Out of the Ashes, a Phoenix Rises

Hello fellow bloggers, readers and passers-by,

If you are followers for justice, then you have certainly been awed by the latest news announcement. According to sources in Mountain Home, Arkansas, Hobbs family member has come forward with claims that he overheard a very intimate conversation regarding the murders in West Memphis.

You can read the press release here, but some of the highlights include:

Terry Hobbs' nephew, Michael Hobbs Jr., allegedly told his friends "my uncle Terry murdered those three little boys," according to declarations under penalty of perjury recently given to Damien Echols' defense team. The three new witnesses were polygraphed about what they stated Michael Hobbs, Jr. told them.

"One day Michael picked us up in his truck. He was very quiet and upset. Michael then said to us, ‘you are not going to believe what my dad told me today. My Uncle Terry murdered the three little boys.' According to Michael, his dad called this ‘The Hobbs Family Secret' and he asked us to keep it a secret and not tell anyone."

Another witness stated, "One night last winter, Michael and I were playing pool in his basement when the third friend asked about the West Memphis Three case which had been in the news. Michael responded by saying, ‘My uncle killed three kids in West Memphis.' Michael was dead serious when he said this."

Hmmm, but what does that mean? Well, in a nut shell, it means the great State of Arkansas has a little more info to put in a file that has been collecting dust for some 18 and a half years... and it will continue to collect dust until enough people hound the state prosecuting attorney long and hard enough to get his attention. In addition, the people of Arkansas need to educate themselves on the case in general.

With three documentaries out and available for viewing, and a fourth just premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the astounding story of the West Memphis Three has gained national attention. And while the majority of the documentaries currently available depict what many feel are 'biased and one-sided opinions of the producers", it does not mean we are to believe the opposite no matter what! It simply means there is so much information out there, it should be well read and understood, it should be digested -- several times over, and lastly, it should be thought about with an open and nonjudgmental mind, free from emotion. Facts and facts alone should be considered in the case... and here are a few!

1.) John Mark Byers had a history with MPD and the Drug Task Force.
2.) Melissa Byers had a previous drug history ranging from marijuana to heroin.
3.) Their son, Christopher Byers was prescribed medication for ADHD: his doctor had him on the highest dose available and seen no change in his behavior. This, he said, was medically impossible with that high of a dose. (Intro to my theory)
4.) They were friends with Terry Wayne Hobbs, step father of Steven Branch.
5.) They were friends with Terry Wayne Hobbs friend, David Jacoby, a man who Melissa new from Blytheville, but who resided two streets over from the Hobbs.
6.) Terry Wayne Hobbs stated he did not see the boys at all the day they became missing.
7.) Eye witness testimony came forward some time after the trial by a woman stating she remembered seeing Terry Wayne Hobbs with the three youths prior to their disappearance. (Secondary portion of my theory)
8.) At no time during the reporting of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore or Steven Branch, did anyone confirm David Jacoby's whereabouts. (third part of my theory)
9.) The officer who went to Bojangles failed to thoroughly investigate the situation, which was called to her over the radio while she was taking the Byer's statement. (continuing third part of my theory)
10.) Hobbs time away from others while 'searching' for the boys cannot be corroborated by others.
11.) The exact conversation that was carried on by Byers and Hobbs in Robin Hood Hills is not spoken of, therefore, we do not know if Hobbs distracted Byers while they were near the bodies or not -- Byers admitted to walking by the location where the boys' bodies were found, several times during the early morning hours, while Hobbs was with him.
12.) The time frame for Hobbs and Jacoby to be in the woods matches the time later investigators say would have allowed for someone to move the bodies to the bayou in which they were found.

Well, enough of the facts, because, let's face it, none of them point to Damien, Jason or Jessie... Unless you want to include the following:
1.) Damien was harassed by his stepfather and his mother refused to defend him.
2.) Damien was harassed by the probation officer who had it out for him because he was different.
3.) Jessie was a young teen who was intellectually challenged, yet tried to survive in the social class in which he was made to live in.
4.) Jason, being the oldest of his siblings, tended to their needs as any older, responsible, mature teen would do.
5.) A wanna-be PI lied on the stand when she said Jason and Damien had taken her to a cult ceremony.
6.) A drug using teen lied when he said Jason told him Damien, Jessie and himself hacked up those three little boys.
7.) Police misconduct ended in a 'led' confession which should have been inadmissible in court -- but thanks to a self-righteous judge, it was allowed in Jessie's case -- which led the entire state to be a contaminated jury pool. Jason and Damien didn't have a chance.
8.) Words like "occult, satanist, witchcraft, and black magic" through everyday citizens into a heightened state of panic which led to closed minds when the jury was selected.
9.) An over-zealous investigator had no true leads and went on what the juvenile probation officer told him, rather than doing his job and actually 'working the case'.
10.) The social status that these teens and their families resided in can be seen today, in every city, every town and even rural areas... The fact is, when the cards are stacked against you, you beat the devil at his own game...

