(2 weeks at #1, on for 19 weeks!) Terry was born on September 11, 1959 in Sweetwater, to Jack Harvey and Marjorie Hobbs. One person who has come up in the investigation is Terry Hobbs, although police have never named him a suspect or charged him in connection with the case. They saw this movie and they felt like, I have to do something.. 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. Certain that, under what he felt were ridiculous circumstances, Echols' confidence and, on occasion, flippant attitude during the trial was often misinterpreted as evidence of his coldness toward the victims and their families. Replacing Burnett was Circuit Court Judge David Laser. Pam Hobbs divorced Terry Hobbs in 2004 and has reversed her position on the West Memphis Three's guilt. 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. TERRY HOBBS OBITUARY Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. Terry Hobbs Net Worth. According to Dan Stidham, the attorney for Misskelley, that money became essential for the cash-strapped defense teams, who needed to pay for expert witnesses and other expenses. That there were three victims was a link to the biblical number of the beast. He said Boxful of Nightmares is his memoirs unedited. The next day, their bodies were found in a nearby canal. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. A later confession during the trial phase would prove equally problematic. We are sad to announce that on September 11, 2021 we had to say goodbye to Terry Hobbs of Sweetwater, Texas. My first thought is, I hope this dude isnt trying to pull me into some type of escape, Baldwin says nearly a quarter-century later. The third put forth the unusual theory that the killings were committed as a cult ritual. Who Killed The Forgotten West Memphis Three? Luminol tests, which reveal the hidden presence of blood, were not performed at the scene until six days later. West Memphis is pretty much like a second Salem," Echols stated in the 1996 documentary Paradise Lost: The Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Self. October 13, 2018 - Happy 94th Birthday Terry! They were naked and hog-tied with their own shoelaces, and showed signs of blunt force trauma and mutilation, the latter of which may have been the work of wild animals, reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper. By getting to the story quickly, the directors were able to document the post-arrest period and two trials that followed in painstaking detail. Paradise Lost is a narration-free documentary filmed with a journalistic remove. I didn't even comprehend that the situation could get this serious that it can go this far. 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. But we stuck with it, and every so often something would happen, and little by little, people would come around., They spread word about the website through online discussion groups and by hanging flyers in the art houses that screened Paradise Lost, and by 2000, WM3.org was getting 4,000 to 8,000 hits a day. "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 WMC-TV in 2013. As rumors of a Satanic sacrifice swept the community, the minds of many in West Memphis were already made up. Some believe the West Memphis Three are guilty to this day, and others, including some victims family members, point to their innocence and maintain the real perpetrator is still at large. Due to marital problems stemming from Stevies death, the couple divorced in 2004, reported CNN. He was an actor, known for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Fast Food (1989) and In the Heat of the Night (1988). 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. The level of corruption in the American justice system is glaring and sickening.. 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. Its affected a lot of lives, but for some reason it keeps being brought up, said Hobbs. It was so emotionally taxing to watch and go through it again, he says. Terry Hobbs says he is a church member, a father, and working man and in no way a killer. According to Griffis, black hair, black T-shirts, and black jeans were signs that a kid was in league with the devil. This is a brand new website dedicated to the internationally famous musician, Terry Gibbs. Terry Hobbs, Todd Moore, and Dana Moore still maintain that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley murdered their sons. No charges have been brought against Jacoby, and he has never been named a suspect by the West Memphis Police Department. Lying in the open air in near 80-degree temperatures accelerated the decomposition of the bodies. This case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, Tennessee Western Bankruptcy. Hobbs denied the accusation, saying that his family does have secrets, but none of them have to do with murder. None of the three believed that, but Echolss healthand the possibility that even if he survived, he would still be on death row should the fight for retrials failmade it an imperative. In 1996, HBO released the documentary film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Berlinger and Sinofsky began to take notice. of Auburndale, FL passed away Monday, August 16, 2021. He began his career in the. Hobbs says his book is 25 years in the making, adding it is called Boxful of Nightmares for a reason. TSGT Terry Lee Hobbs, USAF, ret. 