Byers was eight years old, 4 ft. tall, weighed 52 lbs, and had light brown hair. She alleged that he told her how he had put gasoline all around the trailer and then used a cigarette as a fuse. Misskelly and Baldwin were sentenced to life in prison, and Echols, who was identified as the ringleader, was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Inevitably, the West Memphis Three case always comes up. 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. Pamela Hobbs told police, she called a relative in Blytheville and told him she believed her jaw was broken. While Echols was characterized as the group s ringleader and sentenced to death, Misskelley and Ba1dwin were sentenced to life in prison. It's enough to provide plenty of tomatoes to keep the whole neighborhood supplied! 2 0 obj
)When NO evidence is held up against SOME evidence, most investigations would follow the trail of SOME evidence.Remember, too that the primary evidence that most of us armchair jurors have convicted OJ on is blood evidence (there's also a family connection, which is very common, and a history of domestic abuse).The three teens, however, were ONLY "creepy. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. The idea of the average citizen becoming embroiled in a criminal investigation isnt far-fetched in 2021, decades removed from the launch of WM3.org. Armchair detectives of today, I think a lot of them dabble in conspiracy theory, Berlinger says. It s not between you, its between them. And, Rose added, he does admit to saying that, too., The boys did back off, in part because Byers was holding what appeared to be a gun. He said, "No. Let me go a little bit further and say theres a problem with that. He said he was at the Byers' residence on March 29th, 1996. It noted that she had been 68 inches tall and weighed 211 pounds. She died at . Finally, the boy with Byers asked his opponent, Have you had enough? He had. As of "The Piggyback", 825+ characters are known to have died throughout the show's run. Melissa Byers was born on January 16, 1956. Died on 29 Mar 1996. Byers asked to ride in the ambulance with his wife. The 28+ Demodogs are seen falling after Eleven closes the gate. While he did that, another state police investigator was questioning a woman who had contacted Cherokee Village police upon hearing that Melissa Byers had been taken to the hospital. Paradise Lost is a narration-free documentary filmed with a journalistic remove. The state police investigation had just ended, their information had been turned over to West Memphis police, and they were expecting Byers to be arrested when the boys triple murder occurred. He lived with his mother, Melissa Byers, and stepfather, John Mark Byers. korbell plus refill apotea; jake hess death; lithonia shop light model 1233 Byers, 63, was once considered a person of interest in the 1993 killings of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Steve Branch, all 8. Beyond the black-and-white print of the newspaper, there was a movement brewing. The assaults are but another twist in a tragic saga. "[27], The coroner report noted that John Mark Byers stated he had intercourse with Melissa around 3pm on March 29th, 1996. Recent injuries included: "three 1-inch blue-gray contusions on her right upper arm; six blue-gray contusions, ranging from 1/2 to 2 inches, were present on the anterior aspect of the left upper arm; four, 1/4 to 1 inch blue-gray contusions were present on the superior and anterior left upper shoulder. Waser helped the EMTs move Melissa onto a backboard so she could be placed in the ambulance and taken to the hospital. Metz responded by asking Byers why he didnt call an ambulance. And there were some signs of deteriorating health, such as obesity, narrowing of some arteries, and a gallstone. %PDF-1.5
It even predicted that Eddie would die in Volume 2, and that's exactly what happened. [6] Metz had to go back to his own home to make the call because he did not have his glasses. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. By the end of Paradise Lost, you cant believe they were found guilty, Bakken 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. Melissa Byers. Hobbs then reportedly pointed the gun at some of the other relatives, threatening that he would shoot them too. Melissa was the biological mother of Chris Byers and Ryan Clark. 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. [10], Waser asked Chief Rose and Officer Slayton to secure the Byers' residence while he escorted the ambulance to Eastern Ozarks Regional Hospital. Byers acted strange, the report noted. At the time of her youngest son's murder in May of 1993, Melissa was married to John Mark Byers. Come through the kitchen door., As Witt later recorded: Metz advised that he went to the Byers residence and went inside through the door leading from the carport and saw the Byers son, Ryan Clark, and his girlfriend nude on the couch. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! The arrests of the two stepfathers of the murdered children at West Memphis tend to underscore questions raised months ago by attorneys for defendants in the triple slaying case particularly about the adequacy of the investigation that led to the arrests of three local teenagers, none of whom had a record of prior violence. Quickly, however, he realized Berlinger and Sinofsky were taking a different approach. None of the initial trio behind WM3.orgnor their friend Lisa Fancher, who later became a key part of the efforthad ever considered themselves an activist to that point. Pretty large generalization (and assumption) there. I spoke with one of the jurors, years later after the trials and convictions, and he said he had no doubt that people could throw their lot in with the devil and be commanded to do things that they wouldnt have done otherwisethat they have basically made the deal with the devil, Leveritt says. 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. (Associate Medical Examiner), Charles Kokes, M.D. Byers accepted those terms, but has not made the required payments. Gilbert's fans were. In an interview, the child told police her father had been acting weird and indicated he had been drinking when he picked her up from school on Nov. 28. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. To Powell, her death looked like a possible homicide. Byers was not arrested nor was the case against him revealed. [1] Norm Metz, the neighbor living at 73 Skyline, confirmed that Ryan came back to live with his mother and father two weeks before March 29th. After allegedly beating his wife and shooting his brother-in-law, Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steve Branch, was released from jail in Memphis on $20,000 bond. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. On Nov. 6 police in Memphis responded to a call that someone had been shot at 4460 Kerwin St., the home of Pamela and Terry Hobbs. Years of solitary confinement and the abuse he said he suffered at the hands of prison guards had taken its toll. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. This year, many gardeners are looking for new varieties of tomatoes to try out in their gardens. (Despite Misskelleys statement, the coroners examination found no injuries on the victims consistent with sexual assault.) The drug is a potent opiate. More than 2,500 people attended and the story dominated the local press for days. You need corroborating evidence.. By the time she got done watching it, her life was forever changed. Houston said it appeared that Hicks passed the first lick, and a fight ensued. But Echolss situation changed Baldwins thinking. Rose said that when he told Byers there could be charges, Byers seemed incredulous. He arrived at the home around 1pm and "partied with them, drinking Crown Royal, and taking valium, xanex, and that he saw Mark Byers with a sandwich baggie of K-4 dilaudid." He advised her mouth was wide open, her eyes were closed, she was totally limp, and her arms were down by her side. [18], Efforts to locate Ryan Clark were unsuccessful that evening. Peter Jackson, who would produce a separate documentary about the case titled West of Memphis in 2012, and his partner, Fran Walsh, funded an extensive private investigation and helped hire forensic experts to comb through evidence. There is a lot of suspicion surrounding him, especially in light of what's happened to his stepfamily in these past 3 years. But those findings did not solve the riddle of Byers death either. Melissa Byers' body was there, wrapped in carpeting, plastic, sheets and clothing, court records said. The story felt personal for all of them, but especially Sauls: He had grown up in Florida and Georgia as an outcast obsessed with art and reading some of the same books Damien Echols had. Traces of one of her prescribed medications, an anti-seizure medicine used to treat post-traumatic stress syndrome, were present, as were traces of lithium, a medication that had been prescribed for her to treat manic depression. It was clear that Paradise Lost was resonating. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. In 1994, the FBI said there was scant evidence that violent satanic crimes had ever occurred in America outside of a few isolated incidents, but that was long after TV hosts like Geraldo, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Oprah had spread moral hysteria about musicians weaving supposedly anti-Christian and occult messages into their songs, and long after wrongful convictions were handed down in the infamous McMartin Preschool sexual assault trials. Byers was later charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. [31]Other needle puncture wounds were present in the groin area, on the wrists, and the feet. Melissa DeFir Byers was born on January 15, 1956. Melissa Byers' death has been a crushing blow to people who knew her through Healing House, a live-in, addiction-recovery program in Kansas City's Old Northeast. The mutilation appeared to have been inflicted with a knife. It was agreed that a search should be conducted and Byers was approached. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. Waser wrote, "They went to bed, spent time talking, had intercorse (intercourse) and went to sleep, at approximately 2:30PM they went to sleep". The two met with Byers' neighbor, Metz, who expressed concern over Byers' step-son, Ryan Clark, as he had not returned to the residence after reportedly leaving abruptly while Melissa was being worked on. That inability on the part of the doctors to determine the cause of Melissa Byers death was what prompted Sheriff Powell to telephone Witt. 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 33 Unnamed Hawkins Lab Employees are seen through the lab's security cameras and throughout the hallways. The hospital staff came to his aid and I excused myself to the visitor's room. Last summer, the home of a Cherokee Village woman was burglarized, with an estimated $20,000 worth of furnishings taken. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. Join us in the fight for truth. Wherever it was screened, Berlinger says, it was followed by intense Q&As from audience members who couldnt believe what theyd just watched. 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. Not enough drugs to kill her, and no signs of trauma. The veteran actress died on November 11, 2014, after a bout with cancer just five days after the sitcom aired her final voice appearance in season 8, episode 8 titled "The Prom Equivalency." She threw up some liquid. Founded 1974, the Arkansas Times is a lively, opinionated source for news, politics & culture in Arkansas. 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. Throughout the trials, Melissa Byers and her husband, John Mark Byers, were seen frequently on TV, often cursing the defendants. In the joint trial of Baldwin and Echols, which took place separately from Misskelleys, Berlinger and Sinofsky filmed the surreal moments that juries were actually present for: a rundown of the books Echols checked out of the library, a parade of band T-shirts worn by the pair, a copy of a Blue Oyster Cult record found in Damiens girlfriends house that became evidence because of the word cult and song titles like Dont Fear the Reaper. What the cameras couldnt capture, however, was the introduction of physical evidencethe prosecution didnt offer much of that aside from a knife that was never directly linked to the crimes and fabric threads deemed microscopically similar to items found in Baldwins and Echolss homes, an assertion that has been questioned in the years since the trials. Rhiannon Mcfadden wrote in article<538a5o$1a@usenetw1.news.prodigy.com> > jer@ix.netcom.com(Jerry Moak ) wrote:> > >According to an article by Associated Press and published in the> >Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Oct 4: "The mother of a boy killed in West> >Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but> >not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. Metz also said that Byers stated "that he did not kill her and that he loved her. Mark Byers also faces charges as the result of an episode July 11 in Hardy. Born on 16 Jan 1956. The news came just one day after Jerry Lee Lewis fell victim to similar rumors. "[12], Waser met with Sheriff Powell, Chief Burton, and Investigator Witt to discuss searching the Byers' residence. [22]In a subsequent interview, James stated that he had gotten close to Ryan, John Mark's step-son, while at Highland High School. Chris had an older half-brother named Ryan Clark who was 13 years old when the murders occurred. For Rollins, it was a moral imperative: Id find myself up at 3:30 a.m. thinking about Damien. Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. But we stuck with it, and every so often something would happen, and little by little, people would come around., They spread word about the website through online discussion groups and by hanging flyers in the art houses that screened Paradise Lost, and by 2000, WM3.org was getting 4,000 to 8,000 hits a day. When the pair got the call from Nevins, they mobilized immediately, landing in Arkansas shortly after the arrests. To Powell, her death looked like a possible homicide. The investigator entered several other observations and had the body photographed. Melissa, the mother of Christopher Byers, the most brutalized of the West Memphis victims, was 40 years old. 15, 1956 sexual assault. removed from the launch of WM3.org also said that when he told there... 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