for eight days to stay with her sister, meanwhile talking to people about the case, including “a Little Jessie, Jessie Misskelley, lives down the street from me and you know that I was really close to him … because he was always around. He doesn't go to school or anything.  He like help you mow the lawn and stuff and I'd gotten really close with him. He made mention after this came out that um he had saw Chris Byers over by the Beacon that morning on the morning that you know they were found and that Chris was in a pink shirt and even picked him out in the paper to me … that was odd for him to say something like that so … I just keep talking with Jessie cause ah Jessie's I means not a bad kid but you know you don't know who people know. So I just kept talking to Jessie about stuff and Jessie told me about a friend of his named Damien and this friend drank blood and stuff. He just keep going on and on on about how weird he was and stuff. So by the way you know the stuff that we knew the public knew that was coming out in the paper and stuff I just thought how they were killed was odd but you know maybe it was like a devil worshipping thing or you know something just hit me that might be it and I thought that this kid doing this you know maybe he knew something or  …. or maybe Jessie knew something so um Jessie had told me that Damien hang out at Lakeshore and so I went out of my way, you know, to try to go around Lakeshore and, you know, people around there and I told Jessie I had seen Damien and he asked me how did I know it was Damien? And I said that there was a little boy Adam who's a friend of mine's little boy … and he had …  pointed him out to me and … he said well you know he's kinda weird. I said no, I think he's hot. I really want to go out with him. Can you fix me up with him? And you know he was real surprised but he said yeah, if you want to go out with him I'll fix you up with him and he did.” So Hutcheson thought that “maybe Jessie knew something” based on strange things he had said and the fact that Misskelley was fascinated with Echols' weird practices and beliefs, such as drinking blood.   Jessie fixed up Vicki and Damien.  It didn't take much persuasion;  Misskelley drove Hutcheson's pickup over to Baldwin's home, told Echols that he knew a women who wanted to meet him and Echols went along for the ride.  Eventually Echols would show up at her trailer about six times, apparently never spending much time, according to Hutcheson.  She told police that she was not attracted to Echols and found him frightening.  She said they never had sex.  Based on her retraction statements years later, Echols actually showed up just once for a very brief, awkward visit.  Hutcheson told Ridge: “He came to my house, the very first time I met him. … We talked about um lots of different stuff. He's not real real talkative. You you kinda have to pull things out of him but he uh keep telling me about the boys murders and how he had been he said… questioned. He always said that I was accused for 8 hours I was accused of killing those 3 little boys and … I just acted like it was no big deal. … And I said well you know why would they pick you in West Memphis you know? There are bookoo's of people. Why would they just pick you out?  And he just looked at me I mean just really weird. And said because I'm evil. … “He called me um he told me that he would like to see me again and stuff like this and ah I said okay. So you know he just kept coming over and he never really um gave me times or when I'm coming but he would just drop in. … “And uh in the meantime communicating with Officer Bray I had gotten some Satanic books and witch books and all this and we were sitting on my couch and I had laid them out where he could see them right close to my table. He said, you know he picked one up, and asked me what I was doing. I got out a Cosmopolitan, and in the back there was a wicka  thing that you write to, and you can become a witch or go to witch school or something like that. Anyway I told him not to worry you know this is what I'm wanting to be and he just looked at me really weird and he said you don't have to go like that. You don't have to go there to do that. … “No.  It would all come in time is what he said. It'll happen in time. … “The next day after he finds out that I'm wanting to go do this he told me and asked me did I want to go to esbat. I didn't know what esbat was. I looked it up in the book and found out that it was a meeting and I thought immediately yeah this is where I want to go. I want to see what's going on. … “Then he took me, he picked me up and he took me in a red Escort. He drove us to Turrell, and ah ….” She said Misskelley went along for the ride to Turrell, a small poor community of about 800 residents about 12 miles north of Marion.  The Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge, centered around Lake Wapanocca, is adjacent to the township.  The esbat location sometimes is referred to as Turrell-Twist or Twist, the name of a small farm-based community at the Crittenden-Cross county line.  Misskelley told officers on June 3 that Damien drove a red car owned by Jack Echols. Among the many criticisms t about the esbat story are  a) Damien didn't drive and b) Damien didn't have access to a red car.  It seems unlikely that Misskelley mentioned the red car just to corroborate  Hutcheson's story.   Hutcheson described the trip “… He um took us to —- I'm not really familiar, I'm from Springdale, so I'm not familiar with this area even — but Turrell. I was really lost. … “… I do know where kinda where he went you know we turned off and hit a dirt road and about by some kind of water and in woods in a field and by the time we had gotten there … it was dark. Um, it was quite a drive. … “And we went out, got out of the car and … it was just really dark especially out you know in the woods. It was just dark and I was scared a little bit in fact but we held hands just like you would hold my hand and keep trying to comfort me. He knew I was scared. … “… He told me it would be okay you know not to be scared, don't worried and ah Jessie went to the crowd. Then you could see there was  a crowd of kids.” There were about 10, none over age 18, with faces painted black. “… What you could see of their bodies without … their clothes you know was painted their  … arms were painted, you know, they had on jeans …. “They stood around and it seemed like they were just talking and stuff and Damien and I stood back away from them.  We never went to the crowd.” A teen she knew, Shawn Webb, stepped away to talk with them.  “… When he got close enough to me I could tell who he was. He talked with Damien um you know just what's up you know just bull crap and then walked back over and then these kids took their clothes off and began touching each other and I knew what was going to happen ….  “I looked at Damien and said I want to leave … He said okay. … Jessie stayed. … “After he brought me home we went into my house and you know just sat there and talked and stuff and he never made comment about it or anything. It was like it never even happened. … He went, he left, and went home.” She said this occurred on Wednesday, May 19. “… He called me on Thursday and he told me about this girl being pregnant … and you know he's going to have to take care of her or make her think he's that you know he's faithful to her. … And so ah the word has gotten out that I was seeing him because I'm a you know an older woman and … everything so he said we're going to have to kinda cool it and keep it down … and so I kinda thought well God I've ruined it, you know, she's ruined it for me and I'm not going to be able to see him anymore. I thought he'd just quit calling. … “But he called all the time wanting me know you know what men are at my house. … And I do have a boyfriend that I see all the time and ah so he you know is there quite often.  “… My house was really quiet … this last Wednesday. Nobody came over or anything. Jim came over after he got off work and it was about 1:30 when he got off and we just sat and talked on the couch and watched a movie. It was about 3:30 and we heard this big when I mean it sounded really horrible, it scared me to death. And ah so Jim got up, he and I both got up and went to my door and we looked out front underneath um my window where I keep plants. I have like a really thick board that's been nailed up and has some bolts underneath it and this thing was broke completely in half. … No one was around. … I asked Damien. He called me last night. I asked him um what did you do Wednesday night, hung out. I said you didn't come to my house did you? He said I know you were there with Jim, that's all that matters and that's it. That was the end of it.” Ridge asked, “Did he say he was jealous of that?” Vicki replied, “Are you kidding, I mean you could tell that he's mad. … He was very calm but aggravated is what I would call it.” In a June 2 interview, Hutcheson repeated much of her story to Bray and said someone the night before had been looking into her windows.   She left 15-year-old roommate Christy Anderson babysitting Aaron while she went to Kroger. When she returned around 11 p.m., a 15-year-old friend visiting the trailer said she had seen someone looking into the living room window.  Aaron reported someone had been looking into his bedroom window and had pulled on a wire leading into the bedroom hard enough to pull a console from under the bed.  Apparently no one called the police, and no suspect was found.  The incident was similar to incidents in which Echols was seen stalking children and young girls.   The night before he was arrested,  Misskelley spent the night at the Hutcheson trailer, reportedly sleeping on the couch, because she was concerned about a prowler.  Echols stopped talking to Vicki after May 28, when the FBI supposedly came out and took photos of his trailer.  She had planned a party for Saturday, May 29, inviting Echols, Misskelley and Robert Burch. When nobody showed up, she phoned Echols around 8 or 9 p.m.  He told her he had something important to do. When she asked if she could come along, he said no.   She tried to talk him again on June 1 around 7:30 p..m.  Echols' sister Michelle told her Damien had gone to bed.  Bray noted: “Vicki says she is scared now.” Hutcheson took a polygraph test June 2.  No deception was indicated when she said that she had not met Echols prior to three weeks before, that she had not told Aaron what to tell police, that she had no foreknowledge of the murders and that no one told her they were involved in the killings.  A decade after the trial, on June 24, 2004,  Hutcheson gave a sworn statement to the Misskelley defense team in which she claimed that Don Bray and Jerry Driver persuaded her that Echols was guilty.   She described her initial meeting with Echols as a fiasco, describing him as a normal teen.  Vicki claimed that the tapes of their conversation were of good quality but worked against the case the police were hoping to build.    She claimed Ridge suggested that, if she could not deliver evidence against Echols, she could be seen as the vital link between the killers and their victims, that she could be implicated in the homicide. “And they also told me it would be a shame if I lost Aaron over this whole thing.”  She claimed Ridge schooled her over 12-and-a-half hours on a made-up story about the esbat trip.  “And then I just started making up stuff as I went because I didn't know what else to do and I did.” After their first meeting, she claimed she talked to Echols just once, when she called him and he said he was under FBI surveillance.  On the day of her court appearance, “I was kind of high. I couldn't even stand up. I even had somebody go get me some more pills.” She  had taken four Prozac, at least 13 Valium and four pain pills prior to testifying.   She had been taking Prozac, Valium and a sleeping medication, Trazodene, during May,  all from the East Arkansas Mental Health Center, as well as pain pills from Melissa Byers, Christopher's mother, and downers from another friend. She was seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist.  She said she was bipolar, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had post-traumatic stress syndrome.   At the time of the trial, her part-time job as a bartender at the Ramada Inn allowed her to drink “as much as I wanted.  I should say that when I left I felt pretty good every night.” In 1994, after the trials were over, she told defense investigators that she drank a bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey prior to the trip to the esbat and could not recall the circumstances or who accompanied her, only that she awoke the next morning lying on her front lawn. The drinking bout was spurred by a disagreement with her boyfriend.  She claimed Misskelley stayed overnight at her home, armed with a gun, because Mark Byers “was always bothering us.”  Hutcheson said she became a methamphetamine addict while working at a strip club prior to going to prison around 1995.  In 2004, she said she had recently gotten off meth.  The timeline on harassment by Byers in May 1993 seemed to make little sense as her role in the case wasn't public knowledge then.  In 2004, she said “We kept it quiet until Ron Lax's big mouth and he opened up that whole can of worms you know. And everybody found out they had talked to Aaron and then they found out about me and all that deal.”   She said Byers wanted to talk with Aaron “by himself with him to McDonald's.” She refused. She complained Byers started buying Aaron gifts and brought a Christmas tree to their house. She would see “someone,”  “a really tall, big person” hanging around her back porch. “And I just knew it was Mark. I just had a feeling it was Mark.”  At the time she was telling the story, she and her son were on board with Byers being an “alternative suspect.” She said Misskelley was familiar with Michael through Michael's friendship with Aaron.  Vicki appeared  for a Baldwin Rule 37 hearing  on Aug. 14, 2009, and answered a few questions. Then the court, the prosecutors and her attorneys conferred on whether contradicting her testimony from 1994 would be perjury, finally determining that she could be open to prosecution. There was no offer of immunity. She did not testify. While the Hutchesons provided a crucial link to the solution of the case through their friendship with Misskelley,  Vicki's “investigation” yielded little of worth —- Echols was an acknowledged witch so she would have provided “proof” only of what was already known if she had testified. He made no self-incriminating statements to her.  As for Aaron,  childish fantasies aside,  he provided a seemingly plausible link between the killers and their victims.  Whether there was a pre-arranged meeting between the killers and their victims remains an open question.

On May 5, 1993 three eight year old boys, Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, were playing their neighborhood when they never returned home. The next day their naked bodies would be found in a place called Robin Hood Hills. A community rattled by an atrocious crime would look furiously for the perpetrators to be held accountable. The investigation, trial, and conviction of Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols, would continue to be debated today, when three teenage boys would become the West Memphis Three. Welcome to season two of Sispicion! Organization Spotlight: The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. For more information visit their website at www.innocenceproject.org. Research Sources: "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills," "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations," "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky "West of Memphis" Directed by Amy J. Berg https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/the-west-memphis-three-case-an-evolving-story-of-doubt-misinformation https://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/then-now-the-west-memphis-three https://the-line-up.com/west-memphis-three-where-are-they-now

  Disclaimer: There are two potential routes via bicycle between Highland trailer park and Robin Hood Hills. One would involve going down the eastside service road along I-55 on down from the trailer park to Missouri Street and then down the southside service road along I-55-40 and to the Blue Beacon. It's also possible and more feasible to go southbound on the service road to Alcy Road, following until it merges with Seventh Street and then onto the southside service road. I misstated about accessing the Seventh Street overpass from the service road. Sorry about that.     Episode 28: “One of the guys had a devil worshiping book and we would go by it” October 27, 2019       https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=blood+on+black&qid=1559059428&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XNLYB8QUIQ7F&keywords=where+the+monsters+go&qid=1559059470&s=gateway&sprefix=where+the+monsters+go%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059536&s=gateway&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1559059573&ref_=sr_1_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059573&s=gateway&sr=8-2   "It was like it never even happened"      The Hutchesons, Vicki and son Aaron, were key to solution of the case, offering tantalizing evidence that resulted in the confession of Jessie Misskelley and subsequent arrests of Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin. Their stories, though, never quite panned out, as  mother and son both put their imaginations to work on colorful yarns that increasingly posed problems for the prosecution.    Tall, red-haired Vicki had a sketchy past, including charges for writing hot checks.  In May 1993, she recently had separated from her husband, having moved April 19 from the West Memphis neighborhood adjacent to Weaver Elementary to Highland Trailer Park.  There the 30-year-old had befriended Jessie Misskelley Jr.  Aaron, a sturdily built, dark-haired 8-year-old,  was in the same grade as the dead boys and in the Cub Scout troop run by Michael's father, Todd.  Aaron had played regularly with Michael and Christopher.   Aaron's description of their friendship grew over the course of police interviews into an ever-changing narrative in which he became a witness to the killings —- and ultimately an unwilling participant. But at first he was regarded as truthful in his tales of seeing five men participate in group sex in the woods and cooking a cat near the boys' “club house,” near where the killings occurred.    In a report on May 28, Ridge found Aaron's claim to have seen cult activities from the “club house” to be credible. Ridge, though, was unable to find any sign of the “club house” —- apparently a tree stand that no longer existed by the time Aaron led officers into the woods. Meanwhile, his mother, drinking heavily and consuming a variety of prescribed and illegal drugs, resolved to “play detective” by getting to know Jessie's friend Damien.  She had heard rumors that Echols was responsible for the murders. She claimed she learned that he was involved with a group known as the Dragons, who supposedly  worshipped dragons and whose meetings included a ritual in which they sacrificed genitals. Victoria Hutcheson first heard about the murders while at the Marion Police Department on May 6, as news of the discovery of the bodies spread. She had taken a lie detector test about a $200 credit overcharge at the truck stop where she worked. She was checking on the results; she passed the polygraph and was cleared of potential charges but was fired nonetheless.   She brought Aaron with her to the station, after checking him out of school when she learned the boys were missing. The boys were not known to be dead when the Hutchesons  arrived at Marion PD.  When Assistant Chief of Police Donald Bray learned Aaron had been friends with Michael and Christopher,  he called the WMPD to inform them that Aaron might be a source of information.  Then he was told the bodies had been discovered.  Bray immediately began questioning Aaron and his mother.   Vicki said Chris and Michael had asked Aaron to come play with them Wednesday right after school but she had refused permission.    Aaron said he had been with his friends several times at Robin Hood Hills and that Michael had gone swimming in the ditch.  His initial account contained none of the over-the-top details that marked later statements.  Bray was well-acquainted with Jerry Driver and Steve Jones, two juvenile officers who had extensive dealings with Echols and friends.  Bray readily concurred with them about possible occult aspects to the killings and with their suspicions about Echols and  Baldwin.  Bray was quickly convinced that Aaron could be the source of vital clues. He pursued information from Aaron long past the point of credibility.  Aaron's first statement to West Memphis police on May 10 was full of vivid description that had little relation to reality — he said a black man with yellow teeth driving a maroon car had stopped to tell Michael that Michael's mother had sent him to pick up Michael and that Michael rode off with him. The Moore back yard literally backed up to the main entrance at Weaver Elementary; no one picked Michael up or would have had reason to pick him up; he walked home that day, as always.  On May 27, Aaron told another fantastic tale, though just credible enough to excite investigators. A snippet of that interview, with his childish voice eerily saying “Nobody knows what happened but me,” was played back to Misskelley on June 3, one of several effective interrogation techniques used to elicit Misskelley's confession.   Aaron said he, Michael and Chris had a club house in Robin Hood and that “sometimes we watched these men. … They were uh, doing nasty stuff. … They, they do what men and woman do,”  going on to say that the five men gave each other oral sex while the boys watched from a hiding place.  He said all but one of the men wore black T-shirts, with one wearing a white T-shirt and having long hair. They all carried “big knives.” He described them smoking rolled-up cigarettes that “stunk” and said they painted their faces black.  “There was a skull commander he had on a necklace and there is a snake in its eye. …'”  The necklace was a pendant similar to a pendant or earring that Echols lost at the Hutcheson home.  Aaron had become  fascinated by the jewelry after discovering the earring.    Aaron said the men used a briefcase, a detail that agreed with later stories from Jessie Misskelley Jr.  about the cult meetings. Aaron said the men had been “mean” to a dog but “they caught cat they cut his head off and ate it. … They ate the whole cat but his head” after cooking him.   Misskelley and others told  about killing and eating pets.   Aaron thought the boys went to watch the men on Wednesday … “They got caught, and then they never told the men,  and the men sorta killed them.” On June 2, shortly before the arrest of his friend Jessie, Aaron elaborated with details about the men, saying they would dance around a fire and say “bad stuff” about “Jesus and God. I mean the Devil and God. … That they said they like the Devil and they hate God.”   Aaron told Ridge and Allen: “They wore all white and they painted themselves black. … They all talk in Spanish.” Aaron also had a strange story about Misskelley: “Little Jessie said that um, he seen Michael. …. He seen a police car. He was coming out from the um and he seen the police car and like he ran under … back underneath the bridge. … He didn't see Chris or Steve. … Little Jessie said he seen a um he seen a cop … cop car coming out from underneath the bridge close to my house … It was close to my, I think there were coming to my house, and they … they got lost to where I lived.” Ridge asked: “… You think Stevie and Michael were coming to your house?” Aaron: “Because I think they all was, I told Michael before.” Ridge: “Where you lived, so you thought maybe they were going to ride over to your house? And Little Jessie said he thought he saw them that day. Is that right?” Aaron: “He did see Michael.” Ridge repeated: “He did see Michael.” Aaron: “Michael has brown hair and he had on our Cub Scout T-shirt and his blue pants.” Ridge: “Oh, where did he see him at?” Aaron: “He seen him — you know that bridge where that train going today um, he seen him underneath that one. … That's close to my house.” If Misskelley actually told Aaron the details about the clothes,  that would be highly incriminating, but Aaron's statements had little credibility; as for second-hand statements from Misskelley, even less so.  In his initial statements, Misskelley said he had seen a boy on a bicycle near Seventh Street — one of the routes between Highland and Robin Hood —  who hid when he saw a police car.  Apparently Misskelley also told Aaron this story —- to no clear purpose.    Ridge asked Aaron about Misskelley's friends, and Aaron mentioned Bubba (Ashley) and Dennis (Carter).  Asked about someone named Damien, he said “Bubba's friend, Bubba's friend. … I never knew him, but Jessie … Jessie um, shown me him and I didn't get real close to him.” Ridge asked questions trying to connect possible suspects with the men in the woods, but Aaron had never seen any of them elsewhere, except once at a Flash Market convenience store.  The one who wore a white tank top was paying for gas for “a nice car … it was a convertible.” Asked if the men had seen the boys, Aaron replied, “Uh, I think so because that one man with the white tank top said ‘Hi fellows, it was … he said wasn't you guys watching us?' … We got … We got … We got kind scared, we ran right out. … he just said come back, and we didn't say a word because we knew we wasn't suppose to talk to strangers?”  Ridge pushed Aaron to be specific about the “nasty things” the men did. Aaron explained they would put a penis “in somebody's bottom.” After the June 3 arrests, Aaron gave statements on June 4, 7, 8 and 9 describing how he rode over to Robin Hood after going home with his mother to Highland on May 5.  He began claiming he witnessed Damien, Jason and Jessie kill his three friends.  