Also, law enforcement chose not to focus on the victims' families as the starting point of the investigation as is the norm. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. He began his career in the. Over the course of the initial investigation, a number of alternate suspects and scenarios came to light that were largely ignored or otherwise dismissed by authorities. He was just taking in the enormity of the defining event of his life to that point, which had been committed to film and was now playing for him inside the cavernous, auditorium-style visitation room. In 2007, new DNA and physical evidence arose that seemed to further distance the West Memphis Three from the murders. So advocacy and diligence become tantamount, because most people in a similar situation to the one he was in dont have the benefit of filmmakers and musicians fighting on their behalf. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! I think I introduced my dad to it because that was not his normal genre., Three Metallica songsOrion, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), and Call of Ktuluwould play throughout the documentary. To authorities working in West Memphisa largely Southern Baptist communitysatanic activity seemed to be the most likely cause for the killings, in part because the boys bodies were bound and appeared to have been mutilated. A theory held is that Terry Hobbs was the one who actually killed the three boys and had pinned it on the Memphis 3 boys. As recounted in Mara Leveritt's book, Devil's Knot, a thorough search of Robin Hood Hills directed by Chief Inspector Gary W. Gitchell of the West Memphis Police Department commenced early on the morning of May 6, 1993. That November, he says, HBO agreed to give an honorariumroughly $5,000to the families on both sides. Terry Hobbs Memphis 32, 14-Jun, Superior Funeral Home-Hollywood. Local 24 News EXCLUSIVE: Terry Hobbs on his new memoir on the West Memphis 3. Minutes later, Sgt. Its something that Baldwin couldnt envision when he first agreed to let the documentarians interview him in jail in exchange for an honorarium, or even when Mojo played that VHS tape for him in 1997. 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. With a large population of fundamentalist Christians, the American South was particularly subject to occult paranoia. When it didnt, the praise heaped on Paradise Lost felt hollow. A later confession during the trial phase would prove equally problematic. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. 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. Support came from unlikely corners: a classroom of kids who held a cookie sale that raised $30, local bands in Chicago who held a benefit show and sent $150. Almost 30 years ago, three eight-year-old West Memphis boys were found murdered and three teenagers were charged in the murders. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. November 03, 2021 November 4, 2021 . 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. Cinemorgue Wiki. 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. Show more Show more What's next for West. Dec 13th, 2021. 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. 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. But Echolss situation changed Baldwins thinking. 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. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. With the area secured, Detective Bryn Ridge volunteered to search the ditch. The third put forth the unusual theory that the killings were committed as a cult ritual. In 1996, a screener for Paradise Lost passed her desk. 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? The reason for the credit gets less curious when hes asked about it: He was a huge Metallica fan. the only grade you receive is from quizzes, exams, and the final. 24 to Jun. Misskelley, who reportedly had an IQ of 72, changed his story several times, and only a small part of his statements was recorded. This is not a smoking-gun-type case.. That the slain boys were each 8 years-old was important because eight was a "witch's number." Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. One person who has come up in the investigation is Terry Hobbs, although police have never named him a suspect or charged him in connection with the case. Armchair detectives of today, I think a lot of them dabble in conspiracy theory, Berlinger says. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. Hobbs said he wrote the book so people, especially other victims of crime, could understand the tragedy he has gone through and how it impacted his life. They began attending appeal hearings and visiting Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley in prison. I still believe in my heart that Jessie, Jason, and Damion Echols [sic] are responsible for what happened to our children, Hobbs told Memphis ABC affiliate WATN in June 2019. October 13, 2018 - Happy 94th Birthday Terry! Echols' disdain for authority, penchant for black clothes, and propensity to make shocking statements didn't help his plight. Share Memories & Support the Family. 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. But the list of people who have looked at the facts of the case and come away believing Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley are innocent is long. When they searched online, they found little to no information about the case. Echols attorneys got a letter from the custodian of records for the West Memphis police department saying some of the evidence ended up lost, or misplaced, and some destroyed by fire. He is from USA. Terry Hobbs says he is a church member, a father, and working man and in no way a killer. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. None of the early interviews with the parents were recorded. They were released after prosecutors agreed to an Alford plea, in which the men maintained their innocence but pleaded guilty. Terry Wayne Hobbs was born on May 21st, 1958. She says she is too because they believe they are hearing different stories. They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. Even without a smoking gun, the circumstantial evidence was enough for a conviction in a place like Crittenden County, Arkansas. Terry Hobbs, Actor: Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. Misskelley told Hutcheson that he really didn't know much about Echols other than that he was "a weird person." As rumors of a Satanic sacrifice swept the community, the minds of many in West Memphis were already made up. No charges have been brought against Jacoby, and he has never been named a suspect by the West Memphis Police Department. On 04/08/2021 Terry Hobbs was filed as a Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 lawsuit. I said, Im going to send some kids down there., Those kids turned out to be Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the young documentarians who had recently completed the acclaimed Brothers Keeper, a film chronicling a death and the resulting trial in a small upstate New York village. We were mainly in it for the aesthetics of filmmaking, but the last scene of Paradise Lost, when Damien is chained up and sent away to death row, that was just heartbreaking and devastating for us, Berlinger says. The knife was thrown into the lake by Baldwin's mother a year before the murders. 