"Everyone has a story and this just happens to be mine," said Hobbs. Yes, the West Memphis Three are out of prison, but as long as they are considered guilty in the eyes of the state, the case is closed, meaning no further investigation can occur. Inconsistencies in Terry Hobbs' alibi, as well as revelations about subsequent violent acts, have also led many to believe that he may be the actual killer. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. Berlinger and Sinofsky began to take notice. (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.) La Mirada, California. According to Devil's Knot author Mara Leveritt, the investigation of the murders was divided along three lines. He said, J.B., youre going home, man, youre going home.. We were mainly in it for the aesthetics of filmmaking, but the last scene of Paradise Lost, when Damien is chained up and sent away to death row, that was just heartbreaking and devastating for us, Berlinger says. On the morning of June 2, 1993, Jessie Misskelley Jr., a 17-year-old high school drop out with a reported IQ of 73, was taken into custody by Detective Mike Allen. "The reason I made the West Memphis boogeyman comment during the first film was because I was making light of the situation," Echols says in Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. Terry Hobbs was born in 1958 and grew up in Northern Arkansas. You need corroborating evidence.. I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols [sic] are responsible for what happened to our children, Hobbs told Memphis ABC affiliate WATN in June 2019. They saw the same thing you did. A theory held is that Terry Hobbs was the one who actually killed the three boys and had pinned it on the Memphis 3 boys. Bakken immediately showed her friends Burk Sauls and Grove Pashley, who were both equally gripped by what they had just watched. 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. Defense attorneys also pointed out that Griffis' doctorate was obtained through a notorious diploma mill and had been awarded with Griffis having never attended a single class. As part of the deal, they cannot file wrongful-conviction lawsuits, which both Berlinger and Baldwin say couldve cost the state tens of millions of dollars. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. In the minds of many, the bizarre nature of the Robin Hood Hills murders could only have been committed by one of Satan's minions. Hes since parlayed the popularity of the show into a booming podcast network and documentary deal with Oxygen. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. Minutes later, Sgt. That story line would make up the bulk of 2000s Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, a rare sequel for a documentary, especially before the streaming era proved that true crime series like Making a Murderer and The Staircase could maintain audience interest for years. When he was released in 2011, he met John Hardin, who worked with the West Memphis Three support group Arkansas Take Action, and the two bonded over a desire to do for others what had just been done for Baldwin. Terry Hobbs Memphis 32, 14-Jun, Superior Funeral Home-Hollywood. Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). In the years since the trial, John Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers, and Pamela Hobbs, mother of Stevie Branch, became vocal supporters of the West Memphis Three. In 2009, three witnesses filed affidavits claiming they saw Hobbs with the murdered boys the night they disappeared, contradicting Hobbs previous statements to police, according to CNN. Terry Roland Hobbs <p>Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021.</p> <p>Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs .Terry graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1977. And that is why Echols has attorneys who want to use a new DNA test called M-Vac, a wet vacuum system that can find more DNA than older tests. Nobody was saying, This is an outrageous case that needs to be looked into.. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. Although the bodies were discovered at 1:30 p.m., investigators didn't call the coroner until 3:58 p.m. By the time the coroner arrived, fly larvae were already present in the nostrils and eyes of the victims. Pam Hobbs divorced Terry Hobbs in 2004 and has reversed her position on the West Memphis Three's guilt. The great irony of the 18-year quest to free the West Memphis Three is that it didnt begin as a crusade. On Aug. 11, 2011, the West Memphis Three entered the courtroom for the final time. 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. However, within the first crucial hours after the bodies were discovered, mistakes were made at the crime scene that negatively impacted the investigation. He was an actor, known for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Fast Food (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). Its like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound. It was so emotionally taxing to watch and go through it again, he says. Beyond the black-and-white print of the newspaper, there was a movement brewing. When the case was given the option for DNA evidence, everyone but Terry Hobbs said yes. