Nov 1328 min read

Evil in West Memphis: The Murders of Michael Moore, Steve Branch, & Christopher Byers

On the evening of May 5th, 1993, the parents of three eight-year-old boys were in a state of worry. Earlier that evening, second graders Christopher Byers, Steve Branch, and Michael Moore were riding their bikes around their neighborhood in West Memphis, Tennessee. When they didn’t return home by dusk, the parents reported their children missing. In a time of stranger-danger fear, the community guarded their children as they helped look for the little boys. The following day, investigators discovered the bodies of the three boys in a wooded area known as Robin Hood Hills. The tragic discovery of the murdered boys would lead to more controversy and much contemplation of what true justice is.

Christopher Mark Byers was born Christopher Murray on June 23rd, 1984, in Memphis Tennessee. His parents separated when he was still small, and his mother remarried John Mark Byers. John adopted his wife’s sons, Ryan and his little brother Christopher. Chris, as he was known, was an active and inquisitive little boy. He enjoyed swimming, skateboarding, and being a Cub Scout. Chris was very active and talkative. His medical records show that he was treated for ADHD and behavioral problems. His mother stated that at the time of his death, Christopher still believed in Santa Claus. Christopher had one older brother, Ryan.

James Michael Moore was born on July 27th, 1984, in Key West, Florida to parents Todd and Dana Moore. He was known as Michael. Michael’s father compared him to Bart Simpson, stating he was always making others laugh. He was known as a happy kid who wanted to grow up to be a police officer. Michael liked to play baseball and was also a Cub Scout. He was a happy child who enjoyed spending time with his best friends, Chris Byers and Steve Branch.

Steve Branch, known as Stevie, was born November 26th, 1984, in Blytheville, Arkansas to his mother Pam. Pam married Terry Hobbs when Stevie was just two years old. His little sister was born in 1989. Stevie loved to sing, especially the song “When the Children Cry”, which was later played at his funeral. He was an active eight-year-old child who was known to be a dare devil. He loved animals including his pet turtle and his dog named King. Stevie loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Stevie was also a Cub Scout.

On the afternoon of May 5th, 1993, Chris, Stevie, and Michael left school at Weaver Elementary School. Stevie Branch returned home briefly after school according to his mother, Pam Hobbs. Chris’s stepfather stated he returned to his home around 3:30 pm, and Chris was not there. He took Chris’s older brother Ryan to a courthouse for a 4pm appointment. He also explained that Chris did not have a key to the house and was expected to wait outside for his brother to return home. Community members state they saw the three boys riding bikes together between 5:30 pm and 6 pm. They were never seen alive again.

Mark Byers said he did see his son riding a skateboard with his friends around 5:30 pm. He said that he was upset that Chris was not at home, so he punished him by giving him a few swats on his buttocks with a belt. He explained that it was a punishment for leaving without permission. Mark said he then went to pick Ryan up. Upon returning at 6:30 pm, Christopher was once again not home. Mark, Melissa, and Ryan then drove around looking for Chris. They contacted the police, who told them to wait until 8pm. John said Chris had never disappeared like this before, but his mother Melissa told authorities he had done this several times.

Once 8 pm came and went, the Byers family filed a missing child report. As the officer was taking the report, she received a call from the Bojangles restaurant. The manager was calling to report that a black man had stumbled in the restaurant and into the women’s restaurant. The manager said he was covered in blood. The officer responded to the restaurant, talking to the manager through the drive-thru window. She did not go inside to investigate.

Soon, The Moore family joined the search, explaining they could not find their son Michael either. Mrs. Moore said she saw Michael, Christopher, and Stevie Branch at about 6pm, but Michael never came home. A search began and included a wooded area behind the neighborhood known as Robin Hood Hills. Although it was already dark, Mr. Byers did not bring a flashlight with him to the search. The families and an officer from the West Memphis Police Department searched the wooded area until about 11 pm. They found nothing.

The next day, May 6th, 1993, authorities continued the search of the West Memphis neighborhood in which the boys lived, including the area known as Robin Hood Hills. At 1:45 pm sergeant Michael Allen saw a child’s shoe in a creek bed. Upon investigation, the nude body of Michael Moore floated to the surface. The little boy’s wrists had been tied to his ankles. Investigators continued to search the creek, uncovering two bicycles and the nude bodies of Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers. All three had been hog tied, with their ankles tied to the corresponding wrist and their backs arched. All three bodies were removed from the creek before the coroner arrived and declared each boy deceased.

