Also, law enforcement chose not to focus on the victims' families as the starting point of the investigation as is the norm. Despite an offer of a reduced sentence, Misskelley ultimately recanted his statements and refused to testify against Echols and Baldwin. 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. Terry Hobbs Obituary (1959 - 2021) - Sweetwater, TX - Sweetwater Reporter And then there was the public pressure: In August 2010, Vedder and Maines headlined yet another benefit concert, this one in Little Rock. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs .Terry graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1977. Evidence in West Memphis Three case missing or destroyed - Action News 5 According to Dan Stidham, the attorney for Misskelley, that money became essential for the cash-strapped defense teams, who needed to pay for expert witnesses and other expenses. Jessie took a polygraph. Bakken and Sauls say they tried to avoid offering theories about the case publicly, opting instead to try to work through official channels. We didnt see them grow up.. Even though they said they didnt murder the three boys, they are technically convicted killers. At approximately 1:30 p.m., Steve Jones, a juvenile parole officer from Crittenden County, peered over the steep bank of a water-filled ditch in the woods near the Blue Beacon truck wash. Creator Payne Lindsey, a filmmaker with no previous experience investigating crimes, had no connection to the victim before he discovered her while Googling cold cases in hopes of finding his own version of runaway successes like Serial and Making a Murderer. La Verne, California. 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. Update: I was totally wrong. 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. Terry Hobbs | 2:21-BK-21177 | Court Records - UniCourt Other details that have come to light include that many wounds on the slain children, originally attributed to human bites and/or a serrated blade, were the result of animals feeding on the bodies. Although Griffis' testimony was dramatic, it showed only a tenuous grasp of occult knowledge much of it, including a reference to a cult called "Crytos," was simply made up. Metallica had never licensed a song for a film before, but when they learned about the case, Berlinger says, they made an exception. Events. On the surface, 18-year-old Damien Echols, an intelligent, but psychologically troubled teen with interests in Wicca and extreme music, fit the profile. In this first confession, Miskelley often agreed to details suggested by the police or attributed to prior statements which he did not make. is terry hobbs still missing 2021 - laspalmasbr.com But I had to. While police had focused on Echols and Baldwin in the intervening weeks because of their reputation, the arrests came largely because of a confession by Misskelley, which was leaked to the largest newspaper in the area, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, and ran under the banner headline Teen describes cult torture of boys. At a press conference shortly after the arrests, the lead investigator was asked how confident he felt about the case on a scale of 1-10. Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. As the movement to free the West Memphis Three gained traction, a number of celebrities joined the cause, bringing the case under more scrutiny. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. 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. Since the West Memphis Three were released, no one else has been charged in the murders of Stevie, Christopher and Michael. It allowed them to get out of prison after almost 20 years. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. The arrest, trial, and conviction of the three young men known as the West Memphis Three came under national scrutiny as details of the case became public. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. That there were three victims was a link to the biblical number of the beast. Terry Hobbs at Metropolitan Community College: Maple Woods They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. Misskelley and Echols were 36; Baldwin was 34. It was a call about Damien Echolshe wasnt dead, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might be soon. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, defense attorneys working for the West Memphis Three filed multiple appeals on their behalf scrutinizing the lack of physical evidence against them. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. 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. So the minute youre done, you just want to know more. 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. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. 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. Its evidence that Damien Echols attorneys wanted to do new DNA testing on. Dan Stidham, the original attorney for Misskelley, who would also work on Baldwins and Echols appeals, says he has the answer. 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Although blood scrapings were taken, the West Memphis police lost the evidence. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. But it wasnt in the ways its directors had hoped. Im not the jury. Local 24 News EXCLUSIVE: Terry Hobbs on his new memoir on the West Initially, Misskelley repeatedly denied having knowledge of the crime, aside from rumors that Damien Echols was involved. Terry Hobbs (1969 - 2019) Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers (Nightmare Vacation II) (1988) [Rob Darrinco]: Stabbed and hanged (after gaging), off-screen by Pamela Springsteen in Walter Gotell's office; his body is shown afterwards when Carol Martin Vines discovers him. https://t.co/dXOtQkmjee. To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. As the first in a trilogy of Paradise Lost films about the case, the 1996 movie was a stunning example of cinma vrit, as directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky embedded themselves with the prosecution, the defense, and the families of both the slain and the accused to put human faces on a heart-wrenching tragedy, as well as highlight the overblown worries of satanic rituals and murderous cults that proliferated throughout the 1980s and 90s. 