And that is what WM3.org and other sites are trying to do. The devil came running back in 93. He took three lives and nearly destroyed three more. Here is my professional opinion of the case in light of the newest information.

"John Mark Byers and Melissa Byers had worked for MPD and the Drug Task Force on occasion. They had become well known by officials in nearly every branch of law enforcement, all the way down to the judge who presided the future case of the WM3. So well known, in fact, that the judge had expunged Byer's previous criminal record which included assault and theft of property. 

His wife, Melissa, known years back in Blytheville, to be a drug user of marijuana and heroin. Her son, who had been legally adopted by Byers when he was still young, had been diagnosed with ADHD and had been prescribed medication. This medication acts like methamphetamine in adults. Mark and Melissa had been using Christopher's medication and reporting to his doctor that it was not working well on Christopher, so the doctor continued to up the dosage until he was at the max.

Months of abusing Christopher's medicine themselves, they decide to share/sell their new found fun with none other than Terry Wayne Hobbs and David Jacoby. Why? Because David new Melissa from Blytheville and because drug use is popular at their social level - it is popular at nearly every level. And because Terry Wayne and David worked at the same company, worked the same hours, and had money. John and Melissa had recently lost their jewelry business and were struggling financially.

Months go by and the doctor sees no change in Christopher's behavior. He (presumably) talks to the Byers about changing/altering his prescription. Melissa and John Mark fear the doctor will stop the prescription completely, so they begin giving him small doses to show the doctor it is starting to work. In doing so, they must limit how much of the medication they can sell. This aggravates Terry Wayne and David.

Wanting to get back at John Mark, Terry Wayne and David conspire to harm Christopher Byers, John Mark and Melissa's son. The day the three went missing, Terry Wayne and David were at Terry Wayne's house. The kids get home from school and gather their bikes for an afternoon of riding. Terry Wayne is seen by a neighbor shouting for the boys to come to him. At this point, he realizes he cannot get Christopher by himself, so he, along with David, capture Christopher, Michael and Steven and proceed to Robin Hood Hills.

Cuts and scrapes are found on the boys along with deep contusions, lacerations, and even the skin and testicles removed from Christopher, the son of the man they wanted to get even with. They are removed from their clothing, bound with their shoe strings and thrown into a concrete culvert with a metal lid. They are unconscious and bleeding out as the sun begins to set over West Memphis. David, having assisted Terry Wayne become scared. He staggers into Bojangles restaurant, disoriented from the acts to which he had just been an accomplice. Afraid someone would recognize him, he left the restaurant and took the woods home.

As no timeline had ever been set up with regard to David, one can only speculate as to his whereabouts. In an interview years later, Hobbs stated Jacoby was watching Hobbs little girl while Hobbs and his wife searched for the boys, thus providing Jacoby with the perfect alibi. While Hobb's wife was at home later with her daughter, Hobbs returns to Robin Hood Hills and retrieve the bodies, still unconscious, and barely breathing, from the cement culvert. Their bound bodies tied in a quick retrieval method as for a grown man to carry them to the bayou. Their bodies are then held under water until they are dead. This would explain why there was no blood at the scene and it had nothing to do with their bodies being in water... They had bled out in the culvert. 

Hobbs returns home, showers, and then assists John Mark as any 'friend' would do. Until the wee hours of the morning, the full moon shining brightly over West Memphis, Hobbs and Byers search Robin Hood Hills. Later, Byers states he had walked right by the scene where the boys were found and said he didn't see anything. And the detectives seen no trace of anyone walking by the scene either. No foot print, nothing. Until later, when DNA becomes more conclusive and a hair is located in the knot of one of the shoe strings used to tie up Christopher Byers -- which matched Hobbs... and another hair of Negroid decent -- to which I have found nothing stated in any documentation that rules out Jacoby. During the entire investigation, no interview with Jacoby, Hobbs, Byers, or the Moore's took place -- police failed to acknowledge that a parent could kill their child.

In the end, I suspect Byers to have internally acknowledged why the murders happened. By him not coming forward and giving his opinion, it made him look guilty. But I imagine he would feel even more guilty if he admitted the reason his son was murdered was because his father was a drug dealer. I can't say for certain these are the actual events that transpired on the evening Christopher, Michael and Steven went missing. And I can't say for certain these are not. I can only tell you that by the evidence the state had against the WM3, the facts of the case as new evidence has come to light, and the use of documentaries to put ALL the information out there, I do not believe Jason, Damien or Jessie had anything to do with these murders. They, too, were victims in the case. They were robbed of their youth, just as Christopher, Michael and Steven were. While we hope for justice, and pray for closure, one thing still remains -- the true killer still walks. I hold in my heart, that after the ashes of injustice have burned to the ground, a Phoenix will rise! The truth will come to light. Until then, we can only speculate as to who may have committed the acts of killing three little boys, and railroading three young men by means of injustice.

Until tomorrow,
LaVonda