WHEN the mutilated bodies of three eight-year-olds were found in a muddy ditch in West Memphis, Arkansas, locals were convinced it was a satanic murder.
But the subsequent manhunt ruined three more young lives, as a local lad was placed on death row and two other teens were handed life sentences – despite an apparent lack of evidence or motive.
The lads – Damien Echols, then 18, Jason Baldwin, 16, and Jessie Misskelley Jr, 17 – became known as the West Memphis Three and have consistently proclaimed their innocence.
They were convicted of murdering Steve Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers, all eight, in a satanic ritual just outside the town in Arkansas, on May 5, 1993.
Their only crime, according to their legal team, was not fitting the mould in the bible belt state.
The case captivated the world as celebrities – including Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, Johnny Depp, and Winona Ryder – joined calls for the conviction to be overturned, believing there had been a miscarriage of justice.
Now Dan Stidham, Misskelley Jr’s lawyer, tells The Sun why he was always convinced the boys were innocent and points to two suspects he believes the police need to revisit in the murder hunt.
On the day of Misskelley’s conviction, in February 1994, Dan promised to get his client out of prison and, while all three have since been released, he is still fighting to get the judgement overturned.
“I was 30 when this started and now I’m 61. It seems like a blink of an eye to me,” he tells the Sun.
“But it’s been an excruciating experience for all of them.
“They set their sights on Damien because he was different, Jason was his friend and Jessie could be coerced.
“Everyone knew these boys were innocent but the state of Arkansas just couldn’t admit it.”
Boy scouts Steve Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers had been out on their bikes in the local area, on May 5, 1993, but were reported missing by one of the boys’ fathers at 7pm that night.
A thorough search of the area, the following morning, failed to find any trace but later that day a local parole officer spotted a boy’s shoe floating in a muddy creek.
After a police search, the naked bodies of the victims were found in the ditch, near a truck stop, with their arms and legs tied together using their own shoelaces.
An autopsy found Byers, who had horrific laceration on his body, had died from “multiple injuries” while his friends has died from “multiple injuries with drowning”.
Police claim that the killers had mutilated the bodies as part of a satanic ritual.
Dan says that, due to deeply religious nature of Arkansas, there was a “genuine belief that satanic cults were roaming the woods in West Memphis in 1993.
“I used to get calls from cops when I’d done campouts with the Boy Scouts because people had reported seeing satanic activity.
“People really believed there was a devil out there roaming around inflicting evil on people’s lives.”
I was expecting a large teenager with a thuggish haircut, but when I arrived at his cell I saw a child who looked about 10-years-old
Judge Dan Stidham
Prior to the killings, Baldwin and Echols had a police record for vandalism and shoplifting respectively and Misskelley had a reputation for fighting.
They were also seen as misfits, because of their love of heavy metal and refusal to conform.
Dan says the ‘satanic panic’ and the tragic murders, “created the perfect storm for the police to go after Damien, Jason and Jessie for being different, because people were scared and believed there was evil roaming in Arkansas.
“But in reality, there has never been such a thing as a satanic homicide.
“While they eventually knew that, they were stuck with the cards they had to play. They did anything and everything to persuade and coerce people into testifying, hid witnesses, all kinds of stuff.”
Dan was called to defend Misskelley Jr after he had made a confession to the police about the killings – which was later said to have been coerced.
The then 17-year-old had spent 12 hours being interrogated by police without a guardian or a legal representative present.
Recalling their first meeting, Dan said: “I was expecting a large teenager with a thuggish haircut but when I arrived at his cell I saw a child who looked about 10 years old.
“They didn’t have a prison uniform small enough for him and he had to roll up the legs and sleeves just to be able to expose his hands and feet.
“It slowly became clear that he didn’t understand that I was his lawyer and what that meant. He didn’t seem able to understand I was there to be on his side.
“That really bothered me. He kept telling me what he’d told the police but confusing things.”
After that first meeting, it seemed obvious to Dan that Misskelley couldn’t have been involved in the crime, as he had no idea what had happened to each of the victims and got crucial details wrong.
He said the mistakes Miskelley made were “huge impossibilities” given the facts available.