Michael Moore was found to have died from blunt force trauma wounds to the head and drowning. He was completely nude with his wrists tied with shoelaces to his ankles. Although he was nude, there was no evidence of sexual assault. A lack of defensive wounds suggested that Michael struggled very little before his death and was likely unconscious when he was thrown into the water.

Stevie Branch’s body was also found completely nude, and hog tied with shoestrings. Stevie sustained multiple blunt force trauma wounds to the head and face. The wounds on Stevie were much more intense and suggested a possible struggle. He had water in his lungs, suggesting he was alive when thrown into the two feet of water in which his body was found. Stevie had a three-inch fracture to the base of his skull. There were no signs of sexual assault.

Christopher Byers’ body was found in a very different state than the other two boys. He sustained violent sexual injuries including the removal of his penis, scrotum, and testes. Chris had severe blunt force trauma wounds to his head and stabbing wounds to his genitals. Chris was found nude and tied in the same way as his friends. There were three sets of wounds to Chris’s buttocks and defensive wounds were noted. There was no water in the lungs, suggesting the boy was deceased before being placed in the water. Interestingly, there were non-therapeutic levels of ADHD medication in Chris’s system. The coroner also noted several healed injuries to the boy’s body, suggesting he was the victim of abuse.

The clothing of the boys and their bicycles were found in the ditch. The clothing was held under the water with sticks, but the police did not collect the sticks for evidence. No murder weapon was found at the scene. Based on the coroner’s report, death seems to have occurred late May 5th or early May 6th. One imprint of a shoe was found on the bank near the creek. The detectives were not able to find any blood at the scene, despite the fact that Christopher Byers did not have any blood left in his body. The bodies also did not have any mosquito bites on them, suggesting they were dumped in the creek after being murdered elsewhere.

The community of West Memphis, Arkansas was in shock at the brutal and senseless murders of three second graders. The parents of the boys were understandably devastated by the discovery of their children’s bodies. The small bible belt town of West Memphis is directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County with a population of 25,000. The city has a very high rate of poverty and violent crime. It’s amongst the poorest communities in the United States of America.

Several mistakes were made by detectives in the beginning of this investigation. For instance, the family members of the boys were not thoroughly investigated and the interviews that did happen were not recorded. Additionally, police returned to the Bojangles restaurant after the discovery of the bodies. They took blood samples, but those were never sent to the lab and were lost before they could be processed. Early on, the police believed that satanic sacrifice and occult themes were a part of this crime. A local juvenile probation officer provided names of a few individuals in West Memphis that he believed could have been involved in this crime. On the top of his suspect list was eighteen-year-old Damien Echols.

Damien Echols was born Michael Hutchinson on December 11th, 1974. His parents divorced when he was eight years old. Damien’s family was relatively poor, and he attended eight different schools before he was ten years old. When he was thirteen years old, Michael changed his name to Damien Echols, with the last name coming from his stepfather Jack Echols. Damien, who was exploring his religious beliefs at the time, was fascinated with Father Damien, a saint who taught religion and participated heavily in a community affected by Leprosy. After years of helping the people of his community, Father Damien contracted and died of leprosy.

Damien did not fit in within the others of the bible belt community. For one, he enjoyed Metallica and other heavy metal bands. He dressed primarily in black with black hair and nails. Damien was always an author and wrote dark themed poetry as a teenager. In the early 1990s, the gothic style Damien embraced put a target on his back. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, several books and movies were released that supported a widespread fear of satanic and occult activity. Many crimes were investigated as being related to the occult or satanic worship, despite much evidence to support these theories.

Damien Echols had a history of problems academically and mentally. Although very intelligent, Damien dropped out of high school. He had been arrested as a juvenile for petty crimes such as shoplifting. He had been assessed by mental health professionals who believed he had significant issues. Damien admitted that he had now become interested in the Wiccan religion, something that people in West Memphis did not understand. Following his release from probation as a juvenile, his probation officer continually checked up on the boy. At times, it was almost harassment. The authorities in West Memphis were waiting for Damien to do something they could arrest him for as they were convinced that he was a danger to society.

