The second postulated that they had been slain by one or more strangers. It allowed them to get out of prison after almost 20 years. 1.0. . It was a call about Damien Echolshe wasnt dead, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might be soon. Hobbs said, I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols are responsible for what happened to our children., He added, You look at what happened and then you wonder, what if this did not happen, where would our boys be today? To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. 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 what was happening behind the scenes. However, under pressure, leading questions, and scare tactics, Misskelley wove a contradictory story that first placed him at the crime scene as an eyewitness to the murders and then as an active participant. the only grade you receive is from quizzes, exams, and the final. (WMC) - Not a single piece of evidence ever connected the West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, to the 1993 murders of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. It had been a long fight to clear their names, and the odds seemed better than ever. The next day, their bodies were found in a nearby canal. Im not the jury. Unfortunately, for three teen outsiders, the West Memphis Police Department chose to focus on the cult angle to the detriment of their efforts to investigate the other two, more likely scenarios. Hobbs denied seeing the boys that night and questioned why eyewitness evidence surfaced 16 years later. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. But it wasnt in the ways its directors had hoped. Also part of the plea was the provision that the three could not sue the state. He began his career in the plumbing business at a very young age, workingfor his . After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. The idea of the average citizen becoming embroiled in a criminal investigation isn't far-fetched in 2021, . The boys were so mutilated, investigators thought the murders were part of some kind of Satanic ritual. 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. Well, perhaps not nobody. Jesse was gonna take it anyway. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. Share Memories & Support the Family. 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. Echols' disdain for authority, penchant for black clothes, and propensity to make shocking statements didn't help his plight. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. A later confession during the trial phase would prove equally problematic. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. " (Detective Allen) told me if I knew anything, that there was a $35,000 reward, and if I could help them out, we'd get the money," said Misskelley, as quoted by Mara Leveritt in Devil's Knot. Griffis also found the devil in nearly every number associated with the crime. Terry Roland Hobbs September 11, 1959 ~ September 11, 2021 (age 62) Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. A statement he made to the producers of Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills did little to help his public image. It's affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up," said Hobbs. Making his way through the muck on his hands and knees, Ridge soon discovered clothing twisted around sticks and thrust into the ditch's bottom. To learn more, watch The Forgotten West Memphis Three on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29at 8/7c on Oxygen. The West Memphis Police Department interviewed Hobbs, who was dismissive of the findings, claiming the hair could have been picked up during a visit to his home since the victim "played with our little boy regularly," according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But they werent just voices in the growing choir calling for the West Memphis Threes releasethey were leading the movement. In 2013, Jackson and Damien Echols produced a fourth documentary about the case. It was born out of genuine admiration for the fact that these guys took the time out of their lives to dedicate, to go down to Arkansas, to build a website, to really step out of their lives, Berlinger says. Its no surprise the juries found the prosecutions narrative compelling, Leveritt says: For them, the image of killer satanists headbanging to Metallica was more than plausible. In November, Judge David Burnett, who had presided over the trial, was elected to the state senate. A native of Winter Haven, born December 21, 1964, Terry has been a lifelong resident of Auburndale. Dan Stidham, the original attorney for Misskelley, who would also work on Baldwins and Echols appeals, says he has the answer. Pam Hobbs divorced Terry Hobbs in 2004 and has reversed her position on the West Memphis Three's guilt. Hobbs described what it was like the day the three walked free. McCaughey says her sister is very upset. October 14, 2017: #26 on the JazzWeek chart! The sheer mountain moving amount of money it cost to prove the obvious innocence of Jessie, Jason, and Damien still staggers me. We made a promise early on that we would never pretend to be law enforcement or detectives, Sauls says. The nonprofits work hasnt always been easyfundraising is hard, and because hes a convicted felon, hes unable to visit clients in prison or discuss pleasbut its been essential for him as he strives to live the words by 14th-century Persian poet Hafez that he keeps as an email signature: The small man builds cages for everyone he knows / While the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low / Keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful rowdy prisoners. Baldwin says hes learned that justice isnt a computer programthat you can input all the evidence and testimony and still get the wrong results. The first film gave rise to a movement devoted to reopening the investigation in hopes of exonerating, and ultimately freeing, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols, and Jessie Misskelley. Echols is correct. The obituary was featured in Idaho Press Tribune on March 13, 2021. 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. