After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. Then youd try to find it, and it didnt exist, because when we went out to discussion groups, no one knew about the case yet., After learning that the teens were still in prison, Bakken, Sauls, and Pashley decided to make full use of the budding technological revolution. Terry Hobbs was born on November 25, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia, USA. Griffis also knew how to spot a Satanist. But for every Your Own Backyard or Ill Be Gone in the Dark that has applied journalistic rigor to their research in the past two decades, theres an Up and Vanished, which has been at the center of ethical debates since the podcast debuted in 2016. So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? Investigators never found any evidence that tied him, Jason Baldwin, or Jessie Misskelley to the murders of the boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers. And the seemingly endless stream of threats against them and the frequent clashes with Mark Byers did nothing to dissuade them. Certain that, under what he felt were ridiculous circumstances, Echols' confidence and, on occasion, flippant attitude during the trial was often misinterpreted as evidence of his coldness toward the victims and their families. I said, Im going to send some kids down there., Those kids turned out to be Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, the young documentarians who had recently completed the acclaimed Brothers Keeper, a film chronicling a death and the resulting trial in a small upstate New York village. He responded proudly, 11.. Its something that Baldwin couldnt envision when he first agreed to let the documentarians interview him in jail in exchange for an honorarium, or even when Mojo played that VHS tape for him in 1997. By going into the courtroom and sticking with the case for its entire duration, Berlinger and Sinofsky were able to capture what may have otherwise been lost to time or left out of transcripts. It had been a long fight to clear their names, and the odds seemed better than ever. Since the West Memphis Three were released, no one else has been charged in the murders of Stevie, Christopher and Michael. It'll be sort of like I'm the West Memphis boogeyman. The bodies of Branch, Byers, and Moore were found in a drainage ditch in West Memphis May 6 . Sinofsky family connection aside, Berlinger says this was an important part of the film: The prosecutors had put heavy metal lyrics and Baldwins and Echolss Metallica fandom on trial as much as the teens themselves. That's not the same Terry Hobbs. Its my perspective of what happened in 1993, 26 years ago in West Memphis, Arkansas, said Hobbs. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. In 1994, the FBI said there was scant evidence that violent satanic crimes had ever occurred in America outside of a few isolated incidents, but that was long after TV hosts like Geraldo, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Oprah had spread moral hysteria about musicians weaving supposedly anti-Christian and occult messages into their songs, and long after wrongful convictions were handed down in the infamous McMartin Preschool sexual assault trials. there are no assignments to cushion your grade, so either pass or fail. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Reaching its apex in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Satanic Panic was a wave of paranoia rooted in the belief that Satanic cults intent on corrupting the souls of the young had infiltrated American society. The footage included raw jailhouse interviews with the defendants, strategy sessions held by legal teams on both sides, and extended monologues from Mark Byers, the tall, goateed stepfather of one of the victims, who spoke as though he were reciting the Book of Revelation and who, at one point in Paradise Lost, fired a handgun at a pumpkin while reciting the names of the accused. On the evening of May 5, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore went missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. All of them were convicted after Misskelley confessed to helping Echols and Baldwin with the murders, which he later recanted. Nevertheless, Echols made no incriminating statements. Funeral Home Services for Terry are being provi. Spotting a small, black tennis shoe in the water, Jones radioed for help. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. A hair found on one of the ligatures to bind the boys, however, was found to be consistent with the DNA of Hobbs, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. The cult part of the Commercial Appeals headline signaled how the case would be defined by both the media and prosecutors. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. He graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1977. Unfortunately, for three teen outsiders, the West Memphis Police Department chose to focus on the cult angle to the detriment of their efforts to investigate the other two, more likely scenarios. On 04/08/2021 Terry Hobbs was filed as a Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 lawsuit. Yes, the West Memphis Three are out of prison, but as long as they are considered guilty in the eyes of the state, the case is closed, meaning no further investigation can occur. In 1996, HBO released the documentary film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Everybody Id come in contact with was hostile to the truth, Baldwin says. "Everyone has a story and this just happens to be mine," said Hobbs. Dec 13th, 2021. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. They were releasedfrom prison in 2011 on whats called an Alford plea, after new forensic evidence was presented as part of the case. Covered in wounds, all three showed signs of having been beaten. Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. Critics were effusive in their praise and stunned by the footageparticularly Roger Ebert, who wrote in a four-star review that at the end of the film I was unconvinced of their guilt. The film won Emmy and Peabody awards to go with more than a dozen other nominations. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of eight-year-old victim Stevie Branch, has been named in documents released in Marian, Arkansas by the attorneys for Pam Hobbs, Stevie's mother. Another hair found near the crime scene on a tree stump was found to be consistent with the DNA of Hobbs friend, David Jacoby, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. Explore. Misskelley and Echols were 36; Baldwin was 34. I couldnt not watch it at this point. A year after the DNA results were released, Hobbs sued Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines for defamation, claiming she implied he was a murderer on the bands website and at a 2007 rally, according to The New York Times. of Auburndale, FL passed away Monday, August 16, 2021. The first film gave rise to a movement devoted to reopening the investigation in hopes of exonerating, and ultimately freeing, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols, and Jessie Misskelley. But on that early morning in 1997, Jason Baldwin wasnt concerned with Berlinger and Sinofskys craft, or legal precedent, or crusading celebrities. It was also revealed in 2012 that Hobbs nephew allegedly told his friends, My Uncle Terry murdered those three little boys," and that the killings were a Hobbs family secret, according to WMC-TV. As the first in a trilogy of Paradise Lost films about the case, the 1996 movie was a stunning example of cinma vrit, as directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky embedded themselves with the prosecution, the defense, and the families of both the slain and the accused to put human faces on a heart-wrenching tragedy, as well as highlight the overblown worries of satanic rituals and murderous cults that proliferated throughout the 1980s and 90s. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. Debates still occur regularly onlinethe West Memphis Three subreddit is fairly active for one on a 28-year-old caseand podcasts have looked at the crime from all angles. Berlinger contrasts this with the approach taken by Bakken, Sauls, and Co., who considered the truth sacrosanct and avoided rumor and innuendo in part because similar speculation helped convict the West Memphis Three. Dan Stidham, the original attorney for Misskelley, who would also work on Baldwins and Echols appeals, says he has the answer. Griffis also found the devil in nearly every number associated with the crime. You need corroborating evidence.. Local 24 News EXCLUSIVE: Terry Hobbs on his new memoir on the West Memphis 3. In fact, for the better part of 1993, it was nearly impossible to find anyone who believed they were innocent. Its first season ostensibly focused on the disappearance of a Georgia beauty queen, but it spent nearly as much time digging through the salacious details of the victims love life and dipping into amateur psychology as it did looking at evidence. This article was updated after publication to add more context about the honorariums paid to the families of the victims and the West Memphis Three and also to correct the time frame in which Berlinger and Sinofsky informed HBO about the changing scope of the documentary. Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. I never foresaw that they would in turn save us.. They werent connected in any direct way, Bakken says. Mojo was right. I had a friend who was working on 20/20, and they had done a film about exorcism in one of the magazine pieces, Nevins says. That there were three victims was a link to the biblical number of the beast. And without substantial physical evidence, police zeroed in on a pair of teens they knew well: Echols, a self-professed Wiccan who wore all black and read Stephen King, and his best friend Baldwin, who was considered an outsider because of his love of drawing and bands like Metallica. The IMDb credits page for the first Paradise Lost is modest, but impressive. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, defense attorneys working for the West Memphis Three filed multiple appeals on their behalf scrutinizing the lack of physical evidence against them. Case Number &colon; 2:21-BK-21177. February 27, 2023 (82 years old) View obituary. To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. In 1994, Dr. Dale W. Griffis was a retired police officer who had embarked on a second career as a self-styled consultant on occult and cult-related crime. Id like to see this put to rest. But I had to. He just didnt know it would take another 14 years to happen. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The level of corruption in the American justice system is glaring and sickening.. In the minds of many, the bizarre nature of the Robin Hood Hills murders could only have been committed by one of Satan's minions. By the time she got done watching it, her life was forever changed. Minutes later, Sgt. So with less urgency surrounding full exoneration and no documentary cameras rolling, the question 25 years later becomes: Who is paying close enough attention to the case to pick up the fight? The whole point of the web sleuths presented in the Cecil Hotel is that you cannot assume something is truthful just because circumstantially it seems interesting. 