The legal professional for one of many West Memphis Three has revealed a haunting new concept concerning the horrific murders of three eight-year-old Cub Scouts – with new DNA testing now underway in a bid to establish ‘the true killer’.
The three younger victims – Stevie Department, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers – have been discovered bare in a murky ditch, hog-tied with their shoelaces, and mutilated past recognition in West Memphis, Arkansas, in Might 1993.
Dan Stidham represented Jessie Misskelley, Jr. – one of many teenagers who was convicted of the heinous crime in 1994 together with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin.
The teenagers grew to become often known as The West Memphis Three, with prosecutors claiming they killed the kids as a part of a Satanic ritual. The ordeal was later chronicled on the large display within the film Satan’s Knot, starring Reese Witherspoon.
The suspects spent the following 18 years behind bars, however have been launched from jail in 2011 and proceed to take care of their innocence to today.
Now, in his e book, A Harvest of Innocence: The Untold Story of The West Memphis Three, Stidham has revealed his theories about who the ‘actual killer’ could possibly be.
The West Memphis Three pictured (l-r) Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin, at a information convention on the Craighead County Court docket Home in Jonesboro, Arkansas
Three eight-year-old Cub Scouts brutally murdered: Stevie Department, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers have been discovered bare in a ditch, hog-tied with their shoelaces and mutilated past recognition
Talking solely to DailyMail.com, Stidham mentioned he believes a lengthy haul truck driver could also be the true perpetrator for the triple murders.
The legal professional didn’t reveal the alleged suspect’s identify, however mentioned that he’s already serving a life sentence for a separate homicide conviction.
This unnamed truck driver, who the legal professional has honed in on throughout his rookie investigations, allegedly has different victims who’re various by look and gender.
Stidham advised DailyMail.com he’s additionally a second lengthy haul trucker, additionally serving a life sentence, as a possible suspect. The pair have been speaking by way of mail change, and he plans to go to him.
‘I shall be monitoring him down,’ Stidham mentioned.
A few of his theories are based mostly on logs of the vans that handed by way of the world on the date the boys have been murdered in 1993.
He defined: ‘Truckers are required to sleep so many hours per day – in order that they pull into these truck stops and park.
‘There are lots of people who’re hitchhikers, intercourse employees or simply run aways who find yourself with these lengthy haul truck driver serial killers and their our bodies are dumped six states away earlier than the police can determine what occurred.’
On this case, he mentioned: ‘It’s a little bit unusual that this truck driver – if it’s a truck driver – would go away the our bodies so shut.
‘However you don’t need to be pulled over by a state trooper police officer with three useless children at the back of your large rig. That’s the reason I feel he left them the place he did.’
Legal professional Dan Stidham, who’s now a choose, has been working tirelessly on new results in discover ‘the true killer’
Dan Stidham (heart) is pictured as a younger legal professional when he was defending his shopper Jessie Miskelley, Jr, one of many three accusers in The West Memphis Three
One other lead he continues to pursue is Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Stevie Department, one of many eight-year-old victims, who was married to Stevie’s mother Pam.
They divorced after her son’s homicide.
Hobbs has by no means been arrested or charged for the crimes, and beforehand in 2021 welcomed the brand new DNA testing, in accordance with Motion Information 5.
Earlier than the murders, Hobbs, who was reportedly doing medicine with another males, caught the boys spying on them.
‘I mentioned this in my e book, I’m not keen to take Terry Hobbs off the suspect listing,’ he mentioned. ‘I can not account the place he was over all the night – all evening and all morning- the following day.’
He added: ‘Now we have a small DNA hyperlink at this level and the place it was positioned was in one of many ligatures that certain the boys.’
In April, a important new improvement befell within the decades-long case when the Arkansas Supreme Court docket dominated in favor of recent DNA testing of proof from the crime scene that was not obtainable when the proof was beforehand examined.
Damien Echols’ legal professional had filed a petition in 2022 requesting additional testing which had initially been denied by a circuit court docket on the grounds that Echols was not in custody earlier than it was overturned two months in the past.
This DNA – which will maintain key proof within the case – will now be retested with the M-Vac moist vacuum system, a forensic assortment gadget, that investigators use to unravel crimes.
Stidham known as the transfer ‘groundbreaking,’ because the case is now open, stating that ‘the advantages of one in all The West Memphis Three, advantages all of them.’
‘It is unbelievable expertise. So we’re very, very hopeful that this can lead us to the true killer,’ Stidham mentioned.
Enthusiastic concerning the latest improvement, Stidham mentioned: ‘The DNA testing that’s going to be retested, offers me two completely different pictures at it from two completely different angles the lengthy haul truck driver angle and Terry Hobbs.’
Damien Echols, 17, was labeled the ‘mastermind’ within the brutal murders and was sentenced to loss of life
Jessie Misskelley, Jr., 16, lived along with his father Jessie Misskelley, Sr. in a trailer. After his launch he went again to reside along with his dad within the trailer, regardless of Peter Jackson providing to purchase him a brand new house
Charles Baldwin, pictured on the age of 17
Stidham’s e book highlights the alleged gross misconduct of justice by the police, the trial jury and the prosecutor, in addition to the private {and professional} sacrifices he made throughout the interval he was concerned within the case.
And with a revived curiosity from youthful audiences, Stidham mentioned that Gen Z and Millennial true crime lovers are participating with the West Memphis Three case greater than ever.