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. We made a promise early on that we would never pretend to be law enforcement or detectives, Sauls says. In the Bible Belt, the Satanic Panic took hold with a vengeance. Example video title will go here for this video. Mojo, however, was considerably more fired up, believing the same thing many of Paradise Losts viewers did: that the movie showed an incredible miscarriage of justice, one that would surely be fixed. Attorneys for Echols have submitted a formal request to inspect the records that are available, involving cataloguing of the evidence as well as information on the loss of the evidence. Even though they said they didnt murder the three boys, they are technically convicted killers. 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. Feigning a romantic interest in Echols, she asked Misskelley to arrange a meeting. 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. June 29 Terry Hobbs, 34, 1718 Spyglass Lane, Mishawaka, booked on a warrant from Elkhart County. That was more than the people deciding the case were able to hearthe presiding judge made the expert give most of his testimony without the jury in the courtroom because he questioned its relevance. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. The Messed Up Truth About The West Memphis Three Murders, citing the discovery of her son's favorite pocket knife, One of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence linking Jason Baldwin, With their 2007 request for a new trial rejected, Baldwin is the co-founder of the legal advocacy organization Proclaim Justice. Classmates at Weaver Elementary School, the three were active in their Cub Scout troop and responsible enough to be trusted to roam their neighborhood without supervision. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Terry Lee Hobbs of Auburndale, Florida, born in Winter Haven, Florida, who passed away on August 16, 2021, at the age of 56, leaving to mourn family and friends. 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. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs .Terry graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1977. Find the obituary of Terry Hobbs (1957 - 2021) from Caldwell, ID. 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. Years of solitary confinement and the abuse he said he suffered at the hands of prison guards had taken its toll. They saw the same thing you did. By 2005, Rollins himself had raised $100,000 for the cause. So the minute youre done, you just want to know more. Hes since parlayed the popularity of the show into a booming podcast network and documentary deal with Oxygen. All of those factors combined to create a tipping point, says Leveritt. They saw this movie and they felt like, I have to do something.. 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. They werent connected in any direct way, Bakken says. He responded proudly, 11.. "People probably think I'm in Satanism because what they don't understand they try to destroy or ridicule. To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. Hobbs, with the help of an author, put all that journaling intoa book about the 1993 murders of his stepson Stevie Branch, and Branchs friends Michael Moore and Chris Byers. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. Damion Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were convicted of murdering the children in 1994. However, under pressure, leading questions, and scare tactics, Misskelley wove a contradictory story that first placed him at the crime scene as an eyewitness to the murders and then as an active participant. 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/. But inside, he was just another prisonerBaldwin didnt know who he could trust. Wading into the murky water, Allen unknowingly dislodged the pale, grotesquely arched form of Micheal Moore. When Alex Sinofsky is asked about his fathers work on the film, he recalls the frequent trips and long hours spent editing film on a Steenbeck he kept in the house. He could have been me, he told Rolling Stone in 2011. Terry Hobbs was born in 1958 and grew up in Northern Arkansas. But on that early morning in 1997, Jason Baldwin wasnt concerned with Berlinger and Sinofskys craft, or legal precedent, or crusading celebrities. Bakken and Sauls say they tried to avoid offering theories about the case publicly, opting instead to try to work through official channels. 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. 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. Everybody Id come in contact with was hostile to the truth, Baldwin says. In her recantation, Hutcheson stated that when she asked Echols directly if he had killed "those three kids," he replied, "No. Stidham, who was just 30 years old and not long out of law school when the court appointed him to be Misskelleys attorney, went in thinking he would negotiate a deal for his client, who had told police that his acquaintances Baldwin and Echols committed the crimes and that he was present and played a role as an accessory. We are sad to announce that on September 11, 2021 we had to say goodbye to Terry Hobbs of Sweetwater, Texas. Although Damein Echols had a teenager's typical disdain for authority, he nevertheless trusted that the system would work in his favor. And without substantial physical evidence, police zeroed in on a pair of teens they knew well: Echols, a self-professed Wiccan who wore all black and read Stephen King, and his best friend Baldwin, who was considered an outsider because of his love of drawing and bands like Metallica. A spiritual successor to Errol Morriss The Thin Blue Line, and a forerunner of more recent documentaries like Making a Murderer, the film stands today as the most affecting examination of one of the most studied legal cases in U.S. historyone that put heavy metal lyrics and black T-shirts on trial and helped lay the groundwork for the current thinking around false confessions.