In 2007, new DNA and physical evidence arose that seemed to further distance the West Memphis Three from the murders. However, within the first crucial hours after the bodies were discovered, mistakes were made at the crime scene that negatively impacted the investigation. I think we were the first internet sleuths, but we were not internet sleuths.. 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. A graveside service will be conducted on Wednesday, March 17 at Cloverdale Memorial Park beginning at 11am. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. They procured the domain WM3.org and made a website, updating it with whatever information they could track down. Some believe the West Memphis Three are guilty to this day, and others, including some victims family members, point to their innocence and maintain the real perpetrator is still at large. Terry Hobbs Net Worth. 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. The documentarians found me in one of the worst things a person could go through, Baldwin says. Im not the judge. 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. 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. Although the Alford Plea set the West Memphis Three free, they are, at least in the eyes of the law, guilty, and therefore, the state of Arkansas is under no obligation to continue investigating the crimes at this time. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. But the lawyer quickly noticed inconsistencies in Misskelleys purported confession. A source said the evidence was transferred to shipping containers where there was a fire, and some of the evidence was destroyed. 2011 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (Documentary) Self - Stepfather of Stevie Branch. 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. With the area secured, Detective Bryn Ridge volunteered to search the ditch. Terry Hobbs was born in 1958 and grew up in Northern Arkansas. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. 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. Main Page; We didnt see them grow up.. (WJHG) By Nikki Sheaks Published: Jul. The nonprofits work hasnt always been easyfundraising is hard, and because hes a convicted felon, hes unable to visit clients in prison or discuss pleasbut its been essential for him as he strives to live the words by 14th-century Persian poet Hafez that he keeps as an email signature: The small man builds cages for everyone he knows / While the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low / Keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful rowdy prisoners. Baldwin says hes learned that justice isnt a computer programthat you can input all the evidence and testimony and still get the wrong results. A native of Winter Haven, born December 21, 1964, Terry has been a lifelong resident of Auburndale. It'll be sort of like I'm the West Memphis boogeyman. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. They were found nude and hogtied in a creek in a wooded area in West Memphis. With a large population of fundamentalist Christians, the American South was particularly subject to occult paranoia. the only grade you receive is from quizzes, exams, and the final. To date, no DNA evidence from the crime scene can be linked to Damien Echols, Baldwin, or Jessie Misskelley. But then the verdicts arrived: Both Baldwin and Echols were found guilty on all counts, just like Misskelley had been six weeks before them. 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? Berlinger contrasts this with the approach taken by Bakken, Sauls, and Co., who considered the truth sacrosanct and avoided rumor and innuendo in part because similar speculation helped convict the West Memphis Three. Feigning a romantic interest in Echols, she asked Misskelley to arrange a meeting. They had a daughter together, Amanda Hobbs, who was 4 years old at the time of her brothers death. 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. 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. The level of corruption in the American justice system is glaring and sickening.. The evolution of how the teens were perceivedon behalf of both the filmmakers and even part of the defense teamis captured on camera early as Stidham and his colleagues began to consider whether Misskelleys confession had been coerced. Terry Wayne Hobbs was born on May 21st, 1958. It was almost like an out-of-body experience., When the credits rolled shortly after the unforgettable final scene, which shows a now-convicted Baldwin and Echols leaving the courtroom in handcuffs and entering a police cruiser as Metallica plays, Baldwin sat stunned. McCaughey says her sister is very upset. The next day, their bodies were found in a nearby canal. 21, 2021 at 1:51 PM PDT CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla.. Since the West Memphis Three were released, no one else has been charged in the murders of Stevie, Christopher and Michael. They couldnt have been cooler, recalls Berlinger, who would go on to direct the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster alongside Bruce Sinofsky. The final scene Berlinger and Sinofsky filmed may have been the piece that stuck with viewers the most: the image of Baldwin and Echols being led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and bulletproof vests, now property of the state. That November, he says, HBO agreed to give an honorariumroughly $5,000to the families on both sides. Initially, Misskelley repeatedly denied having knowledge of the crime, aside from rumors that Damien Echols was involved. On the morning of June 2, 1993, Jessie Misskelley Jr., a 17-year-old high school drop out with a reported IQ of 73, was taken into custody by Detective Mike Allen. So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? Their main worry was Damien, who was staring down the threat of lethal injection should the appeals fail. Debates still occur regularly onlinethe West Memphis Three subreddit is fairly active for one on a 28-year-old caseand podcasts have looked at the crime from all angles. Despite the best efforts of the police, dozens of volunteers, a search-and-rescue team, and a helicopter dispatched from nearby Memphis, Tenn., searchers came up empty handed. That came partially through the exposure they got through this film., But perhaps the best measure of Paradise Losts impact is the work being done by Baldwin today. Auburndale, FL - TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. In 2004, Vicki Hutcheson recanted her trial testimony, stating that she had lied on the stand. (Its worth noting that despite the issues raised by Lindseys work, the first season of Up and Vanished renewed interest in the case, which ultimately led to arrests, albeit of people that Lindsey hadnt previously covered on the podcast.). To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. They were naked and hog-tied with their own shoelaces, and showed signs of blunt force trauma and mutilation, the latter of which may have been the work of wild animals, reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper. As rumors of a Satanic sacrifice swept the community, the minds of many in West Memphis were already made up. 