May 5, 1993 - WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS
Three 8 year-old boys were reported missing shortly before dark. Friends and the parents of Michael Moore, Stephen Branch, and Christopher Byers began an informal search through the streets and woods of there small southern town. What they discovered the next day would change their lives forever.

Det. Bryan Ridge pulled the bodies of the second graders from a drainage ditch in a wooded area known as Robin Hood Hills. All three were found nude and hog tied wrist to corresponding ankle. Autopsy reports would show that Michael Moore died as a result of severe head trauma along with drowning. Stephen Branch died as a result of drowning. He also received a deep laceration on the left side of his face. Christopher Byers, who appears to have been the focus of the attack; died as a result of blood loss. Not only was he severly beaten, but he was stabbed repeatedly in the groin and castrated.

The WMPD allowed evidence to be destroyed by not preserving the crime scene. The crime scene video and pictures clearly show several unidentified individuals walking around the bodies. Det. Gitchell, who was head of the investigation, is seen smoking a cigarette well within the perimeter of the crime scene. Oddly enough, there was only a small amount of blood found at the scene. For one reason or another, juvenile detective Steve Jones was present when the bodies were removed from the water. Jones reportedly made the statement, "It looks like Damien has finally killed somebody". He and another police officer agreed that only Damien was capable of murdering these little boys.

Jones fascination with 18 year-old Damien Echols began one year earlier when he found Damien and his runaway girlfriend hiding in an abandoned trailer. They were partially nude from the waist down. The teen was known in the community for his long black hair, taste in heavy metal music, and the fact that he dressed in black most of the time. Damien also expressed an interest in the alternate religion of Wicca. Jones made it a point to question Damien at every opportunity. He even questioned Damien about a piece of guidance equipment that was stolen from a train that came through West Memphis, even though the train never slowed down as it passed through town. Jones and chief juvenile officer Jerry Driver questioned Damien at his trailer in Marion the day after the bodies were found. They left empty handed.

The media fueled the rumors of satanic human sacrifice. They were almost reluctant to print a story if it didn't contain the word "cult". Rumors ran rampant through the town. Who else could be responsible for a crime so brutal and so cold? It had to be someone driven by the elusive power of the devil. It made perfect sense to the people of West Memphis, and it made perfect sense to the detectives in charge of the investigation, Bryan Ridge and Gary Gitchell.

Almost a month had past since the murders and the police had little information. A healthy reward was posted and soon after a flood of bizarre tells came pouring in. Claims of animal sacrifice and occults rang in the halls of the old police station daily. The suspect list was long, but Damien Echols was still holding the #1 spot. Everyone had a Damien story to tell. This teenager, who many of the towns people had no association with at any level, could now be linked to the dark and moody Damien Echols. Stories that were proven to be nothing but lies and fabrication were worthy of note to the WMPD. Damien was the top suspect on May 5th (thanks to officer Jones). Now, almost a month later Damien remained the focal point.

The detectives involved knew there was nothing to substantuate their claims. Vicki Hutcheson had her home wired with sound devices in the hopes of capturing a confession by Damien on tape. She failed miserably. Her young son would later tell the police that he too had been abducted along with his classmates and witnessed their attack, but he somehow managed to escape. He then drew a picture of Damien wearing armour and holding a bloody sword with red glowing eyes. The police dismissed his claims. She, in her own words, was very close friends with 17 year-old Jessie Misskelley Jr., (who has an I.Q. of 72). After the WMPD spent hours talking to Jessie, he claimed that he had nothing to do with the murders. He was asked to take a polygraph test and he agreed. The detectives reportedly told Jessie that he failed, when in fact he had passed. Only a fragment of the entire day was recorded, so we can only guess as to what happened during his questioning. What we do know is that the WMPD kept an aluminum baseball bat in the corner of the room where Jessie was questioned. As the day went on, Jessie's statements quickly turned into a confession. He claimed that he saw Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin lure the boys into the woods where they began raping and beating the boys. His story was going well and Jessie may have left with the reward money, UNTIL HE INCRIMINATES HIMSELF! He stated that at one point, Michael Moore escapes from the grasp of Damien and Jason, Jessie says he then ran him down and brought him back to die at the hands of the vicious teenagers.

(VICKI HUTCHESON WAS RECENTLY INTERVIEWED BY BURK SAULS, ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF WM3.ORG, YOU CAN READ THIS INTERVIEW AT MY "WHAT'S NEW" PAGE)

Jessie Misskelley Jr. was charged and warrants were issued for Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin. The detective knew the story was full of holes but it was all they had. Jessie stated that they killed the boys at noon, when in fact the boys were accounted for at school. Jason Baldwin was also in school that day. Jessie changed the time of the attack several times after Gitchell and Ridge "suggested" that it must have been later. He also stated that the boys were tied up with brown rope, the investigators knew that shoelaces were used. The more Jessie talked, the more evident is was that he was not a witness to anything. This is what I like to call southern justice at its finest. At least now, they had a reason to arrest Damien Echols.

The teenagers are arrested and their clothing and personal items were seized and sent to the lab for testing. Still, no conclusive evidence could be found. However, there were some circumstantial evidence that was considered concrete in this case.

A fiber was found on a robe that belonged to Jason's mother. It was microscopically similar to a fiber found at the scene. It was also microscopically similar to fibers found at the Moore house and could have possibly been microscopically similar to fibers in hundreds of homes in the area. INCONCLUSIVE!

A hair sample given by Damien was similar to hairs found at the scene. Other suspects rised to the calling as well, one who lived near the crime scene and who had a history of mental illness. These suspects were dimissed and Damien was remained the focus of the investigation. INCONCLUSIVE!

Several months after the murders and the arrest a knife was found in a lake behind Jason Baldwin's trailer. This lake also doubled as a garbage dump. Please note that several other knives were found, one was found at the crime scene and another on a road that was near the scene. Test could not prove that the knife found in the lake or any of these knives, in particular, was the murder weapon, yet the one found in the lake behind Jason Baldwin's trailer was admitted into court as evidence. INCONCLUSIVE!

Soil samples that were taken from and around the crime scene were tested with soil samples taken from the boots of the accused. These test results show that that the teenagers were not in those woods.

There are numerous other incidents, witness reports, and events that took place during the investigation. All of the accounts are full of speculation, insinuation, and paranoia.

Over 4 years had past since the murders. In pursuit of justice criminal profiler Brent Turvey was called to the case. He was given photos of the victims and the scene. He found what appeared to be bite marks on at least one of the victims. After a qualitfied odontologist examined the photos, he agreed that they were indeed human bite marks. Impressions were taken from Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. The test concluded that the three men serving jail sentences were not responsible for these injuries. Judge Burnett, who decided by his own accord that they were not bite marks also stated "I've never even heard of an odontologist before", would not admit this evidence into court. Turvey has also raised his belief that the ditch is only the dump site and the actual scene of the attack, mutilation, and murder of Christopher Byers. This leads alot of us to believe that the evidence pointing to the actual killer(s) is still out there.

Evidence and leads that could have lead to the arrest of the real killer(s) was lost, damaged, destroyed, or out right neglected by the WMPD! Unfortunatly, Damien, Jason, and Jessie they will carry the weight of the WMPD's incompetence for the rest of their lives. However long or short that may be.

JESSIE - SERVING LIFE PLUS FORTY YEARS WITHOUT PAROLE!
JASON - SERVING LIFE PLUS FORTY YEARS WITHOUT PAROLE!
DAMIEN - SENTENCED TO DIE BY LETHAL INJECTION!