Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders (16 page)

Floresca said Misskelley told her and other students the day before he was arrested that he participated in the killings.

A group of students were driving last Wednesday after school to a friend's house to go swimming when Misskelley began telling his bizarre tale, she said.

"He was saying he hit the little boy and the little boy ran off and he was taking him back to where Damien and the other boy were," she said. According to Misskelley's story, Echols had already killed the two other boys, she said.

Floresca said she didn't believe Misskelley at the time.

Jim Maguire, a Chattanooga clinical therapist and former Massachusetts police officer who consults with police about Satanism, said anyone in the habit of ritualistic cat killing is more than just dabbling in the occult.

If it is established that satanistic behavior was a motive for deaths of the three West Memphis second-graders, Maguire said those involved would have worked their way up to killing children with earlier animal sacrifices.

Meanwhile, the case's notoriety apparently prompted a trailer park landlord to evict Echols's 16-year-old girlfriend from her $175-a-month trailer home.

The girl's mother, Dian Teer, called The Commercial Appeal to report the eviction from the trailer home that she said her daughter sometimes shared with Echols. She also said neighbors had been calling for their removal from the park.

Teer, 43, said she plans to fight the eviction.

Teer said Saturday that Echols, 18, often stayed overnight in the trailer with her pregnant 16-year-old daughter.

Teer also has said there is nothing to the Satanism rumors, saying Echols is misunderstood.

An area east of Marion, Ark., that locals call "Stonehenge," on Sunday was found covered with spray-painted graffiti, including backward swastikas, pentagrams, tridents and references to Lucifer.

June 8th, 1993

Damien Echols

Suicide attempt

After his arrest, Echols made a half-hearted attempt at suicide. He stopped taking his medication for depression, then took twelve of the pills simultaneously. He then informed prison authorities, who provided him syrup of Ipecac to induce vomiting. He was taken to the hospital for observation. He wrote his parents the following note, scribbled on a piece of paper:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Just remember I am a Wiccan and will be reincarnated. I promise I love you very much. Tell Domini I love her and to take care of my baby. You know I was innocent. I will find you even in spirit. Just make sure you always remember that I love you no matter what. And make sure Domini and the baby know it. I will be back. I love you all very much.

Love,

Michael Damien Hutchison
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7. Gathering Evidence

After the arrests of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr., West Memphis Police began the process of gathering evidence for the eventual criminal trial. Included in this chapter is information from investigative reports and police interviews taken from people who knew the West Memphis Three and from other residents of the town of West Memphis.

June 7th, 1993

Heather Cliett

Investigative Report

Jason Baldwin’s girlfriend Heather Cliett confirmed to investigators that Damien and Jason were best friends, and told the police that Damien once told her “he stuck a stick in a dog’s eye and then jumped on it and then burned it.”
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June 7th, 1993

Shari Gilbert

Handwritten Statement to Police

Shari Gilbert provides a handwritten statement to police stating her nephew William Jones told her that Damien, Jason and another unknown boy were responsible for the murders.
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June 7th, 1993

Jodee Medford

Handwritten Statement

About 2 weeks ago I was at the Girls Club softball field. And I heard Damien say "I killed the three little boys and before I turn myself in I am going to kill two more and I already have one picked out.” I overheard him say this to a group of people when I was walking by him. I don't know him. I just know of him. And Jason Baldwin and his girlfriend Heather were standing by him. I was with my sister Jackee and her friend Christi Vanvickle. That was the first time I had ever seen Damien and the next night he was there too.
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June 7th, 1993

Donna Medford

Investigative Report

The week of May 24th when my two girls Jodee & Jackee Medford and Christi Vanvickle got in the car they started all talking at once telling me about what the weird black haired boy had said that night. The all said they heard him say that he had killed those 3 little boys. Jodee said she heard him say "He had killed the boys and before he got caught or turned himself in he was gonna kill 2 more and already had one picked out." I told them he was just nuts and to stay away from him. Katie Hendrix was also with me that night & repeated the same story. She also told me he had said he was going to bite her titties off. When he left she yelled 'Did you really kill those 3 boys & he yelled 'yes'.
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June 8th, 1993

Jason Crosby

Investigative Report

Jason Crosby repeated much of the information already given to his school principal John Heath on June 4th back to police in this June 8th interview. He restated he knew the arrested boys for over a year while living in Lakeshore Trailer Park. He would sleep over with Damien and Jason at times. He told police that sometime in the last year (1992), Damien and Jason wanted to catch a bum under the overpass and torture him just to see what it was like. Jason C. (Crosby) told him he was crazy, and said that he was just kidding. Crosby said that Misskelley punched him in the face twice at different times---once over a girl and once over a stolen bike.
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June 9th, 1993