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. The killings came at the peak of the so-called Satanic Panic, a time of heightened worries about ritualistic abuse. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. She said it was one of the highest-rated pieces they had. Echols is an author and mystic living New York with his wife, architect Lorri Davis. Years of solitary confinement and the abuse he said he suffered at the hands of prison guards had taken its toll. We have estimated Terry Hobbs's net worth , money, salary, income, and assets. Theyve had several victories, including the case of Daniel Villegas, who was acquitted of capital murder in 2018 after a 25-year legal saga. (WJHG) By Nikki Sheaks Published: Jul. Feigning a romantic interest in Echols, she asked Misskelley to arrange a meeting. Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. 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. The sheer mountain moving amount of money it cost to prove the obvious innocence of Jessie, Jason, and Damien still staggers me. 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. The Legacy of 'Paradise Lost' & the West Memphis Three - The Ringer 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. Damien Echols (@damienechols) July 7, 2021 Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. Terry Hobbs - IMDb 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. 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. 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. In 2013, Jackson and Damien Echols produced a fourth documentary about the case. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. 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. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs. 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. 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. " (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. Additionally, the judge in the original trialswho under Arkansas law presided under the requests for retrials in the years following the convictionshad been elected to the state Senate that December, meaning someone new and possibly more sympathetic would oversee the case. Terry Hobbs's income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. The sneaker ligatures in which Terry Hobbs' DNA was found in," Soury said . He died on April 4, 2019 in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. Armchair detectives of today, I think a lot of them dabble in conspiracy theory, Berlinger says. October 14, 2017: #26 on the JazzWeek chart! To learn more, watch The Forgotten West Memphis Three on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29at 8/7c on Oxygen. So with less urgency surrounding full exoneration and no documentary cameras rolling, the question 25 years later becomes: Who is paying close enough attention to the case to pick up the fight? 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. Because I was thinking, if you haven't done anything, then they can't prove you did something you haven't actually done. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. 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. 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. Although she was unable to recall the exact location or anyone who attended the alleged meeting, she claimed a drunken Echols confessed to the murders. He says his students seem to have a better grasp on the idea of coerced confessions than any of his peers in 1994. February 27, 2023 (76 years old) View obituary. 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. Terry Wayne Hobbs was born on May 21st, 1958. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. He began his career in the plumbing business at a very young age, workingfor his . He died on April 4, 2019 in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). This is the true story of the West Memphis Three murders. La Mirada, California. People would drive by and yell at us, Theyre going to burn in hell, Sauls says. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. For the next two hours and 29 minutes, the two inmates sat in near silence watching Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, the landmark documentary released on HBO 25 years ago this week that captured the trials of Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols, the three teenagers convicted in 1994 of the crimes that ripped through the small, working-class community of West Memphis, Arkansas. He began his career in the. Luminol tests, which reveal the hidden presence of blood, were not performed at the scene until six days later. She also stated that beyond the single meeting at her trailer, she had no further contact with Echols. On Aug. 11, 2011, the West Memphis Three entered the courtroom for the final time. Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. 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. However, in 2010, a series of rapidly unfolding developments turned the tide for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. They saw the same thing you did. In fact, for the better part of 1993, it was nearly impossible to find anyone who believed they were innocent. The three teens were arrested after Misskelley said they committed the crime after 12 hours of interrogation. Hobbs has never wavered in his conviction that justice was served the first time around. November 03, 2021 November 4, 2021 . Pam Hobbs divorced Terry Hobbs in 2004 and has reversed her position on the West Memphis Three's guilt.