terry hobbs 2021

When the case was given the option for DNA evidence, everyone but Terry Hobbs said yes. He was an actor, known for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Fast Food (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). Terry Hobbs says he is a church member, a father, and working man and in no way a killer. The second is by looking at it as an act of passion and perseverance. By getting to the story quickly, the directors were able to document the post-arrest period and two trials that followed in painstaking detail. Hobbs, with the help of an author, put all that journaling intoa book about the 1993 murders of his stepson Stevie Branch, and Branchs friends Michael Moore and Chris Byers. Like Misskelley in the first trial, Baldwin received a life sentence. Essentially, it allows the accused to assert their innocence while pleading guilty, conceding that the prosecution has an overwhelming amount of evidence to procure a conviction. While thats cooled from the days of concerts in the shadows of the Arkansas Supreme Court building, the documentaries still live on HBO Max, where they pull in new viewers to this day. In May of that year, police discovered the bodies of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers in the Robin Hood Hills, a small wooded area near the I-40/I-55 exchange. Terry Hobbs was born in 1958 and grew up in Northern Arkansas. . Hobbs denied the accusation, saying that his family does have secrets, but none of them have to do with murder. Searching obituaries is a great place to start your family tree research. 34465541-95D0-45B0-BEEB-B9E0361A315A " (Detective Allen) told me if I knew anything, that there was a $35,000 reward, and if I could help them out, we'd get the money," said Misskelley, as quoted by Mara Leveritt in Devil's Knot. At the request of West Memphis authorities, the two were picked up and questioned by Oceanside police. Speaking by phone last month, he comes across, in many ways, like the person Berlinger says he encountered in prison in 1994: polite, deferential, soft-spoken. A spiritual successor to Errol Morriss The Thin Blue Line, and a forerunner of more recent documentaries like Making a Murderer, the film stands today as the most affecting examination of one of the most studied legal cases in U.S. historyone that put heavy metal lyrics and black T-shirts on trial and helped lay the groundwork for the current thinking around false confessions. 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. Its like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound. WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. I don't entirely think Hobbs did it, but I . Here were these guysat best they were neutral. Three teenage boys were arrested for the crimes Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. and prosecutors argued they killed the boys as part of a Satanic ritual. Pam Hobbs divorced Terry Hobbs in 2004 and has reversed her position on the West Memphis Three's guilt. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie. It has happened to a lot of people that just dont have the spotlight of a documentary, he says. TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. Due to marital problems stemming from Stevies death, the couple divorced in 2004, reported CNN. 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. I spoke with one of the jurors, years later after the trials and convictions, and he said he had no doubt that people could throw their lot in with the devil and be commanded to do things that they wouldnt have done otherwisethat they have basically made the deal with the devil, Leveritt says. of Auburndale, FL passed away Monday, August 16, 2021. A graveside service will be conducted on Wednesday, March 17 at Cloverdale Memorial Park beginning at 11am. 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. She said it was one of the highest-rated pieces they had. Websleuths, an online forum for discussions about unsolved homicides and missing-person cases, has more than 100,000 members, and internet vigilantes have used social media and other online breadcrumbs to help track down actual criminals, such as the Canadian murderer and subject of the documentary Dont F*ck With Cats, Luka Magnotta. During Misskelley's trial, Hutcheson testified that she had attended an "an occult Satanic meeting" she referred to as an "esbat." It was born out of genuine admiration for the fact that these guys took the time out of their lives to dedicate, to go down to Arkansas, to build a website, to really step out of their lives, Berlinger says. So much progress had been made in the fight for new trials, most notably a November 2010 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that ordered a hearing on new DNA analysis and other evidence not considered in 1994. It was clear that Paradise Lost was resonating. It's affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up," said Hobbs. The idea of the average citizen becoming embroiled in a criminal investigation isn't far-fetched in 2021, . By 2005, Rollins himself had raised $100,000 for the cause. Branded the, What has never been definitively answered, however, is who committed the 1993 murders, and , Due to marital problems stemming from Stevies death, the couple divorced in 2004, reported, The test results showed that no genetic material on the crime scene evidence was a match to Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, reported the, 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, "They said close to the crime scene because at one time I did walk near where they had found the kids with Terry Hobbs But I didn't wear hats back then, my hair could have blown around anywhere, Jacoby told Memphis NBC affiliate, 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, In 2009, three witnesses filed affidavits claiming they saw Hobbs with the murdered boys the night they disappeared, contradicting Hobbs previous statements to police, according to. Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were best friends. Over two decades after the murders, what really happened to Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore on the evening of May 5, 1993, remains a mystery. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. Updated: 9:42 AM CDT June 11, 2019. Here's when clocks will 'spring forward' in 2023. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The three teens were arrested after Misskelley said they committed the crime after 12 hours of interrogation. 24 to Jun. June 29 Terry Hobbs, 34, 1718 Spyglass Lane, Mishawaka, booked on a warrant from Elkhart County. 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 next day, their bodies were found in a nearby canal. (Maines briefly became a part of the story when Terry Hobbs, stepfather of another of the victims, sued her for defamation after she wrote a blog post pointing out that physical evidence at the crime scene potentially pointed at him and not the three convicted for the crime. Berlinger also concedes Revelations had some ethical problems, chiefly because it raised the possibility that Mark Byers committed the killings. 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. Jason Baldwin had no idea what was happening when a fellow inmate at the supermax prison in Varner, Arkansas, woke him up early one morning in 1997. Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. Branded the West Memphis Three, the mens case was featured in multiple documentaries, earning them support from an array of high-profile musicians, celebrities and activists. It'll be sort of like I'm the West Memphis boogeyman. But then the verdicts arrived: Both Baldwin and Echols were found guilty on all counts, just like Misskelley had been six weeks before them. Local 24 News EXCLUSIVE: Terry Hobbs on his new memoir on the West Memphis 3. Terry Hobbs (1969 - 2019) Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers (Nightmare Vacation II) (1988) [Rob Darrinco]: Stabbed and hanged (after gaging), off-screen by Pamela Springsteen in Walter Gotell's office; his body is shown afterwards when Carol Martin Vines discovers him. The bodies had been removed from the water and placed on the adjacent embankment, possibly disturbing physical evidence or otherwise contaminating the scene. The state of Arkansas continues to attempt to prevent this testing from happening. The news was devastating beyond just word of his friends suffering. To bolster their assertions that the killings were related to occult activity despite virtually no evidence prosecutors brought in their own so-called expert on cult murders. 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. 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. On the morning of June 2, 1993, Jessie Misskelley Jr., a 17-year-old high school drop out with a reported IQ of 73, was taken into custody by Detective Mike Allen. 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. But I had to. No charges have been brought against Jacoby, and he has never been named a suspect by the West Memphis Police Department. While Berlinger says that the work of people like Bakken and Sauls was more impressive than that of any celebrity, its undeniable that the famous and influential brought a megaphone and funding mechanism to this case that most never get. But they were saying that he was about to die.. Further down, it includes names such as Rick Dior, a sound mixer who worked on Apollo 13 and Dirty Dancing, and Bob Richman, a three-time Emmy-nominated cinematographer whose rsum also includes renowned docs like An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman. (At one point, Sauls says, it landed on Yahoos list of the top 100 websites.) At approximately 1:30 p.m., Steve Jones, a juvenile parole officer from Crittenden County, peered over the steep bank of a water-filled ditch in the woods near the Blue Beacon truck wash. 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. Spotting a small, black tennis shoe in the water, Jones radioed for help. The Alford plea is a seldom-invoked and somewhat confusing legal maneuver, but the basics are fairly straightforward. He could have been me, he told Rolling Stone in 2011. In West Memphis, Hobbs worked as an ice cream delivery man and Hicks worked at a restaurant. 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. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. None of the early interviews with the parents were recorded. Terry Hobbs USAF Ret. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. Thursday, August 19th 2021. In 1996, HBO released the documentary film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. 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. Luminol tests, which reveal the hidden presence of blood, were not performed at the scene until six days later. 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. On 04/08/2021 Terry Hobbs was filed as a Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 lawsuit. Initially, Misskelley repeatedly denied having knowledge of the crime, aside from rumors that Damien Echols was involved. 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. Timeline Of The West Memphis Three Victims, Motivations For Investigating The West Memphis Case. And they used that visibility to help raise funds for the defense. 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. He retired from the US Air Force, and he was the Deputy Supervisor for Polk County Supervisor of Elections. So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? Robin Lynn Jones. . He began his career in the plumbing business at a very young age, workingfor his . All of those factors combined to create a tipping point, says Leveritt. It had been a long fight to clear their names, and the odds seemed better than ever. The Paradise Lost cameras captured not only the defenses discussions, but the full testimony, in Misskelleys trial, of an expert on coerced confessions. . 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. (WMC) - Its a case that has captured the nation and certainly the Mid-South. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. She says she is too because they believe they are hearing different stories. I never foresaw that they would in turn save us.. So advocacy and diligence become tantamount, because most people in a similar situation to the one he was in dont have the benefit of filmmakers and musicians fighting on their behalf. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! It allowed them to get out of prison after almost 20 years. February 27, 2023 (82 years old) View obituary. 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. The districts current prosecuting attorney, Keith Chrestman, did not respond to requests for comment for this article, but his predecessor Scott Ellington, whose office negotiated the deals, told The New York Times in 2011 that while new trials would have likely resulted in acquittals, We dont think that there is anybody else. The Moore family has been outspoken about the end result, vehemently protesting the 2012 Oscar nomination for the third Paradise Lost installment. Auburndale, FL - TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. They saw the same thing you did. Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. Echols said in 2012, he will never give up his mission to exonerate himself. Hes subdued when discussing the facts of the case, but he comes alive while recounting his work with the Jaycees while in prison, or buying Metallicas Black Album when it came out in 1991. A statement he made to the producers of Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills did little to help his public image. Filing Date : To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. As more people learned about the case from Paradise Lost and the work of people like Bakken and Sauls, the phrase Free the West Memphis Three caught on as a slogan for progressive musicians and actors in the 1990s, up there with Save the Rainforest and Free Tibet. Eddie Vedder became an early leading voice, soon followed by the likes of Peter Jackson, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Maines from the band then known as the Dixie Chicks. By the end of Paradise Lost, you cant believe they were found guilty, Bakken says. 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. He was an actor, known for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Fast Food (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. We didnt see them grow up.. Its affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up, said Hobbs. Im seeing the things I experienced, but not through my own point of view. To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of Terry Hobbs, visit the Tribute Store. Example video title will go here for this video. Metallica had never licensed a song for a film before, but when they learned about the case, Berlinger says, they made an exception. Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs. 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. The three have always maintained their innocence. The IMDb credits page for the first Paradise Lost is modest, but impressive. Griffis also found the devil in nearly every number associated with the crime. Jessie took a polygraph. It hurt all over again, he said. That there were three victims was a link to the biblical number of the beast. But they werent just voices in the growing choir calling for the West Memphis Threes releasethey were leading the movement. If the state of Arkansas has a deep and abiding belief that the West Memphis Three are child murderers and did these terrible crimes, then shame on them for letting them out after 18 and a half years because a bunch of celebrities are whining about it, Berlinger says. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. Misskelley, who reportedly had an IQ of 72, changed his story several times, and only a small part of his statements was recorded. Defense attorneys also pointed out that Griffis' doctorate was obtained through a notorious diploma mill and had been awarded with Griffis having never attended a single class. As the 20th century turned to the 21st, the movement seemed to be picking up steam. The bodies of Branch, Byers, and Moore were found in a drainage ditch in West Memphis May 6 . The next to be found was Stevie Branch, quickly followed by Christopher Byers. 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. Misskelley and Echols were 36; Baldwin was 34. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Wading into the murky water, Allen unknowingly dislodged the pale, grotesquely arched form of Micheal Moore. Boxful of Nightmares is the personal memoirs of Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the children murdered. One of Kathy Bakkens earliest jobs in Los Angeles allowed her a certain kind of cultural currency: She designed movie posters for an entertainment-advertising company, which meant she got to see films months before they were released. The first and likely simplest gauge is continued interest in the case. That November, he says, HBO agreed to give an honorariumroughly $5,000to the families on both sides. But its closing moments point to how the filmmakers felt: that a horrific tragedy had just been compounded by a monumental miscarriage of justice. 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. And then there was the public pressure: In August 2010, Vedder and Maines headlined yet another benefit concert, this one in Little Rock. Terry L. Hobbs, 63, of Caldwell, HOBBS, Terry L., passed on March 7,2021 at the age of 63. Baldwin, the youngest member of the trio that had come to be known as the West Memphis Three, was serving a life sentence after being convicted on charges connected to the 1993 killings of three 8-year-old boys. To date, no DNA evidence from the crime scene can be linked to Damien Echols, Baldwin, or Jessie Misskelley. 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.

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