West of Memphis Poster - P 2012
Jock and The Silent GiantsGiven the success of HBO’s Paradise Lost series of documentaries detailing the case of the West Memphis Three, many wondered what the Peter Jackson-produced West of Memphis film would add to the conversation about the three Arkansas youths who were convicted of murder in 1993 under what most believe to be false pretenses.
The West of Memphis film is screening for press Friday morning at Sundance ahead of its premiere this afternoon, and the legal team for the three now-grown individuals—Jason Baldwin, Damian Echols and Jessie Misskelley—has taken the opportunity to release a statement detailing the new info in the film. And for those who have followed the case, it’s a potential bombshell.
The attorneys for the WMT, who have since been released from prison after an awkward guilty plea, claim they have three new witnesses, friends of Michael Hobbs, Jr., who claim Hobbs told them that “my uncle Terry murdered those three little boys.”
VIDEO: Peter Jackson’s ‘West of Memphis’ Trailer
Terry Hobbs, whose DNA was found in a shoelace used to restrain one of the victims, has been a subject of much speculation despite never having been charged with a crime. Indeed, he figures prominently in the last third of the most recent Paradise Lost film, Purgatory, because he was seen near the victims and cannot totally account for his whereabouts during the time the murders occurred.
Here’s the full press release from law firm Ropes & Gray:
(Mountain Home, Arkansas – January 20, 2012) Terry Hobbs’ nephew, Michael Hobbs Jr., allegedly told his friends “my uncle Terry murdered those three little boys,” according to declarations under penalty of perjury recently given to Damien Echols’ defense team. The three new witnesses were polygraphed about what they stated Michael Hobbs, Jr. told them.
“One day Michael picked us up in his truck. He was very quiet and upset. Michael then said to us, ‘you are not going to believe what my dad told me today. My Uncle Terry murdered the three little boys.’ According to Michael, his dad called this ‘The Hobbs Family Secret’ and he asked us to keep it a secret and not tell anyone.”
Another witness stated, “One night last winter, Michael and I were playing pool in his basement when the third friend asked about the West Memphis Three case which had been in the news. Michael responded by saying, ‘My uncle killed three kids in West Memphis.’ Michael was dead serious when he said this.”
The three little boys referenced in the declarations were found brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. DNA consistent with Terry Hobbs, stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, was later discovered in the knot of a shoelace used to restrain victim Michael Moore. Three eyewitnesses have also provided sworn statements that they saw Terry Hobbs with the three children on the day of the murders, immediately before they disappeared. Terry Hobbs has maintained that he never saw the three boys the day they were murdered.
A third witness stated that he was at Michael Hobbs Jr’s home in 2003 or 2004 when he was told by Hobbs Jr. that the two of them could not go down to the basement to play pool because Michael Hobbs Sr. was down there having a conversation with Hobbs Jr.’s uncle. The witness said that he “ listened with Michael Jr. at the top of the stairs. I heard two men talking. One appeared to be very upset even crying and he said ‘I am sorry, I regret it.’ The other man was trying to console him and said, ‘You are in the clear, no one thinks you are a suspect, those guys are already in prison.’”
Echols’ attorney, Stephen Braga of Ropes & Gray, said: “This is critical new information which reveals that the people closest to Terry Hobbs, his family members, may know much more about Terry’s involvement in the West Memphis Three case than they have ever acknowledged. If this is the Hobbs Family Secret, then what a horrific cost that secrecy has imposed on the lives of so many people – perhaps most significantly Pam Hobbs who deserves to know what really happened to Stevie on the night of the murders, as do the Byers and Moore families. With the secret now out, let’s hope that someone in the Hobbs family has the heart, the soul and the courage to come forward to tell the truth directly. In the meantime, I have given our investigative materials concerning these new witnesses – along with other related information – to District Attorney Scott Ellington for his review and action.”
The new witnesses came forward after seeing a recording of the CBS News 48 Hours special on the West Memphis 3 case. At the end of that broadcast, attorney Stephen Braga was asked what’s next in the effort to gain exoneration for the three after their plea deal. He responded: “Hopefully, some day we will find that smoking gun, that key piece of inculpatory DNA or a deathbed confession or a witness will come forward and say, “You know, this is really what happened.”
Hearing those words moved the new witnesses to contact the West Memphis 3 Confidential Tip Line just a few weeks ago. The new witnesses were then interviewed by the Echols’ defense team, signed declarations under penalty of perjury and passed polygraph examinations concerning what they say Michael Hobbs Jr. told them.
The Confidential Tip Line number is (501) 256-1775.
Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com
Twitter: @THRMattBelloni
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