Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. RIDGE: Alright, is that where he was cutting? Misskelley, 42, is . (Again,if the anal dilation evidence was at all ambiguous, this type of sodomy would cause obvious tearing and ripping; it wouldnt be a close call). Hutcheson was never charged with theft. GITCHELL: Does just everybody takes a turn. Jessie Misskelley (Jessie Loyd Misskelly Jr.) was born on 10 July, 1975 in 1975, is a Producer. RIDGE: Okay, was it after school had let out? [16] Christopher Mark Byers is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery East in Memphis, Tennessee.[17]. I strongly suggest listening along while reading this transcript. Also presented in the filing was new expert testimony that the supposed knife marks on the victims, including the injuries to Byers' genitals, were in fact the result of animal predation after the bodies had been dumped.[55]. JESSIE: And then Damien, I heard Damien in the background saying we done it, we done it, what we gonna do now what about if somebody saw us. (Jessie was never taken to the woods with a video camera for this purpose.). [39] The State's experts had examined the actual bodies for any marks, and others conducted expert photo analysis of injuries. During the course of his interrogation, which lasted for several hours, Jessie was given a lie detector test and the police succeeded in securing a confession from Jessie of his own part in the murders of the three boys. "This was not justice," he said of the deal. She claimed she had implicated Echols and Misskelley to avoid facing criminal charges, and to obtain a reward for the discovery of the murderers. JESSIE: They hadnt they hadnt said nothing around me, when I was over to my friends house, they didnt say nothing. [32] The court sentenced him to life plus 40 years in prison. Searchers canvassed all of West Memphis but focused primarily on Robin Hood Hills, where the boys were reported last seen. [9] Misskelley's former attorney Dan Stidham cites multiple substantial police errors at the crime scene, characterizing it as "literally trampled, especially the creek bed." In an interview with Piers Morgan, he said that he would like to have a career in writing and visual arts.[95]. However, the confession was at odds with facts known by police, such as the time of the murders. RIDGE:You are not, so weve treated you well? RIDGE:To that particular place? Briefcase? RIDGE:Going under the water, what were they doing up under the water? JESSIE: When he first called me when he first got he called me he said, how come I how come I you left, and said, I couldnt stand it, I had to do something else. RIDGE:Scared of Damien? RIDGE: He didnt tell you that he hid it somewhere? He was an honor student. They got their GED in jail. [3] Echols, ADC# 000931, entered the system on March 19, 1994. In 1994, a memorial was erected for the three murder victims. "[93] Advanced DNA and other scientific evidence combined with additional evidence from several different witnesses and experts released in October 2007 had cast strong doubts on the original convictions. [72], Three films, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, have documented this case and are strongly critical of the verdict. [75], Many songs were written about the case, and two albums released in support of the defendants. Officer Regina Meeks responded to the call, taking the restaurant manager's report through the eatery's drive-through window. RIDGE:Oh, they come way up on him? The counsel representing the men said they would continue to pursue full exoneration. RIDGE:Put away for a while. Arent we getting a little Aaron Hutchinson here? After a 12-hour police interrogation, one of the teenagers, Jessie Misskelley Jr., implicated the other two, Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin. Under the "Bruton rule", Misskelley's confession could not be admitted against his co-defendants; thus he was tried separately. RIDGE: Hes been watching them. JESSIE: They were going to catch their bus and stuff, and they was on their bikes and so, (If the children were catching the bus, why would they be riding their bikes? RIDGE:They havent talked to you about this? On August 19, 2011, Echols, along with Baldwin and Misskelley, was released from prison after their attorneys and the judge handling the upcoming retrial agreed to a deal. RIDGE: Alright, have they got their clothes on when you saw them tied? RIDGE:Okay, had somebody taken pictures of these boys? RIDGE: okay, now when its going on, when this is taking place, you under you saw somebody with a knife, who had a knife? Under the terms of the Alford guilty plea, Echols and his co-defendants accepted the sufficiency of evidence supporting the three counts of first degree murder while maintaining their innocence. Okay, what was he choking him with? They switch the side of the creek he was on from BB toMemphis), (Jessie leaves again and again he is guided to give more details after he says he left), [[Tape omission / blank 20 seconds jumps to here]]. [8] Initial police searches made that night were limited. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. [22], The day after the victims' bodies were found, Bojangles' manager Marty King, thinking there was a possible connection to the bleeding man found in the bathroom, reported the incident to police officers who then inspected the ladies' room. [5] On August 19, 2011, they entered Alford pleas, which allowed them to assert their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them. Bryn Ridge of the West Memphis Police Department, currently in the detective division of the West Memphis Police Department conducting an investigation of the Triple Homicide, Case File # 93-05-0666. The filing cited DNA evidence linking Terry Hobbs (stepfather of one of the victims) to the crime scene, and new statements from Hobbs' now ex-wife. [16] James Michael Moore is buried in Crittenden Memorial Park Cemetery in Marion, Arkansas. According to the statements given by Berlinger and Sinofsky, Cooper informed them of his receipt of the knife on December 19, 1993. RIDGE: Okay, Jessie, lets go straight to that date,05/05/93, Wednesday, early in the morning. is 5'2"(1.57m) . His conviction was appealed and affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court. JESSIE: He had been watching them. He is not dating anyone. It is not yet known whether the jury had an accurate transcript that included the next, critical portion wherein Jessie is told they are correcting his statement ]]]. Seeing a bruised up photo taken later would explain this statement; a recollection of the