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. On August 19, 2011, all three accepted the deal and were immediately released from prison. I just checked again and HE IS STILL MISSING. Armchair detectives of today, I think a lot of them dabble in conspiracy theory, Berlinger says. He says his students seem to have a better grasp on the idea of coerced confessions than any of his peers in 1994. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. This family in-fighting led to him shooting his brother-in-law. Even though they said they didnt murder the three boys, they are technically convicted killers. Now, he was being asked to consider something that he never dreamed he would: accepting a plea deal that would set the West Memphis Three free, but require them to give up their quest for exoneration. The Paradise Lost cameras captured not only the defenses discussions, but the full testimony, in Misskelleys trial, of an expert on coerced confessions. More than 2,500 people attended and the story dominated the local press for days. Getting that kind of creative validation was exciting, but we were also extremely frustrated that it didnt move from the entertainment page of the newspaper to the editorial page, Berlinger says. That the slain boys were each 8 years-old was important because eight was a "witch's number." One person who has come up in the investigation is Terry Hobbs, although police have never named him a suspect or charged him in connection with the case. Terry Hobbs was born on November 25, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia, USA. She has since expressed her belief that her ex-husband was involved in the murders, citing the discovery of her son's favorite pocket knife in Terry Hobbs' belongings. Under order of the Arkansas Supreme Court, there were to be new evidentiary hearings in the case. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Created by: Legend Added: 11 Aug 2021 Find a Grave Memorial ID: 230642037 The idea of killer teens in the Christian South, not any greater sense of purpose, was mainly what intrigued Sheila Nevins, then the head of HBOs documentary division, when she spotted a story about the case on the inside pages of The New York Times. With a large population of fundamentalist Christians, the American South was particularly subject to occult paranoia. . While thats cooled from the days of concerts in the shadows of the Arkansas Supreme Court building, the documentaries still live on HBO Max, where they pull in new viewers to this day. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. Luminol tests, which reveal the hidden presence of blood, were not performed at the scene until six days later. But then the verdicts arrived: Both Baldwin and Echols were found guilty on all counts, just like Misskelley had been six weeks before them. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Terry Hobbs to show support. Baldwin is the co-founder of the legal advocacy organization Proclaim Justice. Mojo jumped up, Baldwin recalls. In 1994, Dr. Dale W. Griffis was a retired police officer who had embarked on a second career as a self-styled consultant on occult and cult-related crime. He had been expecting a visitation, but was instead led to the prison chapel office, where inmates were typically brought only if someone close to them had died. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. As reported by the Arkansas Times, examination of the shoe laces used to bind Michael Moore contained hair "not inconsistent" with that of Stevie Branch's stepfather, Terry Hobbs. When they searched online, they found little to no information about the case. McCaughey says her sister is very upset. The reason for the credit gets less curious when hes asked about it: He was a huge Metallica fan. (Shortly after Villegass acquittal, Baldwin had something of a full-circle moment with his client: He took him to a Metallica show in El Paso, Texas, where they hung out backstage on the invitation of Lars Ulrich.). This is the true story of the West Memphis Three murders. Attorneys for Echols have submitted a formal request to inspect the records that are available, involving cataloguing of the evidence as well as information on the loss of the evidence. While Berlinger says that the work of people like Bakken and Sauls was more impressive than that of any celebrity, its undeniable that the famous and influential brought a megaphone and funding mechanism to this case that most never get. This is a brand new website dedicated to the internationally famous musician, Terry Gibbs. 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. On the surface, 18-year-old Damien Echols, an intelligent, but psychologically troubled teen with interests in Wicca and extreme music, fit the profile. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. 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. Baldwin, who had been coached by his lawyers to avoid speaking to the press, says money was the only reason he agreed to the added pressure of appearing in the documentary, especially when everyone else in a position of authority seemed adversarial toward him. Make a life-giving gesture Jessie took a polygraph. It was clear that Paradise Lost was resonating. Hobbs denied the accusation, saying that his family does have secrets, but none of them have to do with murder. But they were saying that he was about to die.. He knew that if he ever got out, hed want to do that in a more organized way. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) - More than 25 years after the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, a new book gives a first-person account of . So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? Hobbs said, I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion, 'Feels Like Home:' electrical failure from a light fixture caused December fire that killed 1, Shelby County reporting an increase in drug-related overdoses, largely due to fentanyl, Severe weather threat is over | Prepare for a sunny weekend, Daylight saving time starts soon. Investigators never found any evidence that tied him, Jason Baldwin, or Jessie Misskelley to the murders of the boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers. 21, 2021 at 1:51 PM PDT CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla.. Everybody Id come in contact with was hostile to the truth, Baldwin says. Stating that she would ask around, Hutcheson agreed to "play detective.". Echols attorneys got a letter from the custodian of records for the West Memphis police department saying some of the evidence ended up lost, or misplaced, and some destroyed by fire. The final scene Berlinger and Sinofsky filmed may have been the piece that stuck with viewers the most: the image of Baldwin and Echols being led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and bulletproof vests, now property of the state. She says she is too because they believe they are hearing different stories. As for Paradise Lost, it was the inciting incident in the two-decade chain of events that led to the release of the West Memphis Three. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. (At one point, Sauls says, it landed on Yahoos list of the top 100 websites.) Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023. " Every crime, no matter what it is, gets blamed on Satanism.". Years of solitary confinement and the abuse he said he suffered at the hands of prison guards had taken its toll. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Searching obituaries is a great place to start your family tree research. Inevitably, the West Memphis Three case always comes up. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. And yet Hobbs was not interviewed at all in the months after the crimes. Echols, who prosecutors argued was the ringleader, was sentenced to death. Then youd try to find it, and it didnt exist, because when we went out to discussion groups, no one knew about the case yet., After learning that the teens were still in prison, Bakken, Sauls, and Pashley decided to make full use of the budding technological revolution. In June 1996, Paradise Lost debuted on HBO, bringing the story of the West Memphis Three to TV sets and showing the power of the camera in the courtroom. They procured the domain WM3.org and made a website, updating it with whatever information they could track down. 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. Support came from unlikely corners: a classroom of kids who held a cookie sale that raised $30, local bands in Chicago who held a benefit show and sent $150. This is not a smoking-gun-type case.. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. People would drive by and yell at us, Theyre going to burn in hell, Sauls says. But for every Your Own Backyard or Ill Be Gone in the Dark that has applied journalistic rigor to their research in the past two decades, theres an Up and Vanished, which has been at the center of ethical debates since the podcast debuted in 2016. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. It had been a long fight to clear their names, and the odds seemed better than ever. To bolster their assertions that the killings were related to occult activity despite virtually no evidence prosecutors brought in their own so-called expert on cult murders. I went to a Baptist school and I got accused of being a devil worshiper because I was trying to learn how to write hieroglyphics, says Sauls, today a screenwriter and VFX designer. A source said the evidence was transferred to shipping containers where there was a fire, and some of the evidence was destroyed. The judge ruled that Hobbs could not establish actual malice, and ordered Hobbs to pay Maines legal fees amounting to more than $17,000, according to the Associated Press. Best selling books such as Lawrence Pazder's Michelle Remembers and disgraced evangelical comedian Mike Warnke's The Satan Seller fueled the madness with tales of ritual abuse and human sacrifice. Their bikes were found by a pipe nearby. Yet, Judge David Burnett accepted Griffis as an expert. At the request of West Memphis authorities, the two were picked up and questioned by Oceanside police. In November, Judge David Burnett, who had presided over the trial, was elected to the state senate. Its gone from a controversial legal theory to an accepted phenomenon. The bodies of Branch, Byers, and Moore were found in a drainage ditch in West Memphis May 6 . None of the early interviews with the parents were recorded. But it wasnt in the ways its directors had hoped. The state of Arkansas continues to attempt to prevent this testing from happening., New technology and advances in science would now allow us to test DNA in amounts so small that it would have been previously impossible. Other possible suspects includedBrian Holland and Chris Morgan, two young men from Memphis, Tenn., with a history of drug offenses. Few celebrities at the time did as much as Henry Rollins, however. There are no events scheduled. Here were these guysat best they were neutral. We were finally winning, he says. Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. One of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence linking Jason Baldwin to the crime a survival knife with a serrated edge recovered from a lake behind his home has also come under scrutiny. By staying on this subject for the next couple of decades, they gave these men a chance and really decades of freedom afterward. February 27, 2023 (76 years old) View obituary. During the trials of Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols, Griffis drew tenuous links between circumstantial evidence, such as the killings taking place near the date of the pagan festival of Beltane. He was 56. The prosecutor would later say, There was a lack of physical evidence to tie anyone or anything to the crime scene, while the lead investigatorthe same one who told the press the case was an 11 out of 10would concede, Youve got a lot of circumstantial evidence is what youve got. And without substantial physical evidence, police zeroed in on a pair of teens they knew well: Echols, a self-professed Wiccan who wore all black and read Stephen King, and his best friend Baldwin, who was considered an outsider because of his love of drawing and bands like Metallica. The first being that boys were killed by someone they knew. They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. Hobbs described what it was like the day the three walked free. The IMDb credits page for the first Paradise Lost is modest, but impressive. Produced and directed by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the film and its two sequels, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, gave audiences a unique and detailed look into the case, the accused, and the families of victims. Show more Show more What's next for West. I wouldn't do something like that. He was just taking in the enormity of the defining event of his life to that point, which had been committed to film and was now playing for him inside the cavernous, auditorium-style visitation room. In the Bible Belt, the Satanic Panic took hold with a vengeance. Update: I was totally wrong. As recounted in Mara Leveritt's book, Devil's Knot, a thorough search of Robin Hood Hills directed by Chief Inspector Gary W. Gitchell of the West Memphis Police Department commenced early on the morning of May 6, 1993. Events. It hurt all over again, he said. That November, he says, HBO agreed to give an honorariumroughly $5,000to the families on both sides. Hobbs, with the help of an author, put all that journaling intoa book about the 1993 murders of his stepson Stevie Branch, and Branchs friends Michael Moore and Chris Byers. One of those shows, Truth & Justice With Bob Ruff, became the basis for an Oxygen docuseries last year titled The Forgotten West Memphis Three, which took a closer look at the three victims and tried to shine new light on the evidence. But Berlinger also believes that the sequel is important for documenting the power of citizen activism. Hobbs denied seeing the boys that night and questioned why eyewitness evidence surfaced 16 years later. Misskelley initially told police that the killings happened during the day; knowing that they actually occurred some time after dusk, the officers corrected him, helping him retrofit his story to the cases few known facts. ", According to Devil's Knot, a week after the discovery of the bodies, Detective Don Bray interviewed Vicki Hutcheson, a truckstop employee. When it didnt, the praise heaped on Paradise Lost felt hollow. Once there got to be this global pressure, and there was a big concert here with really big-name musicians within a mile of our Supreme Court building, things started suddenly to change, she says. That came partially through the exposure they got through this film., But perhaps the best measure of Paradise Losts impact is the work being done by Baldwin today. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. In 2004, Vicki Hutcheson recanted her trial testimony, stating that she had lied on the stand. The evolution of how the teens were perceivedon behalf of both the filmmakers and even part of the defense teamis captured on camera early as Stidham and his colleagues began to consider whether Misskelleys confession had been coerced. The trio assumed that the convictions had already been overturned by the time Bakken received the screenerthis was a modern-day witch hunt, they thought, and surely the state of Arkansas had already corrected the course. He had always maintained he didnt commit the crimes, and outside the Varner Units walls, a growing chorus of activists and legal observers were arguing that same thing on his behalf. Websleuths, an online forum for discussions about unsolved homicides and missing-person cases, has more than 100,000 members, and internet vigilantes have used social media and other online breadcrumbs to help track down actual criminals, such as the Canadian murderer and subject of the documentary Dont F*ck With Cats, Luka Magnotta.
Dvc Summer 2021 Registration Dates,
Long Binh Ammo Dump Explosion 1968,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory High School Internship,
Jack Lisowski Parents,
Flats To Rent In York Dss Welcome,
Articles T
