Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders

by Ramsey, William

  Buddy: I know they hollered at me Mr. John and that ain't no lie.

  Fogleman: Well...

  Buddy: That Durham guy...

  Fogleman: Yeah well if he did he shouldn't have done that but why --

  Buddy: Mr. John, I was scared, crying, didn't know what to do. I figured they was gonna throw me in jail. And I ain't never been locked up in my life.

  Fogleman: Well and you're not gonna be locked up. You know I'm just wanting to know you know like Eddie and Amy Wilson they called the police and said that he had heard - he said that he had heard that you'd been talking around your job saying that you had something to do with it. And he said -- wait, let me finish -- he said that he went down and confronted you about it and that you said naw I didn't have anything to do with it and I hadn't been saying that but he did---Jessie, did give me these bloody tennis shoes.136

  December 3rd, 1993

  Jerry Driver

  Police Interview

  Jerry Driver, the West Memphis probation officer, provided police with information he had compiled about Echols. On December 3rd, 1993, he went to the West Memphis Police Department. He had been deeply concerned about occult activity in West Memphis for years, and knew Damien Echols well. In May of 1992, Echols was arrested with his former girlfriend Deanna Holcomb and was charged with burglary and sexual misconduct, and Driver was assigned as his juvenile officer. After the arrest, he questioned Echols about the charges. Echols told Driver that he was a grey witch. Driver told police Detective Bill Durham that:

  ...and that he had a group of people that uh, participated in this with him and that his main um participant was a boy named Jason Baldwin who also lived at Lakeshore, and he also informed me at that time that Jason would never ever give him up that he loved him. Um, during this same interview uh, Mr. Echols was asked um, what the extent of the cult activities was in Crittenden County and the West Memphis area was and he told us that it was fairly extensive, that there was 3 or 4 groups in West Memphis itself. They were further uh, along in their activities then he may or may not of been and by that uh, he said that he meant, uh that they had reached the end of their animal sacrifice uh portion uh to receive power and that the next logical step would be the sacrifice of a human. And we asked him if he knew it was going to be, and he denied that he knew who it was, uh, he did say that he knew who the people where involved in the cult's, but he didn't want to give name's. He said that uh one of the cult's in particular was uh waiting uh, for the return to Crittenden County of uh, I believe the number was 7 individuals who had been involved before here and they were out of town and they were coming back in the summer of 92 to participate in a sacrifice, uh shortly after that, we did have I think about 7 kids show up down at West Memphis PD who had all the ear marks of it, with the tattoo's, and the devil rings and this, that and the other. But it turns out they probably weren’t the same ones.

  Durham: Where were these youngsters from?

  Driver: The Chicago area. Mr. Echols gave great detail as to what it was that he supposedly was involved in. He said that he worshiped an entity called Hecate and one called Diana and that um, he told us about um. . . . ., um the initiation into. . , into his coven. He also informed me at that time he had been brought in into this group by an older woman at some time previously to this, uh this occurrence, um at the same time he also told me he had been a member of the Catholic Church and that's when he changed his name to

  Damien, uh, to honor St. Damien,who evidently is some saint in the hierarchy.

  Durham: Did he say who this older woman was?

  Driver: He never said and. . ., and on I've probably

  talked to Damien 20 times in the last 2 years, and he's always maintained that there was an older woman that brought him into it, but he would never tell me who it was.137

  Driver told police he watched Echols as his probation officer throughout 1992 until the murders that occurred on May 5th, 1993. He related to police that Echols sucked the blood of fellow inmates, and that was how he received power. He said it was with “willing people” and that Echols has the scars to prove it.138 He also informed police he saw Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley walking, all in black with long trench coats, in Lakeshore Trailer Park. All three walked with long wooden staffs, or staves. Driver said he saw all three together at Highland Trailer Park as well. Echols told Driver he read the Necronomicon. According to Driver, the cult was to have a human sacrifice in 1992. Driver said that Domini Teer, Echol’s girlfriend, drank blood and that her mother drank blood. Stories of Damien Echols lengthy psychiatric history permeate the interview with Det. Allen.

  December 31st, 1993

  Statement of Jim Robbins

  Owner of Robbins Bookstore

  This reporting officer talked with Jim Robbins owner/operator of Robbins bookstore...Jim Robbins was asked by this reporting officer if he remembered if any one of the three persons who were arrested for the triple homicide had ever been in his book store. He stated that he opened his book store in april of 1993, and he remembered that Damien, the one with the black hair, had been in numerous times and he always remember him coming in with his mother, a black haired lady, and a teenage blond headed girl. Jim Robbins stated that he remembered when the pictures came out in the paper of the arrest of the three suspects in regard to the triple homicide that, Damien had been in the store like two or three days before. This reporting officer asked Jim Robbins if he remembered any book titles that Damien might of purchased, Jim Robbins stated that Damien did purchase a hard back book, the title being (the witching hour) and the author was Ann Rice, Jim Robbins couldn't remember any other specific titles but that he bought alot of Steven king books and books that he would consider a little on the dark side, and science fiction books. Jim Robbins was asked about the card punch system that is used at his store and if there were any records kept as to titles of books sold and to whom. Jim Robbins stated that he didn't keep records but that when a person would make a ten dollar purchase that he would punch the card once. Jim Robbins was asked if anyone else worked in the store that might remember anything about Damien coming in to the store and he stated that his wife Christy Robbins worked in the store and that he would ask her if she remembered anything and get back in touch with this reporting officer.139