Michele Carter

Handwritten Statement

About 2 weeks ago at my ballgame at the Girls Club I was told by Shannon Boals from Marion that there was a boy named Damien that said he killed the boys and he didn't cut their thing off he bite it off. Shannon showed him to me and pointed him out to me. Shelley Wolf from Marion also told me that she cut herself one day and he ask her if he could suck her blood. Later on more of my friends Tara Cupples, Cory Catt, and Shannon Boals were standing with me in front on the concession stand and we decided to go over and sit with her brother Trey Boals and a bunch of his other friends I am not sure what their names are. We all sat down and as we sat behind the bleachers we saw Damien sitting beside us. We tried not to look at him so we moved over a little. He never talked to me except he asked who we were I told him Michele Carter he never said another word to me. Cory Catt and Tara Cupples left and it was me, Shannon Boals and Trey Boals sitting on the grass still and I just happened to hear Damien say something about him and the Devil so I decided to get up. Right before my game started Shannon Boals also told me that he wanted to kill two more people and he knew one of them was his ex-girlfriend. Shannon Boals said her brother Trey Boals knew more and that it was his friend Shawn something that told him. I think that was his name. I never saw him after that.
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June 9th, 1993

Jerry Driver

Police Report

On June 8, 1993, at approximately 10:00 A.M., I received a call from Steve Jones at my office. Mr. Jones requested that I meet him at a location near Lakeshore Trailer Park. The location was under the I-55 overpass that crosses the railroad tracks. Mr. Jones advised me that he had an informant involved with certain individuals in the area who were participating in ritualistic animal sacrifices. He took me to an area at the north end of the I-55 overpass where we discovered the carcass of a cat and the bones of another animal as well as the carcasses of 10-15 pigeons in a pile. We also found evidence of small bonfires at the same location. We then moved to a location along the railroad tracks where we observed a lot of grafitti. At this time, Mr. Jones observed a knife in the dirt on the south side of the tracks south of the retaining wall. I noticed that it had a blade with a serrated edge and called for CID from the CCSO.
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June 9th, 1993

Dennis Carter

Police Report

States that he has known and been friends with Jesse Misskelley all of his life. The last time he saw Jesse was the day before he was arrested. States that he did not know Damien or Jason---knew who they were but was not friends with them.

Rick Delcor told Dennis about some Devil worshipers that met at Stone Hedge [Stonehenge]. Does not think Rick was ever there -- just heard about it. States that Rick told him that he heard that they would cut a dogs head off and would eat the meat from the leg. Rick said that Damien was the leader. States that about 6 months ago Jesse told him that Damien was a Devil worshiper and that he ate the right leg of dogs. Jesse said that this happened in the woods located behind Elite lamp.

Dennis states that he has been in those woods hunting and observed Devil worshiping symbols on trees and KKK on trees.

Dennis states that Jesse liked to fight and alot of times he would even start it. About 2 months ago Jesse was fighting a boy named Eric in Lakeshore when this girl named Tiffany (13 y.o.) Eric's girlfriend -- went over to try and stop him -- states Jesse turned around and hit her as hard as he could in the ear with his fist. States that Jesse had to go to Juvenile Court over that.

States that about 4 or 5 months ago in Highland Trailer Park there was a little girl -- 5 or 6 yrs old -- that was throwing rocks -- one accidentally hit Jesse -- Jesse chased the little girl and threw a rock and hit her in the head. The little girl was crying and Jesse was laughing. Her name was Paula -- they don't live in Highland anymore -- they moved about 1 month ago...States that he does not like his Jesse’s stepmother (Lee) at all -- states that she stays drunk all of the time and so does Jesse's dad.

Dennis states that Jesse drank alot and smoked pot when he could get it -- thinks the guys name is Josh 17 yrs old and lives in Highland Trailer Park.
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June 10th, 1993

Investigative Report

Karen McAteer

Karen McAteer called and stated approximately two months ago at her home, 515 Belvedere St, her daughter Jessica Bryant and a friend Heather Smith were waiting to go to Church about 10:00 A.M. on Sunday. The two girls were outside and ran in the house and told Mrs. McAteer that a guy was taking their picture. Mrs. McAteer went to the door and saw Damien Echols run from her property-he was dressed in black. Mrs. McAteer and her husband drove around trying to find him but could not. One of the neighbors told McAteer that Damien was living on Balfour with a family.
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