The June 4 statement  to Don Bray had such unlikely details as Michael and Chris finding guns during the assault: “… They said on a count of three, we are gonna jump out and Michael said, one, two, and he jumped out, he pointed the gun at them … he pulled the trigger and nothing came out cause it wasn't loaded.” He described Misskelley pursuing Stevie: “He chased him down, he caught him and … he put his face in the water for about five seconds and pulled it out, and he said I don't want to kill you, yet, until what my boss says. … He went to his boss and he said that, you need to kill him, cause we already killed the other two.”  The “boss” was Damien. He alleged Damien raped Michael and that Michael had died and turned blue after being cut in the neck.  He claimed Chris also was cut in the neck and “they cut their private parts off” all the boys.  He claimed Baldwin had walked around the Hutcheson home, tapping on the window, while carrying a “policeman's gun.” The parts of the June 4 statement that could be checked out  — such as injuries to the boys — bore little relation to reality, but police continued to set up interviews with the boy. Aaron repeated much of the statement on June 7, including the description of the boys using guns and of Damien being “the boss.” After being asked about contradictory statements concerning the roles of Jason and Jessie, he claimed that Jason asked to be called Jessie.    Aaron said on June 8: “Jessie told me that something was gonna happen. … Something was going to happen to Michael, Chris and Steve … He uh, he just said uh, you go and get your friends and I'll go and get my friends, we will do down to Robin Hood and do something. … “I seen them Wednesday … I told them to let's go to Robin Hood, and then ask my mommy if I could go. … Steve and Chris came up to my mommy's window and asked if I could go to Robin Hood. … They asked if I could go over to his house for two hours and stay. … She said, no. … Then I went there after I got finished doing … on my bike. … I went the Service Road, then I got to Luv's and turned ... I went to Blue Beacon.”  Then, Aaron told Bray, he went into the woods where he saw Michael and Chris hiding from “them men” behind a tree.  The five included “Jessie Jason and Damien. I didn't know the other two.”   Aaron said Michael told him that Stevie, who wasn't there, had gone with “the fifth man,” Misskelley.  “Steve got away, he got caught back and got killed. … Steve seen Jessie and started running. … Then he got away, and ... he got away again and got caught. … He uh ran and Jessie uh, was chasing him and he hit his face on the pipe. … the pipe that you walk across.  It wasn't bleeding, he just uh, started crying and stuff. … It was just a little bruise.” He said Michael and Chris jumped out of the tree to help Stevie. “Then they got  caught, and got killed.” Aaron said Jessie killed Stevie but then described Stevie running into Damien and being stabbed in the stomach —- not an area where Stevie was actually stabbed.  Then, he said, Stevie was cut in the neck. Stevie was stripped and thrown into the water, and  “they turned blue and died … all three of them.” Later, he claimed Jessie raped Stevie.  At this point Aaron's story, with some credible —- or at least possible — aspects but wrong on the wounds and other details, veered again into sheer fantasy. “And then they caught me and got tied up and about 40 seconds I got untied and left and then I didn't remember nothing else about it.” Aaron then said Michael died first with a stab wound to the neck and another wound from Jessie. Aaron said he saw all this from up in a tree: “I was trying to climb down, but I fell down and hit my, I hit my back … I could hardly walk or get up … I got up and I kicked. I kicked the knife and he, he tied me up and just left me there. … They said that they might kill me.” He said Chris was killed after Steve, after being raped by Damien. The story grew increasingly confused with various claims about who died first, with a story of Michael falling down after trying to get up after being stabbed and then hitting his face on a rock and wrapping up with the claim that Michael was cut on his private parts.   The supposed plan for a meet-up in the woods to “do something”  resonated with Misskelley's description of the teens' plans to go into West Memphis that day.  But, coupled with a incoherent, error-filled fantasy, and coming after the arrest of Misskelley,  Aaron's story only served to frustrate investigators.  Vicki originally said Aaron was with her as she ran errands on the afternoon of May 5.  By June 2, she was telling a different story to Bray.  After initially refusing to let Aaron go over to Michael's house, “she thinks (4:00 p.m.) he rode his bike to his uncle Johnny Dedman's house, three streets over. He is supposed to check in with her every two hours. She has not asked Johnny if Aaron was there, on that day. She has not asked Aaron either. She doesn't remember if Aaron was back home by 6:00 p.m.”   With that lack of detail about her small son's whereabouts, it suddenly was possible, if unlikely, that Aaron had been at Robin Hood Hills on May 5.   Johnny Dedman also figured into Jessie Misskelley's alibi for May 5, with Misskelley and Aaron Hutcheson supposedly both being over at the Dedman home at roughly the same time.  Despite being a potentially important witness both on the Aaron Hutcheson narrative and the Misskelley alibi, there is no available police interview with  Dedman, though he did show up on the list of potential witnesses for the defense.    In his June 9 interview with Bray and Gitchell, in the presence of his mother, Aaron repeated the story about Misskelley arranging the meeting.  Aaron told them: “Jessie told me that um, something was going to happen to my friends.” Aaron said he was told this on Tuesday, with a meet-up between the groups set for Wednesday.  The story was similar to the previous day's tale, with  added details such as Jessie was the one who caught him and tied him up again.   Gitchell pressed Aaron to tell the truth, with Aaron  claiming that Jessie “abused” him. Police interviewed Aaron again on Dec. 31, 1993, with John Fogleman, Bray and James Thompson, Vicki's boyfriend,  at the East Arkansas Mental Health offices. Taping behind a two-way mirror were Ridge and Gitchell. Vicki Hutcheson was elsewhere in the building, with Judy Hicks, the Hutchesons' therapist. Aaron told them that, before the killings,  Jessie told him that he wanted to meet some of his friends.  He said he had seen Jessie, Damien and Jason at Robin Hood when he had lived in the neighborhood.  He saw them do “what men and women do.” Looking down,  avoiding eye contact, Aaron told his story in a quiet, hesitant voice, often difficult to hear.   Eventually he began crying.  He said he did not want to talk about his story and had nightmares.  “It makes me scared.” Pressed for details, he stopped talking and sat picking at his hands and then playing with a watch to keep his hands busy.   He admitted his fear of Misskelley: “They'll kill my mom if I talk.” He claimed he had been abused by Misskelley: “he put his private in my bottom.”  Aaron said he was afraid he would be taken from his mom because he had been abused by Jessie.  Aaron said Misskelley wanted him to “do something bad” to get into Misskelley's “club,”  and Michael and Chris were invited to join. Aaron did not know Stevie would show up.   Aaron again told of riding his bicycle from Highland Park to Robin Hood,  traversing the routes of the interstate and service roads.  Such a trip, particularly a route of about 3 miles over the 7th Street overpass, would be feasible though not bicycle-friendly.   He claimed he saw the attack from a hiding place, though Misskelley was aware of his presence.  “He asked me if I wanted to kill them and I said no.” When the attack was over, “he said don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody or I'll kill your mom.”  “It was almost dark” he returned home. The next day,  Aaron went over to Misskelley's home and “he only looked at me like I did something bad.” His description of Misskelley holding down Michael,  Damien holding down Stevie and Jason holding down Chris was in accord with Misskelley's confessions generally. Aaron offered a number of contradictory statements about his own role.     Aaron heard Damien say “We tricked you” as the attacks started.  Aaron claimed there were two others present,  a male in a hat with a dragon T-shirt and another male.  He could offer little description beyond that, though he consistently described five attackers.  He said the killers carried a duffel bag with equipment for the kill.  They used canes in the beatings. Asked in which hand the teens held their canes,  Aaron told Bray, “I get mixed up with right and left.” The Dec. 31 interview was in two parts, both roughly an hour.  Aaron benefited from a break, returning in a confident and relaxed mood.  Thompson was out of the room for the wrap-up session. At times, Aaron seemed strangely lighthearted, smiling as he talked about being abused by Jessie or about his friends being killed, in contrast to the earlier session. At one point, he stood up and playfully pulled a knife from his pocket that Thompson had given him.  That prompted Aaron describing Jessie having a knife.  Aaron played with the knife as the interview progressed, opening and closing the blade. Bray eventually took the knife from the boy. As the conversation turned toward knives, Aaron identified Damien as having the knife found in the lake behind Baldwin's trailer.    Toward the end, Aaron got bored and restless.   “I told everything two or three times.  Can we leave?”  Aaron said he was not  scared of anyone “unless they're witches. I hate witches” and oddly expressed concern about Damien's son Seth, an infant, being a witch. Like many others, he said Damien possessed a cat's skull. He said  “they ate the cat” after cooking it on a grill top. Then he drew a picture of the cat saying “help me.” While Aaron's story on Dec. 31 was less fantastic and more consistent than his earlier fantasies, the small, emotionally fragile boy clearly was not a reliable witness.  Bray conducted yet another interview with Aaron at the Marion Police Department on Jan. 30, 1994, prompted by Aaron volunteering details on “some other stuff that happened.”  Aaron told an implausible story about how Misskelley forced him to participate in the castration of Christopher  and then drink a glassful of blood.  Among unlikely details, he told how a “a white guy and a black guy” arrived on the scene, with the “black guy” threatening Aaron with a gun “and he made me say I hate Jesus and I love the devil.”  Bray pressed for details until the boy lapsed into long silences.   Aaron did not testify at trial.  In 2004, he told the Arkansas Times he was no longer sure if he saw the murders or if, shocked by the deaths, he imagined he had seen the murders. At that time, he was convinced the boys had been killed by Mark Byers.   In the same story,  Aaron said his statements had been complete fabrications. He said the police tricked him into saying things that were not true.  The statements clearly did contain elements of truth —- he did know the dead boys, for example.  As with his mother, who eventually claimed her Echols stories were wildly exaggerated, a blanket disclaimer raised questions that likely will never be answered.  His mother did testify in the Misskelley trial, though not the Echols/Baldwin trial, giving a fairly straightforward description of how Echols, with Misskelley, took her to a witches' meeting. She testified she and Echols left but Misskelley stayed. Jurors did not hear salacious details about incipient orgies and other bizarre goings-on.  

