Here's another update on the WEST MEMPHIS THREE appeal case:
(Jessie Misskelly, Jason Baldwin are appealing their life convictions of the 1993 slaying of three young boys in the West Memphis Arkansas ROBINHOOD HILL MURDERS. Damien Echols remains on death row.) TERRY HOBBS (step father of Steven Branch) neighbors have stepped forward in the case, stating Hobbs was the last to have seen the three young boys alive. DNA evidence states a hair belonging to TERRY HOBBS was found at the murder scene.
DAMIEN ECHOLS, JASON BALDWIN and JESSIE MISSKELLY were convicted in the 1993 ROBIN HOOD HILL murders ( VICTIMS Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore) in a high profile trial of "Satanic Panic" and religious intolerance as many claim the West Memphis Three are innocent and didn't get a fair trial. THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE continue to appeal their convictions. If you want to learn MORE about the WEST MEMPHIS THREE case, read the book, "The Devils Knot" and check out the HBO documentaries PARADISE LOST-THE ROBIN HILL MURDERS and PARADISE LOST 2: REVELATIONS.
We at ITP support the INNOCENCE PROTECTION ACT, and a fair trial for the WEST MEMPHIS THREE.
l
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE-PEACE
BTW, THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE website is being rebuilt and upgraded (http://www.wm3.org) keep updated on the case by logging on to WM3 VOX (http://wm3.vox.com/).
FROM WM3.VOX.COM:
JONESBORO — Neighbors of three West Memphis 8-year-olds who were
murdered in 1993 have come forward, claiming they saw the juveniles
around the time they disappeared.
And the new revelations conflict with statements made by one of the
boys’ stepfather as to his whereabouts when the three went missing.
In affidavits presented to the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday,
sisters Jamie Clark Ballard and Brandy Clark Williams and their
mother, Deborah Moyer, claim to have seen Stevie Branch, Christopher
Byers and Michael Moore at 6:30 p.m. May 5, 1993.
The boys were playing in Moyer’s backyard when Branch’s stepfather,
Terry Hobbs, yelled at the boys and told them to go to his house,
according to court documents.
Ballard, then 13, said she spoke to Byers, telling him his older
brother was looking for him. Williams, who was 11 at the time, and
Ballard then left for church, documents state. Moyer said she went
outside to tell the boys to get out of her yard, and she saw a man
with blond hair standing down the street yelling at the boys.
Contradicts statements
That contradicts a sworn statement Hobbs gave to police, in which he
said he never saw Branch or the other two on the day they disappeared.
Officials with the West Memphis Police Department have repeatedly said
Hobbs is not a suspect in the murders, and he was interviewed only at
the behest of prosecutors.
Hobbs has professed his innocence in various media interview and even
filed a lawsuit against famed country musician Natalie Maines after he
claimed she made public remarks indicating he was guilty of the
killings.
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were teens at
the time, were convicted of capital murder in 1994 for killing the
boys.
The nude, tied, bludgeoned bodies of Branch, Moore and Byers were
found in a rain-filled ditch in the Robin Hood Hills area of West
Memphis, a day after they went missing.
A perceived lack of DNA or forensic evidence tying the convicted to
the crime has caused a international outpouring of support for new
trials in the case.
Attorneys for Echols presented the neighbors’ statements to the
Arkansas Supreme Court in hopes it will order new trials. It’s not
known if or when the statements will be added to Echols’ case file.
Satanic or occult activity was the alleged motive for the crime.
Misskelley confessed to police in 1993
Misskelley confessed to the crime in an interview with police June 3,
1993. He claimed he, along with Echols and Baldwin, was consuming
alcohol near the ditch when the three boys approached. The teens then
subdued, sexually assaulted and tortured the boys before disposing of
them in the water, police said.
The confession is riddled with errors, including the time of the crime
and where it happened. Misskelley said ropes were used to tie the
victims when in fact their own shoelaces were used. Misskelley, who
has an IQ of 72, has since recanted the confession and has said that
police coerced him into confessing.
Renowned forensic pathologists have recently testified at a hearing
for Baldwin and Misskelley there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
State medical examiners, who were criticized for their work on the
case, said there was no evidence the boys were sodomized, and no semen
was collected.