events as they were occurring could not). It was a pocket knife that my father had given to Stevie, and Stevie loved that knife. Note:This is a transcription of the taped confession of Jessie Misskelley, Jr. regarding the murder of Chris Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore. This documentary was co-produced by Lord of the Rings maestro Peter Jackson and his wife and collaborator, Fran Walsh. [59], The families of the three victims are divided in their opinions as to the guilt or innocence of the West Memphis Three. All three were released from prison that same day. Confession. GITCHELL: How many pictures did you see, altogether? However, after blood was found on the knife, Byers stated that he had used it only once, to cut deer meat. . (No one knew that the three boyus would be together; Steve Branch was told to be home in 15 minutes, Chris Byers was prohibited from being the RHH woods the idea that it was a targeted killing of these boys doesnt even come close to fitting). Okay, so you saw Damien strike Chris Byers in the head. JESSIE: Damien had some black pants on, some boots and a black t-shirt. 18. JESSIE: It leads out there close to the uhh field, close to the interstate. JESSIE: I was there until they tied them up and then thats when I left, after they tied them up, I left. Damien was one of the most watched charectars in West Memphis, no one ever mentioned seeing him with a briefcase? 17. [47] John Mark Byers had his teeth removed in 1997, after the first trial but before an imprint could be made. Someone makes a brief coughing sound plainly as if to say youre wrong listen closely. Christopher Byers was born to Melissa DeFir and Ricky Murray. 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. You tell me. RIDGE: Had Damien seen these boys before? JESSIE: Close like army type, not quite, RIDGE:Okay, they are black, is that right, they lace up? Mr. Echols and his wife, Lorri Davis, in Arkansas . According to local West Memphis police officers, on the evening of May 5, 1993, at 8:42pm, workers in the Bojangles' restaurant located about a mile from the crime scene in Robin Hood Hills reported seeing a black male who seemed "mentally disoriented" inside the restaurant's ladies' room. [91], Echols' lawyers claimed that his condition worsened during the trial, when he developed a "psychotic euphoria that caused him to believe he would evolve into a superior entity" and eventually be transported to a different world. "WM3" redirects here. His mother was awarded custody and later married Terry Hobbs. GITCHELL: What did the stick look like, I mean was it like a a big log like that or is it a stick? I could not believe it was in Terry's things. [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. RIDGE:Was it a knife that you fold up, or was it like a hunting knife? [45] The petition failed when the original trial judge, Judge David Burnett, disallowed presentation of this information in his court. They had been stripped naked and were hogtied with their own shoelaces, their right ankles tied to their right wrists behind their backs, the same with their left arms and legs. After the initial investigation, the police failed to control disclosure of information and speculation about the crime scene.[38]. (I didnt see a briefcase), then ask the question again Jessie will come through for you . Would you do that? He and a girlfriend had run off and later broken into a trailer during a rain storm; they were arrested, though only Echols was charged with burglary.[9]. . JESSIE:We usually skin it, then make a bon fire and eat it and stuff. (Uh, no he didnt. After the documentary crew returned to New York, Berlinger and Sinofsky were reported to have discovered what appeared to be blood on the knife. Anal dialation CAN happen after sodomoy; however, it is unlikely that two boys were raped and BOTH of them only showed dialation and NO tearing, especially in light of the violent rape with fighting and struggling that Jessie alleges. Jessie Misskelley was brought in to WMPD for questioning on 3 June 1993. Nonetheless, they claimed he was not regarded as a direct suspect but a source of information. This is very, very important, now just tell us the truth. Echols self-published the memoir, Almost Home: My Life Story Vol. JESSIE: They started screwing them again, (No evidence of violent sodomy nor does Jessie say at any time how he found out that sexual acts were committedafterhe left if he did not discuss itlaterwith Damien and Jason; another case of Jessie leaving.). He is a producer, known for Devil's Knot (2013), Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) and West of Memphis (2012). Jessie Misskelley said in a short interview a few months ago that he is happy staying out of the limelight, as he lives and works in West Memphis. He was preceded in death by his spouse, Kathy Bartoush; his daughter, Loretta Townsend; and his parents and other siblings. Misskelley agreed to introduce Hutcheson to Echols. Theyre not even TRYING to make this look like a legitimate interrogation! [30] Critics have also stated that Misskelley's various "confessions" were in many respects inconsistent with each other, as well as with the particulars of the crime scene and murder victims, including (for example) an "admission" that Misskelley watched Damien rape one of the boys. To call them disorderly would be putting it mildly. When he first hit the boy, when Damien first hit the first boy, did they have their clothes on then? For the former Australian rules footballer, see, DNA testing and new physical evidence (2007). 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. On September 17, 2011, 48 Hours re-aired the episode with the update of their release and interviews from Echols and his wife, and Baldwin. ), RIDGE: Alright, you got in front of you a picture, that was taken out of the newspaper I believe, its got three boys and these are the three boys that were killed on that date in Robin Hood Woods, okay, which one of those three boys is it you say Damien hit? You dont need a PhD to figure this out a stick across a neck would cause very obvious linear damage. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jessie Misskelley Sr. of Marion, Arkansas, who passed away on February 21, 2021, at the age of 82, leaving to mourn family and friends. Now we have a briefcase there that night whereas seconds ago, they didnt. [9] Friends and neighbors also conducted a search that night, which included a cursory visit to the location where the bodies were later found. RIDGE:Did you actually kill any of these boys? 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