“Jessie just wanted to go home and he was told that if he gave the police what they wanted, he’d get to do just that,” Dan said.
“But he had no advocate in the room, his father wasn’t allowed to be in the room. There was no lawyer in the room or a video tape from beginning to end.
“We had an interrogation that went on for over 12 hours but only half an hour of his interrogation was on camera. All the police wanted was a conviction.
“At the time, false confessions weren’t really understood or known about, so people didn’t think he could be lying.
“He was coerced into giving the police what they wanted.
“He kept getting things wrong, like saying a brown rope was used to tie up the boys when it was actually shoelaces.”
Misskelley was tried separately to Echols and Baldwin due to the “Bruton rule” meaning that his confession could be not used to try his co-conspirators in a joint trial.
He received a life sentence and lost a subsequent appeal but Dan says witnesses were coerced to lie or stay away.
“I now know that a witness who saw Jessie 50 miles away in Dyess, Arkansas, had been told to leave home so he couldn’t be subpoenaed,” he says.
Another key witness who identified the three teens later claimed she had lied because police had implied they would take away her child if she didn’t co-operate.
In a later trial, Echols was sentenced to death and Baldwin to life in prison.
In 2004, Misskelley was diagnosed as having a severe learning disability which would now see him classified as unfit to stand trial.
But Misskelley had spent years covering up the disadvantages of his disability and couldn’t, or wouldn’t, admit he didn’t know what was going on in court.
“Essentially, these boys should never have gone to trial, let alone be convicted,” adds Dan.
One of the strangest twists came when experts concluded the marks on the boys’ bodies were not signs of a ritual killing but the work of wild animals – most likely an Alligator Snapping Turtle.
“I tracked down forensic pathologist Dr Michael Baden in 1998, and cornered him in a lift and begged him to look at the photos,” Dan recalled.
“He looked at the picture and became interested and told me ‘I’ve done 10,000 autopsies in my career and this is the worst photograph I’ve ever seen. This is not a satanic killing. Teenagers don’t pull this off. This is animal predation.’
“Also in the lift was forensic entomologist Dr Neil Haskell who agreed and told me it looked like the work of loggerhead turtles.
“They’re big and dangerous, they can take fingers off when they’re being aggressive.
“We did some tests and one gentleman volunteered to have his arm bitten. The marks were the same as those on the victims.”
Given the bodies were found in water, Dan reckons this theory is correct – and it’s put him off owning any pets.
In 2011, the three men submitted controversial Alford Pleas – meaning you accept a guilty verdict but maintain your innocence – which allowed them to be freed from jail.
They have all said they would like to see the real perpetrator caught and their records expunged.
Dan is now working to get their convictions overturned by having the DNA from the scene tested to prove there is someone else involved.
The American legal system allows for a plea to be entered known as the Alford Plea.
It is “a plea of guilty containing a protestation of innocence”.
It means the defendant pleads guilty but is able to maintain a claim of innocence while the charged crime is registered.
For the West Memphis Three, in 2011, this plea meant they would be re-sentenced for time served and released from prison.
It meant that Echols was removed from death row.
Each of the defendants entered the Alford plea for the lesser charges of first and second degree murder. They also verbally stated their innocence.
As part of the plea deal, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley Jr agreed to not sue the state for civil damages due to their convictions and imprisonment.
If they re-offended they would be sent back to jail for 21 years.
An Alford Plea is allowed in every state except the state courts of Indiana, Michigan, and New Jersey.
It cannot be entered as a plea in United States Armed Forces courts.
In April, The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in favour of using new DNA testing methods on evidence from the crime scene that was not available when it was originally tested.
But until their innocence can be proved without a doubt, the boys remain hobbled by their convictions.
He said: “I know Jason doesn’t leave the country any more because he gets subjected to cavity searches and X-ray which leave him feeling less than human and humiliated.
They’re still being targeted even now
Judge Dan Stidham
“Jessie has been picked up and put in jail for traffic violations that anyone else would have got a citation for.
“They’re still being targeted even now.”
Dan’s determination to follow through on his promise to see Misskelley exonerated took a very personal toll.