In May of 1993, Damien was eighteen years old and dating a sixteen-year-old named Domini Teer. Domini was pregnant at the time and due in September of 1993 with Damien’s child. Damien was good friends with another sixteen-year-old in West Memphis, Jason Baldwin. Jason Baldwin was a small red-headed boy. He had no history of being in trouble and was known as a good student. Jason, the child of a single mother, was responsible for getting his brothers up and off to school each morning. He was a very responsible kid.

Police Inspector Gary Gitchell led the investigation into the murders of the three little boys. In a newspaper article dated May 9th, 1993, it is stated that no suspects were identified in the case and Mr. Gitchell had asked the FBI for a profile of the suspected killer. Nearly a month went by with no arrests, which infuriated the community of West Memphis. Parents were afraid to let their children outside alone. Rumors of cult activity were running rampant in the community. The pressure on the investigators was very intense.

Four days after the murders, two teenagers left West Memphis for Oceanside California. The two young men, Chris Morgan and Brian Holland, had a history of drug offenses. Chris had previously driven an ice cream truck and knew all three boys. The boys were arrested in Oceanside, California on drug charges. During this time, the police in California questioned the suspects about the murders and administered polygraph tests. When both suspects failed lie detector tests, authorities in California put more pressure on them. Chris Morgan made a statement to the police in Oceanside that he “may have” killed boys and just couldn’t remember. Blood and urine samples from both men were collected and sent to West Memphis for investigators. However, there does not appear to have been any further investigation into the suspects after Chris Morgan recanted his statement.

On May 6th, 1993, the day following the murders, a local woman named Vickie Hutcheson was being questioned by police about an allegation of stealing from her employer. Her young son, also eight years old, was present and talked about the boys being murdered in the woods. He claimed the boys were killed by a playhouse in the woods. No playhouse was found, but the boy did know the approximate location of where the bodies were found. He said that the boys were killed by satanists who spoke Spanish.

Further interviews with the little boy included increasingly bizarre stories. In some stories, the boy claimed to have been present at the time of the crimes. He claimed to have been attacked as well in some versions of his story. He talked about perpetrators drinking blood and a variety of other wild stories that did not make sense. The interviews with the little boy were somehow leaked to the media, increasing the fear in the community that the murders were related to satanic worship. Despite the impossibility of the stories based upon evidence, the boy’s stories provided the basis for the continuing investigation.

Vickie Hutcheson, the boy’s mother, was asked by investigators around June 1st if she was aware of any occult activity in the community. She said she was not, but she wanted to help the authorities by playing detective. She had a neighbor, seventeen-year-old Jessie Misskelley, who was an acquaintance of Damien Echols. She asked Jessie if he was friends with Damien. Jessie said he didn’t know him well, but he could probably arrange a meeting between the two. She led Jessie to believe she was interested in Damien romantically.

The West Memphis Police put a microphone on Vickie before her meeting with Damien and Jessie. The recording of the meeting was inaudible, but Vickie claimed that Damien openly admitted to the murders. She claimed to have accompanied Damien to a Wiccan clan meeting known as an espat. She said that Echols drove her to the meeting, but she could not remember the location of the meeting or anyone else that was allegedly at the meeting. Vickie later told neighbors that she and her son were going to get $35,000 in reward money for their testimony. Vickie was never charged with theft from her employer.

Based upon the testimony of Vickie and her son, police brought seventeen-year-old Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. in for questioning. Jessie Misskelley was seventeen years old but had an IQ of 72. He never finished school and was estimated to operate intellectually at a third-grade level. At first, Jessie denied any knowledge of the crime. He continued to profess that he had no information for hours, but the investigators insisted that he was lying. They eventually gave him a lie detector test. Despite passing the test, the detectives told Jessie he failed the test. They told him that he could be executed if he didn’t cooperate.