34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315A The great irony of the 18-year quest to free the West Memphis Three is that it didnt begin as a crusade. In the Bible Belt, the Satanic Panic took hold with a vengeance. 2012 West of Memphis (Documentary) Self - Steven Branch's Stepfather. One of the prosecution's key pieces of evidence linking Jason Baldwin to the crime a survival knife with a serrated edge recovered from a lake behind his home has also come under scrutiny. (Police questioned Byers several times during the investigation, but never considered him a suspect.) To this day, it is still unclear who is responsible for the killings. What has never been definitively answered, however, is who committed the 1993 murders, and The Forgotten West Memphis Three, premiering Saturday, March 28 at 8/7c on Oxygen, reexamines the case and key theories. It was so emotionally taxing to watch and go through it again, he says. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. A quarter-century later, what does the documentary tell us about citizen activism, the criminal justice system, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s? Terry Hobbs, one of the men named in the documents. Other possible suspects includedBrian Holland and Chris Morgan, two young men from Memphis, Tenn., with a history of drug offenses. Classmates at Weaver Elementary School, the three were active in their Cub Scout troop and responsible enough to be trusted to roam their neighborhood without supervision. Lying in the open air in near 80-degree temperatures accelerated the decomposition of the bodies. La Mirada, California. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. In November, Judge David Burnett, who had presided over the trial, was elected to the state senate. That was more than the people deciding the case were able to hearthe presiding judge made the expert give most of his testimony without the jury in the courtroom because he questioned its relevance. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. Although the Alford Plea set the West Memphis Three free, they are, at least in the eyes of the law, guilty, and therefore, the state of Arkansas is under no obligation to continue investigating the crimes at this time. This is the true story of the West Memphis Three murders. Other details that have come to light include that many wounds on the slain children, originally attributed to human bites and/or a serrated blade, were the result of animals feeding on the bodies. Its headlined by not only the films directors, but also Sheila Nevins, its executive producer and winner of 32 individual Emmy awards, more than any other person in history. On the evening of May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys disappeared from the streets of West Memphis, Ark. "The reason I made the West Memphis boogeyman comment during the first film was because I was making light of the situation," Echols says in Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. Peter Jackson, who would produce a separate documentary about the case titled West of Memphis in 2012, and his partner, Fran Walsh, funded an extensive private investigation and helped hire forensic experts to comb through evidence. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Im not the judge. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. Baldwin is the co-founder of the legal advocacy organization Proclaim Justice. But most notably, his initial timeline of events didnt match what was known about the crimes, and every time he offered a detail that diverged from the accepted chronology, the interrogating officers seemed to steer him back in the direction of the official version. The causes most high-profile moment came in 2000, when Trey Parker said the slogan at the MTV Movie Awards while collecting an award for Best Musical Sequence. Nobody was saying, This is an outrageous case that needs to be looked into.. With the area secured, Detective Bryn Ridge volunteered to search the ditch. A later confession during the trial phase would prove equally problematic. Quickly, however, he realized Berlinger and Sinofsky were taking a different approach. Social media didnt fully exist yet, but the group managed to harness the potential of the nascent information superhighway to bring attention to their cause. In June 1996, Paradise Lost debuted on HBO, bringing the story of the West Memphis Three to TV sets and showing the power of the camera in the courtroom. No explanation has yet been given as to why such a seemingly important lead was dropped. Well, perhaps not nobody. They couldnt have been cooler, recalls Berlinger, who would go on to direct the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster alongside Bruce Sinofsky. And then there was the public pressure: In August 2010, Vedder and Maines headlined yet another benefit concert, this one in Little Rock. However, in 2010, a series of rapidly unfolding developments turned the tide for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. He says that while he was in the supermax prison in Varner, he would write letters trying to drum up support for not just himself, but also for other inmates he believed were wrongfully convicted. Its evidence that Damien Echols attorneys wanted to do new DNA testing on. Initially, Misskelley repeatedly denied having knowledge of the crime, aside from rumors that Damien Echols was involved. Filming the activists work seemed like the best place for Berlinger and Sinofsky to turn their attention; what better way to show the continued plight of the West Memphis Three than to show regular people dedicating their free time to fighting for them? Terry Roland Hobbs <p>Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021.