At various times I’ve taken an interest in this case, known as the West Memphis Three. My enthusiasm is rekindling lately, as momentum builds to exonerate these three men, who have been locked up in jail for 18 years. I hasten to gather a multitude of ephemera that will provide me with the informational ammunition to make cogent judgments about the facts in this case.
On Sunday the Investigative Discovery Channel ran a special on the Robin Hood Hill murders, A Cry for Innocence, a 48 Hours program hosted by Erin Moriarty. I taped it and am reviewing the program this morning. Of particular interest to me, because it was new evidence I’d never heard before, was the latter part of the show that focused in on Terry Hobbs (the stepfather to Stevie Branch, in the 1993 context of the case).
Erin Moriarty questioned Terry Hobbs and she questioned Pam (Hobbs – who since 1993 has divorced Terry – her current last name wasn’t given in the program). An important clue that came out, was a hair of Terry Hobbs was found in the ligature of one of the boys. Moreover, another hair was found on a tree of a friend Terry was with on May 5, 1993. That friend is David Jacoby.
David Jacoby claims that Terry was alone in those woods at the time the three boys went missing. Terry claims he was with David the entire time. This is an interesting area where the investigation needs to produce some clarification. But the biggest bombshell is the eye-witness who saw Terry say to the boys that day: “Get back down here to the house!”
Why wasn’t the pocket knife found at the muddy creek? Something’s not right here? Of course, he may not have taken it when he went bicycling that day, but Pam says he always took it. So who brought it back to the Hobbs house? No one is saying Terry Hobbs did it, but several obvious contradictions exist in his story for what happened on May 5, 1993.
I learned something new from the 48 Hours special. One thing is clear to me, Damien Echols is no Satanist. At that time he wore his hair a little funny, wore all black, and listened to a little Metal music, such as Metallica or Megadeath. Also, he studied the Wicca practices, but this is more like Earth Day than it is a Satanic Cult. FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!
