At the trial, the prosecution continued the claims of Satanic overtones, calling Dale W. Griffis of the unaccredited Columbia Pacific University distance learning school as an "expert" witness to affirm the killings were definitely occult related. A roll of toilet paper was soaked through with blood. He admitted the crime on June 3, June 11 and Aug. 19 and implicated others. VEGA, Texas (KFDA) - Two people were killed and two others were injured after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 west of Vega. Byers had been a step-father to Christopher Byers, who along with his two eight-year-old friends Michael Moore and Steve Branch, had been killed in West Memphis on May 5, 1993, and whose murders remain unsolved to this day, almost three decades later. He was 62. Echols' legal team has filed a response to the Attorney General's request, where they are asking the court to deny it. The deal is a plea whereby a defendant maintains their innocence but recognizes that the evidence presented would be enough to convict them. WebSeason 1 Episode 1 Preview: Host and investigator Bob Ruff explores the flaws from the original ""West Memphis Three"" case to lay the groundwork for his evidence-driven investigation. They were released on Aug. 19, 2011. Memphis Watch: Man connected to 'West Memphis Three' learns evidence connected to the case is missing By Dominique Dillon, FOX13memphis.com July 08, 2021 at 5:53 pm CDT WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. After 3 years of fighting to get new evidence tested for DNA, the state says the WM3 petition should be tossed out and now, the attorneys are responding in court. It took them 18 years to clear their names. }); Memphis Offers may be subject to change without notice. On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. He said the evidence, which he claims city officials previously told him was lost, destroyed or missing, was found intact and organized. Serving as professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, it was expert testimony. John Mark Byers, stepfather of Chris Byers and initially the subject of considerable suspicion himself, is shown calling Terry Hobbs a "baby killer" outside an Arkansas courtroom. Despite the continuing doubts over the testimony, police pulled in Misskelley on June 3 alongside two other alleged cult members, Ricky Climer and Alvis Bly. YoutubeMugshots of the West Memphis Three. Neither Climer nor Bly would be considered competent witnesses at the eventual trial. West Memphis police brought Terry Hobbs in for questioning in June 2007, and coverage soon led to a widespread examination of the original verdict, with Hobbs even telling police that some of his relatives suspected him in the killings. The three men spent nearly 17 years in prison before being released in 2012 after entering an Alford plea, pleading guilty while maintaining their innocence. Over the years, however, the West Memphis Three continued to maintain their innocence, claiming they had nothing to do with the slayings of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, who were each found nude, hogtied, and mutilated in a bayou. Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three Yet Misskelley kept talking, confessing again on Feb. 4. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) A former Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technician told a Tennessee board Friday that officers impeded patient care by refusing to remove Tyre Nichols ' handcuffs, which would have allowed EMTs to check his vital signs after he was brutally beaten by police. Moore was the group leader and, like his best friends, a proud cub scout, wearing his uniform even when not at meetings. } hitType: 'event', Clemente noted there was no indication, forensically, that theres more than one offender involved because what happened to each of the victims was consistent. If the judge makes the decision to deny the state's request for dismissal, then Attorney General Tim Griffin will get a chance to respond to that decision. }); Despite doubt over the way authorities handled the case, as well as a lack of substantial evidence, the West Memphis Three were found guilty. hitType: 'event', So if the West Memphis Three aren't the real killers, who is? pg.acq.push(function() { All three bodies were immediately removed from the water before the coroner arrived, meaning that they were exposed to sunlight and insects before judgments could be made surrounding rigor mortis and the time of death. Whose blood was on the knife was uncertain as it matched both Byers and the victim, both having the same HLA-DQ genotype. It took 18 years, a deep probe into the criminal justice system, and the rallying of a Youtube Mugshots of the West Memphis Three. Residents talked of strange smells in the woods, painted children, and even alleged to have seen a baby sacrificed. Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were accused of killing three eight-year-old boys: Chris Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore. While the documentary opened the public's eyes to the miscarriage of justice that had transpired to get Echols, Miskelley Jr., and Baldwin convicted for a crime they did not commit, it also threw doubt on Byers, a suspicious character who seemed to have a penchant for theatrics. I think he spent more time on concealing the bodies and the clothing and the bikes than he did on the actual murders. The 'West Memphis Three' Murders Local community members also rallied in support of the three, believing that their initial trial was unfair and handled incorrectly. Attempting to shelter from a storm, the two broke into a trailer and were charged with burglary and sexual misconduct. However, it wasn't just about the music with many embracing rebellious philosophies that were inherently offensive to the traditions of Christianity, respect and patriotism that have always defined small-town rural America. They seem to me to be more practical ligatures, Clemente said. Efforts to release the West Memphis Three would be aided in 2003 when Vicki Hutcheson ultimately recanted her testimony, telling the "Arkansas Times" that everything she told police was a lie. Having once been adamant on the West Memphis Three's guilt, he accepted their innocence and, instead, pointed the finger at Terry Hobbs, Steve's stepfather. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office announced on Twitter that Byers had been killed in an accident on Chambers Road and Shakerag Road in the Millington area on Thursday evening and then died after he was transported to a local hospital. With the evidence mounting that all three accused had been innocent, the deal ensured that Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley would never be allowed to pursue civil action against the state of Arkansas for wrongful imprisonment. While his repeated confessions may seem incriminating, Lawyer Dan Stidman would say in a 1999 letter to the court that "Absolutely nothing Misskelley told the officers or prosecutors would ever be admissible against him. True crime: The tragedy of the West Memphis Three Attorney General Griffin expects Echols' legal team to refile in Craighead County, but he said that it won't make a difference in the long run. Both had histories of drug offenses, and Morgan claimed to police he suffered from memory loss and blackouts, stating he "might have" killed the three boys. Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were best friends. Both knew Misskelley from school but were hardly considered friends, Misskelley having a reputation for violence. }) To understand the story of the West Memphis Three, it's important to remember the cultural atmosphere that was prevalent throughout America in the mid-1990s. Starting in the weeks that followed the killings, documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case for their film "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills," airing in June 1996 on HBO. John Mark Byers, stepfather of Chris Byers and initially the subject of considerable suspicion himself, is shown calling Terry Hobbs a "baby killer" outside an Arkansas courtroom. The autopsy in full is harrowing reading, with Moore receiving 63 specific wounds, including ten skull fractures. Stating that he was "scared of the police," Misskelley confessed to murder. Youtube Mugshots of the West Memphis Three. Copyright 2023 Empire Media Group, Inc. Front Page Detectives is a registered trademark. He tried to fight back and showed defensive injuries. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. Prosecutors in the case argued that Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley had killed three boys the prior year as part of Satanic rituals. Equally, Pamela's sister Jo Lynn McCaughey saw Hobbs washing clothes, bed linens, and curtains from Steve's room around the time of the killings. Since his release, Echols has forged a career in the arts, moving to the infamous Salem, Massachusetts and publishing a memoir, "Almost Home: My Life Story Vol. } Trinocular Co-Axial 1500x Metallurgical Microscope with Top-Bottom Light with 2MP Camera, Trinocular Microscope with DIN Objective and Camera 40x - 2000x, Junior Medical Microscope with Wide Field Eyepiece & LED 100x - 1500x, Trinocular Inverted Metallurgical Microscope 100x - 1200x, Binocular Inverted Metallurgical Microscope 100x - 1200x. They were mutilated and bruised, and their clothes were in the nearby creek. Meanwhile, at the Marion Police Department, Detective Don Bray was attempting to administer a polygraph test to Vicki Hutcheson, who had recently moved to the city. If they thought they could trust the person who was the actual threat, then that person could get close enough to them to control them so that they couldn't run away," he told Ruff. They had a daughter together, Amanda Hobbs, who was 4 years old at the time of her brothers death. While Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley may have begun to rebuild their lives, there is still no solace or closure for the families of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. WebThe West Memphis Three were the first people in West Memphis, Arkansas who were accused of murdering the three young boys. How the three died wasn't the same, with Moore and Branch being killed by multiple injuries and then drowning, with Byers dying of blood loss and not being drowned. Jones, the assistant juvenile probation officer, was one of the chief voices pushing the line alongside his supervisor Jerry Blackwood Driver.
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