  January 20th, 1994

  Michael Roy Carson

  Police Interview

  Carson related a story about meeting Jason Baldwin in Craighead County Detention Center in early August or September of 1993. Baldwin told him “we sucked blood from a penis” and that “we played with the balls after they were out of the skin.” Baldwin said he put the testicles in his mouth. He said Damien put the testicles in his mouth as well.

  Baldwin said, when we get all of this over with he is going to kick Misskelley's ass.

  Baldwin told me he put the balls in his mouth and sucked the blood out of the penis.

  Actually, it wasn't until two or three days later that Baldwin told me the gory details about the balls and the penis. Baldwin told me, I'm going to walk straight out of here. They don't have the evidence on me. My parents are going to throw a party for me. Baldwin sounded like they only cut one dick off.

  The first person I have ever told was my Dad. I was watching TV and he was on the couch. I told my Dad what Baldwin had admitted to me. He ask me would I take a lie detector test and talk to the cops.

  At first I told my Dad, I didn't want to get involved with this.

  Yesterday, my Dad called the prosecuting attorney. I went to his house and talked to him (Brent Davis).

  I told Brent Davis that Baldwin looked me straight into the eye and told me that he did it.

  A black guy that was in jail for murder may have heard the same thing I did. The only thing I know him by is his first name, Leonard. I'm not asking anything in return. I don't want anything. I would refuse anything in return. I'm telling this because it is the truth.140

  On February 1st, Carson traveled to the Arkansas State Police He
adquarters to tell them the same story. To confirm the veracity of the information, police administered a polygraph to Carson. He passed. Twice.

  January 27th, 1994

  Dr. D.W. Griffis

  Written response to questions sent by

  Bryn Ridge of the

  West Memphis Police Department

  1. Prior to the deaths were there activity known in the area where the bodies were found and if so, what was it?

  Answer to Question #1. Prior to the deaths their were reports of satanic worship in the area that included several children having seen persons wearing black and chasing them from the area. Signs have been described as being a pentagram drawn on the ground near where the bodies [were found]. A piece of board was seen on one occasion that had a painted circle and star on the face of it. This board was seen by an adult who was told of it by a child who had been in the area and the adult reported that he did see the board. On one occasion a doll has been seen to be hanging from a rope that was suspended from a tree in the area. One of the most recent reports made was that of a friend of the victims who states that he was supposed to have been with them on the date of the homicides. He reported a few days before the homicides that he and two of the victims had visited the area and that while there had seen five men who were dressed in black and painted black on their skin areas. He reported to his mother that he had heard the five men to be speaking in Spanish and standing in a circle. When asked how he knew it was Spanish he stated that he could not understand them and he thought that it must be Spanish. He reported that the five men had been seen by him and two of the victims on several occasions prior to the homicides. He talked of occasions when the men would be mean to a dog and when asked how they were being mean he responded that they were pushing it around between them. He further explained that the men had been seen there on every day except Friday and he further stated that he had never seen any of the men at the location on a Friday. The boy also explained that he had seen each of the men with a knife that was kept in some type of sheath that was worn on the belt.141

  8.JESSIE CONFESSES---AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN....

  The Misskelley Trial

  As Misskelley’s confession would be used against him in trial, his case was separated from the Echols and Baldwin trials. The proceedings began on January 24th, 1994. The prosecution focused on the Misskelley confession. In his opening statement, Fogleman never considered the confession cut and dried:

  We do not contend that the proof's going to show that every word that came out of his mouth was the truth. We expect the proof's going to show that at times he was confused, at times he was trying to lessen his own involvement, and tell you that he was less involved than he really was.142

  In his opening, defense attorney Dan Stidham averred that the confession was riddled with inaccuracies and invalid:

  We believe that what Mr. Misskelley told the police was absolutely false. How do we know it was false? Because it was factually incorrect in many, many important areas. The proof will show that Mr. Misskelley said this thing or that thing, or this thing or that thing, and it was wrong. The police didn’t care, they just kept right on interrogating, they glossed right over it. They didn’t care that what this kid was telling them was wrong. They knew it was wrong.143

  In his closing argument, Fogleman tells the jury about Misskelley’s testimony about the motive:

  ...And that he's told that Damien and Jason are going to West Memphis and they're gonna get these boys and hurt them. He also testifies that at one of these cult meetings he mentions, that a photograph of not just some boys, but these boys, is passed around at this meeting. And Ms. Byers testified about her son coming in a month or so before and saying about how some strange man all in black had taken her picture -- taken the son's picture, Chris's picture. He also stated that Damien had been watching these boys, he'd been stalking these boys.144

  Prosecutors indicated that this stalking by Echols and Baldwin constituted premeditated murder. Fogleman also listed details corroborating the confession with the crime scene. Also, Misskelley’s alibi was found wanting: his whereabouts during the time the three boys disappeared were unaccounted for by any credible witnesses.