As we speak, he’s nonetheless working to get his shopper exonerated.
Talking about his theories and the case that has haunted him for 3 a long time, Stidham advised DailyMail.com: ‘There has by no means been any DNA belonging to the West Memphis Three found within the case at any time.
‘So far as the State is anxious, the case is closed. We, concerned with the protection, nonetheless consider it’s removed from over and proceed to pursue our personal theories and suspects.’
He added: ‘We are going to by no means hand over.’
With the discharge of his e book, he hopes there may be any individual on the market with a responsible conscience who’s keen to return ahead and assist them catch the true killer.
One other lead the legal professional continues to pursue is Terry Hobbs (pictured) the stepfather of Stevie Department, one of many eight-year-old victims. Hobbs has by no means been arrested or charged, and has denied any wrongdoing
An Alford Plea technically ended the case – permitting the three convicts to stroll free.
On August 19, 2011, the outstanding plea was negotiated between the attorneys, who have been going through the grueling job of giving the boys a brand new trial after new DNA proof in 2010 failed to attach any of them to the horrible crime.
The identify derives from a Nineteen Seventies Supreme Court docket case, however on this occasion, the Alford Plea was used as an ‘specific assertion of innocence whereas pleading responsible.’
Basically, the three convicts refused to confess to any prison act, however conceded that the protection had proof that could possibly be used towards them.
Because of the uncommon and historic authorized compromise, Misskelley Jr, Echols and Baldwin have been launched in 2011.
This is the reason the West Memphis Police and the prosecutor have been very reluctant to permit the brand new DNA testing, in accordance with the legal professional.
‘They wished all this nightmare to go away. It is by no means been out of the information all the 31 years because it occurred. There’s all the time been one thing within the information concerning the case or the WM3 themselves,’ Stidham mentioned.
A Harvest of Innocence: The Untold Story of The West Memphis Three was revealed in late 2023
Stidham is hoping the new era of readers and people keen on true crime will result in extra proof within the case.
‘It has been attention-grabbing to see how folks change their outlook after the discharge of my e book and even after the Alford Plea itself,’ he mentioned. ‘These folks I’d have by no means had an opportunity to speak to or interview, and I am hoping that it results in extra proof.’
Stidham, who was a younger public defender on the time he was representing Misskelley, mentioned that West Memphis Police have been satisfied from the very starting that Damien Echols was the perpetrator of the crime.
In addition they surmised that Jason Baldwin, his finest good friend, should have been in on it as nicely. ‘The idea that emerged was that the murders have been the results of a Satanic Ritual because of the wounds on the our bodies that have been past human comprehension,’ he defined, ‘however Ken Lanning, a former FBI profiler had debunked the idea.’
Stidham claimed police centered on Damien Echols like a ‘laser beam’ and commenced rounding up and questioning anybody who had ever been related to him.
The trio have been arrested and despatched to jail, with no different proof linking the kids to the murders apart from an alleged false confession given by Misskelley.
The legal professional mentioned that Misskelley discovered it troublesome understanding the scenario he was in and that he ‘didn’t perceive something concerning the prison justice system.’
Misskelly was interrogated by police for greater than 12 hours which resulted in what Stidham known as a false ‘compliant confession,’ which implies that the individual being interrogated is psychologically coerced by the interrogators to admit even whereas believing he’s harmless.
‘The individual confesses to flee a worrying scenario, keep away from punishment, or acquire a promised or implied reward,’ he defined.
On the large display: The murders of the three boys was made into a movie, Satan’s Knot (2013), starring Reese Witherspoon as Pam Hobbs and Alessandro Nivola as Terry Hobbs (pictured)
Kristopher Higgins (enjoying Misskelley), James Hamrick (enjoying Echols) and Seth Meriwether (enjoying Baldwin) in Satan’s Knot (2013)
‘Jessie Misskelley was a concrete thinker, not an summary thinker, and he couldn’t fathom how his false confession would hang-out him for years,’ Stidham mentioned. ‘He was solely pondering of how he may finish the interrogation and go house to his dad as promised by his oppressors.’
‘When it grew to become clear to even essentially the most informal observer that they have been harmless, say as early as 2007, after our specialists gave their affidavits, they doubled down and tried to maintain their ‘campfire story’ alive and burning,’ he mentioned.
‘They may have simply mentioned, “Hey, sorry we made a mistake after which exonerated them. Paid them reparations, accomplished the honorable factor, however they only dug in deeper.’
He mentioned he believed they used the Alford Plea to keep away from having to confess that they have been mistaken and did all the pieces they may to protect these misguided convictions. Nor did they need to pay them for the lack of the perfect years of their lives.
‘So, they took a cowardly approach out and easily obtained into the lifeboats and safely off the sinking ship to guard themselves from embarrassment and mock.
‘I wrote my e book to be sure that everybody knew precisely what occurred, together with the enormity of their failure to take duty for what they did. My e book units the report straight.’
He mentioned: ‘It was not a coincidence that inside mere months after the brand new prosecutor and new choose have been put into the equation, the West Memphis Three have been launched from jail.’
Stidham, a choose for the final fifteen years, shouldn’t be in a position to be concerned in any official investigation so he does the work when he is not on the bench.
‘I made a promise to my shopper that I would get him out of jail, which I used to be in a position to fulfill,’ he mentioned. ‘Then two of the three victims’ dad and mom requested me to proceed my work and discover the true killer.’
He added: ‘I am attempting to meet that promise now.’
