None of the initial trio behind WM3.orgnor their friend Lisa Fancher, who later became a key part of the efforthad ever considered themselves an activist to that point. The hospital staff came to his aid and I excused myself to the visitor's room. He says that while he was in the supermax prison in Varner, he would write letters trying to drum up support for not just himself, but also for other inmates he believed were wrongfully convicted. But they were saying that he was about to die.. It just needed a catalyst. At the time of her youngest son's murder in May of 1993, Melissa was married to John Mark Byers . He was a . "[27], The coroner report noted that John Mark Byers stated he had intercourse with Melissa around 3pm on March 29th, 1996. Finally, the boy with Byers asked his opponent, Have you had enough? He had. For 48 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond with your support, we can do even more. 1 0 obj 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. By 9:30pm, Ryan was still not home. [29], On April 1, 1996, the following individuals signed off on the examination and autopsy of Melissa Byers: Stephen Erickson, M.D. More than 2,500 people attended and the story dominated the local press for days. whittier union high school district superintendent. I agree. And here is another: A year and a half ago, it was Jackie Hicks who, as part of a search team scanning West Memphis for the missing children, was the first to discover the bodies of young Steve Branch and his two murdered playmates. 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. Melissa Byers body was there, wrapped in carpeting, plastic, sheets and clothing, court records said. And without substantial physical evidence, police zeroed in on a pair of teens they knew well: Echols, a self-professed Wiccan who wore all black and read Stephen King, and his best friend Baldwin, who was considered an outsider because of his love of drawing and bands like Metallica. At that point, the boys watching the fight moved in and tried to stop it. Melissa left her husband to live with her parents and had only been living at home for two to three weeks before she passed away. Waser remained with Byers while his wife was treated by physicians. Berlinger and Sinofsky, the latter of whom died in 2015 at age 58, were able to gain incredible and immediate access to seemingly everyone the case had touched: the families of the victims and the accused, the judge, the lead investigator, members of the community. Websleuths, an online forum for discussions about unsolved homicides and missing-person cases, has more than 100,000 members, and internet vigilantes have used social media and other online breadcrumbs to help track down actual criminals, such as the Canadian murderer and subject of the documentary Dont F*ck With Cats, Luka Magnotta. She stated that she had no reason to believe Byers murdered his wife, but that she felt that she should come forward with the information about the syringes. 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. Exact sum is $97000000. He told him the name of the drug. Melissa Byers, Self: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. Waser wrote, "They went to bed, spent time talking, had intercorse (intercourse) and went to sleep, at approximately 2:30PM they went to sleep". When Byers informed him of Melissa's condition, Metz asked why he had not called an ambulance. (Police questioned Byers several times during the investigation, but never considered him a suspect.) The problem facing Sheriff Powell was that no one at the hospital could figure out why. Melissa was the biological mother of Chris Byers and Ryan Clark. how did melissa byers die. 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. When he entered the house, Griffin wrote, he found Byers ex-wife on the floor and Byers brandishing an electric shock device known as a Power Zapper. >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. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. When Rose questioned Byers later, he confirmed that he did hold a gun at his side throughout the incident, but, Rose said, He told me, At no time did I intimidate or threaten any of those kids., Rose said, I asked him, You dont think that just having a gun in your hands under those circumstances was intimidating and threatening? He said, No.'. James stated that Byers had intentionally killed his wife. They werent connected in any direct way, Bakken says. > I'd be interested in knowing whether or not he also died under suspicious, > circumstances. A few minutes he would calm down. 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. The Hobbses are the mother and stepfather of Steve Branch, who was one of three 8-year-old boys found murdered in May last year, in a wooded area near where the family used to live in West Memphis. He met Byers, who was leaving, on his way, and reported that Byers told him, Some smart-ass kid got his ass kicked. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. He kept asking me, What is your opinion? He said, I think they ought to have fought it out, dont you?, I said, No, I dont. In June 1996, Paradise Lost debuted on HBO, bringing the story of the West Memphis Three to TV sets and showing the power of the camera in the courtroom. The third boy, Byers, had died of loss of blood suffered during the removal of his penis. That inability on the part of the doctors to determine the cause of Melissa Byers death was what prompted Sheriff Powell to telephone Witt. "[12], Waser met with Sheriff Powell, Chief Burton, and Investigator Witt to discuss searching the Byers' residence. how did melissa byers die 'We are still working hard to bring you fresh content and good vibes, even in these trying times!' . Buried in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. You need corroborating evidence.. Melissa's return to the home coincided with her son's. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. Founded 1974, the Arkansas Times is a lively, opinionated source for news, politics & culture in Arkansas. how did melissa byers die. Our monthly magazine is free at over 500 locations in Central Arkansas. In an interview, the child told police her father had been acting weird and indicated he had been drinking when he picked her up from school on Nov. 28. <> Metz advised he checked for a pulse, lifted her eyelids, and looked at her eyes. Defense lawyers tried to suggest that family violence may have played a role in the killings, rather than satanic blood-thirst, as was alleged. Now, he was being asked to consider something that he never dreamed he would: accepting a plea deal that would set the West Memphis Three free, but require them to give up their quest for exoneration. kill the process running on port 1717 sfdx. She died on March 29, 1996 in Arkansas, USA. 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. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. We were finally winning, he says. (Byers) Hale was born on April 28, 1967. Hydrocodone was detected in the urine, but not in the blood or the liver. Nico has put together an impressive list of tomato varieties for 2021. West Memphis is in the heart of the Bible Belt: just a two-hour drive from where, legend has it, the devil tuned Robert Johnsons guitar, in a state thats 46 percent evangelical Protestant. Berlinger also concedes Revelations had some ethical problems, chiefly because it raised the possibility that Mark Byers committed the killings. She stated that she lived with Byers and "discovered that he was nothing but a pathological liar. There. Benjamin H. Byers was convicted of first-degree murder, armed criminal action and child endangerment in connection to the killing following a trial in March. On the street, it sells as much as $50 per tablet. (Associate Medical Examiner), Charles Kokes, M.D. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. The other drugs found in the blood were at low or therapeutic levels which have not been associated with sudden death."[35]. The shooting Tuesday led to an hours long standoff at the house in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard. In 1973, when John Mark Byers was 16 years old and living in Marked Tree, police there were called to his home by his parents, who said he was threatening them with a knife. She is known for Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996). The brother-in-law, Dennis DeFir, brought Ryan back to the home the day after Melissa died. The legal troubles of Terry Hobbs and John Mark Byers. The origin of the other needle puncture woundsin the groin, arms, and feetwas undetermined. At the time of her youngest son's murder in May of 1993, Melissa was married to John Mark Byers. But the feud between neighbors is minor compared to two other incidents, both of which have resulted in the filing of charges against the couple. 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. 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. I deeply admire that and I thought it was worthy of putting on film.. When there wasn't one he started CPR. Mandy said that later that night Byers located the syringes and threw them away after police were done searching his home. 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. It ranges from Mark Byers, the crusading stepfather who became one of the West Memphis Threes biggest allies in the years before his 2020 death, to famed FBI criminal profiler (and Mindhunter inspiration) John E. Douglas. It is worth noting that these are the two parents who have made the most TV, print, and film appearances. Speaking by phone last month, he comes across, in many ways, like the person Berlinger says he encountered in prison in 1994: polite, deferential, soft-spoken. She was previously married to John Mark Byers. 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. What prompted Sheriff Powell, Chief Burton, and feetwas undetermined together an impressive list of tomato for... Two parents who have made the most TV, print, and Investigator to! Learned that justice isnt a computer programthat you can input all the evidence and testimony and still get wrong. 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