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. That included Mojo, who came calling around 2 a.m. that day trying to coax him out of his cell. Despite the best efforts of the police, dozens of volunteers, a search-and-rescue team, and a helicopter dispatched from nearby Memphis, Tenn., searchers came up empty handed. Heavy metal music, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and horror movies were regarded as gateways to evil. What has never been definitively answered, however, is who committed the 1993 murders, and The Forgotten West Memphis Three, premiering Saturday, March 28 at 8/7c on Oxygen, reexamines the case and key theories. 2011 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (Documentary) Self - Stepfather of Stevie Branch. So when I saw this tiny little article in the Times, I wasnt about to free anybody that was guilty. Also, law enforcement chose not to focus on the victims' families as the starting point of the investigation as is the norm. Quickly, however, he realized Berlinger and Sinofsky were taking a different approach. After ending his first marriage, he wed Pamela Hicks Branch in 1986, when her son Stevie was almost 2 years old. Funeral Home Services for Terry are being provi. Robin Lynn Jones. When they searched online, they found little to no information about the case. October 14, 2017: #26 on the JazzWeek chart! Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. Updated: 9:42 AM CDT June 11, 2019. Investigators kept minimal notes and omitted pertinent details including criminal records. (Echolswho is in better health today, though his eyesight has degenerated and he has premature arthritis from his time in solitary confinementin particular has maintained a relatively public life, through the five books hes published, performing magic for Patreon subscribers, and making TV appearances to discuss other cases he sees as similar to his.) (Police questioned Byers several times during the investigation, but never considered him a suspect.) He also lost the defamation case because of his violent past. You still dont really know what happened to these kids. One of those shows, Truth & Justice With Bob Ruff, became the basis for an Oxygen docuseries last year titled The Forgotten West Memphis Three, which took a closer look at the three victims and tried to shine new light on the evidence. No knives and not weapons were used," says Jo Lynn McCaughey. doesn't know how to teach the material and you will end up teaching yourself everything. Update: I was totally wrong. They didnt even think he would physically survive through December, Baldwin says. In her recantation, Hutcheson stated that when she asked Echols directly if he had killed "those three kids," he replied, "No. Now, evidence from the case of the West Memphis Three is either missing or destroyed. February 27, 2023 (82 years old) View obituary. " (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. A statement he made to the producers of Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills did little to help his public image. Hold for Elkhart County. Theyve had several victories, including the case of Daniel Villegas, who was acquitted of capital murder in 2018 after a 25-year legal saga. 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. Quality. So, how much is Terry Hobbs worth at the age of 50 years old? 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. They formed the organization Proclaim Justice, a nonprofit that reinvestigates crimes with the hopes of freeing innocent people. And that makes him hopeful that exoneration is on the horizon. Over the years there has been lots of speculation and finger pointing as to who was responsible. Evidence in West Memphis Three case missing or destroyed, Judge sets bond for 76-year-old woman accused of killing terminally ill husband, Woman accused of driving into home, killing former pro basketball player Galen Young granted diversion, DA Mulroy says he doubts any drag shows will violate Tennessees new drag bill, MPD finds alleged chop shop operating in plain sight, Congressman Cohen announces $1 million grant for Memphis YMCA, Red hot Memphis womens basketball ready to make a run in AAC Tournament. 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. 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. 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. 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. Creator Payne Lindsey, a filmmaker with no previous experience investigating crimes, had no connection to the victim before he discovered her while Googling cold cases in hopes of finding his own version of runaway successes like Serial and Making a Murderer. However, in 2010, a series of rapidly unfolding developments turned the tide for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. Case Number : 2:21-BK-21177. Except this was 1996, and home internet was still in its infancy. Terry Roland Hobbs, 62, of Sweetwater, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021. 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. 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. He was 56. Damien Echols (@damienechols) July 7, 2021 Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Branch who was under suspicion but never charged, said he welcomes new DNA testing. Terry Hobbs is absolutely terrible. There have also been several high-profile incidents of laypeople reinvestigating decades-old cold cases in more rigorous, journalistic ways and helping bring them to a resolution. As the appeals processes stretched across several years and the buzz of the initial film faded, the directors began looking for ways to keep the story alive.