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. Their main worry was Damien, who was staring down the threat of lethal injection should the appeals fail. They were found nude and hogtied in a creek in a wooded area in West Memphis. 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. Two questions plagued the conservative, middle-class community: Why would anyone commit such a heinous act, and, more importantly, who? 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. You need corroborating evidence.. So the minute youre done, you just want to know more. "They said close to the crime scene because at one time I did walk near where they had found the kids with Terry Hobbs But I didn't wear hats back then, my hair could have blown around anywhere, Jacoby told Memphis NBC affiliate WMC-TV in 2013. He said, J.B., youre going home, man, youre going home.. He also lost the defamation case because of his violent past. "People probably think I'm in Satanism because what they don't understand they try to destroy or ridicule. They asked to see a cut, and they immediately said, Not only are we going to let you use all that music, but were not going to charge you anything for it., Metallica would be the first celebrities to throw their support behind the West Memphis Three, but they were far from the last. It was also revealed in 2012 that Hobbs nephew allegedly told his friends, My Uncle Terry murdered those three little boys," and that the killings were a Hobbs family secret, according to WMC-TV. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Created by: Legend Added: 11 Aug 2021 Find a Grave Memorial ID: 230642037 Terry Hobbs is absolutely terrible. The test results showed that no genetic material on the crime scene evidence was a match to Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. (WMC) - Its a case that has captured the nation and certainly the Mid-South. None of the three believed that, but Echolss healthand the possibility that even if he survived, he would still be on death row should the fight for retrials failmade it an imperative. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. The only possible culprits were 18-year-old Damien Echols, a poor teen with an interest in the occult and a record of mental illness, his friend Jason Baldwin, a quiet kid whose talent for art tended toward dark subjects, and Jessie Misskelley, a 17-year-old misfit with an IQ of 73. People have come out of the woodwork and said this and this and people have done things and a lot of them are wrong, said Hobbs. '", In 1999, a more mature Echols explained the comment. The whole point of the web sleuths presented in the Cecil Hotel is that you cannot assume something is truthful just because circumstantially it seems interesting. The concept of citizen investigations intrigues Berlinger just as much as it did in the 1990s, though today hes often more concerned with the moral implications. The three have always maintained their innocence. Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. At that time, I was a little naive that what you read in the paper must have some truth to it, and all the press reports coming out of Arkansas were saying that this was like a slam dunk, an open-and-shut case with a confession that was printed in the newspaper.. It hurt all over again, he said. That type of support made observers question the verdicts perhaps more so than any rock star who shouted Echolss name into a mic because of an HBO documentary. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. Timeline Of The West Memphis Three Victims, Motivations For Investigating The West Memphis Case. Filing Date : Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. This is a story of justice delayed and justice denied. But Berlinger also believes that the sequel is important for documenting the power of citizen activism. Stating that she would ask around, Hutcheson agreed to "play detective.". He responded proudly, 11.. I didn't even comprehend that the situation could get this serious that it can go this far. In this first confession, Miskelley often agreed to details suggested by the police or attributed to prior statements which he did not make. Make a life-giving gesture Two of the West Memphis Three's most ardent supporters were director Peter Jackson, best known for The Lord of the Rings films, and his partner Fran Walsh. Branded the, What has never been definitively answered, however, is who committed the 1993 murders, and , Due to marital problems stemming from Stevies death, the couple divorced in 2004, reported, The test results showed that no genetic material on the crime scene evidence was a match to Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, reported the, The West Memphis Police Department interviewed Hobbs, who was dismissive of the findings, claiming the hair could have been picked up during a visit to his home since the victim "played with our little boy regularly," according to the, "They said close to the crime scene because at one time I did walk near where they had found the kids with Terry Hobbs But I didn't wear hats back then, my hair could have blown around anywhere, Jacoby told Memphis NBC affiliate, A year after the DNA results were released, Hobbs sued Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for defamation, claiming she implied he was a murderer on the bands website and at a 2007 rally, according to, 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. Im seeing the things I experienced, but not through my own point of view. Three teenage boys were arrested for the crimes Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. and prosecutors argued they killed the boys as part of a Satanic ritual. Heavy metal music, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and horror movies were regarded as gateways to evil. Terry Wayne Hobbs was born on May 21st, 1958. How do you measure the legacy of Paradise Lost, which is one of the best reviewed documentaries of all time and considered among the most influential, but whose mission is only partly complete? What a story it is. Over the course of the initial investigation, a number of alternate suspects and scenarios came to light that were largely ignored or otherwise dismissed by authorities. Little kids will be looking under their bed 'Damien might be under there! The governor of the state