After several hours of interrogation without a parent or attorney present, Jessie began to change his story. He told a variety of stories, indicating that he witnessed Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin beat the boys with clubs in the wooded area of Robin Hood Hills. At first, he said that the three boys went out to the area around nine am. The interrogating officer told Jessie that it couldn’t have been that early. Jessie changed his timeline to say it was during the early afternoon. The victims, however, were confirmed to be in school during the time Jessie suggested. Police then started another question by suggesting the time was in the evening. They continually added details that Jessie got wrong until he changed his story. For example, Jessie said the boys were tied with rope. Even with his low IQ, Jessie knew the difference between shoestrings and rope. They would tell him not to lie. Jessie later said that it was like a game- he kept changing the story until the detectives seemed happy. He said he just wanted to go home to his father and felt if he told the police what they wanted to hear that they would let him go. He eventually said that Michael Moore ran, and Jessie claimed to have drug the boy back for Damian and Jason. He then said he left the scene. It should also be noted that in none of Jessie’s stories does he describe Vickie’s son being present.

According to experts, it is possible, and even common, for the police to coerce a false confession. Contributing factors to coerced confessions include police tactics that feed information to the suspect, the suspect having a low IQ, long interrogation times, and high media coverage that informs the public of specific details of the crime. All of these were present in this case. Jessie had a low IQ. The nearly twelve-hour interrogation made him feel trapped, and Jessie believed his only way out was to tell the investigators what they wanted to hear. It should also be noted that the only portions of the interrogation that were recorded were those when Jessie provided his confession. Specific details of the confession did not make sense given the crime scene, so the detectives tapped yet another interview with Jessie the following day after explaining to him what details of his original confession were wrong.

Based upon the confession received from Jessie, which still contained major errors when compared to the evidence, the police obtained arrest warrants for Damian and Jason as well as search warrants for their homes. Damian and Jason, who were together with a group of teenagers watching a movie, were arrested together in early June, a month after the murders. All three teenagers were charged with three counts of capital murder. As soon as Jessie was able to speak to his father, he recanted his confession. However, it was too late, and the police were prepared to charge all three teenagers with the crime, seeking the death penalty.

All three suspects were able to provide alibis that were substantiated by their families. The detectives, however, believed that the family members of the suspects were not providing true alibis. The town of West Memphis had been told by the media that the three boys were guilty, and the lead detective stated that the strength of his case on a scale of 1-10 was an 11. The media reported that the crimes were part of a satanic ritual, provoking fear in the community. The hatred for the three teenagers was so intense that they were given bullet proof vests as they were transported back and forth from jail to the court room.

All three defendants pled not guilty to the charges. Jessie maintained that he made up the entire confession to police the detectives. Judge David Burnett was the judge assigned to the cases. Defense attorneys petitioned to have all three cases tried separately, but Burnett only agreed to separate Jessie’s from the other two suspects. The rationale was that Jessie’s recorded confession implicated Damian and Jason and would be unfairly prejudicial to Damian and Jason. This was one of the only motions that the defense teams won. The motion to separate Damian and Jason’s trials was repeatedly denied by Burnett. Jason’s defense attorneys felt that the evidence against him was poor, but the jury would be unfairly influenced by evidence against Damian involving satanism.

While the trials were not done in West Memphis, they were tried in the district of northeastern Arkansas. The defense attorneys felt this was unfair due to media coverage, but Judge Burnett denied their motion to move the trials to another part of the state. Jessie’s request to have his confession thrown out on the basis of coercion was denied. The defense lost several more motions including that they were not allowed to present evidence related to Chris Morgan and Brian Holland as Judge Burnett stated there was no sufficient evidence to suggest they may be a suspect. He stated that Chris Morgan recanted his statement… but so did Jessie Misskelley.

The case, even prior to trial, garnered a large amount of media attention. Jessie and Jason’s media appearances consisted of the boys mostly with their heads down and paying little attention to the cameras. Damian, however, was more vocal. He would often come across as smug, sometimes smiling or waving to the cameras. He would yell and flip off reporters at times, further contributing to a negative view of him in the public eye. Eventually, film makers from HBO asked to film a documentary that included recording all court proceedings. Judge Burnett permitted this as long as the prosecution and defense agreed.

The defense, who were lacking funds to hire experts, agreed to participate in exchange for financial support for their clients. Although the boys were facing a death penalty, their lawyers were paid very little, and they were capped at $1,000 by the state for hiring experts. Being that the boys were from poverty-stricken families, they did not have any additional funds to contribute. HBO film makers began making their documentary Paradise Lost during the pre-trial portion of the case. The victims’ parents were included in the documentary.