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=blood+on+black&qid=1559059428&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XNLYB8QUIQ7F&keywords=where+the+monsters+go&qid=1559059470&s=gateway&sprefix=where+the+monsters+go%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059536&s=gateway&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1559059573&ref_=sr_1_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1559059573&s=gateway&sr=8-2   "Jessie took a knife out of his pocket and put a knife to my throat"        Even more so than Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr.'s name was linked to a number of violent episodes, often aimed at younger children.  John Earl Perschke Jr.,  a 14-year-old eighth-grader living at Lakeshore, confirmed to Detective Bill Durham on Sept. 6, 1993, that he had been attacked by Misskelley.  Perschke said the incident in January 1992 on the  railroad tracks northwest of Lakeshore was witnessed by at least five others.   “We heard someone coming up ...,” said Perschke's handwritten statement. “We tried to hide. ... Jason, Damien, Jessie, Buddy and four other boys were with them and so Jessie shoved me against the side .... Jessie was first talking to me and then after a while Jessie took a knife out of his pocket and put a knife to my throat and he said would you like to be dead and so he shoved the knife harder and so he put the knife up and then Jessie hit me and Buddy too and ... I couldn't tell who all was hitting me. Damien and Jason and the other boys were still on the railroad tracks and there he was yelling at me and then they all left. I walked home. I was coughing up blood.” The incident was another example as well of Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley hanging out together.   A girl at that scene, Tiffany Allen, was a 13-year-old Lakeshore resident when she gave a statement on Oct. 7, 1993, about another violent attack by Misskelley: “We had gotten into an argument and he had been spreading a rumor around that he was having sexual intercourse with me to all these people and I confronted him with it and he kept saying all this stuff so I slapped him ... For a year I didn't hear anything from him and ... somebody came up to me and said that he had been looking for me and so I just didn't worry about and one day I was walking through the park and he was at the road and .... he came up to me. He started running at me and my boyfriend stepped in front of me and he hit Carl. … He hit Carl and then he hit me and we started to walk away and he started coming after us again, so we ran ... until one of my friends' parents came and got us and took me to my house.” She had a busted lip.  Ridge had a copy of the complaint dated March, 12, 1993, the day after, that gave essentially the same account.   Her mother, Gayla Allen, was present during the interview along with the child's grandmother, Vera Hill. Gayla Allen told Ridge she had gone to the Misskelley home after the incident.  Jessie Jr. ran out the front door while she was knocking on the back door.  When she returned later, “OK, I knock on the door. Jessie Sr. was sitting in there and he said that he just could not do anything with his son.” Tiffany said Susie Brewer, Misskelley's girlfriend, had made threats: “She just said that if I put Jessie in court or in jail or anything like that I better watch my back because they were all going to be after me, and all this stuff, and um, his cousins confronted me with it, and everything and I never ever, ever heard nothing from Jessie. It was always somebody else.” Tiffany, identified as a cult member by Misskelley,  denied any direct knowledge of a Satanic cult at Lakeshore but said that if one did exist, it would be meeting at nighttime in a field behind the old sewage plant. Ridge reported: “Tiffany admitted that she was aware that a cult like group did exist in or around the trailer park but she did not know any of the members nor had she attended any of the meetings. She seemed afraid for her safety and reluctant to give any information concerning these activities because of the fears she had for her safety. Tiffany stated that she did not know Jessie to be a member of a Satanic group, however she also stated that she has been with people that she had heard were in the group and she was unaware that they were members as well.” She also described a fight she had witnessed between Jason Baldwin and John Perschke. “John hit him hard and he started bleeding and then after the fight and everything Damien bends down, put his finger in, dips into the blood and then sticks it in his mouth.”  Misskelley repeatedly told a similar story, widely told around the trailer parks, that contributed to the belief that Echols was a blood-drinking Satanist.  Little Jessie had long-term problems with violent acting out.  Misskelley recently had been involved in an incident in which he threw a rock at a little girl aged about 5 or 6, hitting her in the head, prompting a call to police.  He was on probation on those charges when he was arrested for the murders.  Years earlier, on May 4, 1988, when he was about 11, Misskelley had been accused of hitting another girl in the head with a rock or brick after Misskelley began beating up her abusive boyfriend; when Misskelley attacked her boyfriend, she had jumped in to defend the boyfriend.   Even earlier, Misskelley had stabbed a fourth-grade classmate in the mouth with a pencil.   His problems dated to early childhood; counseling and hospitalization had been recommended but there was never follow-through from his parents.    “Blood of Innocents” described a June 1987 report from a social worker based on a court-ordered exam. The social worker quoted Shelbia Misskelley, his stepmother: “He gets so mad, he's capable of hurting someone.”  She said he had a habit of punching out windows, once requiring several stitches to his left hand.  When blood was found on one of his shirts after his arrest, Misskelley said it was his own, shed after punching out soda bottles.  According to  “Blood of Innocents,” the social worker's report stated: “Mrs. Misskelley reported Jessie does not own up to his wrongs, that he always blames someone else. She denies Jessie becomes physical with she or her husband but will clinch his fist and take his anger out on someone else or something like breaking the window.” Shelbia Misskelley told the social worker: “I don't think he can control” his temper. “He needs some help.” Years later, a former FBI profiler, apparently oblivious to the history of violence common to all three killers, weighed in on the case.  In “Law and Disorder,” John Douglas wrote, “Damien and Jason had no indicative violence in their pasts, and while Jessie was known for a hot temper, he channeled his aggressions into pursuits such as wrestling. … Though the three were raised in a culture in which corporal punishment was common, none were abused … In sum, I found … nothing in the behavioral backgrounds of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin or Jessie Misskelley to suggest that any were guilt of murder.”   Douglas was hired by the defenders of the killers.  Douglas did not respond to questions about the case.  

  From "Blood on Black"   "I'LL GET YOU, I'M GONNA KILL YOU. YOU'RE GONNA DIE."   Echols was notorious around West Memphis and Marion for walking everywhere, often in a black trenchcoat. He testified that he walked around areas of West Memphis frequently, and was in the area where his victims lived “probably an average of two or three times a week” over “probably at least two years.” Echols would testify that he often had to walk through the neighborhood of the victims to make his way between Lakeshore and his parents' trailer on South Broadway. Despite having lived in the neighboring Mayfair Apartments, he testified that he had never been in Robin Hood. That claim had no credibility, since the pipe over 10 Mile Bayou offered one of the few pedes- trian shortcuts between the Echols/Hutchison trailer and Lakeshore — a route Echols testified he regularly used. When he moved to Salem, Mass., briefly, after his release from prison, the Lurker in Black quickly gained notoriety as the convicted child killer who was constantly walking around the town. Now apparently based in New York City's Harlem, he is just one amid a vast throng of black-clad hipsters trudging around the big city. Echols has described this lifelong pattern of obsessive walking in interviews. He told Justin M. Norton of www.metalsucks.net that “When I first got out, I would go and walk and walk for hours, just looking in shop windows and feeling the wind and the rain. I would be exhausted to the core and want to go lay down, but as soon as I'd get back in, I would want to go right back out.” Echols in his 2012 memoir, “Life After Death,” described, without a lot of specifics, his dissatisfaction in his relationship in 1993 with Domini and how he sought out his old girlfriend: “I thought of Deanna frequently, wondering what had happened. Through sheer coincidence (I use that word but don't believe there's any such thing) I found out Deanna's family had started attending church. The possibility of seeing her again plagued me. I couldn't get it out of my head. I constantly wondered what would happen, how she would react, what I would see in her eyes, and I had a plethora of questions I needed answers to. I couldn't understand how she had so thoroughly and completely severed our connection. I needed an explanation ... “Sunday morning found me preparing to descend into the hellish realm of fundamentalism. ... I knew I didn't belong there but I had to do it or I would get no rest. .... “Scanning the rows, I saw Deanna sitting in the dead center of the room with her family. ... I couldn't breathe. She looked at me ... and looked away. I didn't even see a flicker of recognition. What did that mean? “I had been expecting something — anything — but her eyes passed over me as if I were not even there. ... “When it was over, I walked outside and stood on the sidewalk. I was trying to figure out what this meant as I watched her family get in their car and drive away.” Echols did not give a date for this attempted encounter, but the stalking incident closed a chapter in the book that then opened on news of the May 5 killings. After his arrest, reports surfaced about Echols, or someone closely resembling him, observing children in an obsessive and secretive manner. Some reports predated the killings. On March 1, 1993, Jennifer Ball, who lived at Lakeshore, reported to police that she had been threatened by Michael “Beshears” (Beshires), 14, on several occasions. On March 1, she said, someone had threatened to kill her by shouting through her window. The police report de- scribed “Suspect B,” who was not Beshires, as a slim white male about 18 dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans and a black jacket. Jennifer saw him make the threats, then enter the fenced-in backyard. On June 10, she gave police this hand-written statement: “The first contact I had with Damien Echols was when he was at my window (March 1 93). I had heard about him and heard that he was into devil worshipping. So was Michael & Amanda Lancaster. Well Michael had told her that he was going to blow my house up & stay away from me. Well she didn't believe him & we continued to be friends. Well he called her one day & told her to watch out that he had Mark Beshires & Damien Echols watching us all this was happening in March. About March 1 I was on three-way with Amanda Lancaster & Jack Held. It was storming that day. I kept on hearing something but I thought that it was just the rain. Well I was in the kitchen. I was look- ing out the window & somebody jumped in front of it shouting ‘you bitch, I'll get you, I'm gonna kill you. You're gonna die' I started screaming & hollering I didn't know what to do. I dropped down in the corner of the kitchen. Amanda was hollering at me ‘Jennifer what is wrong. Jennifer what is going on.' I told her that someone was at my window & it looked like Damien. She told me stay where I was & she was going to call me right back. I hung up the phone. I looked out the window to see if he (Damien) was still there. He was. He just glared at me & said ‘you're dead bitch' & ran off. I was so scared. Amanda called me back & I was crying. I told her what Damien had said. She just sat their like, ‘oh my god.' About 5 minutes later she said ‘Jennifer, Jennifer was Damien wearing pure black & a black trench coat?' I said ‘Yes. Why?' she said ‘He's walking down the street and eyeing my house.' She got really scared & started crying & then her house alarm went off. She was screaming & crying. I didn't know what to do. I had a feeling that Damien was going to be watching us & after us. When my mom, Teresa Wood- son, got home from work that day, I told her what hap- pened. She didn't know what to do. She waited for my stepdad, Don Woodson, to get home. She told him about it. He really didn't know what to do either. Me & my mom were talking & she asked me to describe Damien. I told her that he had black hair. & these eyes that looked black. He was dressed in a black shirt, black jeans & a black trench coat. She asked me if he was tall. I told her yes. She said she remembers seeing him in Wal- Mart. This was about 10 minutes after he had done passed by Amanda's house & came up to mine. She decided to call the police. Officer Reese came to our house. She asked me to describe Damien. I did she (Officer Reese) asked me if I was sure it was Damien. I told her no. I was scared that if Damien found out I told, he would definitely kill me. So the person at my window was left blank. Well about a month ago I was in Kroger. I had left my mother to go get something. While I was looking I noticed that somebody kept passing by & looking at me. When I looked up, I discovered that it was Damien. I just ran off. I didn't tell my mom because I didn't want her to worry so I let it slide by. About 3 weekends ago I went skating with Amanda Lancaster. We were having a good ol time until Damien walked in. I looked at Amanda & pointed. She just said oh my god. I told her I was going to go call my mom. She told me to just ignore him. (She had told Amy Allison when the 3 boys first got murdered that Damien & some boy named Jason had murdered them. Amy just ignored her.) Well me & Amanda were walking around the skat- ing rink. We decided to sit down & get something to drink. We were about 2 tables over from Damien, Jason Baldwin & his girlfriend Heather. I don't know her last name. Well we were all singing & having a good time. I noticed that Damien kept on staring at me. I just ignored it or at least I tried to. I looked