of Arkansas who will one day pardon the West Memphis Three is probably in junior high right now, he says. We have estimated Terry Hobbs's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. Although Damein Echols had a teenager's typical disdain for authority, he nevertheless trusted that the system would work in his favor. Much of Cecil Hotel focuses on the amateur investigators who turned coincidences into conspiracy theories, ultimately accusing an innocent person of her death. And that makes him hopeful that exoneration is on the horizon. The reason for the credit gets less curious when hes asked about it: He was a huge Metallica fan. Mojo, however, was considerably more fired up, believing the same thing many of Paradise Losts viewers did: that the movie showed an incredible miscarriage of justice, one that would surely be fixed. They began attending appeal hearings and visiting Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley in prison. But I had to. Terry Hobbs says he is a church member, a father, and working man and in no way a killer. In her recantation, Hutcheson stated that when she asked Echols directly if he had killed "those three kids," he replied, "No. Due to marital problems stemming from Stevies death, the couple divorced in 2004, reported CNN. Published by The Commercial Appeal from Jun. 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. Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023. He died on April 4, 2019 in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. Robin Lynn Jones. 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. On the surface, 18-year-old Damien Echols, an intelligent, but psychologically troubled teen with interests in Wicca and extreme music, fit the profile. When we were driving in the car a lot, wed play a lot of the Metallica album Master of Puppets, says Alex Sinofsky, who became a doctor instead of getting behind the camera himself. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. (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.). He knew that if he ever got out, hed want to do that in a more organized way. In fact, for the better part of 1993, it was nearly impossible to find anyone who believed they were innocent. This article was updated after publication to add more context about the honorariums paid to the families of the victims and the West Memphis Three and also to correct the time frame in which Berlinger and Sinofsky informed HBO about the changing scope of the documentary. During the final year of the two-year span, from July 2021 to July 2022, California lost about 211,000 people, according to data from the state Department of Finance. During Misskelley's trial, Hutcheson testified that she had attended an "an occult Satanic meeting" she referred to as an "esbat." In August 2011, Jason Baldwin was pulled from his prison cell under confusing circumstances once again. By getting to the story quickly, the directors were able to document the post-arrest period and two trials that followed in painstaking detail. They couldnt have been cooler, recalls Berlinger, who would go on to direct the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster alongside Bruce Sinofsky. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Wading into the murky water, Allen unknowingly dislodged the pale, grotesquely arched form of Micheal Moore. 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. I dont know if they were questioning it, but they werent mistreating me and telling me that what I was telling them wasnt true., While Berlinger admits that he and Sinofsky may have tilted pro-prosecution in the early days of filming, that quickly changed after witnessing how the cases came together and spending time with the three teens during pretrial jailhouse interviewsparticularly Baldwin, who Berlinger describes as sweet and studious.. (Despite Misskelleys statement, the coroners examination found no injuries on the victims consistent with sexual assault.) William Holford Griffiths. Echols said in 2012, he will never give up his mission to exonerate himself. 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. With the guards blessings, Mojo led Baldwin to Varners visitation room, where everything had been put away aside from two chairs set up in front of a cart holding a small TV and a VCR. They procured the domain WM3.org and made a website, updating it with whatever information they could track down. All of them were convicted after Misskelley confessed to helping Echols and Baldwin with the murders, which he later recanted. In 1996, a screener for Paradise Lost passed her desk. Berlinger and Sinofsky expected a similar result to come quickly in the West Memphis Three case. What has never been definitively answered, however, is who committed the 1993 murders, and The Forgotten West Memphis Three, premiering Saturday, March 28 at 8/7c on Oxygen, reexamines the case and key theories. The community's worst fears were confirmed. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Terry Hobbs to show support. Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly and Jason Baldwin were originally convicted of the killings and released from prison in 2011 after making a deal with prosecutors. 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. A month later, authorities arrested Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelleythree teenagers who lived in trailer parks near West Memphis and had previous run-ins with the law, though nothing rising to the level of murder. In 2004, Vicki Hutcheson recanted her trial testimony, stating that she had lied on the stand. 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. 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. Mojo jumped up, Baldwin recalls. According to Devil's Knot author Mara Leveritt, the investigation of the murders was divided along three lines. By the end of Paradise Lost, you cant believe they were found guilty, Bakken says. Earlier this year, he told Action News 5 he welcomes new DNA testing. He was an actor, known for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Fast Food (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). 