In scenes from the documentary, John Mark Byers is very angry and animated. He definitely brings attention to himself and can be described as a “redneck”. He shot a gun at pumpkins and promised to spit on the graves of the three defendants. Mr. Byers was convinced of the defendants’ guilt. His own criminal history came to light, however. First, he had a history of attacking his ex-wife with a stun gun. Judge Burnett expunged his record for this crime. He also had a history of using and selling multiple drugs and theft. It is believed that he became a police informant, leading to his record being wiped clean.

In December of 1993, just a month before Jessie’s trial was to begin, Mark Byers gave the television crew with HBO a knife as a Christmas gift. The film makers turned the knife over to the defense and investigators. The investigators delayed the trial in order to talk to Mark Byers after a small amount of blood was found in the bend of the folding, serrated knife. DNA analysis showed the blood type was consistent with both Mark Byers and Christohper Byers, therefore identification of the blood was undetermined.

Under interrogation, Mr. Byers stated the knife had never been used. After he is told about the blood on the knife, he changes his story to say he cut some venison with the knife. When told that the blood was human and matched himself and Christopher, he said that he accidentally cut himself with the knife once. The prosecution accepted this and proceeded to trial against Jessie Misskelley, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin.

The investigators informed the media they were preparing to search a pond behind Jason’s house for a knife, which they believed to be the murder weapon. A diver discovered a knife in November of 1993. The knife had no forensic evidence on it. It was identified at belonging to Jason. Only later would it be known that the investigators knew it was there because before finding the weapon, Jason’s mother told them the only knife she’d ever seen was thrown into the pond the year before the murder. That is how they knew the knife was there. Nothing forensically linked the knife to the murders.

Jessie’s trial began in January of 1994. The most damning evidence against him was his own confession, however the defense presented experts that testified that Jessie’s IQ made him susceptible to a coerced confession. The defense also demonstrated the factors contributing to a false confession, including how the detectives interviewed him. An “expert” on cult and satanic crime testified that the crime had occult overtones. The defense countered by questioning his education for his master’s and PhD degrees. The expert had taken no classes, and his PhD came from a mail order school. The judge still deemed the expert to be an expert and allowed the testimony.

Vickie Hutchinson testified, but the stories by her young son were just too inconsistent with the evidence for the prosecution to risk calling him. Several witnesses testified that they were with or saw Jessie more than forty minutes away throughout the night of the murders. The possibility of the unidentified black man that came to be known as “Mr. Bojangles” and the knife of Mr. Byers was presented as reasonable doubt. Neither had been thoroughly investigated by authorities. The judge declined to allow the evidence regarding the teenager who told Oceanside police that he may have committed the crime to be presented- stating it was irrelevant.

Jessie Misskelley was found guilty of first-degree murder in the case of Michael Moore, the child he confessed to chasing down and subduing. He was found guilty of second-degree murder in the cases of Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers. He was sentenced to life plus forty years.

Following his conviction, Jessie allegedly told the officers transporting him to prison about the crime, again admitting guilt. These were not recorded conversations. The prosecution wanted to make a post-conviction deal: If he testified against Damian and Jason they would reduce his sentence from life plus forty years to possible as little as ten years. This provided an excellent incentive for Jessie to testify against the co-defendants, even if he had to lie. Jessie’s attorney told the prosecutor he would not be testifying. The prosecution then met with Jessie, outside the presence of his attorney, on multiple occasions and transferred him up to the Jonesboro area to testify against Damian and Jason. Livid, the defense attorney intervened and once again, Jessie declined to testify. He told his attorney he didn’t want to lie about Jason and Damien, even if it meant he stayed in prison. Judge Burnett did not consider this prosecutorial misconduct.

Damian and Jason’s trials began in February of 1994. The prosecution could not present Jessie’s confession because he was unwilling to testify. A defendant has a right to confront their accuser, which Damian and Jason could not do without Jessie agreeing to testify. The primary evidence presented by the prosecution included a forensic witness who described the wounds on the three boys, stating they were caused by a knife similar to the one found in the pond behind Jason’s house. The examiner described brutal mutilation of the three boys including Christopher Byer’s genitals.