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. That included Mojo, who came calling around 2 a.m. that day trying to coax him out of his cell. Metallica had never licensed a song for a film before, but when they learned about the case, Berlinger says, they made an exception. (Maines briefly became a part of the story when Terry Hobbs, stepfather of another . every single person in my class was either . Inconsistencies in Terry Hobbs' alibi, as well as revelations about subsequent violent acts, have also led many to believe that he may be the actual killer. Even today, years after his name was cleared and authorities ruled Lams death accidental, Morbid still receives threats. Mojo had a different idea of what might get the man he affectionately called J.B. out of prison. In her recantation, Hutcheson stated that when she asked Echols directly if he had killed "those three kids," he replied, "No. Id like to see this put to rest. To this day, it is still unclear who is responsible for the killings. Also part of the plea was the provision that the three could not sue the state. On 04/08/2021 Terry Hobbs was filed as a Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 lawsuit. In a last ditch effort, they entered an Alford Plea, a complex and seldom used legal maneuver that would see them plead guilty while still asserting their innocence. Terry Hobbs, one of the men named in the documents. 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. When they searched online, they found little to no information about the case. In February, Netflix released Berlingers Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, a docuseries that looked at the 2013 death of Elisa Lam, a Canadian student who died while vacationing in Los Angeles. TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. Terry Hobbs was born on November 25, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia, USA. Dan Stidham, the original attorney for Misskelley, who would also work on Baldwins and Echols appeals, says he has the answer. Timeline Of The West Memphis Three Victims, Motivations For Investigating The West Memphis Case. The first and likely simplest gauge is continued interest in the case. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. Everybody Id come in contact with was hostile to the truth, Baldwin says. The obituary was featured in Idaho Press Tribune on March 13, 2021. La Mirada, California. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Case Details Parties . 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. 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. In May of that year, police discovered the bodies of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers in the Robin Hood Hills, a small wooded area near the I-40/I-55 exchange. 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. 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. Branded the West Memphis Three, the mens case was featured in multiple documentaries, earning them support from an array of high-profile musicians, celebrities and activists. I don't know if the other 2 did, but even if they did polygraphs aren't admissible in court. 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. Unaware of what was to come, Allen explained that he just wanted to ask him some questions. Hobbs was Branch's stepfather. The causes most high-profile moment came in 2000, when Trey Parker said the slogan at the MTV Movie Awards while collecting an award for Best Musical Sequence. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Created by: Legend Added: 11 Aug 2021 Find a Grave Memorial ID: 230642037 His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. But they never had any physical evidence that connected us to this crime, Echols said in 2012. Paso Robles, California. The knife was thrown into the lake by Baldwin's mother a year before the murders. They formed the organization Proclaim Justice, a nonprofit that reinvestigates crimes with the hopes of freeing innocent people. After hours of questioning, a frustrated Morgan blurted out that he had been hospitalized for drug and alcohol abuse and might have committed the murders. A hair found on one of the ligatures to bind the boys, however, was found to be consistent with the DNA of Hobbs, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. Example video title will go here for this video. Although blood scrapings were taken, the West Memphis police lost the evidence. In 1994, the FBI said there was scant evidence that violent satanic crimes had ever occurred in America outside of a few isolated incidents, but that was long after TV hosts like Geraldo, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Oprah had spread moral hysteria about musicians weaving supposedly anti-Christian and occult messages into their songs, and long after wrongful convictions were handed down in the infamous McMartin Preschool sexual assault trials. Terry Hobbs was born on November 25, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia, USA. Terry Hobbs passed away in Nampa, Idaho. Once there got to be this global pressure, and there was a big concert here with really big-name musicians within a mile of our Supreme Court building, things started suddenly to change, she says. February 27, 2023 (82 years old) View obituary. But they werent just voices in the growing choir calling for the West Memphis Threes releasethey were leading the movement. hangyermoon 2 yr. ago. October 14, 2017: #26 on the JazzWeek chart! It just needed a catalyst. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. Although Damein Echols had a teenager's typical disdain for authority, he nevertheless trusted that the system would work in his favor. ", According to Devil's Knot, a week after the discovery of the bodies, Detective Don Bray interviewed Vicki Hutcheson, a truckstop employee. In fact, for the better part of 1993, it was nearly impossible to find anyone who believed they were innocent. 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? 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. Now, I see they can. As more people learned about the case from Paradise Lost and the work of people like Bakken and Sauls, the phrase Free the West Memphis Three caught on as a slogan for progressive musicians and actors in the 1990s, up there with Save the Rainforest and Free Tibet. Eddie Vedder became an early leading voice, soon followed by the likes of Peter Jackson, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Maines from the band then known as the Dixie Chicks. In August 2011, Jason Baldwin was pulled from his prison cell under confusing circumstances once again. Also, law enforcement chose not to focus on the victims' families as the starting point of the investigation as is the norm. 25, 2021. No explanation has yet been given as to why such a seemingly important lead was dropped. 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. It was clear that Paradise Lost was resonating. Over two decades after the murders, what really happened to Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore on the evening of May 5, 1993, remains a mystery. They even hired experts to examine the case, including a forensic criminal profiler who discovered what appeared to be bite marks on one of the victims that didnt match any of the convicted.