Our monthly magazine is free at over 500 locations in Central Arkansas. The trials were sensational from start to finish, partly for the gruesomeness of the crimes, and partly because the police case was predicated on the belief that the killings had been part of a Satanistic orgy. That November, he says, HBO agreed to give an honorariumroughly $5,000to the families on both sides. The Byers family has been part of the news in Arkansas since the morning of May 6, 1993, when the bodies of three 8-year-old boysSteven Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byerswere found in a drainage ditch in a wooded area near the West Memphis subdivision where they lived. Not just because John Mark Byers is so creepy (though he IS), but becausethe Byers boy was the only one who was sexually mutilated, AND Mr. Byerswas the one who reported the boys missing. We were finally winning, he says. how did melissa byers diesigns he still loves his baby mama | Alright, investigator Gary Gitchell said. 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. Mara Leveritt, a journalist who followed the case throughout the 1990s and wrote the 2002 book Devils Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, calls the strain of Christianity that runs through the region very literal and says that even her children faced harassment as teenagers for playing Dungeons & Dragons and listening to Ozzy Osbourne. While Echols was characterized as the group s ringleader and sentenced to death, Misskelley and Ba1dwin were sentenced to life in prison. Stidham, who is preparing Misskelleys appeal, says that one of the points he will raise is that Misskelley denied any involvement in the murders until police told him he had failed a lie-detector test. )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. Moreover, that anomaly in the body was matched by an anomaly in the report. The neighbor said Byers responded, Well, come over. Witt, stymied until he knew the cause of death, waitedand waited. Its gone from a controversial legal theory to an accepted phenomenon. She died on March 29, 1996 in Arkansas, USA. John Mark Byers asked Waser if Melissa was alive and he responded that the best way he could help would be to let the EMTs do their job. Although a glass of peach schnapps had been found at her bedside, she had apparently drunk very little, as no alcohol was detected in her system. It can slow breathing, heart rate, and brain activity. But those findings did not solve the riddle of Byers death either. . Buried in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally from Willard, Mo., she spent nearly three years reporting in Arkansas and Illinois before returning to Missouri and joining The Star in 2017. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. > > NightShade HDZ@prodigy.com>. Witt arrived at the hospital about 35 minutes later. 4 0 obj In December, Investigator Stan Witt closed his case on Melissa Byers. Melissa and John Mark Byers were having problems in their marriage in 1996. He said he left the home around 3pm when Ryan and his girlfriend were at the home. 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. Byers was later charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. But on the subject of Paradise Lost, he speaks emphatically: He understands how important the movies were in helping him, Echols, and Misskelley walk free 10 years ago this August. Mojo jumped up, Baldwin recalls. But the lawyer quickly noticed inconsistencies in Misskelleys purported confession. He said Byers behaved arrogantly, and that the woman was upset and begged him not to leave. When he entered the house, Griffin wrote, he found Byers ex-wife on the floor and Byers brandishing an electric shock device known as a Power Zapper. While Berlinger says that the work of people like Bakken and Sauls was more impressive than that of any celebrity, its undeniable that the famous and influential brought a megaphone and funding mechanism to this case that most never get. 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. Thats one of the reasons Im arresting you.. Sharp County Sheriff T.J. "Sonny" Powell wouldn't say whether the. Further down, it includes names such as Rick Dior, a sound mixer who worked on Apollo 13 and Dirty Dancing, and Bob Richman, a three-time Emmy-nominated cinematographer whose rsum also includes renowned docs like An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman. Byers was the stepfather of Christopher. Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). Berlinger and Sinofsky began to take notice. And then there was the public pressure: In August 2010, Vedder and Maines headlined yet another benefit concert, this one in Little Rock. 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. But life was continuing for John Mark Byers. 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. 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. Born on 16 Jan 1956. In 1973, when John Mark Byers was 16 years old and living in Marked Tree, police there were called to his home by his parents, who said he was threatening them with a knife. 