Two teenagers testified that they heard Damien Echols admit to the murders at a soft ball game a few days after the murders. One said Damian said that he already killed three boys, planned to kill two more, and already had one picked out. Vickie Hutchinson talked about the satanic meeting she allegedly attended with Damian and his alleged admission of having committed human sacrifice. Another witness said Jason admitted to the murders to him while in jail awaiting trial. Vickie Hutchinson’s son was not called to testify.

Evidence was presented that included Damian’s tastes in music, including heavy metal. Their “cult” expert stated that teenagers into cults and satanism often where all black, paint their nails black, and have black hair. Damian fits this description. Damian was not an athlete and was considered an outcast. He admitted to experimenting with magic and being a wiccan, but denied he was a satanist. At one point, he said he carried a dog skull with him in order to freak people out so that they would not talk to him. He had no history of abusing animals or violent offenses. The prosecution presented the fact that Jason owned twelve black t-shirts as proof he was in the cult.

The defense presented the possible other suspects: Mr. Bojangles and Mark Byers. The knife Mark Byers gave to the producers of the documentary was compelling reasonable doubt. Mr. Bojangles was also a compelling theory of reasonable doubt. The prosecution countered with forensic evidence that they said proved Damain and Jason were guilty: fibers. One fiber found at the scene was “microscopically similar” to a fiber found on Jason’s mother’s bathrobe. Another was “microscopically similar” to a t-shirt of Damian Echols. Experts could not testify that they were from these garments, however. Both garments are Wal-Mart store brand products, widely available.

Damian testified in his own defense. He came across as “cocky” and arrogant. He admitted to being interested in heavy metal music, magic, and wicca. He tried to explain that his name was a choice he made as a Catholic and had nothing to do with the devil. He admitted to telling an officer during the investigation that “whoever did this probably was happy because it was a thrill kill”. He testified that he did say that, using common sense as whoever did this obviously wanted to do it. He denied that he was speaking of himself. Attorneys on both sides agreed that Damian hurt his own case.

There was no forensic evidence that linked Damian and Jason. The fibers were proof of nothing as they were from items widely found in most West Memphis homes- most of which shopped at Wal-Mart. The prosecution was convinced of the occult/satanic theme and motive, presenting their “expert”. All other evidence against them was from sources with questionable motives. The knife found behind Jason’s home was compelling evidence, but so was the Mark Byers knife. Another witness said she saw Damian and his girlfriend by the woods the night of the crime, testimony that conflicts with the state’s other witnesses and makes no mention of Misskelley, Baldwin, or Echols.

Jason Baldwin and Damian Echols were both found guilty of murder. Unbeknownst to Damian, Jason Baldwin had been offered a deal by prosecutors on two occasions that would allow him out of jail within ten years for testifying against Damian. He declined- stating he would not lie under oath. Jason Baldwin was sentenced to life in prison without parole for each murder. Damian Echols was sentenced to death.

In 1996, HBO released their documentary of this crime, known as Paradise Lost. The documentary garnered an immense amount of support for the three defendants, who had come to be known as The West Memphis Three. Quickly, people around the country and even the world band together to form a support group committed to freeing the defendants as they were convinced of their innocence. Celebrities in the support group included Eddie Vetter, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.

As Damian, Jessie, and Jason fought for justice and freedom, the film makers at HBO recognized the support for the defendants and the success of the first film documentary. Paradise Lost: Revelations began filming the appeals process. In the film, Jessie maintains the same attorney, but Jason and Damian do not. Their new attorneys appealed on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel because the previous attorneys accepted money from producers, giving them a conflicting interest. The money, however, was proven to have gone to the defense efforts including hiring expert witnesses. Judge Burnett was in charge of the appeals process and denied the appeal after appeal made by The West Memphis Three.

Knowledge gained by the defense following the convictions was presented in the documentary as well. A crime scene investigator was consulted and pointed out what appeared to be bite marks on at least one of the victims. The bite marks were examined by the same examiner responsible for Ted Bundy’s conviction. He determined that the bite marks did not belong to Damian Echols, Jason Baldwin, or Jessie Misskelley. Many people suspected Mark Byers of involvement, and even Damian told the press he suspected Byers. In the second part of the documentary, we learn that shortly after the murders, Byer’s had his teeth removed and got dentures. However, he offers his dental records. He continues to insist that Jason, Damian, and Jessie were in jail because they were guilty.