Horrific injuries to all three boys, including the genital mutilation
of Byers, were the result of cuts from a sharp implement or knife,
state medical examiners claim. But defense forensic pathologists
testified that most of the wounds, including those to Byers genitals,
can be attributed to animal predation.
In Misskelley’s confession he claimed they used a knife on the victims.
Hairs and other DNA collected from the crime scene were tested in 2007
and didn’t match any of the defendants. A hair found inside one of
Moore’s ligatures matched Hobbs, court records state. Police said the
hair could have been at the scene as a result of a secondary transfer.
Ballard, Moyer and Williams came forward with new information about
the case after learning Hobbs said he didn’t see his stepson or the
other boys just prior to their disappearance.
According to documents, Ballard said she was friends with Ryan Clark,
Byers older brother. After school the day the boys disappeared,
Ballard said Byers’ stepfather, John Mark Byers, told Clark to find
his brother.
When Ballard saw Byers playing in her backyard she reportedly told him
that his brother was looking for him, and he needed to go home.
Pam Hobbs, Branch’s mother who was married to Terry Hobbs for 17
years, has said recently that she believes her ex-husband was involved
in the murders, and she thinks the men convicted deserve new trials.
John Mark Byers has also said he thinks Terry Hobbs was involved with
the murders, and he now adamantly supports efforts to free the so
called “West Memphis Three.”
Rule 37 hearings for Misskelley and Baldwin wrapped up earlier this
month, and Judge David Burnett is expected to rule by the end of the
year if they will get new trials. In 1999 Burnett rejected a bid by
Echols for a new trial.
gjared@jonesborosun.com
FROM WM3.VOX.COM:
Neighbors Saw Steven Branch, Christopher Byers & Michael Moore With Hobbs Just Before Their Disappearance
For Immediate Release
(Little Rock, AR; 10/12/09)
Three eyewitnesses have come forward and provided sworn statements that they saw Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore with Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steven Branch, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, 1993, immediately before the time the boys disappeared. Hobbs was calling loudly at the children and ordering them to return to his house. The new evidence establishes that the last person who had custody of the three boys before they vanished and died was Terry Hobbs. Jamie Clark Ballard, who lived only three doors down from Terry and Pam Hobbs, has supplied a sworn affidavit, as have both her mother and her sister.
Based upon this new evidence, a motion on behalf of Damien Echols was delivered today to the Arkansas Supreme Court asking the court to order the matter to the Circuit Court to permit further factual development of Echols’s claims of actual innocence.
Ballard states in her sworn affidavit that, “Between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., I saw Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers playing in my backyard. I am absolutely, completely and totally positive that I saw Terry Hobbs hollering at Stevie, Michael and Christopher to get back down to the Hobbs house at approximately 6:30 pm. If Terry Hobbs said he did not see Stevie Branch, Michael Moore or Christopher Byers on May 5, 1993, he is not telling the truth. I know for a fact that Terry Hobbs saw, was with and spoke to Stevie, Michael or Christopher on May 5, 1993.”
Hobbs has repeatedly said that he never saw the three boys the day they were murdered. In fact, during a recent civil deposition of Terry Hobbs, dated July 21, 2009, Hobbs stated, for the first time under oath, that he never saw his stepson, Steven Branch, at any time on May 5, 1993. Under oath he was asked, “It’s your testimony that you did not see Stevie Branch at all the day of May 5th of 1993. Correct?” Hobbs answer: “Correct.” “Did you see Stevie at all that day, May 5th?” Answer: “No, I did not.” “Did you see any of the three boys that day?” Answer: “No, I did not. No I never seen Stevie that day.”
Police never questioned Terry Hobbs during the original investigation of the crimes, but after new evidence was revealed that his DNA was found at the crime scene in 2007, he was questioned by West Memphis Police Department on June 21, 2007. In that interview he stated numerous times to Detective Mitchell that he did not see the boys at any time that day. Officer Mitchell asked Terry Hobbs about what time he got home from work, and he responds roughly about 3-3:30 p.m. He was then asked if he saw Stevie anywhere. His answer: “I did not, he wasn’t there.”