It led to his marriage breaking down and missing his children’s milestones.
“My ex-wife didn’t like my frequent trips I made to speak to experts and talk to witnesses,” he said.
“But I made a promise to Jessie to get him out or die trying.
“She was very resentful and we grew apart. On my 45th Birthday we got divorced.”
He has also been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which leaves him struggling to cope with loud noises and having nightmares despite never being in combat.
But Dan “wouldn’t trade it for anything” as he believes finally freeing them from the conviction is important work.
Dan is sure the real killer is still out there and plans to bring them to justice.
The lawyer shared his two theories, one that it is a trucker serial killer and the other that Steven Branch’s step-father could be responsible, although he has frequently denied the charges.
Neighbours said they last saw the boys at around 6.30pm, on the night of the murders, and then saw Terry Hobbs outside calling for them to come home.
He explained: “I’m not ready to take Terry Hobbs off the list yet. We can’t account for where he was on the evening the boys disappeared. He’s had various different stories about that.
“When we did the 2007 DNA testing there was a hair found in the ligature on the victim, Michael Moore that was a partial match to Terry Hobbs.
May 5th 1983 – Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, all eight-years-old, are reported as missing.
May 6th 1983 – the bodies of all three boys are found in a muddy creek in Robin Hood Hills.
May 7th 1983 – Damien Echols was interviewed about the murders.
June 3rd 1983 – Jessie Misskelley Jr was interviewed by police about the murders. He was questioned for 12 hours without a legal representative or a guardian.
February 5th 1994 – Misskelley is convicted of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He was handed a life sentence in prison with a minimum term of 40 years.
March 19th 1994 – Damian Echolls and Jason Baldwin are found guilty on three counts of murder. Damian is given the death penalty and Baldwin life in prison.
May 1994 – The three defendants launched an appeal but their convictions are upheld.
October 2003 – Witness Vicki Hutchenson recounted all of her evidence and said everything she told them was a fabrication. She claimed cops had threatened to take away her child if she didn’t cooperate.
2007 – The DNA taken from the crime scene was tested against Echols, Baldwin, or Misskelley. None were found to be a match. Terry Hobbs, the step father of Stevie Branch, was found to have a partial match to DNA found in the ligatures on one of the victims.
October 29th 2007 – Echols’s lawyers file for a retrial or immediate release. They cited the new DNA evidence and testimony from Terry Hobb’s ex-wife.
July 2008 – It came to light that the jury foreman in the original trial had discussed the case with an attorney prior to jury deliberations.
September 2008 – Dan Stidham testified at a post conviction hearing that Judge David Burnett had made improper communication with the jury during their deliberations.
September 10th 2008 – Circuit Court Judge David Burnett denied the request for a retrial. It was appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
November 4th 2010 – The Arknasas Supreme Court ordered a judge to consider if the new DNA evidence might exonerate the three.
August 19, 2011 – Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley are released from prison after taking Alford Pleas. It meant they accepted lesser charges of first- and second-degree murder while verbally stating their innocence.
2022 – First attempt launched to test DNA from the original crime scene, which had thought to be lost. It was denied.
April 19th 2024 – Arkansas Supreme Court clears the way for evidence from the crime to be tested using new methods.
“Terry Hobbs had stated on the record that a fella by the name of David Jacoby helped him look for the boys and (Jacoby’s) hair was found on a tree stump at the crime scene.
“I call it a crime scene but I think it was most likely a dump site. It was very close to a huge truck site which leads me to my other theory.
“I think we could be dealing with a serial killer trucker. The park is close to the I55 running to New Orleans and Chicago and the I40 which runs from the east coast to the west.
“Big rigs are constantly coming and going from that ground. If you’re going to be a serial killer, truck driving is a great job to have because you can pick up victims up a truck stop.
“I have a suspect in mind who I can prove was in the area around the murders. And there are some unsolved child murders not far from West Memphis which took place a few days before the arrests of the West Memphis Three.
“Those bodies were also found in water so that gives us another connection. This suspect isn’t going anywhere because he is serving six or seven life sentences.”
A Harvest of Innocence by Dan Stidham is on sale now