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. It was so emotionally taxing to watch and go through it again, he says. Social media didnt fully exist yet, but the group managed to harness the potential of the nascent information superhighway to bring attention to their cause. Rather, they were fighting for something they believed in. Terry Hobbs Net Worth. "I knew from when I was real small that people were going to know who I was," Echols said in 1994. 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. every single person in my class was either . You still dont really know what happened to these kids. He was 56. Polygraph tests revealed deception in the answers of both men in regard to the crimes. They were released after prosecutors agreed to an Alford plea, in which the men maintained their innocence but pleaded guilty. She said it was one of the highest-rated pieces they had. With the area secured, Detective Bryn Ridge volunteered to search the ditch. They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. For Rollins, it was a moral imperative: Id find myself up at 3:30 a.m. thinking about Damien. They were releasedfrom prison in 2011 on whats called an Alford plea, after new forensic evidence was presented as part of the case. Sinofsky family connection aside, Berlinger says this was an important part of the film: The prosecutors had put heavy metal lyrics and Baldwins and Echolss Metallica fandom on trial as much as the teens themselves. Reaching its apex in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Satanic Panic was a wave of paranoia rooted in the belief that Satanic cults intent on corrupting the souls of the young had infiltrated American society. This case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, Tennessee Western Bankruptcy. He began his career in the. 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. Hold for Elkhart County. Mike Allen arrived on the scene. A year after the DNA results were released, Hobbs sued Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for defamation, claiming she implied he was a murderer on the bands website and at a 2007 rally, according to The New York Times. However, within the first crucial hours after the bodies were discovered, mistakes were made at the crime scene that negatively impacted the investigation. Berlinger says that he counts Errol Morriss The Thin Blue Line as one of his greatest influences, not just for the innovations Morris brought to the documentary genre, but also because it helped free Randall Dale Adams from a sentence for the murder of a Texas police officer that he did not commit. Hobbs denied the accusation, saying that his family does have secrets, but none of them have to do with murder. 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. But none of that support has been able to fully exonerate the trio, something theyre still fighting for. A source said the evidence was transferred to shipping containers where there was a fire, and some of the evidence was destroyed. 2012 West of Memphis (Documentary) Self - Steven Branch's Stepfather. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! But on that early morning in 1997, Jason Baldwin wasnt concerned with Berlinger and Sinofskys craft, or legal precedent, or crusading celebrities. Example video title will go here for this video. Jessie took a polygraph. That didn't make sense to me. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The knife was thrown into the lake by Baldwin's mother a year before the murders. (Maines briefly became a part of the story when Terry Hobbs, stepfather of another . Inevitably, the West Memphis Three case always comes up. there are no assignments to cushion your grade, so either pass or fail. . According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. Misskelley returned to life in West Memphis. That the slain boys were each 8 years-old was important because eight was a "witch's number." The bodies of Branch, Byers, and Moore were found in a drainage ditch in West Memphis May 6 . Covered in wounds, all three showed signs of having been beaten. Its first season ostensibly focused on the disappearance of a Georgia beauty queen, but it spent nearly as much time digging through the salacious details of the victims love life and dipping into amateur psychology as it did looking at evidence. Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. 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. Terry Hobbs, one of the men named in the documents. Despite the best efforts of the police, dozens of volunteers, a search-and-rescue team, and a helicopter dispatched from nearby Memphis, Tenn., searchers came up empty handed. https://t.co/dXOtQkmjee. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. 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. Critics were effusive in their praise and stunned by the footageparticularly Roger Ebert, who wrote in a four-star review that at the end of the film I was unconvinced of their guilt. The film won Emmy and Peabody awards to go with more than a dozen other nominations. The Paradise Lost cameras captured not only the defenses discussions, but the full testimony, in Misskelleys trial, of an expert on coerced confessions. He was handed the phone. We were finally winning, he says. Iwould journal something and put it in the box, said Hobbs. Case Number : 2:21-BK-21177. 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. 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. Terry L. Hobbs, 63, of Caldwell, HOBBS, Terry L., passed on March 7,2021 at the age of 63. 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. In May of that year, police discovered the bodies of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers in the Robin Hood Hills, a small wooded area near the I-40/I-55 exchange. Unaware of what was to come, Allen explained that he just wanted to ask him some questions. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. The next to be found was Stevie Branch, quickly followed by Christopher Byers. Like Misskelley in the first trial, Baldwin received a life sentence. Filming the activists work seemed like the best place for Berlinger and Sinofsky to turn their attention; what better way to show the continued plight of the West Memphis Three than to show regular people dedicating their free time to fighting for them?