up & noticed that him & Jason were whispering to each other & Pointing at me. Damien whispered something to Jason & Jason looked over at me & said I don't know. Then Jason whispered something to Damien & Damien looked at me. He looked me up & down & said Yep. Then Damien started saying something & Jason kept on saying ‘No man. No' Well, we finally left that table & went walking around. We went to the back of the skating rink. I noticed that Damien had followed us. Not w/his body w/ his eyes. It was really starting to freak me out! My best friend Shannon Sanders was up there. She noticed that I had been acting paranoyed. She kept on asking me what was wrong. I told her I was just tired. (Finally on Sunday I told her what was the matter). I had lost Amanda & was trying to find her. I went to the bathroom to see if she had walked in there. When I came out Damien was standing there against the wall. I bumped into him. I didn't realize who it was until I looked up. When I looked into his eyes its like I froze. I just stood there. ... I ran off. His eyes followed me all the way to the back. I didn't really say anything to Amanda because I didn't want to get her scared. We stayed at the back for about 10 minutes & decided to go back up to the front. Well some girl, I can't remember her name I really didn't know her, asked me to go buy her some candy & a coke. When I went to give it to her, I noticed she was at Damien's table. I just ran over there handed it to her & walked off. I could feel his eyes following me. Well I lat- er found out that he was asking some people who I was. Some girl that I don't know told him I was Jennifer Ball. He sat there for a minute & then said ‘Jennifer Ball, Jennifer Ball, I know her, I really really know her' & had this evil look on his face. Then he started asking around what Amanda's phone number was & where she lived. No one would tell him. While we were walking out of the blue Amanda started saying shut up shut up. I looked at her & asked her what was wrong. She said that she could hear Damien in her mind saying ‘Bitch you're gonna die, you know to much.' (Last year Amanda had P.E. w/Damien. She said he would sit there & enter her mind. It really freaked her out.) Well it was finally time for us to leave & I was glad. Damien watched us as we went out the building. Ever since then it feels like someone is watching me. Friday after everyone had found out who murdered the little boys I got a phone call. I answered the phone & someone asked who this was. I said Jennifer They said well you & your friend Amanda were the next to die by Damien. & Hung up. I was really freaked. I didn't say anything to Amanda about the phone call. I had heard that Damien was going to kill 2 more girls his girlfriend & Jason Baldwin's girlfriend. Well Jason's girlfriend is a girl named Heather whom is Amanda Lancaster's cousin. I don't know her last name. Amanda kept on saying Friday I know those two girls were me & you I knew they were. I just told her not to jump to conclusions - even though after the phone call I was certain it was us. After Amanda read that statement in the Commercial Appeal she kept on saying, ‘I have a feeling our picture is in that briefcase. I have the weirdest feeling.' I just wish somebody would find out. Then yesterday some woman that had come swimming w/my aunt told my mom that she heard Damien was going to sacrafice 2 virgins next. I told my mom about the mysterious phone call. She asked me how come I hadn't told her. I told her I thought it was a prank, but now I'm really not for sure. It's just really scary. Know I feel like every where I go I'm being followed. I haven't had any phone calls since Friday.” That was just one example of Echols' curious practice of getting his kicks by intimidating the impressionable. Her friend, Amanda Lancaster, gave police this handwritten statement on June 10, beginning with information passed on to her by Jason Baldwin's girlfriend: “Heather Clite had told me that Damean had been asking me question's about me, about where I live & my phone number. “Jennifer Harrison had said that she thought Damean had done it cause he new way to much, and he went around Horseshoe the same day the murders had happened, and had dog intestents around his neck. “At the skating rink, he watched me and stuff. He would follow me around, he would like just watch me. “He would really scare me, and someone had told me that I was next, me and Jennifer Ball were next. “I was on the phone with Jennifer Ball when Damean apparently was at her window.” Police notes from her interview stated that she thought Echols had a camera, that she felt people in a cult were watching her and that she felt that Echols knew too much about the murders. Jennifer Ball's mother, Teresa Woodson, gave a handwritten statement to police on June 10: “On March of 93 When I came home from work my daughter told me that Damin Echols was at our window in the back yard yelling he was going to kill her. When her stepfather came home from work I talked to him & we called the police. Officer Reese came and took our statement. Jennifer was also told that when her stepfather & Mom went to Calif. she better kiss me goodby for good because she would never see me again. She would come home from school and be terrified that something was going to happen to her. And friends would tell her that Amanda & her were going to be killed & sacerficed. The day he was in the back yard on my way home from work I saw Damin walking down Balfour. Amanda & Jennifer went to the skating ring May of 93 and Damin was there he followed Jennifer and Amanda to the Restroom & would just watch them. And Friday June 5 we had a phone call that Jen- nifer was told you & Amanda will be the next to die. A boy that lives two doors down would tell Jennifer I will have Damin to kill you Because he Damin is a member of a cult. And Jennifer would come home they are going to kill me and she was always afraid that people were watching her. She would get werd phone calls all hours of the night.” Also on June 10, Karen Beshires McAteer told police that, about two months before, her daughter, Jes- sica Bryant, 11, and a friend, Heather Smith, had been waiting outside to go to church at about 10 a.m. on a Sunday. The girls came into the house and told her that a man was taking their picture. McAteer gave a hand-written statement on June 11: “On a Sunday morning approximately 2 to 3 weeks before the triple murder occurred my daughter & a friend were outside playing in my front yard at 515 Belvedere. They came into the house & said there was a man watching them from a bush one house away. I immediately went to the door & when I opened it he got up from a squatting position & started to run toward Balfour Rd. I called my husband & he & I immediately started looking for the man. We looked all over the neighborhood & the Bayou behind Balfour. He just disappeared & we could not see him. The guy behind the bush was Damion Echols. I saw him clearly & there is no doubt. I was told later that at that time he was staying with a family on Balfour. My daughter said the guy had something in his hand. My daughter believed that he was taking pictures of her & her friend at that time.” She said Echols was wearing a long black trench coat. Jessica Bryant told police: “It was a Sunday and we were just, we were just running around talking to each other and this boy just came up walking down the street and he was dressed in all black and so we were just playing and we looked over there and we saw him. He was behind the bush, and so we went, and so we weren't playing any attention to him we didn't think anything was going to happen, so we continued playing and he was still there so went over and hid behind the car for a few minutes and we thought he won't come out, so he will go away and leave us alone. And we went back and he was still there and so he was looking out of the corner of his eye at us. And so we didn't know what to do, so we went inside and told my mama and he started running off and then we don't know what happened to him. ... “He had sort of long hair, and dressed in all black and he real black long over coat on, with some black shoes on. And he had something on his face, I didn't get that close to him. He was pretty good in front of me and he had something on his hair I don't know what it was but, it was something weird in his hair. It looked like rabbits feet. ... “He was just looking out of the corner of his eyes and with his hands like this against him. He was like digging in his pockets, he had his hands in his pocket, but I don't know what he was doing. ... “It looked like black stuff on his face, I don't know what it was. Its just black stuff on his face ... “He was squatting down behind the bush. ... “He was doing something in his pockets. ... “He was like getting something out of his pockets, or putting something back in.” On May 18, 1993, before the arrests, Laura Maxwell, who had dated Echols, gave a handwritten statement to police in which she described Echols' bizarre personality, including his propensity to issue death threats, stalking and his hatred of small children. “Dated Damien Summer of 1991. … After we stopped dating my best friend Ashley Smith told me about Damien talking to her … He told he used to be a knight in his past life that killed all these people and he has written some books on witchcraft. He told me that he liked to get raw steak meat and suck the blood out. This one boy told me one time Jason Baldwin busted his nose & blood was all over the ground so Damien got down on the ground & started licking the blood up. He used to say that if he was out walking or something & he got thirsty that he would just like to take a baseball ball bat & knock somebody out & take a bite out of their neck & drink their blood. I'm not sure if he ever did this, that's just what he told me. He never liked my brother ... he told my friend he was going to kill him ... he had it all planned out what was going to happen. And he told my friend & I that if we told Donnie about this that he would kill us too, if that's what he had to do. And if our parents found out & they tried to get involved that he would just kill them too. He told my friend that he used to watch my house overnight & he knew everything that happened in my house every night. He also told one of his friends that one night while I was asleep he snuck in my house & came in my room & did all this stuff to me. I'm not sure if any of thats true though. He used to always talk about how much he hated little kids & he used to always say this saying about cutting all of your fingers & toes off one by one. We still talked alot after we broke up but when school started he started going out with this other girl Deanna Holcomb. And when she broke up with him he went to her house & kept saying he was going to kill her if she didn't go back out with him.  … “Garrett told Jason Frazier that Damien & Jason (Baldwin) always have their devil-worshiping meetings in that park & those little kids were riding over there & they saw something they were supposed to of seen so Damien killed them. Garrett said he heard this from Jason Baldwin who was supposed to of been there.”   Garrett Schwarting was a mutual friend of Max- well, Baldwin and Echols. Jason Frazier was a 16-year- old acquaintance of Schwarting's. Both Schwarting and Frazier were questioned by police —- with confusing results —- about Schwarting's statements to Frazier that Echols and Baldwin had killed the boys. On June 14, 1993, Barbara Deatteart of Lakeshore told police that two white youths had tried to steal her dog in March. She identified them as Baldwin and Echols from newspaper photos. She had seen an old Pontiac drive by her home, stopping several times, so she asked the two boys inside what they wanted, and they drove off. When they returned, a blond youth got out, looked around and tried to get his hand and arm over the fence to grab her dog's chain. She ran out and yelled at them. They took off again. On Oct. 5, 1993, Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers,  gave this statement to police: “Sometime between end of February 1993 & 1st half of March of 1993. My wife Melissa & myself went to grocery store at Flash Market on Ingram around 4:00. We were gone about 15 to 20 minutes. “When we returned home Christopher was inside. When we came in he started telling us about a man taking his picture. We asked what did he look like Chris said he was wearing a black coat & black pants & shoes black & had sort of long black hair. He said the man was driving a green car. Chris was playing under car port when man drove up. He said that he ran out into the yard because the man scared him and we asked what happened and Chris said he just took my picture then got in his car and left.” Melissa Byers, mother of Chris, repeated the information in a statement Oct. 5 and testified to the same set of facts in the Misskelley trial. In his confessions, Jessie Misskelley Jr. described how a photo of his three victims was passed around at Satanic cult meetings led by Echols. Investigators never found the photo or the brief- case in which it was kept along with weapons and drugs. In the Misskelley trial, because they had access to Misskelley's confessions mentioning the photo, the prosecution argued that the stalking indicated premeditated murder. The description of the photo, along with other evidence such as blue candle wax found on the shirt of Stevie Branch, added credence to the theory that not only were the the time and setting part of an occult scheme but the victims were hand-picked.  https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers/dp/0692802843/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710855&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull   https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_4?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-4-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1557710880&ref_=sr_1_fkmrnull_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6-fkmrnull https://eastofwestmemphis.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/WestMemphis3Killers/  

