Terry Hobbs USAF Ret. Among those active in the cause were singer Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam, the country music trio The Dixie Chicks, punk rock icon and poet Henry Rollins, and actor Johnny Depp. Iwould journal something and put it in the box, said Hobbs. Misskelley told Hutcheson that he really didn't know much about Echols other than that he was "a weird person." She has since expressed her belief that her ex-husband was involved in the murders, citing the discovery of her son's favorite pocket knife in Terry Hobbs' belongings. Griffis also knew how to spot a Satanist. Case Details Parties . 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. Terry Hobbs's income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. This is a story of justice delayed and justice denied. In 1994, Dr. Dale W. Griffis was a retired police officer who had embarked on a second career as a self-styled consultant on occult and cult-related crime. They saw the same thing you did. That type of support made observers question the verdicts perhaps more so than any rock star who shouted Echolss name into a mic because of an HBO documentary. You still dont really know what happened to these kids. Terry Hobbs was born in 1958 and grew up in Northern Arkansas. 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. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. Berlinger also concedes Revelations had some ethical problems, chiefly because it raised the possibility that Mark Byers committed the killings. Sauls says that the former Black Flag frontman was one of the few big names who dug deep into the evidence, wanting to learn as many details as he could about the case. This is the true story of the West Memphis Three murders. Terry Hobbs is the one suspected of murder and the wounds that were inflicted on my nephew were where turtles bit his face. Even today, years after his name was cleared and authorities ruled Lams death accidental, Morbid still receives threats. They were released after prosecutors agreed to an Alford plea, in which the men maintained their innocence but pleaded guilty. Echols' disdain for authority, penchant for black clothes, and propensity to make shocking statements didn't help his plight. Now, I see they can. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. After 18 years in prison, the West Memphis Three were finally free, but not exonerated. " (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. 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. Find the obituary of Terry Hobbs (1957 - 2021) from Caldwell, ID. Lying in the open air in near 80-degree temperatures accelerated the decomposition of the bodies. What a story it is. He responded proudly, 11.. Well theres been a lot of things that happened over the years. Case Details. They procured the domain WM3.org and made a website, updating it with whatever information they could track down. Speaking by phone last month, he comes across, in many ways, like the person Berlinger says he encountered in prison in 1994: polite, deferential, soft-spoken. 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 . 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. The great irony of the 18-year quest to free the West Memphis Three is that it didnt begin as a crusade. Funeral Home Services for Terry are being provi. The news was devastating beyond just word of his friends suffering. Published: Dec. 21, 2021 at 9:56 PM CST WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. I don't know if the other 2 did, but even if they did polygraphs aren't admissible in court. In an email to The Ringer, Rollins stressed that inaction was not an option., Myself and the many people I worked with did what we could to help bring attention to the case and generate much needed financial aid, he wrote. Cinemorgue Wiki. Dec 13th, 2021. The Paradise Lost cameras captured not only the defenses discussions, but the full testimony, in Misskelleys trial, of an expert on coerced confessions. But on that early morning in 1997, Jason Baldwin wasnt concerned with Berlinger and Sinofskys craft, or legal precedent, or crusading celebrities. Terry Wayne Hobbs was born on May 21st, 1958. All three had been submerged face down in the mud, stripped naked, and bound with their shoelaces. Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. The documentarians found me in one of the worst things a person could go through, Baldwin says. La Mirada, California. 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. A native of Winter Haven, born December 21, 1964, Terry has been a lifelong resident of Auburndale. She said it was one of the highest-rated pieces they had. Yet, Judge David Burnett accepted Griffis as an expert. I kind of enjoy it because now even after I die, people are going to remember me forever. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. hangyermoon 2 yr. ago. On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. The only possible culprits were 18-year-old Damien Echols, a poor teen with an interest in the occult and a record of mental illness, his friend Jason Baldwin, a quiet kid whose talent for art tended toward dark subjects, and Jessie Misskelley, a 17-year-old misfit with an IQ of 73. Show more Show more What's next for West. "I'd like to see this put to rest. November 03, 2021 November 4, 2021 . Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. Essentially, it allows the accused to assert their innocence while pleading guilty, conceding that the prosecution has an overwhelming amount of evidence to procure a conviction. Terry Hobbs was born on November 25, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia, USA. Getting that kind of creative validation was exciting, but we were also extremely frustrated that it didnt move from the entertainment page of the newspaper to the editorial page, Berlinger says. On August 19, 2011, all three accepted the deal and were immediately released from prison. During the final year of the two-year span, from July 2021 to July 2022, California lost about 211,000 people, according to data from the state Department of Finance. Hobbs described what it was like the day the three walked free. Hobbs was Branch's stepfather. The reason for the credit gets less curious when hes asked about it: He was a huge Metallica fan. Knowing that the police were already focusing on Damien Echols, Hutcheson asked her neighbor, Jessie Misskelley Jr., about the brooding teen and his occult connection. 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. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. The West Memphis Police Department interviewed Hobbs, who was dismissive of the findings, claiming the hair could have been picked up during a visit to his home since the victim "played with our little boy regularly," according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 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. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs. 1.0. . Echols is an author and mystic living New York with his wife, architect Lorri Davis. 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. Its like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound. Echols said in 2012, he will never give up his mission to exonerate himself. 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. Two of the West Memphis Three's most ardent supporters were director Peter Jackson, best known for The Lord of the Rings films, and his partner Fran Walsh. Misskelley's coerced confession, as contradictory as it seemed to the evidence, was consistent in implicating Echols and Jason Baldwin. So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? It's affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up," said Hobbs. 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. (WMC) - Not a single piece of evidence ever connected the West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, to the 1993 murders of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. 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. The next day, their bodies were found in a nearby canal. But its closing moments point to how the filmmakers felt: that a horrific tragedy had just been compounded by a monumental miscarriage of justice. 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. And that makes him hopeful that exoneration is on the horizon. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of West Memphis Three murder victim Stevie Branch, has denied any involvement in slayings of Branch and his two friends. Well, perhaps not nobody. Hobbs has never wavered in his conviction that justice was served the first time around. Although blood scrapings were taken, the West Memphis police lost the evidence. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 24 to Jun. In August 2011, Jason Baldwin was pulled from his prison cell under confusing circumstances once again. It has happened to a lot of people that just dont have the spotlight of a documentary, he says. Filming the activists work seemed like the best place for Berlinger and Sinofsky to turn their attention; what better way to show the continued plight of the West Memphis Three than to show regular people dedicating their free time to fighting for them? Terry. Its gone from a controversial legal theory to an accepted phenomenon. of Auburndale, FL passed away Monday, August 16, 2021. Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). Reaching its apex in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Satanic Panic was a wave of paranoia rooted in the belief that Satanic cults intent on corrupting the souls of the young had infiltrated American society. He knew that if he ever got out, hed want to do that in a more organized way. (WJHG) By Nikki Sheaks Published: Jul. He says his students seem to have a better grasp on the idea of coerced confessions than any of his peers in 1994. To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. 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. Feigning a romantic interest in Echols, she asked Misskelley to arrange a meeting. Although the appeals were repeatedly denied, a new batch of DNA testing done in 2007 reignited the investigation. Investigators kept minimal notes and omitted pertinent details including criminal records. The prosecutor would later say, There was a lack of physical evidence to tie anyone or anything to the crime scene, while the lead investigatorthe same one who told the press the case was an 11 out of 10would concede, Youve got a lot of circumstantial evidence is what youve got. TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. One of the keys to understanding the West Memphis Three murders is the phenomenon known as the Satanic Panic. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. West Memphis is in the heart of the Bible Belt: just a two-hour drive from where, legend has it, the devil tuned Robert Johnsons guitar, in a state thats 46 percent evangelical Protestant. Last year, I noticed that Terry went missing. On the surface, 18-year-old Damien Echols, an intelligent, but psychologically troubled teen with interests in Wicca and extreme music, fit the profile. Hobbs denied seeing the boys that night and questioned why eyewitness evidence surfaced 16 years later. I'm not stupid." Their bikes were found by a pipe nearby. When they searched online, they found little to no information about the case. It'll be sort of like I'm the West Memphis boogeyman. there are no assignments to cushion your grade, so either pass or fail. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. So the minute youre done, you just want to know more. That there were three victims was a link to the biblical number of the beast. In 2009, three witnesses filed affidavits claiming they saw Hobbs with the murdered boys the night they disappeared, contradicting Hobbs previous statements to police, according to CNN. And yet Hobbs was not interviewed at all in the months after the crimes. All of them were convicted after Misskelley confessed to helping Echols and Baldwin with the murders, which he later recanted. During Misskelley's trial, Hutcheson testified that she had attended an "an occult Satanic meeting" she referred to as an "esbat." Earlier this year, he told Action News 5 he welcomes new DNA testing. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. He also lost the defamation case because of his violent past. Sinofsky family connection aside, Berlinger says this was an important part of the film: The prosecutors had put heavy metal lyrics and Baldwins and Echolss Metallica fandom on trial as much as the teens themselves. We didnt see them grow up.. It ranges from Mark Byers, the crusading stepfather who became one of the West Memphis Threes biggest allies in the years before his 2020 death, to famed FBI criminal profiler (and Mindhunter inspiration) John E. Douglas. More than 2,500 people attended and the story dominated the local press for days. 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. I never foresaw that they would in turn save us.. By 2005, Rollins himself had raised $100,000 for the cause. Quickly, however, he realized Berlinger and Sinofsky were taking a different approach. West Memphis 3 / Terry Hobbs 2022 Update New Scott 94.5K subscribers Subscribe 241 Share 20K views 8 months ago https://www.crimeonline.com/2022/05/. Hobbs said, I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols are responsible for what happened to our children., He added, You look at what happened and then you wonder, what if this did not happen, where would our boys be today? Because I was thinking, if you haven't done anything, then they can't prove you did something you haven't actually done. In 2004, Vicki Hutcheson recanted her trial testimony, stating that she had lied on the stand. The consequences of that online campaign were ruinous: The person they targeted, a Mexican metal musician who worked under the name Morbid, was harassed into hiding. Terry Hobbs is absolutely terrible. The state of Arkansas continues to attempt to prevent this testing from happening., New technology and advances in science would now allow us to test DNA in amounts so small that it would have been previously impossible. The specter of the church looms over Paradise Lost, best represented by an early scene in which Mark Byers leads his congregation in prayer and song. Echols, who prosecutors argued was the ringleader, was sentenced to death. Rollins not only gave interviews to keep the effort alive in the press, he organized a string of benefit shows and released an album featuring Iggy Pop and Chuck D, with proceeds going to the defense. You need corroborating evidence.. The bodies of Branch, Byers, and Moore were found in a drainage ditch in West Memphis May 6 . Echols is correct. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Wherever it was screened, Berlinger says, it was followed by intense Q&As from audience members who couldnt believe what theyd just watched. A quarter-century later, what does the documentary tell us about citizen activism, the criminal justice system, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s? A graveside service will be conducted on Wednesday, March 17 at Cloverdale Memorial Park beginning at 11am. The Alford plea is a seldom-invoked and somewhat confusing legal maneuver, but the basics are fairly straightforward. doesn't know how to teach the material and you will end up teaching yourself everything. But they werent just voices in the growing choir calling for the West Memphis Threes releasethey were leading the movement. When the case was given the option for DNA evidence, everyone but Terry Hobbs said yes. Since the West Memphis Three were released, no one else has been charged in the murders of Stevie, Christopher and Michael. Despite an offer of a reduced sentence, Misskelley ultimately recanted his statements and refused to testify against Echols and Baldwin. Another hair found near the crime scene on a tree stump was found to be consistent with the DNA of Hobbs friend, David Jacoby, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. 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. Nevertheless, Echols made no incriminating statements. 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. Jessie took a polygraph. Berlinger and Sinofsky expected a similar result to come quickly in the West Memphis Three case. Now a judgewho coincidentally works part time in the courtroom where Misskelley was convictedStidham spends time speaking to law students about the judicial system. There have also been several high-profile incidents of laypeople reinvestigating decades-old cold cases in more rigorous, journalistic ways and helping bring them to a resolution. According to Devil's Knot author Mara Leveritt, the investigation of the murders was divided along three lines. Also part of the plea was the provision that the three could not sue the state. - The West Memphis 3: Free (2012) . She says she is too because they believe they are hearing different stories. That's not the same Terry Hobbs.
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