It is also discovered that Mark Byers had been arrested for theft between 1994-1996 in relation to possession of stolen Rolex watches. The DA who convicted the defendants chose not to prosecute. Then, Melissa and Mark Byers were both arrested for stealing several antiques from a neighbor. The neighbors stated that they got a restraining order against Melissa and Mark. Mark and Melissa were both drug abusers during this time. Mark Byer’s ex-wife told the defense that she suspected Byers as being involved early on and told the detectives of her fears. Mark Byers voluntarily took a polygraph test where he admits to a history of heavy drug use, psychiatric problems, severe anxiety, PTSD, a brain tumor, and multiple criminal infractions. He continued to deny any involvement in the murders. The interpreter indicated that the test showed he was being honest.

Another issue was brought up that many found suspicious: in 1996 Melissa Byers died in her bed, lying next to Mark Byers. Mark called 911 and attempted to perform CPR on his wife. Her death was ruled “undetermined” and investigators refused to release the information or a death certificate for many years after. Mark Byers expressed frustration that he could not get the records and vehemently denied being responsible for Melissa’s death. In fact, he blames Jason, Jessie, and Damian. He said Melissa died of a broken heart after her son was murdered. It was also stated that she had multiple drugs in her system including Dilaudid, which Mark admits she was addicted to.

Despite the evidence and widespread scrutiny involving the police department, prosecution, and Judge Burnett, no appeals were successful. Judge Burnett, at this point, handled each of the appeals- denying each one. In 1999, after serving 6 years, Damian married a woman who was supporting his case: Lorri. Lorri stated that after watching the first documentary, she felt compelled to contact Damian. The two wrote back and forth and ended up falling in love. She moved from New York to Arkansas to be close to him while he sat on death row. They married in 1999 in a courthouse ceremony.

Now having support and resources to properly defend themselves, the defendants had to find grounds for a new trial in order to introduce the new evidence and possibly prove their innocence. In 2007, Damien filed a petition under Arkansas law permitting post-conviction DNA testing of evidence. Judge Burnett refused to hear his appeal. However, the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned Judge Burnett, who was now in the Senate, reversing the decision for all three defendants in 2010.

The new evidence by 2010 for the defense included several witnesses including Vickie Hutchinson and the jail house witness who states Jason confessed. Vickie said the police officers threatened and scared her into providing the false testimony. The jail house defendant admitted to being on LSD and lying about his testimony. DNA collected from the ligatures on two of the boy’s bodies contained DNA. The DNA was a perfect match to Terry Hobbs, Stevie Branch’s stepfather and another man who was friends with Terry Hobbs. In fact, the other man was Terry’s alleged alibi for the night of the murders.

The defense team looked further into Terry Hobbs. He had a violent history- he had beat his first wife, beat Stevie, beat Pam. Pam divorced him in 2004. According to a family member who was about twelve at the time of the murders, Stevie told her that Terry was abusive physically and sexually. Rumors swirled around West Memphis that Terry was also sexually abusive to his daughter with Pam. She says in “West of Memphis”, another documentary on the case, that she has struggled with drug abuse her entire life and she doesn’t remember if her father molested her or not. She does remember being beaten by her father.

On the third installment of Paradise Lost, Terry is confronted by the defense on the DNA results. He states the tests are wrong and denies any involvement in the crimes. He refused to answer most questions about his past with physically and sexually abusive behavior, but denies he ever hurt his children. He admits to hitting Pam at times. A neighbor states she saw the three boys with Terry around 6:30 pm the night of the murders, making Terry the last person seen with the boys. The neighbor says that police never canvassed her neighborhood or talked to her in 1993. She assumed they knew Terry was with his stepson and his friends.