On May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore went missing while riding their bikes in West Memphis, Arkansas. They were found dead the next day in a drainage ditch. Very quickly, police narrowed their focus in on Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. These three teenagers would become known as the West Memphis 3. Join Mike and Gibby as they continue their discussion of this polarizing case. In this second part, we dive further into the confession made by Jessie and domino effect it had on Damien and Jason. We detail the trials against the three teenagers and the evidence presented that caused juries to convict them. You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime Visit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com Sponsors: Betterhelp.com/tcatt TheRealReal.com - promo code Real See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore went missing while riding their bikes in West Memphis, Arkansas. They were found dead the next day in a drainage ditch. Very quickly, police narrowed their focus in on Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. These three teenagers would become known as the West Memphis 3. Join Mike and Gibby as they continue their discussion of this polarizing case. In this second part, we dive further into the confession made by Jessie and domino effect it had on Damien and Jason. We detail the trials against the three teenagers and the evidence presented that caused juries to convict them. You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime Visit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com Sponsors: Betterhelp.com/tcatt TheRealReal.com - promo code Real See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore went missing while riding their bikes. They were found dead the next day. Very quickly, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr, who would become known as the West Memphis 3, were looked at as suspects. Join Mike and Gibby for the 100th episode of True Crime All The Time Unsolved. We're tackling this massive case that spans many years. In part 1, we discuss the young victims, the crime scene, and the teenagers suspected of the murders. You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime Visit the show's website for contact, merchandise, and donation information Sponsors: Betterhelp.com/tcatt - Get 10% off your first month of online counseling TheRealReal.com - Get 20% off select iconic luxury brands with the promo code Real See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Chris Byers and Michael Moore went missing while riding their bikes. They were found dead the next day. Very quickly, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr, who would become known as the West Memphis 3, were looked at as suspects. Join Mike and Gibby for the 100th episode of True Crime All The Time Unsolved. We're tackling this massive case that spans many years. In part 1, we discuss the young victims, the crime scene, and the teenagers suspected of the murders. You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetime Visit the show's website for contact, merchandise, and donation information Sponsors: Betterhelp.com/tcatt - Get 10% off your first month of online counseling TheRealReal.com - Get 20% off select iconic luxury brands with the promo code Real See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 8 of "The Case Against" tackles another persistent falsity about the West Memphis 3 case: Belying the claim that Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin were barely acquainted with Jessie Misskelley are their own words and the words of their friends and acquaintances.  They knew each other and frequented the same teenage hangouts.    https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers/dp/B071K8VNBM/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1549233637&sr=1-4     https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1549233533&sr=8-5&keywords=blood+on+black       https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549233533&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+on+black https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549233533&sr=8-2&keywords=blood+on+black   https://www.facebook.com/WestMemphis3Killers/   "I THOUGHT WE WERE SORT OF FRIENDS"     Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin were best friends, blood brothers, two boys from the trailer parks who had formed an inseparable bond. In May of 1993, Echols was a high school dropout who received Social Security Disability checks due to various mental illnesses. He stayed some of the time at his parents' home at Broadway Trailer Park in West Memphis and some of the time at his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend's home in Lakeshore Estates, a trailer park between West Memphis and Marion, Ark. Jason's trailer was just down the street from where Domini Teer and her mother lived. Echols' parents had recently remarried after years of separation. His mother, who had lifelong troubles with mental illness, had divorced his stepfather the previous year over allegations of sexual abuse of Echols' younger sister, Michelle. The sprawling, trash-strewn trailer parks were near where Interstate 55 came from the north to join east-west Interstate 40 for a brief stretch through West Memphis. While Baldwin, a skinny 16-year-old, lived in Lakeshore and attended Marion High School, much of his social life revolved around the video galleries, bowling alley and skating rink across the interstate in West Memphis. Baldwin lived with two younger brothers and a mentally ill mother who had recently separated from his habitually drunken stepfather. His mother's new boyfriend, a chronic felon, had moved in a few weeks ago. Echols told of ficers handling a juvenile offense in May 1992 that he and Baldwin were heavily involved in “gray magic.” One of their mutual friends, Jessie Misskelley Jr., 17, a school dropout and another trailer park teenager, was regarded as a bully and a troublemaker. Misskelley had been in repeated trouble for attacking younger children. He eventually would admit that he had been involved in satanic rituals with Echols and Baldwin. One of the WM3 myths is that Misskelley was a distant acquaintance of the other two. Misskelley and Baldwin had been off and on as close friends for years, and Misskelley and Echols often spent time together. In a letter to girlfriend Heather Cliett written from the detention center, Baldwin, showing a sense of betrayal, wrote: “What gets me is why Jessie would make up such a lie as that, because I thought we were sort of friends except for the night at the skating rink when he tried to steal my necklace, and that made me pretty mad, but not as mad as all of this is making me.” Mara Leveritt's book “Dark Spell: Surviving the Sentence” tells of Baldwin's first encounter with Misskelley on his first day in sixth grade at Marion Elementary School. According to the book, Misskelley attacked Baldwin without provocation during recess, “hollering like he meant to kill him.” In eighth and ninth grades, the two boys lived on the same street in Lakeshore. They “got to be pretty good friends.” Around that time, Echols' grandmother moved to Lakeshore and Echols began hanging out, mowing lawns and using the money to fund his interest in skateboards. In “Life After Death,” Echols described first noticing Baldwin, “a skinny kid with a black eye and a long, blond mullet.” Echols was struck by the number of music cassettes Baldwin carried in his backpack — “Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Slayer, and every other hair band a young hoodlum could desire.” After his Nanny suffered her second heart attack and had her leg amputated, the Echols family moved to Lakeshore. In “Life After Death,” Echols described Lakeshore as full of “run-down and beat-up” mobile homes, filled with jobless drunks and addicts who earned their money through petty crime or scrounging up recyclables. Echols more recently imagined that the dilapidated trailers somehow have improved with age along with the neighborhood: “I suppose it would now be considered lower middle class.” Not so. While some of the homes are kept up nicely, many of the yards are littered, youths roam the streets aimlessly and trailers often catch fire, sometimes from meth labs. Lakeshore residents routinely show up in Municipal Court hearings, often for petty crimes and drug offenses, for failing to appear at hearings, for not paying fines, for the sort of offenses committed by chronic small-timers everywhere. The “lake” at Lakeshore is the same scummy, trashy stinkhole that Echols remembered. Lakeshore is still populated by many carnies and other itinerant workers. It remains a hotbed of occultism, witchcraft and Satanism, with the West Memphis 3 having achieved the status of folk heroes. Similarly, Echols in “Life After Death” described Marion High School as a sort of “rural” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “a place where kids drove brand-new cars to school, wore Gucci clothing, and had enough jewelry to spark the envy of rap stars.” Actually, the students of Marion High were and are the typical mix of modestly attired kids from a modestly middle-class community. Marion is a small Arkansas town with a traditionally agriculture-based economy, with a number of residents who commute to jobs across the river in Memphis. As in many similar towns, a deeply entrenched elite holds sway over most municipal affairs. Their style is far from ostentatious. Marion is not an elite suburban community, though Marion residents do hold themselves aloof from the larger, predominately black and considerably rougher town of West Memphis to the immediate south. Median income in Marion today is roughly twice that of West Memphis. By comparison, median income in the elite Memphis suburb of Germantown is roughly twice that of Marion. Nonetheless, there was a class divide between the trailer park kids and the more affluent students. Local teen Jason Crosby described “high society people which would be the people who come to school in shirt and tie, don't want to get messed up, want to stay on the sidewalk all the time.” Among students with parents with steady jobs, a strong work ethic, no arrest record and solid social standing, kids from the trailer parks often didn't fit in. As outsiders together at Marion Junior High, Damien and Jason became fast friends, sharing interests in music, skateboarding and video games. In “Life After Death,” Damien described how he met Misskelley through Jason. Knocking on the door of the Baldwin trailer, Damien was told that Jason was over at Misskelley's trailer, four or five trailers away. Damien described Misskelley was a short, greasy, manic figure prone to funny and slightly odd antics. The Misskelleys were pumping up the tires on the old trailer and moving it to Highland Trailer Park, just across the way, that very day. Still, said Echols, “I never did see Jessie a great deal, but we became familiar enough to talk when we met. Jason and I would run into him at the bowling alley and spend an hour or two playing pool, or hang out for a little while at the Lakeshore store.” Echols former girlfriend Deanna Holcomb described a tighter relationship between Echols and Misskelley, naming Jason, Jessie and Joey Lancaster as particular friends of Echols. When Damien moved up to high school, he left Jason a grade behind. Damien made no attempt to fit in and soon adopted his trademark all-black wardrobe, complete with black trench coat, partially inspired by the Johnny Depp character in “Edward Scissorhands.” All three hung around typical hangouts in West Memphis such as the bowling alley, the skating rink and video game booths. A surveillance video from the skating rink posted on William Ramsey's Occult Investigations YouTube account recently showed Echols and Misskelley as two of the older boys hanging out at the skating rink soon after the killings. Jennifer Bearden was a 12-year-old Bartlett girl when she first encountered the three killers at the rink around February 1993. She struck up a romantic relationship with the 18-year-old Echols. Concerning Misskelley, “I knew him a little bit. … I saw him at the skating rink several times.” Asked about the relationship of Misskelley to the other two, she testified in an August 2009 hearing: “.… Whenever we were at the skating rink, uh, Jessie was, he, he was a little bit louder, he was a little bit more —- I don't know — he liked to cause a little bit more trouble. … We kind of like stayed to ourselves and there was an incident that he stole the 8-ball from the pool table at the skating rink. … And uh, he showed (it) to us and actually, Damien and Jason got blamed for it. And they got kicked out of the skating rink for it. … They were pretty upset with him.” Joseph Samuel Dwyer, a younger playmate of Baldwin living two doors down at Lakeshore in 1993, described in a hearing on Aug. 14, 2009, what he knew of the relationships among Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley. Dwyer said that he knew Misskelley quite well from the neighborhood, particularly since Misskelley's stepmother, Shelbia Misskelley, separated from “Big Jessie,” lived on the same street as Dwyer and Baldwin. Though Dwyer was in frequent contact with the Baldwin boys, he merely knew Echols but did not associate with him. Echols shared few interests with most boys and usually dressed in black. “I just never really hung out with him or even tried to get to know him,” testified Dwyer. He explained: “I really didn't have anything to do with him just because, uh, just the way he acted. … We'd get off the school bus and he'd be standing there, it's almost like craving attention in an all-black outfit so all of the kids on the bus would see him.” Dwyer pegged Echols as a poser who reveled in drawing negative attention to himself. “… He liked horror movies. He would talk about watching horror movies and stuff like that.” In an affidavit in 2006, Dwyer said of Echols: “I didn't like what I saw of him. He liked to call attention to himself. One day he painted a star over one of his eyes. Damien was a talker. He liked to say things to get peoples' attention.” Dwyer characterized Misskelley as a “trailer park redneck.” Dwyer recalled the relationship of Baldwin and Echols: “I did see Damien and Jason together after Jason started getting friendly with Damien, I was around him less than before because I didn't like Damien. I know that after Jason started hanging out with Damien, he got a trench coat just like Damien's. It was a long black trench coat. Damien had a certain way of talking and Jason picked up some of Damien's way of talking.” Another myth in the standard WM3 storyline is that the police pegged Damien as the killer partially because he wore a black trench coat . In 2009, Dwyer explained “the trench coat thing, at the time that was sort of a fashion fad. I have one, uh, everybody, if they didn't have one they wanted one. That was kind of a fashion thing. … It was the rock shirt, rock T-shirts and the trench coat.” So “everybody” had or wanted to have a black trench coat as part of a “fashion thing,” along with rock T-shirts. Baldwin and Echols tiresomely claim they were singled out, persecuted, arrested