Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders (25 page)

Statement of Jim Robbins

Owner of Robbins Bookstore

This reporting officer talked with Jim Robbins owner/operator of Robbins bookstore...Jim Robbins was asked by this reporting officer if he remembered if any one of the three persons who were arrested for the triple homicide had ever been in his book store. He stated that he opened his book store in april of 1993, and he remembered that Damien, the one with the black hair, had been in numerous times and he always remember him coming in with his mother, a black haired lady, and a teenage blond headed girl. Jim Robbins stated that he remembered when the pictures came out in the paper of the arrest of the three suspects in regard to the triple homicide that, Damien had been in the store like two or three days before. This reporting officer asked Jim Robbins if he remembered any book titles that Damien might of purchased, Jim Robbins stated that Damien did purchase a hard back book, the title being (the witching hour) and the author was Ann Rice, Jim Robbins couldn't remember any other specific titles but that he bought alot of Steven king books and books that he would consider a little on the dark side, and science fiction books. Jim Robbins was asked about the card punch system that is used at his store and if there were any records kept as to titles of books sold and to whom. Jim Robbins stated that he didn't keep records but that when a person would make a ten dollar purchase that he would punch the card once. Jim Robbins was asked if anyone else worked in the store that might remember anything about Damien coming in to the store and he stated that his wife Christy Robbins worked in the store and that he would ask her if she remembered anything and get back in touch with this reporting officer.
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January 20th, 1994

Michael Roy Carson

Police Interview

Carson related a story about meeting Jason Baldwin in Craighead County Detention Center in early August or September of 1993. Baldwin told him “we sucked blood from a penis” and that “we played with the balls after they were out of the skin.” Baldwin said he put the testicles in his mouth. He said Damien put the testicles in his mouth as well.

Baldwin said, when we get all of this over with he is going to kick Misskelley's ass.

Baldwin told me he put the balls in his mouth and sucked the blood out of the penis.

Actually, it wasn't until two or three days later that Baldwin told me the gory details about the balls and the penis. Baldwin told me, I'm going to walk straight out of here. They don't have the evidence on me. My parents are going to throw a party for me. Baldwin sounded like they only cut one dick off.

The first person I have ever told was my Dad. I was watching TV and he was on the couch. I told my Dad what Baldwin had admitted to me. He ask me would I take a lie detector test and talk to the cops.

At first I told my Dad, I didn't want to get involved with this.

Yesterday, my Dad called the prosecuting attorney. I went to his house and talked to him (Brent Davis).

I told Brent Davis that Baldwin looked me straight into the eye and told me that he did it.

A black guy that was in jail for murder may have heard the same thing I did. The only thing I know him by is his first name, Leonard. I'm not asking anything in return. I don't want anything. I would refuse anything in return. I'm telling this because it is the truth.
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On February 1st, Carson traveled to the Arkansas State Police Headquarters to tell them the same story. To confirm the veracity of the information, police administered a polygraph to Carson. He passed. Twice.

January 27th, 1994

Dr. D.W. Griffis

Written response to questions sent by

Bryn Ridge of the

West Memphis Police Department

1. Prior to the deaths were there activity known in the area where the bodies were found and if so, what was it?

Answer to Question #1. Prior to the deaths their were reports of satanic worship in the area that included several children having seen persons wearing black and chasing them from the area. Signs have been described as being a pentagram drawn on the ground near where the bodies [were found]. A piece of board was seen on one occasion that had a painted circle and star on the face of it. This board was seen by an adult who was told of it by a child who had been in the area and the adult reported that he did see the board. On one occasion a doll has been seen to be hanging from a rope that was suspended from a tree in the area. One of the most recent reports made was that of a friend of the victims who states that he was supposed to have been with them on the date of the homicides. He reported a few days before the homicides that he and two of the victims had visited the area and that while there had seen five men who were dressed in black and painted black on their skin areas. He reported to his mother that he had heard the five men to be speaking in Spanish and standing in a circle. When asked how he knew it was Spanish he stated that he could not understand them and he thought that it must be Spanish. He reported that the five men had been seen by him and two of the victims on several occasions prior to the homicides. He talked of occasions when the men would be mean to a dog and when asked how they were being mean he responded that they were pushing it around between them. He further explained that the men had been seen there on every day except Friday and he further stated that he had never seen any of the men at the location on a Friday. The boy also explained that he had seen each of the men with a knife that was kept in some type of sheath that was worn on the belt.
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8.
JESSIE CONFESSES---AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN....

The Misskelley Trial

As Misskelley’s confession would be used against him in trial, his case was separated from the Echols and Baldwin trials. The proceedings began on January 24th, 1994. The prosecution focused on the Misskelley confession. In his opening statement, Fogleman never considered the confession cut and dried:

We do not contend that the proof's going to show that every word that came out of his mouth was the truth. We expect the proof's going to show that at times he was confused, at times he was trying to lessen his own involvement, and tell you that he was less involved than he really was.
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In his opening, defense attorney Dan Stidham averred that the confession was riddled with inaccuracies and invalid:

We believe that what Mr. Misskelley told the police was absolutely false. How do we know it was false? Because it was factually incorrect in many, many important areas. The proof will show that Mr. Misskelley said this thing or that thing, or this thing or that thing, and it was wrong. The police didn’t care, they just kept right on interrogating, they glossed right over it. They didn’t care that what this kid was telling them was wrong. They knew it was wrong.
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In his closing argument, Fogleman tells the jury about Misskelley’s testimony about the motive:

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..And that he's told that Damien and Jason are going to West Memphis and they're gonna get these boys and hurt them. He also testifies that at one of these cult meetings he mentions, that a photograph of not just some boys, but these boys, is passed around at this meeting. And Ms. Byers testified about her son coming in a month or so before and saying about how some strange man all in black had taken her picture -- taken the son's picture, Chris's picture. He also stated that Damien had been watching these boys, he'd been stalking these boys.
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Prosecutors indicated that this stalking by Echols and Baldwin constituted premeditated murder. Fogleman also listed details corroborating the confession with the crime scene. Also, Misskelley’s alibi was found wanting: his whereabouts during the time the three boys disappeared were unaccounted for by any credible witnesses.

In his prosecutorial rebuttal, Brent Davis emphasized that Misskelley included information in the confession of June 3rd. that only a person at the scene would know:

And I don't care what he [Stidham] says -- he can say there's newspaper articles or what else, but you can read in that statement that when he describes the castration of that particular boy, that is a fact that only someone who was there could know. And when he describes that the other two individuals forced them to perform oral sex on them, and grabbed them by the ears, those are facts that only a person there would know. When he describes the cutting on the side of one boy's face, those are facts that only a person that was there would know.
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Prosecutors believed any faulty factual points were cleared up by the follow on interview that occurred on the same day as the confession.

Davis ended his rebuttal with a powerful statement pertaining to Jessie Misskelley’s culpability:

See this picture? [holding a picture of Michael Moore] This is, this is the Moore boy. This defendant, who won't look up, he won't look at ya, but this defendant's action -- and you just think about it -- if this defendant does not chase down Michael Moore, if he does not run through the woods and chase him down and bring him back, Michael Moore lives. Michael Moore gets to go home at night, his parents get to be with him. But because of this defendant's actions, because of what Jessie Misskelley Jr. did, and what he told you about in that taped statement, Michael Moore Jr., or Michael Moore, doesn't go home anymore. And because, if he hadn't a chased him down, if Michael Moore gets away, it's only a few hundred yards to the truck stop. And certainly Michael Moore is gonna report what's happening, and if Michael Moore gets away, maybe the others decide that this isn't a good thing to engage in and they get out. Maybe it's just a kidnapping and a battery. Maybe they're just seriously hurt. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll never know. Because Jessie Misskelley Jr. didn't let Michael Moore get away. He chased him down like an animal, and brought him back, and as a result of his action, Michael Moore's dead, Stevie Branch is dead, Chris Byers is dead.
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After a relatively brief deliberation, the next day the jury found Jessie Misskelley guilty of first degree murder in the death of Michael Moore, and guilty of second degree murder in the deaths of Steven Branch and Christopher Byers. He was sentenced to life, plus twenty years.

February 4th, 1994

Jessie Misskelley

Jailhouse confession

On the afternoon of February 4th, 1994, after his conviction for murder earlier in the day, Officers Jon Moody and James Lindsey of the Clay County Sheriffs Department transported Jessie Misskelley, Jr. to the Department of Correction in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, located fifteen miles south of the Arkansas state capitol in Little Rock. The officers asked Jessie if there was anything he would like to say to the officers, he agreed to talk to the officers. The following is their report, drafted and faxed to Inspector Gitchell:

Jail Incident Report

Jessie advised he had received a call from Jason Baldwin asking him if he wanted to go to West Memphis to "get some girls." Jessie, Damion, and Jason met on a local road on May 5th (sometime that evening). Jessie claimed that he had been drinking Evelyn Jones whiskey that Mrs. Hutcheson had bought him and Jason and Damion were drinking beer. It was also stated that they had smoked two marijuana joints that afternoon. Jessie said that he had known Jason Baldwin since the 6th Grade and did not know Damion that well but that Damion would drink human blood, remembering a time when Jason was bleeding and Damion took some of the blood with his finger and licked it off. Jessie stated that Officer Callahan had lied in Court about not seeing him on May 5th, Jessie claims they had a short conversation. After all meeting on the road, the three boys walked to the woods and were sitting in the water with Jason and Damion "going under," Jessie said he could not go under because of his ear problem.

The three young boys were seen from a distance when Damion told Jessie and Jason to hide. Jessie said they were hiding behind bushes when Damion grabbed Michael Moore. The two other young boys started hitting Damion trying to help their friend and that is when Jessie and Jason jumped out and helped Damion "beat them." Jessie advised he helped hold them and beat them but had no part in raping or killing them.

Jessie advised two of the boys were raped from behind before and after they were tied up and that Damion and Jason were taking turns with the two boys. Jessie said the boys were still alive at this time.

Jessie said the boys were kept quiet by putting hands over their mouths and that Jason and Damion had used "shirts" and that times their face was pushed down into the ground.

Jessie was asked how the boys were kept under control while being raped and not tied yet and he stated "They were like puppies, when you whoop a puppy and tell it to stay, it will." Jessie did say he had to catch Michael Moore but did not say at what point.

Jessie claims that the third boy was never raped but that he may have been the one that Damion took his penis and put it in his mouth (the young boys penis). Jessie said at one point Damion and Jason had one of the boys in a headlock with one he believed had his penis in the boys mouth while the other one had him from behind. Jessie said he did not mention the "ears" to the police, only a headlock. Jessie also mentioned that "sticks" had been used to beat the boys.

At one point, Jessie said that Jason had a "bucktype locking knife" and "cut it all off and threw it in the weeds" saying the boy was alive and tied at this point and that he was surprised blood did not get on him because blood went everywhere and he was about a "car length" away. Jessie said "they" threw him into the water and "he was still squirming around in the water" at which point he left. Jessie said he does not know what happened to the knife. Jessie said he believed the other two boys were not conscious when he left but were not in the water.