According to the motion prepared by Dennis Riordan and Don Horgan, Echols attorneys, “It has previously been established that Hobbs was never questioned by police during the original investigation of the crimes, despite the fact that the lead detective in the investigation of the murders has conceded that when a child homicide occurs, police should always consider the parents of the child as potential suspects, and that it is “statistically proven that homicide victims are usually the result of family, close friends, [and] known acquaintances” DNA evidence submitted to the Circuit Court in the § 16‑112‑201 proceedings below links Hobbs to the ligature used to bind Michael Moore. A hair linked by DNA testing to David Jacoby, whom Hobbs had visited in the hour before the boys disappeared, was found at the crime scene. Hobbs, moreover, has been accused of assaultive conduct in the past. He has made bizarre and self-incriminating statements concerning his activities on the date the boys went missing. His whereabouts during a key early evening time period on May 5th have never been accounted for. Certain family members recalled that he had acted suspiciously on the date of the disappearance and the days that followed. His wife and other family members have voiced their belief that Hobbs was responsible for the killings.
“Considered in the context of all available evidence in these matters, the new revelations that Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steven Branch, had Steven, Christopher, and Michael in his custody just before their disappearance and death, and that Hobbs has deliberately denied and concealed that critical fact, cannot reasonably be reconciled with the conclusion that appellants were responsible for the crimes of which they stand convicted.”
The eyewitnesses, who saw the boys in their backyard prior to returning to the Hobbs home, were never questioned by the police on the day of the murders. According to the affidavit of Jamie Clark Ballard, “Following the murders, the police never came to interview me or my family. In fact, after the murders, I do not recall ever seeing any police vehicles on my street or seeing any police interviewing any of the people in my neighborhood.”
Damien Echols case is currently under appeal in the Arkansas Supreme court seeking a new trial based upon new evidence. Dozens of pieces of evidence found at the crime scene conclusively show that no DNA from the murders matches Echols or the other two men. DNA testing, however, links Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one of the murdered children, to the crime scene, and other evidence has emerged implicating him in the crimes. In addition, scientific evidence from the nation’s leading forensics experts demonstrates that most of the wounds on the victims were caused by animals at the crime scene, after their deaths – not by knives used by the perpetrators, as the prosecution claimed and was the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case. Moreover, evidence presented that a knife recovered from a lake near one defendant’s home caused the wounds was completely discredited by the pathologists.
Echols’s also informed the Supreme Court that a prominent Arkansas attorney in a sworn affidavit has revealed improper conversations that the jury foreman held with the attorney while the original trial was in progress, clearly violating the law and the rights of Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin to a fair and impartial trial. In those conversations, the jury foreman indicates that he had prejudged Echols’s guilt and was trying to convince other jurors to convict based upon news reports of the false confession of Jessie Misskelley, which was barred from admission at the Echols-Baldwin trial. During one conversation, the jury foreman told the attorney that the prosecution had presented a weak case, and that the prosecution had better present something powerful the next day (the end of the prosecution’s case) or it would be up to him to secure a conviction.
Thanks-Stay metal, Stay Brutal-FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE
Three eyewitnesses have come forward and provided sworn statements that they saw Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore with Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steven Branch, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, 1993, immediately before the time the boys disappeared. Hobbs was calling loudly at the children and ordering them to return to his house. The new evidence establishes that the last person who had custody of the three boys before they vanished and died was Terry Hobbs. Jamie Clark Ballard, who lived only three doors down from Terry and Pam Hobbs, has supplied a sworn affidavit, as have both her mother and her sister.
Based upon this new evidence, a motion on behalf of Damien Echols was delivered today to the Arkansas Supreme Court asking the court to order the matter to the Circuit Court to permit further factual development of Echols’s claims of actual innocence.
Ballard states in her sworn affidavit that, “Between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., I saw Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers playing in my backyard. I am absolutely, completely and totally positive that I saw Terry Hobbs hollering at Stevie, Michael and Christopher to get back down to the Hobbs house at approximately 6:30 pm. If Terry Hobbs said he did not see Stevie Branch, Michael Moore or Christopher Byers on May 5, 1993, he is not telling the truth. I know for a fact that Terry Hobbs saw, was with and spoke to Stevie, Michael or Christopher on May 5, 1993.”