and convicted because they “didn't dress like everyone else.” But “everybody” wanted to dress the way they dressed. Dwyer added: “Everybody out there in the trailer park was terrified; everybody was profiled because of our rock T-shirts, the trench coat , the long hair. Everybody look at us like we were just part of this cult thing, and it was totally made up, if you ask me. Totally made up. And we all felt like we could just as easily have been, uh, picked as a suspect because we were in the the same trailer park, dressed the same. We were all scared about that. Channel 3 news, all the news station were riding through there every day trying to film us as we were walking down the street, you know.” Echols testified that after he began dressing in allblack, other students followed his example. Consider, too, the myth that the boys were singled out for their interest in heavy metal. In 2006, Dwyer said, “A lot of people in our age groups at the time were interested in rock and roll music, and in heavy metal music … I remember that after the three boys were found dead, and the news cameras came out to Lakeshore from time to time, anyone wearing a Metallica t-shirt, or some other heavy metal band t-shirt, was viewed as a devil worshipper, especially if the person had long hair.” Longhaired kids who were heavy metal fans were common, as were black T-shirts. At trial, defense attorneys elicited police testimony that Echols was wearing a Portland Trail Blazers black T-shirt on the night of his arrest, establishing to no clear end that black T-shirts were mainstream enough to be worn by NBA fans. Or by Reba McEntire fans, as demonstrated by a T-shirt from the Misskelley home. Juvenile Officer Jerry Driver testified about Misskelley's links to Baldwin and Echols in Misskelley's trial. Driver, who died in August 2016, had seen the three together for the first time around Nov. 15, 1992, at Lakeshore. Damien, Jason and Jessie walked by while he and a sheriff's deputy were dealing with a suspected drunken driver. “It was nighttime … They all had on long black coats, and Damien had a slouch hat and they all had staffs. … Long sticks that they were walking with.” Misskelley dismissed the story as ridiculous during one of his many confessions, saying he did not have a black coat. Driver's account has been widely ridiculed, though never refuted. Driver repeated the story at the Echols/Baldwin trial. “We saw three gentlemen walking by … Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin … with long coats” and “long sticks or staffs.” Driver had seen them together on a few other occasions, “maybe two or three times,” … “Twice, I think, at uh — at Walmart and once out in the trailer park.” Otherwise, he had seen Echols and Baldwin together dressed in black. Echols girlfriend Domini Teer, in a Sept. 10, 1993, statement, surprised Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Fogleman by volunteering that “Jessie came around after them kids was killed.” Fogleman: “OK, what do you mean by that? That he came around after the kids were murdered? What do you mean?” Domini: “I mean, the boy shows up a week after them kids were killed …. Out of nowhere. I mean we hadn't seen Jessie for months. I mean he did that when Damien and me got back together, and Damien was living with his stepdad, Jack. All of a sudden, Jessie comes showing up, and the first time we've seen Jessie since the year before that. …” Fogleman: “And … then Jessie was around quite a bit then?” Domini: “Every once in a while, like once or twice, yeah, I saw him. … I mean, when all the cops were bringing everybody in and all and talking to everybody … It was like two days after the cops were coming around, um … Jessie came over to Jason's house one day while I was sitting there, and wanting Damien to take Blockbuster movies to Blockbuster … And they went, and I guess, took Blockbuster movies back and they wound up over at Jessie's house … because his mom had come over to get Damien … Damien's mom … cause he was supposed to be at Jason's house…. “And it made me mad, and I called over to Jessie's and said where's Damien. And he goes, Damien's on his way back. Matthew just come get him. I said I know, I sent Matthew over there to come get him, cause his parents are here. And then I hung up the phone.” Fogleman: “And about when did that happen after this Wednesday?” Domini: “Um … it was about like that next week.” That would have been when Damien's parents supposedly were temporarily separated, according to some contradictory accounts of Echols' mother, Pam, and after Damien had been interviewed by police several times and failed the polygraph. Jessie was trying to get Damien and selfappointed detective Vicki Hutcheson together about that time. “Dark Spell” described Baldwin's version of the visit. According to Baldwin, Misskelley showed up unexpectedly at the Baldwin trailer because a friend from Highland Trailer Park wanted to meet Echols. from Highland Trailer Park wanted to meet Echols. year-old Hutcheson. Domini told Fogleman she had seen Misskelley a total of three times. “The first time, we had come up the street, and he was messing around with Matt, and we thought somebody was getting beat up, because they were all screaming and hollering out there, and when we walked out there was Jessie.” “Messing around” with younger kids was routine for Jessie. “And the second time I seen him, they had come over there and me and Damien was together, and they had just come knocking on the door with him and B.J. … And that was the last time I'd ever seen him until that time that he …. came over to Jason's to go get Damien.” Charlotte Bly Bolois, who lived at Lakeshore the summer of 1992 and visited there often, told police that Echols and Misskelley were close friends at that time, constantly seen together along with her cousin, Buddy Lucas. She also described how Misskelley got into a fight in June 1992 with her husband, Dan Bolois: “My husband has two younger brothers, one is fixing to be 16 and other one is fixing to be 18, and he started a fight with my husband younger brothers and um, my husband went up there and ask him what was the deal and little Jessie Misskelley was going to pull a knife, but I got behind Jessie and took the knife from him.” The younger brothers were Johnny and Shane Perschke, and there have been various accounts of fights involving John Perschke. Bolois recalled a fight “right there at my trailer” with Misskelley. “Him and my husband got into a fight later on down Fool Lake.” That was the fight involving the knife. She requested that Misskelley give her the knife. “And he turned around and handed me the knife, I said if you're going to fight, fight fair. … He busted a hole in my husband's lip.” A recent account from a West Memphis resident who asked that her name be withheld painted a disturbing portrait of Damien, Jason and Jessie interacting with children from the neighborhood where their victims lived: “In 1993 I used to live in Mayfair Apartments. I lived in the townhouses that are located in the back of the complex. I lived there for around a year and a half. “One day I was coming home and parked in front of a park on the property close to my apartment. As I parked I noticed 3 teenage boys and 3 young boys. It caught me as strange cause one of the teenagers was dressed all in black with a long black coat the other 2 were standing a few steps back from the one in black. So I sat there in my car watching for a few minutes. The teen in black was coaching those 3 little boys (I guessed at the time were 8 or 9 years old) how to hold their bikes on their shoulders and climb a ladder of a slide and how to ride down. The other teen boys were just standing a little behind the one in black not doing much except watching and laughing from time to time. One was kinda stocky the other one skinny. It didn't seem to bother them that I was watching. They saw me. “Any way one of the little boys was about to start up the ladder so I got out of my car and told him to get down. That's when the teen in black made a couple steps toward me and said I needed to shut the f--k up and take my ass into my apartment. This was none of my business. At that point I said if it didn't stop I was going to call the police. Then I was called a f--king bitch. So I got my kids out of my car as he stood there and watched. He watched me all the way to my apartment. It was kinda frightening. I go to call the police but looked back out to see if he or they were headed toward my apartment but instead they just left. So I decided to not call the police and never thought anything else of it. … “About 3 weeks to a month later three 8 year old boys were murdered in the woods right out the back door of the apartment I used to live in. I remember thinking I was so glad we had moved. Well then I was watching the news showing that 3 teenagers had been arrested. When I saw the pictures of the boys I told my husband that the one called Damien Echols was the one that cussed me out and was the one trying to make the kids carry their bikes up the slide. I also recognized the other 2 boys. They are Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin. “The three little boys I saw Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin with that day I can't swear was Michael, Stevie or Chris. I do remember 1 of the boys was blonde and 1 had a red bike. If I'm remembering correctly it was the blonde that had the red bike on his shoulder. I really wasn't watching the little boys. I was paying more attention to the 3 teen boys and what they were doing. “I never told anyone what I saw but family and friends. I never thought it was very important at the time since they had caught them. I was in my early 20's, working, taking care of 2 young kids and my grandparents. My husband was working and going to school at night. I had my hands full. Looking back I wish I had told what I saw.” "DAMIEN ADMITS TO A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE." The central figure in the investigation, prosecution, incarceration and release of the West Memphis 3 was the flamboyant and problematic Damien Echols, whose boyhood ambition to become a world-class occultist put him out of step with his peers in the Arkansas Delta. Meece, Gary. Blood on Black: The Case Against the West Memphis 3, Volume I (The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers Book 1) . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

Spanning over 25 years, the story of The West Memphis 3 has captivated the true crime community. In our second half of wrongful conivctions, we discuss the deaths of Steven Branch, Christpher Byers and Michael Moore and the three teenagers, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., who were wrongfully convicted of the crime. We briefly mention how this case was fueled by Satanic Panic and then prove later that it had nothing to do with satanic rituals whatsoever.  To learn more about wrongful convictions go to the Innocence Project (US) to learn more and donate, as well as these other organizations that work their asses off for people who have been wrongfully convicted: Innocence Texas Wrongful Conviction Day Inside Justice  Prison Fellowship  The Innocence Network  Injustice Everywhere Website: thesistersgrimmpodcast.com Twitter: twitter.com/sistersgrimmpod/ Facebook: facebook.com/thesistersgrimmpodcast Instagram: @thesistersgrimmpodcast Follow Morgan & Holly on Instagram @morgandfreeburg and @hollycheeseburger and on Twitter at @morganafreeburg and @hollycheeseburg

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film, Making a Murderer, was shocking you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993. Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted. There's only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they're innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials. Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders' view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared. The author recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Those interviews include a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He's been credited in numerous documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death. Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children. Echols, a troubled teen with a seedy past, was immediately identified as a possible suspect. His best-friend, Jason Baldwin, and another teen known to them, Jessie Misskelley Jr., are arrested June 3, 1993, and charged with murder. No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. Read how they, referred to as the West Memphis Three, toiled in prison for years as their case stagnated in the Arkansas judicial system. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence surfaced. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface. No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Witches is written in an easy to read, narrative-style form. Grab a copy today.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

This might be the most unjust prosecution in U.S. legal history. If you think what happened to Steven Avery in the true crime film, Making a Murderer, was shocking you will be completely appalled by what happened to three little boys and three teens in Arkansas in 1993. Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convicted. There’s only one problem. Overwhelming scientific evidence proves they’re innocent and witness after witness has come forward to admit lies were told in court during the original trials. Award-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders’ view into the West Memphis Three case. No journalist has written more stories about the case than Jared. The author recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Those interviews include a Death Row interview with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He’s been credited in numerous documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death. Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children. Echols, a troubled teen with a seedy past, was immediately identified as a possible suspect. His best-friend, Jason Baldwin, and another teen known to them, Jessie Misskelley Jr., are arrested June 3, 1993, and charged with murder. No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. Read how they, referred to as the West Memphis Three, toiled in prison for years as their case stagnated in the Arkansas judicial system. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence surfaced. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface. No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Witches is written in an easy to read, narrative-style form. Grab a copy today.

