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The author of "The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers" follows new developments in the case, as well as other cases covered in various podcasts, televisions shows and documentaries, such as "Making a Murderer," "Truth and Justice," "The Staircase," and related news coverage, with a heavy emphasis on detailing misinformation and propaganda designed to subvert the judicial process.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 24, 2019
Tuesday Dec 24, 2019
"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
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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.
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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.
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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.’
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“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.”
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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.
Saturday Jan 11, 2020
Saturday Jan 11, 2020
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.
Friday Jan 24, 2020
Friday Jan 24, 2020
To learn more, purchase "Blood on Black" and "Where the Monsters Go" on Amazon.
Thursday Feb 06, 2020
Thursday Feb 06, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
More progress on Jessie Misskelley's epic confession of June 3, 1993; and some observations about the decriminalization of crime and the anarchic implications of the "parole is slavery" movement exemplified in Amazon's pretty darn bad "Free Meek" pseudo-documentary
Sunday Mar 01, 2020
Sunday Mar 01, 2020
From "Where the Monsters Go," available on Amazon, along with "Blood on Black" and the combined revised version, "The Case Against the West Memphis Three Killers"
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
From "Where the Monsters Go," available on Amazon, along with "Blood on Black" and "The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers." Sorry about the background noise!
Monday Mar 16, 2020
Monday Mar 16, 2020
Except from my book "Where the Monsters Go," second of a two-volume set on the West Memphis 3 case along with "Blood on Black." Also available on Amazon in Kindle and print formats: the revised, combined, condensed version, "The Cast Against the West Memphis 3 Killers."
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
From "Where the Monsters Go," second in a two-volume set with "Blood on Black" about the West Memphis 3 case. Also available at Amazon in Kindle and print formats, a revised, combined, condensed version: "The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers."