Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders (17 page)

West Memphis skating rink

1993

June 10th, 1993

Jennifer Lynn Ball

Police Statement

Jennifer Ball, who made a police report on March 1st concerning terroristic threats to harm her, provided a statement to police, and expanded upon the events of March 1st:

The first contact I had with Damien Echols was when he was at my window (March 1 93). I had heard about him and heard that he was into devil worshipping. Me and Micahel Beshires had been fighting. So was Michael [Damien] & Amanda Lancaster. Well Michael had told her that he was going to blow my house up & stay away from me. Well she didn't believe him & we continued to be friends. Well, he called her one day & told her to watch out that he had Mark Beshires & Damien Echols watching us. All this was happening in March. About March 1st, I was on three-way with Amanda Lancaster & Jack Held. It was storming that day. I kept on hearing something but I thought that it was just the rain. Well, I was in the kitchen. I was looking out the window & somebody jumped in front of it shouting "you bitch, I'll get you, I'm gonna kill you. You're gonna die." I started screaming & hollering---I didn't know what to do. I dropped down in the corner of the kitchen. Amanda was hollering at me "Jennifer what is wrong. Jennifer what is going on." I told her that someone was at my window & it looked like Damien. She told me stay where I was & she was going to call me right back. I hung up the phone. I looked out the window to see if he (Damien) was still there. He was. He just glared at me & said "you're dead bitch" & ran off. I was so scared. Amanda called me back & I was crying. I told her what Damien had said. She just sat their like, "oh my god." About 5 minutes later she said "Jennifer, Jennifer was Damien wearing pure black & a black trench coat?" I said "Yes. Why?" she said "He's walking down the street and eyeing my house." She got really scared & started crying & then her house alarm went off. She was screaming & crying. I didn't know what to do. I had a feeling that Damien was going to be watching us & after us. When my mom, Teresa Woodson, got home from work that day, I told her what happened. She didn't know what to do. She waited for my stepdad, Don Woodson, to get home. She told him about it. He really didn't know what to do either. Me & my mom were talking & she asked me to describe Damien. I told her that he had black hair. & these eyes that looked black. He was dressed in a black shirt, black jeans & a black trench coat. She asked me if he was tall. I told her yes. She said she remembers seeing him in Wal-Mart. This was about 10 minutes after he had done passed by Amanda's house & came up to mine. She decided to call the police. Officer Reese came to our house. She asked me to describe Damien. I did She (Officer Reese) asked me if I was sure it was Damien. I told her no. I was scared that if Damien found out I told, he would definitely kill me. So the person at my window was left blank (ed. note--on the police report).Well about a month ago I was in Kroger. I had left my mother to go get something. While I was looking I noticed that somebody kept passing by & looking at me. When I looked up, I discovered that it was Damien. I just ran off. I didn't tell my mom because I didn't want her to worry so I let it slide by.

About 3 weekends ago I went skating with Amanda Lancaster. We were having a good ol time until Damien walked in. I looked at Amanda & pointed. She just said oh my god. I told her I was going to go call my mom. She told me to just ignore him. (She had told Amy Allison when the 3 boys first got murdered that Damien & some boy named Jason had murdered them. Amy just ignored her.) Well, me & Amanda were walking around the skating rink. We decided to sit down & get something to drink. We were about 2 tables over from Damien, Jason Baldwin & his girlfriend Heather. I don't know her last name. Well, we were all singing & having a good time. I noticed that Damien kept on staring at me. I just ignored it or at least I tried to. I looked up & noticed that him & Jason were whispering to each other & pointing at me. Damien whispered something to Jason & Jason looked over at me & said I don't know. Then Jason whispered something to Damien & Damien looked at me. He looked me up & down & said Yep. Then Damien started saying something & Jason kept on saying "No man. No" Well, we finally left that table & went walking around. We went to the back of the skating rink. I noticed that Damien had followed us. Not w/his body w/his eyes. It was really starting to freak me out! My best friend Shannon Sanders was up there. She noticed that I had been acting paranoyed. She kept on asking me what was wrong. I told her I was just tired. (Finally on Sunday I told her what was the matter). I had lost Amanda & was trying to find her. I went to the bathroom to see if she had walked in there. When I came out Damien was standing there against the wall. I bumped into him. I didn't realize who it was until I looked up. When I looked into his eyes its like I froze. I just stood there. Its like something clicked & I came back to reality & I ran off. His eyes followed me all the way to the back. I didn't really say anything to Amanda because I didn't want to get her scared. We stayed at the back for about 10 minutes & decided to go back up to the front. Well, some girl, I can't remember her name I really didn't know her, asked me to go buy her some candy & a coke. When I went to give it to her, I noticed she was at Damien's table. I just ran over there handed it to her & walked off. I could feel his eyes following me. Well, I later found out that he was asking some people who I was. Some girl that I don't know told him I was Jennifer Ball. He sat there for a minute & then said "Jennifer Ball, Jennifer Ball, I know her, I really really know her" & had this evil look on his face. Then he started asking around what Amanda's phone number was & where she lived. No one would tell him. While we were walking out of the Blue Amanda started saying “shut up shut up.” I looked at her & asked her what was wrong. She said that she could hear Damien in her mind saying "Bitch you're gonna die, you know to much." (Last year Amanda had P.E. w/Damien. She said he would sit there & enter her mind. It really freaked her out.) Well, it was finally time for us to leave & I was glad. Damien watched us as we went out the building. Ever since then it feels like someone is watching me. Friday after everyone had found out who murdered the little boys I got a phone call. I answered the phone & someone asked who this was. I said Jennifer. They said well you & your friend Amanda were the next to die by Damien & hung up. I was really freaked. I didn't say anything to Amanda about the phone call. I had heard that Damien was going to kill 2 more girls his girlfriend & Jason Baldwin's girlfriend. Well, Jason's girlfriend is a girl named Heather whom is Amanda Lancaster's cousin. I don't know her last name. Amanda kept on saying Friday I know those two girls where me & you I knew they were. I just told her not to jump to conclusions - even though after the phone call I was certain it was us. After Amanda read that statement in the Commercial Appeal she kept on saying, "I have a feeling our picture is in that briefcase. I have the weirdest feeling." I just wish somebody would find out. Then yesterday some woman that had come swimming w/my aunt told my mom that she heard Damien was going to sacrafice 2 virgins next. I told my mom about the mysterious phone call. She asked me how come I hadn't told her. I told her I thought it was a prank, but now I'm really not for sure. It's just really scary. Know I feel like every where I go I'm being followed. I haven't had any phone calls since Friday.
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June 10th, 1993

Teresa Woodson

Written Statement

Teresa Woodson, mother of Jennifer Ball, said that upon her return from work in March of 1993, her daughter said that Damien Echols was at her backyard window, yelling he was going to kill her daughter. She said she called the police immediately, who took a statement. Traumatized by the event, she said her daughter thought she and her friend could be sacrificed. She told the police that a local boy said “I will have Damien to kill you, because he Damien is a member of a cult.” Her daughter would get weird phone calls at all times of the night. In one call, her daughter was told she would be next to die. Her daughter felt that someone was always watching her. Teresa Woodson said that Michael Bishers was a member of the cult and he and Damien would get her daughter.
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June 10th, 1993

J’Nevelyn Blackmon

Handwritten Statement

On the 10th of June, police interviewed J’Nevelyn Blackmon. Domini Teer lived for a time at the same apartment complex. She said Jason Baldwin was almost always at Damien’s side. Damien was often with LG Hollingsworth. She was told Damien worshipped Satan, and that he had drawn an anarchy sign by one of the apartment doors. She heard that two virgins were to be sacrificed among other rumors.
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June 10th, 1993

Amanda Lancaster

Police Statement

Heather Cliett had told me that Damien had been asking me question's about me, about where I live & my phone number.

Jennifer Harrison had said that she thought Damien had done it cause he knew way too much, and he went around Horseshoe the same day the murders had happened, and had dog intestines around his neck.

At the skating rink, he watched me and stuff. He would follow me around, he would like just watch me. He would really scare me, and someone had told me that I was next, me and Jennifer Ball were next. I was on the phone with Jennifer Ball when Damean apparently was at her window.
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June 11th, 1993

Katie LaFoy

Police Statement

I heard Damien Echols talking to a bunch of girls, one was a Jody Medford. I heard him say "Yea that I'm going to do it to some more people too." She stated that she heard enough of the conversation that she knew they were talking about the murders of the three boys. I heard some of the group talking about the murders of the boys and that is the reason he made the statement that she heard. She also heard Damien say that the person that he was talking to had better not say anything to anybody or that he would see what was coming next. Jason Baldwin was with Damien at the Ball Park when Damien made the statement.
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June 11th, 1993

Jason Frazier

Investigative Report

Jason Frazier heard from Garrett Schwarting that Baldwin and Echols committed the murders:

Ridge - About two weeks after the murders took place, you had a conversation with Garrett.

Jason - Yes, sir.

Ridge - Okay, what did he tell you.

Jason - He said that uh, that he was studying to be a psychic and he knew this and him and this guy was studying it, and that uh, he said that uh, Damien and uh Jason did it, but Jessie's name wasn't involved, so uh they was practicing their Witchcraft and, he didn't say how the boys got there, or anything, he just said, they did it and that's where they practiced their witch, their Satan stuff.

Garrett told Jason Frazier that Damien & Jason (Baldwin) always have their devil-worshiping meetings in that park & those little kids were riding over there & they saw something they were not supposed to of seen so Damien killed them. Garrett said he heard this from Jason Baldwin who was supposed to of been there.
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June 11th, 1993

Christy VanVickle (age 11)

Handwritten statement

Two weeks ago I was at the Girls Club with Jackee Medford. I passed by and Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin where talking to a bunch of people. He wasn't talking to me. I heard him say that he killed the three boys. It scared me so I walked away. I didn't hear him say any thing else. I told my mom what I had heard.
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June 11th, 1993

Jessica Bryant

Police Statement

Jessica Bryant, eleven years old, and her parents, Karen and Charles Bryant went to the West Memphis Police Department to provide recorded testimony. She told police about strange behavior by Damien Echols that occurred two months before the murders. He was staring at young children getting ready to go to church on a Sunday morning. He had long black hair, dressed in all black and wore a black trench coat. He was squatting down behind a bush and scared the children. Jessica told police the following:

...we weren’t paying any attention to him, we didn’t think anything was going to happen, so we continued playing and then he was still there, so we went over and hid behind the car for a few minutes and we thought he won’t come out, so he will go away and leave us alone. And we went back and he was just looking out of the corner of his eye at us...

He was just looking out of the corner of his eyes and with his hands like this against him, he was like digging in his pockets, but I don’t know what he was doing...

He was squatting down behind the bush...

He was doing something in his pockets...cause, he was like getting something out or his pockets, or putting something back in...
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She said he had black stuff around his eyes. Jessica Bryant recognized Damien Echols from the television.