</p> <p>Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs .Terry graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1977. (Shortly after Villegass acquittal, Baldwin had something of a full-circle moment with his client: He took him to a Metallica show in El Paso, Texas, where they hung out backstage on the invitation of Lars Ulrich.). 2011 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (Documentary) Self - Stepfather of Stevie Branch. West Memphis is in the heart of the Bible Belt: just a two-hour drive from where, legend has it, the devil tuned Robert Johnsons guitar, in a state thats 46 percent evangelical Protestant. The three have always maintained their innocence. It was almost like an out-of-body experience., When the credits rolled shortly after the unforgettable final scene, which shows a now-convicted Baldwin and Echols leaving the courtroom in handcuffs and entering a police cruiser as Metallica plays, Baldwin sat stunned. Hide Self (6 credits) 2012 48 Hours: Hard Evidence (TV Series) Self. (WMC) - Not a single piece of evidence ever connected the West Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, to the 1993 murders of Steve Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore. Replacing Burnett was Circuit Court Judge David Laser. Hobbs says his book is 25 years in the making, adding it is called Boxful of Nightmares for a reason. In the joint trial of Baldwin and Echols, which took place separately from Misskelleys, Berlinger and Sinofsky filmed the surreal moments that juries were actually present for: a rundown of the books Echols checked out of the library, a parade of band T-shirts worn by the pair, a copy of a Blue Oyster Cult record found in Damiens girlfriends house that became evidence because of the word cult and song titles like Dont Fear the Reaper. What the cameras couldnt capture, however, was the introduction of physical evidencethe prosecution didnt offer much of that aside from a knife that was never directly linked to the crimes and fabric threads deemed microscopically similar to items found in Baldwins and Echolss homes, an assertion that has been questioned in the years since the trials. Terry Hobbs, Todd Moore, and Dana Moore still maintain that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley murdered their sons. . But the list of people who have looked at the facts of the case and come away believing Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley are innocent is long. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Support came from unlikely corners: a classroom of kids who held a cookie sale that raised $30, local bands in Chicago who held a benefit show and sent $150. Rollins not only gave interviews to keep the effort alive in the press, he organized a string of benefit shows and released an album featuring Iggy Pop and Chuck D, with proceeds going to the defense. In the years since the trial, John Mark Byers, adoptive father of Christopher Byers, and Pamela Hobbs, mother of Stevie Branch, became vocal supporters of the West Memphis Three. Sheila Nevins, the HBO exec who pushed for Berlinger and Sinofsky to make that initial trip to Arkansas, is most proud of the companys willingness to let her finance three documentaries over 18 years without knowing where they would go. Heavy metal music, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and horror movies were regarded as gateways to evil. Metallica had never licensed a song for a film before, but when they learned about the case, Berlinger says, they made an exception. Terry Hobbs is the one suspected of murder and the wounds that were inflicted on my nephew were where turtles bit his face. The consequences of that online campaign were ruinous: The person they targeted, a Mexican metal musician who worked under the name Morbid, was harassed into hiding. (WMC) - Its a case that has captured the nation and certainly the Mid-South. I don't know if the other 2 did, but even if they did polygraphs aren't admissible in court. Its like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Terry Hobbs to show support. With the guards blessings, Mojo led Baldwin to Varners visitation room, where everything had been put away aside from two chairs set up in front of a cart holding a small TV and a VCR. We didnt see them grow up.. But Berlinger also believes that the sequel is important for documenting the power of citizen activism. But Echolss situation changed Baldwins thinking. He could have been me, he told Rolling Stone in 2011. Paradise Lost also led to a famous citizen-activist campaign championing the release of the three teens that caught on at the dawn of the Internet Age and would eventually pull in Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, and a whos who of the rich and famous. Their advocates believe the Alford pleas represent their own form of injustice, but correcting that is a less pressing issue than the early battlesthe men are free and have been able to mostly live their lives in the years since their release. Like everyone else who was familiar with the case, they wanted to know who committed the crimes, but their main goal was advocacy, not using the opportunity to play investigators. