The West Memphis Three

Citizen Detective

Episode 25 The West Memphis Three
In this episode, the team is joined by Bob Ruff of the Truth and Justice Podcast to explore one of the biggest unsolved cases in the true crime world; The West Memphis Three.
On May 5, 1993, Eight year olds Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch went out on their bikes in West Memphis, Arkansas, and didn't come home. A search led to the discovery of their bodies in a creek area known as Robin Hood Hills. All 3 had been murdered; the victims of blunt force trauma, and drowning. They were nude, and bound, and it appeared to investigators that at least one of them had been mutilated. In an era of 'Satanic Panic', police quickly focused their attention on 3 local young men, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. They apparently were suspected because of their goth like appearance, and because they believed that that at least one of them, Damien Echols, was a Satanist. With no physical evidence connecting any of the 3 men to the crimes, it was a false confession, and lying witnesses that led to them being convicted for the murders. The 3 men served 18 years in prison before being released after the trio signed Alford Pleas in which they maintained their innocence but acknowledged that prosecutors have evidence to convict them. As part of a plea deal, they were given time served as their sentences.
Now that the 3 are out of prison, they maintain their innocence, and want their names cleared once and for all, and for the real killer to be brought to justice. They have pushed to have physical evidence in the case tested for DNA that might clear them, but the state has refused to allow that to happen.
30 years later, the case remains at a stand still. Did the police arrest the right men, or did the real killer get away with the brutal murders of 3 little boys?
In this episode, the team sifts thru the details and evidence in the case, to figure out what happened, and who might be responsible. Bob Ruff worked on the documentary The Forgotten West Memphis Three that focuses on this case, and he shared his expertise and insights with the team.
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The Citizen Detective team includes:
Co-Hosts- Mike Morford, Alex Ralph, and Dr. Lee Mellor
Writing and Research- Alex Ralph
Technical Producer- Andrew Gray
Production Assistant- Ashley Monroe
Suzanna Ryan- DNA Expert
Cloyd Steiger- Retired Seattle PD Homicide Detective