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Among them was a disoriented, muddy, and bleeding African-American man who stumbled into a West Memphis Bojangles restaurant men's room less than a mile from the crime scene. Much of Cecil Hotel focuses on the amateur investigators who turned coincidences into conspiracy theories, ultimately accusing an innocent person of her death. "Everyone has a story and this just happens to be mine," said Hobbs. (Its worth noting that despite the issues raised by Lindseys work, the first season of Up and Vanished renewed interest in the case, which ultimately led to arrests, albeit of people that Lindsey hadnt previously covered on the podcast.). (Echolswho is in better health today, though his eyesight has degenerated and he has premature arthritis from his time in solitary confinementin particular has maintained a relatively public life, through the five books hes published, performing magic for Patreon subscribers, and making TV appearances to discuss other cases he sees as similar to his.) The obituary was featured in Idaho Press Tribune on March 13, 2021. Little kids will be looking under their bed 'Damien might be under there! It was a call about Damien Echolshe wasnt dead, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might be soon. And the seemingly endless stream of threats against them and the frequent clashes with Mark Byers did nothing to dissuade them. Also part of the plea was the provision that the three could not sue the state. What a story it is. Hobbs described what it was like the day the three walked free. It's affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up," said Hobbs. But on the subject of Paradise Lost, he speaks emphatically: He understands how important the movies were in helping him, Echols, and Misskelley walk free 10 years ago this August. My first thought is, I hope this dude isnt trying to pull me into some type of escape, Baldwin says nearly a quarter-century later. Share Memories & Support the Family. Under order of the Arkansas Supreme Court, there were to be new evidentiary hearings in the case. It was almost like an out-of-body experience., When the credits rolled shortly after the unforgettable final scene, which shows a now-convicted Baldwin and Echols leaving the courtroom in handcuffs and entering a police cruiser as Metallica plays, Baldwin sat stunned. The Messed Up Truth About The West Memphis Three Murders, citing the discovery of her son's favorite pocket knife, One of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence linking Jason Baldwin, With their 2007 request for a new trial rejected, Baldwin is the co-founder of the legal advocacy organization Proclaim Justice. Case Details Parties . Hobbs says his book is 25 years in the making, adding it is called Boxful of Nightmares for a reason. The Paradise Lost cameras captured not only the defenses discussions, but the full testimony, in Misskelleys trial, of an expert on coerced confessions. They even hired experts to examine the case, including a forensic criminal profiler who discovered what appeared to be bite marks on one of the victims that didnt match any of the convicted. I had a friend who was working on 20/20, and they had done a film about exorcism in one of the magazine pieces, Nevins says. They were releasedfrom prison in 2011 on whats called an Alford plea, after new forensic evidence was presented as part of the case. And yet Hobbs was not interviewed at all in the months after the crimes. Updated: 9:42 AM CDT June 11, 2019. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter in 2011, Jackson and Walsh helped fund key investigations for the West Memphis Three's defense during the last seven years of their incarceration. (WMC) - Its a case that has captured the nation and certainly the Mid-South. According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. We didnt see them grow up.. Despite an offer of a reduced sentence, Misskelley ultimately recanted his statements and refused to testify against Echols and Baldwin. To authorities working in West Memphisa largely Southern Baptist communitysatanic activity seemed to be the most likely cause for the killings, in part because the boys bodies were bound and appeared to have been mutilated. Griffis also knew how to spot a Satanist. As the appeals processes stretched across several years and the buzz of the initial film faded, the directors began looking for ways to keep the story alive. June 29 Terry Hobbs, 34, 1718 Spyglass Lane, Mishawaka, booked on a warrant from Elkhart County. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. Jessie took a polygraph. Berlinger says that after months of filming, the parents of one of the victims raised the issue of payment. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. The sneaker ligatures in which Terry Hobbs' DNA was found in," Soury said . A benefit album was released in 2000, and the phrase made it into a Dawsons Creek episode when Pacey shouted Free the West Memphis Three over an airport intercom. Robin Lynn Jones. Other possible suspects includedBrian Holland and Chris Morgan, two young men from Memphis, Tenn., with a history of drug offenses. Mike Allen arrived on the scene. . That's not the same Terry Hobbs. Like Misskelley in the first trial, Baldwin received a life sentence. A source said the evidence was transferred to shipping containers where there was a fire, and some of the evidence was destroyed. As rumors of a Satanic sacrifice swept the community, the minds of many in West Memphis were already made up. A hair found on one of the ligatures to bind the boys, however, was found to be consistent with the DNA of Hobbs, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. Some believe the West Memphis Three are guilty to this day, and others, including some victims family members, point to their innocence and maintain the real perpetrator is still at large. He died on April 4, 2019 in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. They were naked and hog-tied with their own shoelaces, and showed signs of blunt force trauma and mutilation, the latter of which may have been the work of wild animals, reported the, Three teenage boys were arrested for the crimes , Baldwin and Misskelley were sentenced to life without parole while Echols received the death penalty. The specter of the church looms over Paradise Lost, best represented by an early scene in which Mark Byers leads his congregation in prayer and song. That was more than the people deciding the case were able to hearthe presiding judge made the expert give most of his testimony without the jury in the courtroom because he questioned its relevance. This is the true story of the West Memphis Three murders. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. Speaking by phone last month, he comes across, in many ways, like the person Berlinger says he encountered in prison in 1994: polite, deferential, soft-spoken. Sauls says that the former Black Flag frontman was one of the few big names who dug deep into the evidence, wanting to learn as many details as he could about the case. Mojo was right. I couldnt not watch it at this point. He began his career in the. Its my perspective of what happened in 1993, 26 years ago in West Memphis, Arkansas, said Hobbs. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. This is before considering the 2013 dramatized movie based on the events (and Leveritts book), Stidhams plans to release the book Harvest of Innocence, and how elements of the case made their way into True Detectives third season. Certain that, under what he felt were ridiculous circumstances, Echols' confidence and, on occasion, flippant attitude during the trial was often misinterpreted as evidence of his coldness toward the victims and their families. However, in 2010, a series of rapidly unfolding developments turned the tide for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. But further down, in the section for the music department, theres a curious inclusion of a consultant who never worked in film again: Alex Sinofsky, the son of Bruce who was 12 at the time of Paradise Losts release. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Berlinger and Sinofsky, the latter of whom died in 2015 at age 58, were able to gain incredible and immediate access to seemingly everyone the case had touched: the families of the victims and the accused, the judge, the lead investigator, members of the community. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Hobbs said he wrote the book so people, especially other victims of crime, could understand the tragedy he has gone through and how it impacted his life. Stidham, who was just 30 years old and not long out of law school when the court appointed him to be Misskelleys attorney, went in thinking he would negotiate a deal for his client, who had told police that his acquaintances Baldwin and Echols committed the crimes and that he was present and played a role as an accessory. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. It's one. As the 20th century turned to the 21st, the movement seemed to be picking up steam. Damion Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were convicted of murdering the children in 1994. We are sad to announce that on September 11, 2021 we had to say goodbye to Terry Hobbs of Sweetwater, Texas. (Maines briefly became a part of the story when Terry Hobbs, stepfather of another of the victims, sued her for defamation after she wrote a blog post pointing out that physical evidence at the crime scene potentially pointed at him and not the three convicted for the crime. Terry Hobbs is the one suspected of murder and the wounds that were inflicted on my nephew were where turtles bit his face. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! This is a story of justice delayed and justice denied. On the evening of May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore went missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. Update: I was totally wrong. A graveside service will be conducted on Wednesday, March 17 at Cloverdale Memorial Park beginning at 11am. Heavy metal music, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and horror movies were regarded as gateways to evil. And then there was the public pressure: In August 2010, Vedder and Maines headlined yet another benefit concert, this one in Little Rock. Echols is an author and mystic living New York with his wife, architect Lorri Davis. During Misskelley's trial, Hutcheson testified that she had attended an "an occult Satanic meeting" she referred to as an "esbat."