The defense also learned that Terry’s alibi, his friend, was not rock solid at all. In fact, he did not know where Terry was between 7pm- 10:30 pm. He states he feels Terry used him to establish an alibi. The original investigators failed to investigate Terry Hobbs at all, despite a tumultuous relationship between him and Pam, the victim’s mother. When asked if they were fighting at the time of the murders, Terry angrily says “She was kissing that Mexican in my house!”. It is suggested that Terry didn’t like the attention Pam spent on Stevie. Angry with her for cheating, it is theorized that he killed Stevie in a rage- Chris and Michael just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The defense also learned that the jury Forman had discussed Jason and Damian’s case many times with their office. He stated he had to get on the jury and ensure the boys were convicted. He allegedly stated he lied to get on the jury and become the Forman, denying knowledge or a mindset of guilt in regards to the case. Although Jessie’s confession was not presented as evidence in the trial, the jury Forman allegedly shared the information with other jurors. He had the information because the confession was printed in the newspapers following the arrest.

All three defendants, after eighteen years in prison, were finally getting a new trial to present the evidence to a court. The District Attorney, not the same prosecutor who convicted the teenagers, worked out a deal with the defense: If all three entered an Alford plea, a plea in which they maintain innocence but agree that prosecution had the evidence to convict them, they would be released on time served. However, they would still be convicted murderers, and the case would still remain closed by the State of Arkansas and the West Memphis Police Department.

The prosecutor states that he made this deal because he felt that, although the boys were guilty and he was confident he could get another conviction, explaining the DNA evidence and recanted testimony is something he did not want to deal with. He also states that the voters should know that by making this deal, the defendants cannot sue for wrongful conviction and he was saving the State of Arkansas approximately sixty million dollars in restitution should the defendants be exonerated.

At first, Jason Baldwin did not want to accept this plea. He wanted full exoneration. However, he changed his mind when he realized that Damian Echols had exhausted all of his appeals and was very likely to be executed by the State of Arkansas. The deal, which had to be all or nothing, would take Damian off of death row. All three agreed, pleading with the Alford plea but maintaining their innocence, and were freed immediately from prison on August 19th, 2011. They served eighteen years in prison each.

By the time of their release, John Byers and Pam Hobbs both supported The West Memphis Three and their fight for innocence. Both also were pointing the finger at Terry Hobbs, with Pam stating she found Stevie’s pocketknife in her ex-husband’s possession. Terry admits to having possession of the knife, saying he took it from Stevie for safety before the murder. Pam, however, says that Stevie always had his knife with him and would have had it the day he was murdered.

Celebrities including Maines, Johnny Depp, and Eddie Vetter had become friends of the defendants- fighting for their freedom and exoneration. Hobbs sued Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks for defamation in regard to the suggestion that he killed his stepson and the other two boys. The case was dismissed, and Hobbs had to pay Maines’ legal bills. Joining the defense was legendary FBI profiler John Douglas and famed forensic investigator Michael Baden. Multiple forensic specialists now felt that the wounds, including the sexual mutilation, were caused by animals in the water. The State of Arkansas and the police of West Memphis, however, consider this case closed and are not investigating Terry Hobbs.

Damian and Jason continue to fight to prove their innocence despite being free. Damian lives in New York with his wife Lorri. It does appear he has maintained a relationship with his son. However, he is reported to have had legal troubles as an adult including drug charges. Damian is an author and practices magic. Jason moved to Seattle and then Texas. He works for a non-profit organization that he co-founded called Proclaim Justice which helps investigate wrongful convictions. He plans to attend law school. Jessie Misskelley returned to West Memphis and received a DUI at one point. However, he remained free and lives with his family.

The defendants pointed out how in multiple media appearances the reality that cases like theirs happen every day all over America. People who are too poor to support a legal defense are falsely accused, convicted, and sometimes executed for crimes they for which they are innocent. Corruption, politics, tunnel vision, and other factors taint investigations. If not for the documentaries and the media attention that followed, the State of Arkansas would probably have already executed Damian. The other two would likely spend their entire lives in prison.

Damian petitioned the court for new DNA testing in 2022, but his request was originally denied because he accepted the plea deal. However, this decision was overturned on appeal in April of 2024, thirty years after the murders. Damian’s defense can continue with DNA testing to finally prove their innocence. In addition to proving their own innocence, the dedication of the defense team and their supporters have and will continue to fully investigate this case as the West Memphis Police failed to do. Perhaps, the defense will be who finally provides answers and justice to the victims and their families. No matter how this case ends, Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers lost their lives that day in 1993.

**** There is a wealth of information about this case. While I attempted to be thorough, every piece of evidence and knowledge of this case is not included in this article. This article serves as a summary of the case only. ****