Paradise Lost - The Robin Hood Hills Murders

Here is a link to more information:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080911/ap_on_re_us/arkansas_boys_slain

There appear to be no new updates concerning the West Memphis Three. I really believed that Damien would get a new trial. It was very disappointing (more so to him and his family and loved ones!). Justice delayed is justice denied. I will still keep this situation in my prayers.

There is a new update to the West Memphis Three story.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/28/west.memphis.three/index.html

While I can certainly sympathize with the families of the murdered children about this causing pain everytime something new surfaces, I still believe the complte truth is nowhere near known yet. It looks like, just maybe, Damien is going to get his new trial. I know that will be hard on the families but, if there is even the slightest chance Damien is innocent, I believe all avenues should be thoroughly travelled before they do set an execution date.

This case reminds me of that show "Cold Case." They always get to the truth! I am praying the truth finally comes out for all concerned in this case.

Thanks for posting that update. If there is any new evidence, like the DNA, that could possibly show that the convicted might be innocent, then I am all for a new trial. People want closure and most want the truth and getting the guilty convicted.

It seems there is some DNA. I think DNA from two people were found on the shoelaces of one of the boys. I believe it was one of the boys' stepfathers. But, it doesn't seem to be enough to warrant a new trial yet. It seems the longer this goes on, the less and less evidence of the West Memphis 3 being guilty. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for all involved.

Surely, another parent of one of the murdered children now thinking the West Memphis 3 are innocent has to mean something to someone?

It may mean something to someone, but that doesn't warrant a new trial.

It's hard to stick "strictly" to the law in my thinking I guess. Thank God I never wanted to be a lawyer! I doubt I could have done it. I pray someday soon the truth will come out and maybe, just maybe, the people that have been impacted by this might have some kind of closure somewhere.

I'm new to this case, but have spent alot of time researching different articles about it. One thing that doesn't add up is the new theory concerning animals being responsible for the castration of the one boy. The experts agree that only one boy did not die from drowning, but instead from castration ( he bled to death). Remember, this child was also found tossed in the drainage ditch. If so, then was he alive in the water when animals came and castrated him? If he died in the water, from castration and not drowning, then that is the only way. It only takes minutes to drown, no way could an animal found him, and catrated him that quickly before drowning occured. So If he bled to death from animal castration, he had to already be in the water, AND STILL alive, obvioulsy an the animal didn't castrate him, cause his death and then push him in the water. All the professonals agree that this one boy did not drown, but bled to death from his injuries. mainly the castration. I think that if you consider this, you will agree that the castration occurred before his body was placed in the water, and animals could not have killed him and then placed his body in the water. It was a human that did this terrible thing. So the whole animal thing other than small bites on the children post mortem, goes right out the door. I also wish more would be investigated about one of the stepfathers, Hobbs, being the son of a professional butcher, and having worked with his father as such. He would have had the knowledge of butchering necessary to perform a castration such as this. The officials say it would have taken someone with surgical skill to do it, how about a butcher? The boys being tied with their own shoelaces also bothers me. It seems to me that they may have tied each other up, by force yes, but the different types of knots used to tie each child suggest different people doing the binding of each child. I wonder if whoever did this didn't force the boys to tie each other up, and the boys cooperated thinking the punishment would end with this humiliation. MORE needs to be researched about possible long standing child abuse. Definately a sloppy mess of investigating.

Falon,

I have to say this is a mighty interesting post. You brought out something I never even thought of about the castration.

My personal opinion on who really did this is it was some trucker passing through. Remember there was a truckstop with a big truckwash right at the edge of the woods the boys were found? Also, somone reported there being blood in the bathroom of that truck stop?

When I first saw the videos on this I was pretty sure the stepdad did it but, then I read the book and anything else I could find about it and to be extremely honest about it, I don't think he really had the wherewithall to pull it off. Whoever did this, knew enough about blood evidence to make sure there wasn't any.

Arella Mae,
Since I made that post, I bought a book called "The Blood of Innocents" on ebay, and the movie Paradise lost. First I watched the HBO doc., and I came away thinking, "no way the three did it". It was just Damien's demeanor, and the little evidence presented that convinced me he was railroaded. Then I read the book. Now, I know what a witch hunt is, and I had firmly believed this is what had happened, but after reading that book, which isn't mentioned alot on all the blogs, I have a very different opinion. In the book, it discusses other leads the police followed, it brings up in full text the subsequent three testimonies that Misskelly made to the police after he was sentenced as he was being transported to prison, and then later to the prosecution attornies before Echol and Baldwin's trial. For instance, did you know that Baldwin never testified? He plead the fifth and has never been heard from concerning his part or what he might know about the murders. Also, in Misskelly's last statement to the prosecution lawyers, he told of a whiskey bottle that he had drank from there at the water, and then broke in anger on the pipe as he was leaving. They (the lawyers accompanied by the police) found this exact broken whiskey bottle at the exact spot he said he had tossed it. He made this omission after he was convicted and nothing concerning MissKelly's testimony could be presented at the Echol/Baldwin trial, so you never heard about it. Another really interesting fact is that the detectives did use a chemical that is suppose to reveal blood traces through illumination at the location and there were spots where it lit up showing there had been alot of bleeding. The whole thing sickens me, it bothers me that too many people are willing to draw one conclusion or the other for all kinds of wrong reasons. I have always listened to controversial music too, and I'm not about to change for anyone, but just because certain types of music was "under fire" during the trial, I'm not willing to overlook the possibility that Echols and the others may still be guilty. There is so much information in that book, if your really interested in this case, please try to find it. I tend to agree with the last post who said he or she didn't think the stepfathers had the "stuff" to pull it off. This book carefully explorers each of the people involved, and backs up it's writings with facts. I got to say, I now believe, I really do, that Misskelly was at that crime scene. I read it from cover to cover in the course of three days (I think my husband was starting to worry about my sanity), but I was just in shock at all the things I DIDN'T KNOW. So please try to find it. You won't be sorry.

Falon,

I will definitely try to find this book. I am pretty shocked at some of the things you have posted. I had no clue about those things and I thought I had researched this pretty thoroughly. Obviously, not thoroughly enough. Thank you so much for telling me about it. I'm looking for it now!

I just ordered the book and am looking forward to reading it and discussing further!

Hi Arella Mae,
I'm glad your going to give the book a chance. These murders...is it the senseless of it or what that makes it impossible to let it go? I get so sad thinking about the three little boys. I myself have a small boy..perhaps that's why. Anyhow, I hope some day we will know for sure who did this and I hope they get what's coming to them. I have looked at it from all sides and directions, and it's hard to believe the three teens would do it... then there's the crazy stepfathers, and two of them definately are suspect... the Bojangles man..... What happened in W. Memphis that night? It was such a senseless and oh so brutal killing... let me know what you think about what you read in the book.

I wish I could answer that, "why can't we let it go?" Because something just isn't right about it and the fact that it involves innocent little children is the best I can do to answer that. Unfortunately, we may never know what happened. My husband still thinks it was an over the road trucker that killed the boys and cleaned up at that truckstop and then just drove off.

As hard as this is for us to let go can you imagine how hard this has been on the people directly involved? Lord, help them please.

sounds interesting

Have you seen the youtube about this David? I think the link is at the beginning of this thread or just search The Robin Hood Hills Murders. It is a fascinating and extremely sad case from beginning to where it stands today with three young men in prison and no one really knows what happened. There was a show on TV and I am wanting to say it was one of the Law and Orders that was based loosely on this. Oh no, wait. It was that show Cold Case. They had the adoptive father as the killer.

I can't wait until the book gets here!

I finally got the book in the mail. I am going to start reading it tonight. I am very excited about hearing other sides of this story.

I did not; is there a link to it somewhere?

The original youtube that I posted in my opening post has been removed from youtube because of copyright infringement w/HBO. However, there is another documentary on this in fifteen parts. Here is the link to that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CyTJgAfSRs&feature=related

I have not seen this one so I really can't speak to it at all David. I am going to be watching it during my lunch hour and finish it up tonight. I need to familiarize myself with all of this again since I am reading another book about the case.

I think you will find this a very fascinating and disturbing case and it'll be great to have you in on the discussion!

Thank u Arella. How is JJ ?





David