Eight-year-olds Stevie, Michael and Christopher were best friends and Cub Scout members who attended Weaver Elementary School, where they were in second grade. On the afternoon of May 5, , the three friends were enjoying a warm spring afternoon outdoors. Their bodies were discovered that afternoon in a drainage ditch. They were stripped naked and hogtied with their own shoelaces. Christopher had a fractured skull, and his genitals had been mutilated, which authorities believed was done by his killer.
It also could have been the work of wild animals, according to The New York Times. Investigators soon zeroed in on year-old high school dropout Damien W.
Echols lived in a trailer park and stood out in the conservative small town. He had a penchant for wearing all black, and he liked heavy metal music, horror and science fiction. He also studied Wicca, which incorporates elements of paganism and witchcraft.
Like Echols, Misskelley was a high school dropout and was known for getting into fistfights and trouble around town, according to The New York Times. Misskelley was brought in for questioning on June 3, He was held for 12 hours, during which he waived his right to a lawyer and eventually confessed to being involved in the murders. Misskelley also implicated Echols and Baldwin as his co-conspirators, resulting in their arrests.
His confession had numerous factual errors and inconsistencies, according to the Arkansas Times newspaper. In a later appeal, Misskelley argued he had an I. Although Misskelley recanted his confession, it was enough evidence to convict him. Miskelley had said the older boys abducted the Scouts in the morning, when they had actually been in school all day. Misskelley was tried separately, convicted of first- and second-degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years.
He refused to testify against the others and his confession was not admitted into evidence. Defense lawyers for Echols and Baldwin alleged juror misconduct, saying they heard about the Misskelley confession anyway.
Attorneys also said there wasn't enough physical evidence linking the three to the crime scene. The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld Echols' conviction and death sentence in , saying there was still enough other evidence to sustain it. They and other celebrities helped fund a legal team that worked to win the three a new trial.
Last fall, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new hearing for the three and asked a judge to consider allegations of juror misconduct and whether new DNA science could aid the men or uphold the convictions. In upholding Echols' conviction in , the state Supreme Court noted that two people testified Echols bragged about the killings, an eyewitness put Echols at the scene, fibers similar to the boys' clothing were found in Echols' home, a knife was found in a pond behind Baldwin's home, Echols' interest in the occult and his telling police that he understood the boys had been mutilated before officers had released such details.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Seen here is a picture of the 'West Memphis 3'. The officer leaves the premises about without ever setting foot inside the restaurant. Unfortunately, the scrapings were never sent to a crime lab to be analyzed and were later reported lost. No additional interviews were ever conducted with Bojangles employees about the incident.
Terry Hobbs, stepfather of victim Steven Branch, and his friend, David Jacoby, with the assistance of two teenagers?
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