  In his prosecutorial rebuttal, Brent Davis emphasized that Misskelley included information in the confession of June 3rd. that only a person at the scene would know:

  And I don't care what he [Stidham] says -- he can say there's newspaper articles or what else, but you can read in that statement that when he describes the castration of that particular boy, that is a fact that only someone who was there could know. And when he describes that the other two individuals forced them to perform oral sex on them, and grabbed them by the ears, those are facts that only a person there would know. When he describes the cutting on the side of one boy's face, those are facts that only a person that was there would know.145

  Prosecutors believed any faulty factual points were cleared up by the follow on interview that occurred on the same day as the confession.

  Davis ended his rebuttal with a powerful statement pertaining to Jessie Misskelley’s culpability:

  See this picture? [holding a picture of Michael Moore] This is, this is the Moore boy. This defendant, who won't look up, he won't look at ya, but this defendant's action -- and you just think about it -- if this defendant does not chase down Michael Moore, if he does not run through the woods and chase him down and bring him back, Michael Moore lives. Michael Moore gets to go home at night, his parents get to be with him. But because of this defendant's actions, because of what Jessie Misskelley Jr. did, and what he told you about in that taped statement, Michael Moore Jr., or Michael Moore, doesn't go home anymore. And because, if he hadn't a chased him down, if Michael Moore gets away, it's only a few hundred yards to the truck stop. And certainly Michael Moore is gonna report what's happening, and if Michael Moore gets away, maybe the others decide that this isn't a good thing to engage in and they get out. Maybe it's just a kidnapping and a battery. Maybe they're just seriously hurt. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll never know. Because Jessie Misskelley Jr. didn't let Michael Moore get away. He chased him down like an animal, and brought him back, and as a result of his action, Michael Moore's dead, Stevie Branch is dead, Chris Byers is dead.146

  After a relatively brief deliberation, the next day the jury found Jessie Misskelley guilty of first degree murder in the death of Michael Moore, and guilty of second degree murder in the deaths of Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. He was sentenced to life, plus twenty years.

  February 4th, 1994

  Jessie Misskelley

  Jailhouse confession

  On the afternoon of February 4th, 1994, after his conviction for murder earlier in the day, Officers Jon Moody and James Lindsey of the Clay County Sheriffs Department transported Jessie Misskelley, Jr. to the Department of Correction in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, located fifteen miles south of the Arkansas state capitol in Little Rock. The officers asked Jessie if there was anything he would like to say to the officers, he agreed to talk to the officers. The following is their report, drafted and faxed to Inspector Gitchell:

  Jail Incident Report

  Jessie advised he had received a call from Jason Baldwin asking him if he wanted to go to West Memphis to "get some girls." Jessie, Damion, and Jason met on a local road on May 5th (sometime that evening). Jessie claimed that he had been drinking Evelyn Jones whiskey that Mrs. Hutcheson had bought him and Jason and Damion were drinking beer. It was also stated that they had smoked two marijuana joints that afternoon. Jessie said that he had known Jason Baldwin since the 6th Grade and did not know Damion that well but that Damion would drink human blood, remembering a time when Jason was bleeding and Damion took some of the blood with his finger and licked it off. Jessie stated that Officer Callahan had lied in Court about not seeing him on May 5th, Jessie claims they had a short conversation. After all meeting on the road, the three boys walked to the woods and were sitting in the water with Jason and Damion "goi
ng under," Jessie said he could not go under because of his ear problem.

  The three young boys were seen from a distance when Damion told Jessie and Jason to hide. Jessie said they were hiding behind bushes when Damion grabbed Michael Moore. The two other young boys started hitting Damion trying to help their friend and that is when Jessie and Jason jumped out and helped Damion "beat them." Jessie advised he helped hold them and beat them but had no part in raping or killing them.

  Jessie advised two of the boys were raped from behind before and after they were tied up and that Damion and Jason were taking turns with the two boys. Jessie said the boys were still alive at this time.

  Jessie said the boys were kept quiet by putting hands over their mouths and that Jason and Damion had used "shirts" and that times their face was pushed down into the ground.

  Jessie was asked how the boys were kept under control while being raped and not tied yet and he stated "They were like puppies, when you whoop a puppy and tell it to stay, it will." Jessie did say he had to catch Michael Moore but did not say at what point.