Three 8-year-old boys vanished from their West Memphis neighborhood one sunny afternoon. A day later their mangled, nude bodies are found in a drainage ditch. Police and prosecutors believe the killings are related to the occult. Three teens are arrested one month later. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. are convictedAward-winning journalist George Jared takes readers inside one of the most famous criminal cases in U.S. legal history. Witches in West Memphis gives a comprehensive insiders’ view into the West Memphis Three case. No author, documentary filmmaker, or journalist has had more access in this case. Jared recounts his firsthand court coverage, interviews with witnesses, research, and other information he gathered in the case. Interviews include one on Death Row with Damien Echols, interviews with Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., and interviews with other suspects, including Terry Hobbs. He’s been credited in numerous documentaries including Paradise Lost III: Purgatory and the New York Times best seller Life After Death.Witches graphically recounts how three Boy Scouts – Stephen “Stevie” Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers – rode their bikes after school on a bright afternoon. Their bodies are found in a wooded area near their homes the next day. The manner of death and the way they were bound, ankle to wrist, made authorities think Satanists might have sacrificed the children. No real evidence tied the teens to the crime, but an error-riddled confession by Misskelley was the proof used to seal the verdicts in the case. As time passed, overwhelming scientific evidence was discovered. Witnesses changed their statements. New suspects rose to the surface. WITCHES IN WEST MEMPHIS: The West Memphis Three and Another False Confession-George Jared   

Where The Monsters Go: The Case Against the West Memphis 3 KillersThere is the myth of the West Memphis 3 -- innocent teenagers railroaded by malicious police and prosecutors into murder convictions because of the way they dressed and the music they listened to, there being no evidence against them except the prejudices of Southern white Christians.And then there is the reality --- three criminally inclined young thugs involved in occultism who gleefully tortured three 8-year-old boys and then brought the justice system down upon them based on multiple factors, including a series of confessions, failed lie detector tests, failed alibis, eyewitness sightings and a history of violence.The second volume in this series, following "Blood on Black," continues to examine the evidence against Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols in the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch on May 5, 1993.Misskelley, Baldwin and Echols met up that afternoon just outside Lakeshore Estates Trailer Park, according to the multiple confessions of Misskelley.Echols and Baldwin were drinking beer. The plan was to go to West Memphis and beat up some boys.They walked about two miles into woods known as Robin Hood or Robin Hood Hills.Echols knew the woods well, having lived in the nearby Mayfair Apartments, frequently walking through the area as a shortcut between his home in West Memphis and his friends in the trailer parks and having been spotted in the woods recently by an acquaintance.Michael, Stevie and Christopher Byers, all second graders at Weaver Elementary School, lived south of the woods and visited the woods frequently to play. That afternoon they were spotted heading toward Robin Hood around 6, close to the time their killers entered from the north.When Echols heard the children approaching, he began making sounds to lure them in, while Misskelley and Baldwin hid. Then, according to the confessions of Misskelley, and indicated by the blood patterns at the scene and other evidence, the teens jumped the 8-year-olds, beat them viciously, stripped them of their clothes, mutilated Stevie's face, castrated Christopher, sexually molested them, hogtied them and dumped them in a muddy ditch, where Michael and Stevie drowned. Christopher already had bled out from his wounds.Misskelley quickly left the scene, which was scrupulously cleaned up. Echols was spotted walking along the service road near the crime scene later that evening in muddy clothes.After frantic parents sparked an extensive search for the missing children, their bodies were discovered the next afternoon by law enforcement officers.Tales of strange rituals held in the woods by mysterious strangers spread quickly among the crowd gathered near the crime scene.As detectives and other officers gathered information and talked to witnesses or potential suspects, Echols quickly drew the scrutiny of officers.Besides the talk among the boys' neighbors, the ritualistic aspects of the murder -- including the way the boys were bound, and timing possibly influenced by setting, proximity to a pagan holiday and celestial events -- furthered suggested occultism as an impetus for the killings.Local officers were familiar with Echols as a dangerous, mentally ill teenager immersed in witchcraft. Among the many tips coming into police were reports that Echols had been seen near the crime scene that night and that he was heavily involved in a cult.A series of police interviews with an all-too-knowing Echols did nothing but deepen suspicions. Echols failed a lie detector test, thereafter refusing to talk.Police heard that Echols had been telling friends about his involvement in the murders.Vicki Hutcheson, an acquaintance of Misskelley, decided to "play detective." Soon police brought in Misskelley for routine questioning.After he, too, failed a lie detector test, he gave the first of a number of confessions.The case was solved, but the questions continue.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

Gary Meece : Blood on Black: The Case Against the West Memphis 3 KillersThey did it. The West Memphis 3 are guilty. They are guilty despite what the documentaries, books and news stories have said over and over. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. killed three 8-year-olds, Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch, on May 5, 1993, in a wooded area in West Memphis, Ark. The murders were thrill kills, according to Echols himself. But they were much more than that. Police were struck by the ritualistic aspects. Local dabblers in the occult immediately came under suspicion. Under questioning, Echols, already acknowledged as a witch, flaunted his knowledge of the occult, his theories of how the killings could have “magickal” implications and his insights into how the killer would think and feel. He demonstrated special knowledge about the case beyond the little publicly known. He gave out signals that he was a prime suspect; a series of witnesses further implicated him. A confession broke open the case. The widely accepted WM3 storyline is that inept police and prosecutors, with a howling mob of religious fanatics to placate, somewhat arbitrarily picked out three innocent boys to blame for horrific murders because Damien and his best pal Jason wore black T-shirts, listened to heavy metal music and had funny haircuts and because the third boy, Little Jessie, was practically retarded and thus easily manipulated. Almost every element in that storyline has little relation to reality. The weirdness that drew the attention of authorities stemmed from bad choices by the suspects rather than clothing, haircuts or rocking out to Megadeth. The West Memphis police did their duty in a diligent if imperfect manner. The investigation was professional and painstaking. Detectives took many statements, followed strange and unpromising leads and administered the polygraph dozens of times. All three of the teens from the trailer parks were convicted. The convictions held up on appeal. Eventually, thanks to Hollywood celebrities and misleading documentaries that left out crucial evidence, the killers who became the West Memphis 3 walked free. No exonerating evidence, despite many years of investigation and a defense fund in the millions of dollars, has been produced. None of the three has a credible alibi. The mainstream media bought into the premise that “those boys were innocent.” By putting the focus on mullet-headed rednecks, drawling overweight cops and righteously angry Christians, the media played upon the most egregious stereotypes of Southern whites, while positioning a murdering sociopath as a hip kid who was just too cool for the uptight hometown idiots. The West Memphis 3 myth was made to order for the familiar narrative of the perceptive young outsider that every hipster and aspiring artist imagines himself to have been. Among the sensitive souls who found a doppelgänger of their teen selves in Echols were professional outsiders — such as Johnny Depp and Henry Rollins. In Aleister Crowley's “magickal” system, which Echols embraced in his preteen years, orgasm and ecstasy are equated with death and sacrifice and the sexual fluids are often represented as blood or water. Echols felt he was in transition to a state of being a god, something other than human; he believed that drinking blood invested him with spiritual energy. Echols and “blood brother” Jason formed a pathological dyad, cultivating elaborate violent fantasies. Via the ritual torture, killing and eating of dogs, cats and other animals, they educated themselves in the curriculum of occult murder. The lurking allure of a “thrill kill” finally became irresistible when the killing time coincided with sunset, the rise of a full moon and the pagan holiday of Beltane.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

Welcome to the House of Crouse. West of Memphis, is a documentary from Oscar nominated director Amy Berg, details the efforts to find justice for Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and James Baldwin, collectively known as the West Memphis Three. Last week I saw a tweet from Echols--"I walked off of death row exactly 5 years ago today."--and was inspired to go back into the HoC vault to find chats with Echols, his wife Lorris Davis and Berg. It's fascinating stuff, so c'mon in and sit a spell and listen in.