Hobbs has repeatedly said that he never saw the three boys the day they were murdered. In fact, during a recent civil deposition of Terry Hobbs, dated July 21, 2009, Hobbs stated, for the first time under oath, that he never saw his stepson, Steven Branch, at any time on May 5, 1993. Under oath he was asked, “It’s your testimony that you did not see Stevie Branch at all the day of May 5th of 1993. Correct?” Hobbs answer: “Correct.” “Did you see Stevie at all that day, May 5th?” Answer: “No, I did not.” “Did you see any of the three boys that day?” Answer: “No, I did not. No I never seen Stevie that day.”
Police never questioned Terry Hobbs during the original investigation of the crimes, but after new evidence was revealed that his DNA was found at the crime scene in 2007, he was questioned by West Memphis Police Department on June 21, 2007. In that interview he stated numerous times to Detective Mitchell that he did not see the boys at any time that day. Officer Mitchell asked Terry Hobbs about what time he got home from work, and he responds roughly about 3-3:30 p.m. He was then asked if he saw Stevie anywhere. His answer: “I did not, he wasn’t there.”
According to the motion prepared by Dennis Riordan and Don Horgan, Echols attorneys, “It has previously been established that Hobbs was never questioned by police during the original investigation of the crimes, despite the fact that the lead detective in the investigation of the murders has conceded that when a child homicide occurs, police should always consider the parents of the child as potential suspects, and that it is “statistically proven that homicide victims are usually the result of family, close friends, [and] known acquaintances” DNA evidence submitted to the Circuit Court in the § 16‑112‑201 proceedings below links Hobbs to the ligature used to bind Michael Moore. A hair linked by DNA testing to David Jacoby, whom Hobbs had visited in the hour before the boys disappeared, was found at the crime scene. Hobbs, moreover, has been accused of assaultive conduct in the past. He has made bizarre and self-incriminating statements concerning his activities on the date the boys went missing. His whereabouts during a key early evening time period on May 5th have never been accounted for. Certain family members recalled that he had acted suspiciously on the date of the disappearance and the days that followed. His wife and other family members have voiced their belief that Hobbs was responsible for the killings.
“Considered in the context of all available evidence in these matters, the new revelations that Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steven Branch, had Steven, Christopher, and Michael in his custody just before their disappearance and death, and that Hobbs has deliberately denied and concealed that critical fact, cannot reasonably be reconciled with the conclusion that appellants were responsible for the crimes of which they stand convicted.”
The eyewitnesses, who saw the boys in their backyard prior to returning to the Hobbs home, were never questioned by the police on the day of the murders. According to the affidavit of Jamie Clark Ballard, “Following the murders, the police never came to interview me or my family. In fact, after the murders, I do not recall ever seeing any police vehicles on my street or seeing any police interviewing any of the people in my neighborhood.”
Damien Echols case is currently under appeal in the Arkansas Supreme court seeking a new trial based upon new evidence. Dozens of pieces of evidence found at the crime scene conclusively show that no DNA from the murders matches Echols or the other two men. DNA testing, however, links Terry Hobbs, stepfather of one of the murdered children, to the crime scene, and other evidence has emerged implicating him in the crimes. In addition, scientific evidence from the nation’s leading forensics experts demonstrates that most of the wounds on the victims were caused by animals at the crime scene, after their deaths – not by knives used by the perpetrators, as the prosecution claimed and was the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case. Moreover, evidence presented that a knife recovered from a lake near one defendant’s home caused the wounds was completely discredited by the pathologists.
Echols’s also informed the Supreme Court that a prominent Arkansas attorney in a sworn affidavit has revealed improper conversations that the jury foreman held with the attorney while the original trial was in progress, clearly violating the law and the rights of Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin to a fair and impartial trial. In those conversations, the jury foreman indicates that he had prejudged Echols’s guilt and was trying to convince other jurors to convict based upon news reports of the false confession of Jessie Misskelley, which was barred from admission at the Echols-Baldwin trial. During one conversation, the jury foreman told the attorney that the prosecution had presented a weak case, and that the prosecution had better present something powerful the next day (the end of the prosecution’s case) or it would be up to him to secure a conviction.
Thanks-Stay metal, Stay Brutal-FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE
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