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. It was a call about Damien Echolshe wasnt dead, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might be soon. Why wasn't he questioned about several other inconsistencies and "coincidences" surrounding his step-son's murder? We made a promise early on that we would never pretend to be law enforcement or detectives, Sauls says. Melissa Byers did not have a prescription for Dilaudid. He could have been me, he told Rolling Stone in 2011. He advised he went and got a towel and told Mark to keep doing CPR and also told Ryan to take his girlfriend home and get back there. Byers mentioned two people in Memphis whom he put in that category, and he referred to helping authorities at Marion on their investigation into an illegal methamphetamine lab. Hopefully Will won't be a casualty in Season 5, but this data has been accurate in the past. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. Paradise Lost also led to a famous citizen-activist campaign championing the release of the three teens that caught on at the dawn of the Internet Age and would eventually pull in Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, and a whos who of the rich and famous. Additionally, by selecting varieties that are well-suited for your climate and soil type, you can increase the chances of success with each planting season. Melissa Byers, Self: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. That person reportedly contacted other relatives in Blytheville, and together they drove to Memphis, where they confronted Terry Hobbs about the assault. She died at . In April 1994, eleven months after the murders, John Mark and Melissa Byers and their surviving son, Ryan, moved to Cherokee Village. 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. Waser noted in his report that Byers was sitting outside of his home with a woman by the name of Mandy Beasley. American actress, TV director, producer, politician, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, Melissa Gilbert's cause of death is spreading as a rumor since reports claimed she passed away on October 27, 2022. The trio assumed that the convictions had already been overturned by the time Bakken received the screenerthis was a modern-day witch hunt, they thought, and surely the state of Arkansas had already corrected the course. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. Melissa, the mother of Christopher Byers, the most brutalized of the West Memphis victims, was 40 years old. He agreed to a search and signed a permission form at 6:55pm. [34], The final cause of death for Melissa was listed as "undetermined". 2 0 obj That story line would make up the bulk of 2000s Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, a rare sequel for a documentary, especially before the streaming era proved that true crime series like Making a Murderer and The Staircase could maintain audience interest for years. He also became upset when I advised him that I was going to keep the Power Zapper, which he wanted back. (Associate Medical Examiner), Frank Peretti, M.D. %PDF-1.5 Now a judgewho coincidentally works part time in the courtroom where Misskelley was convictedStidham spends time speaking to law students about the judicial system. When there wasn't one he started CPR. 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. Even today, years after his name was cleared and authorities ruled Lams death accidental, Morbid still receives threats. [13], Byers asked Waser to accompany him outside so he could have a cigarette. In January 1995, John Mark Byers was found guilty on the charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to the negotiated plea, Byers was to pay $20,000 to the woman whose house was burglarized, make restitution to the father of the boy who was injured in the fight, and pay a $250 fine. What is known is that over the course of the next year, Byers worked as an informant, at least for police in Memphis and West Memphis, and possibly others. The medical examiner's office said Melissa Byers, 47, died as a result of multiple. 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. They began attending appeal hearings and visiting Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley in prison. Byers stated that Melissa preferred to take Dilaudid. At one point, Melissa looked into the camera declaring her hatred for the three accused teen-agers and the mothers that bore them. In another scene, John Mark and the father of one of the other murdered boys appeared shooting pumpkins which they pretended were the defendants. The 28+ Demodogs are seen falling after Eleven closes the gate. He says his dad and Berlinger werent seeking notorietydocumentaries certainly werent a means to get rich or famous in those days. The following is a list documenting the deaths of characters throughout the four seasons of Stranger Things. The question the police now have to deal with is was it a death caused simply by the heart stopping (which does happen) or was it murder? Daniel Stidham of Paragould is the lawyer for Jessie Misskelley, who was accused, along with Echols and Jason Baldwin, of killing the three West Memphis children. He was handed the phone. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. Deputy Sheriff C.L. Jackie Hicks, Pamela Hobbs brother, came from the house and confronted Terry Hobbs again. She was pronounced dead after efforts to revive her failed. The cult part of the Commercial Appeals headline signaled how the case would be defined by both the media and prosecutors. 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. As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know were dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. The idea, Berlinger says, was to tell a story of disaffected youthabout kids killing kids., There was no reason not to believe the press, Berlinger says. Nobody was saying, This is an outrageous case that needs to be looked into.. Hes subdued when discussing the facts of the case, but he comes alive while recounting his work with the Jaycees while in prison, or buying Metallicas Black Album when it came out in 1991. 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. The shooting Tuesday led to an hours long standoff at the house in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard. Donna and John Kingsbury, who live next-door to the house where the Byerses moved, have sought a restraining order against their new neighbors, alleging that Mark Byers whipped their 5-year-old son with the metal end of a swatter, that shots have been fired at their house, and that Melissa Byers threatened them, saying, Wel1 put you in a hole you cant get out of, and I lost my Christopher. ", >That same large number of people here feel that Mark Beyers is guilty of, >the 'Paradise Lost' murders because of skimpy evidence and the fact that. Kansas City man found guilty of murder in wifes 2017 stabbing death at their home, Daughter finds mothers body in the basement; her father is charged with murder, Man found dead inside house where Kansas City police officers were shot late Tuesday, Three Kansas City police officers shot and injured while executing search warrant, Bald eagles egg breaks in nest, Minnesota photo shows. 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. Hydrocodone was detected in the urine, but not in the blood or the liver. Accueil; Solution; Tarif; PRO; Mon compte; France; Accueil; Solution; Tarif; PRO; Mon compte % Before the three teens were arrested, Beyers was giving the police the names of pawnbrokers and drug dealers as possible suspects (he's a police drug informant), claiming that there were a lot of people with grudges against him (diverting attention from himself? A Jackson County judge sentenced a 46-year-old Kansas City man to life in prison on Friday for the stabbing death of Melissa Byers, whose body was found by her young daughter in 2017. I don' think in Beyers' case it's the "creepy" factor as much as it is the evidence against him which wasn't looked at with more interest by the court. "[32], Two contusions, ranging from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, were noted as being located on Melissa's skull. When West Memphis police questioned Byers two weeks after the boys murders, they asked him about this undercover work and people who, as Byers put it, maybe would be vindictive.. Dilaudid was not among them. But as they did, Rose said, Byers told them to stand back. "[12], Waser met with Sheriff Powell, Chief Burton, and Investigator Witt to discuss searching the Byers' residence. Kissee said, I dont know how you put a pricetag on a little boy s life. But he said the Byerses believe their son would still be alive if police had begun searching for the three boys sooner, after Pamela Hobbs reported them missing. They formed the organization Proclaim Justice, a nonprofit that reinvestigates crimes with the hopes of freeing innocent people. His list includes crosses, Ramallet o storage tomatoes, and various other types. The results suggest that Melissa had not been using hydrocodone for an extended length of time; otherwise, the drug would have been in her blood and her liver. Much of Cecil Hotel focuses on the amateur investigators who turned coincidences into conspiracy theories, ultimately accusing an innocent person of her death. There is some dispute then about how the pocket knife got into Byers passengers hand, but no one disputes that one did or that it belonged to Mark Byers. For 48 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been on the front lines of the fight for truth, and with your support, we can do even more. After the murders, restitution was made for the watches, and the matter was never prosecuted. He cautions, My client was convicted without evidence. Two of those, which were covered with bandages, were clearly the result of unsuccessful medical attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as were a couple of fractured ribs. Like Misskelley in the first trial, Baldwin received a life sentence. [14] In the statement given by Metz, he said that John Mark told him he thought Melissa had overdosed on a drug. An anomaly in the urine, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might soon. 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