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. 21, 2021 at 1:51 PM PDT CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla.. June 29 Terry Hobbs, 34, 1718 Spyglass Lane, Mishawaka, booked on a warrant from Elkhart County. The evolution of how the teens were perceivedon behalf of both the filmmakers and even part of the defense teamis captured on camera early as Stidham and his colleagues began to consider whether Misskelleys confession had been coerced. Although the bodies were discovered at 1:30 p.m., investigators didn't call the coroner until 3:58 p.m. By the time the coroner arrived, fly larvae were already present in the nostrils and eyes of the victims. During Misskelley's trial, Hutcheson testified that she had attended an "an occult Satanic meeting" she referred to as an "esbat." Terry Hobbs Net Worth. He said Boxful of Nightmares is his memoirs unedited. As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter in 2011, Jackson and Walsh helped fund key investigations for the West Memphis Three's defense during the last seven years of their incarceration. Terry Hobbs passed away in Nampa, Idaho. I dont know if they were questioning it, but they werent mistreating me and telling me that what I was telling them wasnt true., While Berlinger admits that he and Sinofsky may have tilted pro-prosecution in the early days of filming, that quickly changed after witnessing how the cases came together and spending time with the three teens during pretrial jailhouse interviewsparticularly Baldwin, who Berlinger describes as sweet and studious.. (2 weeks at #1, on for 19 weeks!) The nonprofits work hasnt always been easyfundraising is hard, and because hes a convicted felon, hes unable to visit clients in prison or discuss pleasbut its been essential for him as he strives to live the words by 14th-century Persian poet Hafez that he keeps as an email signature: The small man builds cages for everyone he knows / While the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low / Keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful rowdy prisoners. Baldwin says hes learned that justice isnt a computer programthat you can input all the evidence and testimony and still get the wrong results. She says she is too because they believe they are hearing different stories. None of the three believed that, but Echolss healthand the possibility that even if he survived, he would still be on death row should the fight for retrials failmade it an imperative. And yet Hobbs was not interviewed at all in the months after the crimes. Terry Roland Hobbs September 11, 1959 ~ September 11, 2021 (age 62) Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. Berlinger says that after months of filming, the parents of one of the victims raised the issue of payment. Hobbs was Branch's stepfather. I just checked again and HE IS STILL MISSING. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Created by: Legend Added: 11 Aug 2021 Find a Grave Memorial ID: 230642037 He began his career in the plumbing business at a very young age, workingfor his . Hobbs denied the accusation, saying that his family does have secrets, but none of them have to do with murder. The governor of the state of Arkansas who will one day pardon the West Memphis Three is probably in junior high right now, he says. Even though they said they didnt murder the three boys, they are technically convicted killers. When it didnt, the praise heaped on Paradise Lost felt hollow. Update: I was totally wrong. of Auburndale, FL passed away Monday, August 16, 2021. Although the appeals were repeatedly denied, a new batch of DNA testing done in 2007 reignited the investigation. The three teens were arrested after Misskelley said they committed the crime after 12 hours of interrogation. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023. Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. (WJHG) By Nikki Sheaks Published: Jul. Damien Echols (@damienechols) July 7, 2021 Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. It hurt all over again, he said. We were mainly in it for the aesthetics of filmmaking, but the last scene of Paradise Lost, when Damien is chained up and sent away to death row, that was just heartbreaking and devastating for us, Berlinger says. October 13, 2018 - Happy 94th Birthday Terry! The first being that boys were killed by someone they knew. Robin Lynn Jones. Terry Hobbs USAF Ret. The state of Arkansas continues to attempt to prevent this testing from happening. The West Memphis Police Department interviewed Hobbs, who was dismissive of the findings, claiming the hair could have been picked up during a visit to his home since the victim "played with our little boy regularly," according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Mojo, however, was considerably more fired up, believing the same thing many of Paradise Losts viewers did: that the movie showed an incredible miscarriage of justice, one that would surely be fixed. All of those factors combined to create a tipping point, says Leveritt. The attorneys representing Echols and Baldwin believed that the juries wouldnt accept the prosecutions versions of eventsthat they were too fantastical and tied to second-hand informationand that without conclusive proof, their clients would walk.

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