Jasons friend Ken Watkins came over to visit later. [54], On October 29, 2007, papers were filed in federal court by Echols's defense lawyers seeking a retrial or his immediate release from prison. [69], In 2010, district Judge Brian S. Miller ordered Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, to pay $17,590 to Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for legal costs stemming from a defamation lawsuit he filed against the band. He stated in his report for Echols's legal team that there was no evidence the murders were linked to satanic rituals and that post-mortem animal predation could explain the alleged knife injuries. No way did this happen; it is a straight-up invention said to tell Ridge what he wanted to hear. JESSIE: I saw him cut one of the little boys. The memorial is located in the playground of Weaver Elementary School in West Memphis, where all three victims were second graders at the time of the crime. Each man then entered an Alford plea to lesser charges of first- and second-degree murder while verbally stating their innocence. A little gun? When told the blood matched both his and Chris' blood type, Byers said he had no idea how that blood might have gotten on the knife. Eight months after his original confession, on February 17, 1994, Misskelley made another statement to police. JESSIE: No, they didnt get into the water with us. Naw, no psych or IQ issue here). For the former Australian rules footballer, see, DNA testing and new physical evidence (2007). . RIDGE:Okay, the night you were in these woods, uh had you all been in the water? Chris Morgan and Brian Holland, both with drug offense histories, had abruptly departed for Oceanside, California, four days after the bodies were discovered. RIDGE:okay, when you initiating somebody new come into a cult what actually is done to initiate that person into a cult? RIDGE: Alright, where were they at? RIDGE:When you left from there, did you leave running? JESSIE: Um-mm, they were going to catch, they were going somewhere and like I said, Damien and nem left before I did, I told them that I would meet them there and stuff, and I had to get ready it was early in the morning and so, they went ahead and met me, they went on up there and then I come up later on behind them. Aaron, a playmate of the murdered boys', mentioned to Bray that the boys had been killed at "the playhouse." JESSIE:I didnt see a briefcase, not unless they left it there at that day before it happened, unless they left it there by accident then but I didnt see one that day. RIDGE: Alright, now you know where the bayou is? 19. (There wasno evidence that Christopher Byers had been strangled with a stick or anything else. JESSIE: Uh, I dont know what he done with it, cause after I left then they, I dont know what they done with, after I left I dont know what they done with it. Judge David Laser accepted the pleas and sentenced the three to time served. Damien first came into my life in 1996, when my friend and I watched a documentary called Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Whose car where yall in? RIDGE:You havent heard anybody? Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. The first report to the police was made by Byers' adoptive father, John Mark Byers, around 7:00pm. Damien was one of the most watched charectars in West Memphis, no one ever mentioned seeing him with a briefcase? These were compared to the alleged bite marks on Stevie Branch's forehead that had not been mentioned in the original autopsy or trial. JESSIE: My dad woke me up this morning. GITCHELL: You didnt touch the bikes? JESSIE: Not that I know of, I wouldnt. [21] Morgan was presumed to be at least casually familiar with all three murdered boys, having previously driven an ice cream truck route in their neighborhood. RIDGE: At 9 oclock in the morning? His mother was awarded custody and later married Terry Hobbs. Police said the recording was "inaudible", but Hutcheson claimed the recording was audible. RIDGE: Alright, where did he cut him at? [26] Portions of Misskelley's statements to the police were leaked to the press and reported on the front page of the Memphis Commercial Appeal before any of the trials began. His parents divorced when he was four years old & shortly afterward his mother married John Mark Byers, who adopted the boy. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Dilation of the anus is a normal post-mortem condition. RIDGE:Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. RIDGE:Was it a knife that you fold up, or was it like a hunting knife? Under the . "[69] Byers has spoken to the media on behalf of the convicted, and has expressed his desire for justice for the families of both the victims and the three accused. [citation needed], While in prison, Echols wrote letters to Gloria Shettles, an investigator for his defense team. RIDGE: Alright, you know what a penis is? GITCHELL: But, you saw them cutting on the boys, JESSIE: I saw them cutting on them, and then. RIDGE:They had already gotten them off. During subsequent questioning, Morgan claimed a long history of drug and alcohol use, along with blackouts and memory lapses. Moore enjoyed wearing his scout uniform even when he was not at meetings. What did you see him cut or who did you see him cut? [96] After his release, he has worked on a number of additional media projects. RIDGE:Didnt you go there with some more boys once? If you were there the whole time, then tell us that you were there the whole time, dont leave anything out. [3] Echols, ADC# 000931, entered the system on March 19, 1994. This documentary was co-produced by Lord of the Rings maestro Peter Jackson and his wife and collaborator, Fran Walsh. The song is about the West Memphis Three, with 100% of the proceeds going to their benefit foundation for their release. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, dark shoes, and a white long-sleeved shirt. JESSIE: I was looking down, and after I seen all of that, I took off, (Were going to correct that??? 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. JESSIE: Damien had some black pants on, some boots and a black t-shirt. Echols' sentence was reduced to three counts of first degree murder. JESSIE:yes, out there in Lakeshore. 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. JESSIE: He hit him with his fist and bruised him all up real bad, and then ull (phonetic) Jason turned around and hit Steve Branch. Okay, so you saw Damien strike Chris Byers in the head. JESSIE: They had holes in them and the knees were cut. GITCHELL: And you saw the pictures in the briefcase? GITCHELL: So, what else left is there, after that? You mentioned earlier that, one of the meetings you went to with this cult thing, they had some pictures. (*****During this statement Jessie says that the boys were beaten by Damien and Jason with their fists, then he is asked if they were hit with sticks, and he answers yes. RIDGE: Alright, what occurred, what did he talk about? They did college in jail. Officer Regina Meeks responded to the call, taking the restaurant manager's report through the eatery's drive-through window. RIDGE:You say that you got sick, so thats what you were saying, did you throw up or anything? GITCHELL: Now, youre pointing to the Byers boy again? Nonetheless, they claimed he was not regarded as a direct suspect but a source of information. RIDGE: And you mentioned that you heard some voice in the background? JESSIE: He called me and asked me if I could go toWest Memphiswith him and I told him, no, I had to work and stuff. Christopher Byers had lacerations to various parts of his body and mutilation of his scrotum and penis. At trial, the defense team argued that news articles from the time could have been the source for Echols' knowledge about the genital mutilation, and Echols said his knowledge was limited to what was "on TV". He confessed to the murders, which inculpated the other two accused. The judge said Hobbs had chosen to involve himself in public discussion over whether the convictions were just. This more accurately describes the14thStreetWoods, which are normally known as the RHH woods by locals, not the site where the bodies were found (The Blue Beacon Woods). RIDGE: Alright, when did they take their clothes off? The Alford plea is a legal mechanism that allows defendants to plead guilty while still asserting their actual innocence, in cases where defendants concede that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. RIDGE:Choking him? In 2002, Henry Rollins worked with other vocalists from various rock, hip hop, punk and metal groups and members of Black Flag and the Rollins Band on the compilation album Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three. Hutcheson was never charged with theft. Confession. He is currently single. Additionally, after the Murders my sister Jo Lynn McCauhey and I found in Terry's nightstand a knife that Stevie carried with him constantly and which I had believed was with him when he died. Misskelley ignored this advice and went on to detail how the boys were abused and murdered. To call them disorderly would be putting it mildly. RIDGE OR GITCHELL? Stidham has called the coroner's investigation "extremely substandard." Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. Even if they were notinthe park at 9 a.m. it would not take three hours to walk from their homesorLakeshore, which is where he will claim they met in alaterstatement.). Jessie Misskelley was born on July 10, 1975. How could Damien be in the background if he was not there? RIDGE:Going under the water, what were they doing up under the water? [27], Vicki Hutcheson, a new resident of West Memphis, would play an important role in the investigation, though she would later recant her testimony, claiming her statements were fabricated due in part to coercion from police. His stated reasons for the removal are apparently contradictory. The judge then sentenced the three men to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years. 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