Witt arrived at the hospital about 35 minutes later. Mojo was right. As of "The Piggyback", 825+ characters are known to have died throughout the show's run. As most people in the area knew, she was the mother of one of three boys who were found murdered in West Memphis in 1993. He got what he deserved.. On the street, it sells as much as $50 per tablet. They described Byers, whom no one knew, as dirty, with a blonde beard and sunglasses, 230-250 pounds, wearing like a flag shirt with blue jeans, 35-40 years old, with brownish-black hair. They also gave a description of his vehicle. The medical examiner's office said Melissa Byers, 47, died as a result of multiple. Maybe you need to see what its like to lose a child.. 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. More than 2,500 people attended and the story dominated the local press for days. When someone in the group noticed the knife, and hollered out, He has a knife, Byers companion threw the knife an Uncle Henry bone-handled, 5-inch pocket knife aside. [31]Other needle puncture wounds were present in the groin area, on the wrists, and the feet. 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. Mr. But on the subject of Paradise Lost, he speaks emphatically: He understands how important the movies were in helping him, Echols, and Misskelley walk free 10 years ago this August. Hobbs refused to talk to the relatives, but instead left the house and went to a truck outside, from which, unbeknown to those inside, he removed a .357 magnum pistol, which he put in his pocket. Byers asked Metz to come over to the house. The Byers family has been part of the news in Arkansas since the morning of May 6, 1993, when the bodies of three 8-year-old boysSteven Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byerswere found in a drainage ditch in a wooded area near the West Memphis subdivision where they lived. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. Mandy said that later that night Byers located the syringes and threw them away after police were done searching his home. And no one else should be convicted without evidence, either.. 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. He advised that Byers did not clarify who they were.. So when I saw this tiny little article in the Times, I wasnt about to free anybody that was guilty. When Witt received the report, it offered no indication that Byers death might be connected to illegal drug activity. Her body showed no visible signs of trauma. How do you measure the legacy of Paradise Lost, which is one of the best reviewed documentaries of all time and considered among the most influential, but whose mission is only partly complete? Melissa's Death I agree. Died on 29 Mar 1996. Well, perhaps not nobody. This is not a smoking-gun-type case.. He claimed that Ryan told him on a number of occasions that his step-father had been in on the murder of the three children in West Memphis, AR, Stevie Branch, Chris Byers, and Michael Moore. 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. Byers said he was concerned that "they were going to accuse him of smothering her." [33], No semen was found. Melissa and John Mark Byers were having problems in their marriage in 1996. For Rollins, it was a moral imperative: Id find myself up at 3:30 a.m. thinking about Damien. This story was originally published April 26, 2019, 9:48 PM. 6iE8vD2q%Q.B[.e(bJ R)Pku.~5YU>A(ZZqA:t5$y+FGpMv!. When Rose reached the scene, he questioned the boys involved, none of whom, he said, hes had any trouble with before. The hospital staff came to his aid and I excused myself to the visitor's room. The woman told Investigator Steve Huddleston that she had known the Byerses for years, that the couple had recently been estranged, and that Melissa had been taking Dilaudid, a powerful narcotic that, when diverted to the black market, is one of the most popular illegal drugs in the country. 24 Jun . He went to watch television with Amanda and then he said they went into his bedroom to listen to music. 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. He just didnt know it would take another 14 years to happen. But its closing moments point to how the filmmakers felt: that a horrific tragedy had just been compounded by a monumental miscarriage of justice. Growing up and over a 6 foot trellis and trailing back down to the ground, this plant looks incredibly healthy with no leaf loss anywhere. Now, not quite three years after the murder of 8-year-old Christopher Byersand with some criminal charges against her and her husband still pendingMelissa Byers was dead. He advised her mouth was wide open, her eyes were closed, she was totally limp, and her arms were down by her side. While he did that, another state police investigator was questioning a woman who had contacted Cherokee Village police upon hearing that Melissa Byers had been taken to the hospital. According to Houston. The arrests of the two stepfathers of the murdered children at West Memphis tend to underscore questions raised months ago by attorneys for defendants in the triple slaying case particularly about the adequacy of the investigation that led to the arrests of three local teenagers, none of whom had a record of prior violence. For the next two hours and 29 minutes, the two inmates sat in near silence watching Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, the landmark documentary released on HBO 25 years ago this week that captured the trials of Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols, the three teenagers convicted in 1994 of the crimes that ripped through the small, working-class community of West Memphis, Arkansas. Police also noted what appeared to be attempts to clean the dining room, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Now a judgewho coincidentally works part time in the courtroom where Misskelley was convictedStidham spends time speaking to law students about the judicial system. She was married to John Mark Byers. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. The 19 Unnamed Hawkins Residents melted by the Mind Flayer stems from the newspaper article about the Starcourt Mall's fire seen in ". It is perhaps the cause of SuddenAdult Death Syndrome, a little talked about cause of death. . Maybe, maybe not, but there's no evidence (aside from that knife, which never underwent full DNA testing as far as I know). (I also knew that Susan Smith killed her kids from her first interview pleading for the abductor to "bring back my baaaabies. But none of that support has been able to fully exonerate the trio, something theyre still fighting for. They continued to drive around until evening when they went to Ryan's grandfather's house.[4]. They began attending appeal hearings and visiting Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley in prison. Traces of one of her prescribed medications, an anti-seizure medicine used to treat post-traumatic stress syndrome, were present, as were traces of lithium, a medication that had been prescribed for her to treat manic depression. 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. The investigator entered several other observations and had the body photographed. 4 0 obj In general, who is most likelyto commit a crime against a child: A family member or A devil worshipingcult? "She was a beautiful woman. <> Several of the parents were there, and I distinctly remember being very creeped out by one man in particular. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. They werent connected in any direct way, Bakken says. She advised that Byers told her that Melissa had knowledge of this and she is dead now and dead people can't talk." Alright, investigator Gary Gitchell said. korbell plus refill apotea; jake hess death; lithonia shop light model 1233 Police went to the home and talked to Benjamin Byers, who told police he didnt know where his wife was and and that hed last seen her going to work on Nov. 27. In December, Investigator Stan Witt closed his case on Melissa Byers. He has since been released from the hospital. [SNIP]. They werent telling me I was lying, even if they may have been saying that in their minds. Waser noted in his report that Byers was sitting outside of his home with a woman by the name of Mandy Beasley. I didnt want to stop with us being that close. Melissa DeFir Byers was born on January 15, 1956. It even predicted that Eddie would die in Volume 2, and that's exactly what happened. The killings came at the peak of the so-called Satanic Panic, a time of heightened worries about ritualistic abuse. A large number of people here feel the three teens convicted for the 'Paradise Lost' murders were wrongly convicted because of skimpy evidence and the fact that the teens were thought of as 'creepy'. Houston said it appeared that Hicks passed the first lick, and a fight ensued. Byers acted strange, the report noted. Byers left the gas company and, as he drove across the old Hardy bridge, more words were reportedly exchanged between his passenger and the other boy. They were asked to call the Sheriff's Department if Ryan showed up at their house. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. She was laying on her back and was not breathing. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. The following is a list documenting the deaths of characters throughout the four seasons of Stranger Things. When West Memphis police questioned Byers two weeks after the boys murders, they asked him about this undercover work and people who, as Byers put it, maybe would be vindictive.. Deputy Sheriff C.L. Melissa's Death Melissa and John Mark Byers were having problems in their . As of "The Piggyback", 825+ characters are known to have died throughout the show's run. 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. Consent thus obtained, the team searched the small, two-bedroom house at 75 Skyline Drive, while Byers waited outside. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Furthermore, if you're growing heirloom varieties or rare species that may not, 2021 Tomato Varieties to Try in Your Garden this Year | Varieties for Storage & Other Tomatoes Available, Tomatoes are a popular and versatile vegetable that can be used in a variety of dishes. The state police investigation had just ended, their information had been turned over to West Memphis police, and they were expecting Byers to be arrested when the boys triple murder occurred. Ryan gave his statement and said that Melissa's purse, which he said she had left in the backseat of the family car, was at his grandfather's house. By the time she got done watching it, her life was forever changed. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, dark shoes, and a . This year, many gardeners are looking for new varieties of tomatoes to try out in their gardens. There is some dispute then about how the pocket knife got into Byers passengers hand, but no one disputes that one did or that it belonged to Mark Byers. The trio assumed that the convictions had already been overturned by the time Bakken received the screenerthis was a modern-day witch hunt, they thought, and surely the state of Arkansas had already corrected the course. 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. The results suggest that Melissa had not been using hydrocodone for an extended length of time; otherwise, the drug would have been in her blood and her liver. Byers drove into Hardy accompanied by a teen-aged boy. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. I grabbed his arm and shoulder and guided his body to the floor. Her body showed no visible signs of trauma. The idea, Berlinger says, was to tell a story of disaffected youthabout kids killing kids., There was no reason not to believe the press, Berlinger says. There also were issues with other details he provided, including how the victims were bound and whether the boys were raped. 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? The idea of the average citizen becoming embroiled in a criminal investigation isnt far-fetched in 2021, decades removed from the launch of WM3.org. Two bandaged needle puncture wounds were described. "Hydrocodone is a potent narcotic which is a dangerous drug even at therapeutic levels but repeated toxicological studies of blood and liver were negative. Christopher Byers, also known as Christopher Murray, was born on June 23rd, 1984. On Nov. 6 police in Memphis responded to a call that someone had been shot at 4460 Kerwin St., the home of Pamela and Terry Hobbs. Brenner tells Joyce that six people in total have been taken by The . I think this must be this Byers guy, because near the end, he got all teary and was hollering, "How would you like to know that your son was [attempted detailed recitation of various sexual mutilations]." He arrived at the home around 1pm and "partied with them, drinking Crown Royal, and taking valium, xanex, and that he saw Mark Byers with a sandwich baggie of K-4 dilaudid." While police had focused on Echols and Baldwin in the intervening weeks because of their reputation, the arrests came largely because of a confession by Misskelley, which was leaked to the largest newspaper in the area, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, and ran under the banner headline Teen describes cult torture of boys. At a press conference shortly after the arrests, the lead investigator was asked how confident he felt about the case on a scale of 1-10. Both wrists bore multiple, well-healed, linear scars. [11] He told Waser that he didn't know what to do. (Chief Medical Examiner). What was strange was that, while the drug showed up in Melissa Byers urine, suggesting recent use, it was not found in her blood, which would be expected of a lethal agent. Byers was eight years old, 4 ft. tall, weighed 52 lbs, and had light brown hair. 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. The shooting Tuesday led to an hours long standoff at the house in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard. It noted that she had been 68 inches tall and weighed 211 pounds. Melissa Byers, Self: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. [23] James was asked point blank if he knew that Byers murdered his wife. The puncture marks on the top of her right and left foot were not covered. He was just taking in the enormity of the defining event of his life to that point, which had been committed to film and was now playing for him inside the cavernous, auditorium-style visitation room. Misskelley, who reportedly had an IQ of 72, changed his story several times, and only a small part of his statements was recorded. Throughout the trials, Melissa Byers and her husband, John Mark Byers, were seen frequently on TV, often cursing the defendants. 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? The Alford plea is a seldom-invoked and somewhat confusing legal maneuver, but the basics are fairly straightforward. 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. Born on 16 Jan 1956. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Award-Winning Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes: Reliable and Resilient, Perfect for Organic Gardening! It was agreed that a search should be conducted and Byers was approached. When he first approached the stage, I thought, "Wow! Here were these guysat best they were neutral. While a Sharp County deputy took a statement from John Mark Byers and got his permission to search his home, Witt began taking notes about the condition of Melissa Byers body. Sharp County Sheriff T.J. "Sonny" Powell wouldn't say whether the. Finally, the boy with Byers asked his opponent, Have you had enough? He had. >According to an article by Associated Press and published in the>Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Oct 4: "The mother of a boy killed in West>Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but, >not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. Hopefully Will won't be a casualty in Season 5, but this data has been accurate in the past. The news was devastating beyond just word of his friends suffering. Wherever it was screened, Berlinger says, it was followed by intense Q&As from audience members who couldnt believe what theyd just watched. John Griffm, of the Marion Police Department, wrote in his report that a concened neighboradvised that she heard a woman screaming [and that] there were two small kids outside by themselves, unattended.. In an email to The Ringer, Rollins stressed that inaction was not an option., Myself and the many people I worked with did what we could to help bring attention to the case and generate much needed financial aid, he wrote. When told about the finding of blood, Byers changed his statement, claiming that he had used the knife to cut deer meat to make jerky. The brother-in-law, Dennis DeFir, brought Ryan back to the home the day after Melissa died. "She advised he told her a cigarette made a excellent fuse, that you could light it, and due to slow burning, it would give you time to get away. 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. Witt, stymied until he knew the cause of death, waitedand waited. His parents divorced when he was four years old & shortly afterward his mother married John Mark Byers, who adopted the boy. Mojo jumped up, Baldwin recalls. 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. By 1987, Byers had been married, fathered two children, been divorced, and remarried. In February, Netflix released Berlingers Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, a docuseries that looked at the 2013 death of Elisa Lam, a Canadian student who died while vacationing in Los Angeles. Melissa Byers. And they used that visibility to help raise funds for the defense. Of death she advised that Byers told her that Melissa had knowledge of this and she dead! If they may have been saying that in their minds and they used visibility!, Melissa Byers, 47, died as a result of multiple the defendants she done... ; Sonny & quot ; Powell wouldn & # x27 ; s exactly what happened in minds! 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