Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders (24 page)

Bly told Ridge of an instance where Jessie Kiskelley and her husband got in a fight. Misskelley threatened to use a knife, but Bly told him that was not a fair fight. Misskelley “busted a hole” in Bly’s husband’s lip.

October 14th, 1993

Buddy Lucas

Police Interview

Interviewed by Detectives Durham and Ridge, Buddy Lucas told police about a conversation he had with Jessie Misskelley, Jr.:

Lucas - Okay, so I wanted to go in, and Jessie said “no, man let's stay out here on the porch and we'll uh, talk and everything, okay just talk.

Ridge - Okay, he didn't want you to leave?

Lucas - Uh sir?

Ridge - He didn't want you to leave right then he wanted to talk?

Lucas - Yea.

Ridge - Okay

Lucas - (inaudible)

Ridge - Okay, so what was the conversation?

Lucas - We’d just been talking about some, of his friends, my friends, and other stuff that's going on I saw (inaudible) he started breaking out in sweat and everything and at that time I didn't know he had anything to do with these kids.

Ridge - Okay, but tell me what, just that conversation what happened in that conversation?

Lucas - We was uh, was talking about going over uh, Bobby Dollars wife's house to get my hair cut, because she cut little hair now and then.

Ridge - Okay

Lucas - So I was going to go over there, so I said “lets go over see about getting her to cut my hair”, we went over there, she cut my hair, he sit there and played the Nintendo with her little boys.

Ridge - Okay

Lucas - And everything, cause he used to, he cleaned up her house, watches her kids for her, so we left we went back to his house, I started, I told him, man, uh, thanks for going over uh, Bobby's wife's with me and everything to get my hair cut, I going to holler at you later, he said no man I got to tell you something, and everything and he was breaking out in a sweat.

Ridge - You said something about his eyes when we talked earlier what was it about his eyes.

Lucas - They... They had water dripping from them.

Ridge - He had been crying?

Lucas - Uh-huh something like that.

Ridge - That's just what you thought?

Lucas - Uh-huh.

Ridge - Did he tell you he had been crying?

Lucas - Uh-uh.

Ridge - Okay, so what happens when he tells you he has to tell you something?

Lucas - So we sit there, sit there, and I said, he said man me Jason and Damien we went walking last night in the town of West Memphis, I said why didn't you all come by and get me? We will we uh, we were in a hurry and everything go up there and come back home. I said alright I understand (inaudible) now since I found out i'm kinda glad he didn't come by and get me.

Ridge - Okay, what did he tell you he do?

Lucas - We.... He told me that uh, that he got in a fight, that's what he told me at first.

Ridge - Okay

Lucas - I said Damien and Jason they helped you? He said um-yea and everything so I said well did you all hurt anybody? And he said yea, I didn't think it was those 8 year old kids or anything, so I turn around and come to found out that Jason---he was with Jason and Damien when they sacrificed them little kids. I was come and tell you all.

Ridge - Okay.

Lucas - And he said “no I'll do it.”

Ridge - So he tells you he will come to the police.

Lucas: Uh-huh, and alright that weekend, I came back over at my mom's and everything.

Ridge - Uh-huh.

Lucas - I read about it in the paper and everything and come to found out he did front his self that he did do it cause he told me he would.

Ridge - Okay, Thursday morning after this Wednesday you went to his house.

Lucas - Uh-huh.

Ridge - He tells you he's in some trouble?

Lucas - Uh-huh.

Ridge - And what did he tell you he was in trouble over?

Lucas - That he really, he said um, we hurt, uh.... Uh we hurt a couple of boys, that Jason and Damien killed...

Ridge - Okay.

Lucas - Couple, I said was you involved? He said yea, I said what did you do? I finally got it talked out of him what did he do, he said I hit uh, a couple in the back of the head.

Ridge - Okay, and...

Lucas - And everything to keep them from running and everything

Ridge - And that's what he told you?

Lucas - Yes, sir.

Ridge - And this is on Thursday morning?

Lucas - Uh-huh.

Ridge - Okay.

Lucas - The two shoes he gave me, and everything.

Ridge - Did he give you some shoes on that Thursday morning?

Lucas - Uh-huh.

Ridge - Okay, and describe to me how he gave you those shoes?

Lucas - He... He picked up and started to hand them to me. All the suddenly he dropped them, and broke out in sweat, crying everything else, he said man take those shoes I don't want to see them no more, I said your sure? And everything, I don't remember seeing those shoes at his house, he said, I said are they yours? He said yea. So I said, he said take them I don’t want to see them no more, I said are you sure you want me to take them? And he said yea, and everything so there wasn't nothing on the shoes and everything so turn around he going, I got the shoes I went home and everything.

Ridge - After you got the shoes did he say, what did he say exactly to you about those shoes?

Lucas - That he didn't want to see them anymore and...

Ridge - Okay

Lucas - And everything he didn't want to have nothing to do with them shoes

Ridge - Okay, so you didn't come to the police either?

Lucas - Uh-uh

Ridge - Why did you not come to the police?

Lucas - I was afraid that you all would lock me up for it, I didn't have nothing to do with it.

Ridge - Okay.

Lucas - Did he said he would do it, and everything i was going to wait and see if he would do it, then if he didn't i was going to tell you all that he did it.

Ridge - But then about a month later he did tell the police about it?

Lucas - Yes, sir.

Lucas - The reason I didn't come uh, then before he told you all everything, because I was afraid if I did that he would have somebody hurt me.

Ridge - You were afraid Jessie would have somebody to hurt you?

Lucas - Yes sir, he knows alot of people, that I don't know.

Ridge - Okay.

Lucas - I'm afraid he would have some body hurt me and everything.

Ridge - Did you know Jason?

Lucas - I've talked to him a couple of times

Ridge - Alright, Damien did you know him?

Lucas - Not every since he picked me up off the ground my looking at me, I mean I got scared of him.

Ridge - You’re scared of Damien?

Lucas - (inaudible)

Ridge - Okay, did you know that they had any part or any dealings in a satanic cult? Cult like group?

Lucas - I knew Damien and Jason did because they look like the type of person that would but Jessie I didn't, swear I sure didn't, it shock me....
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After that discussion with Detectives Ridge and Durham, the next recorded discussion with Buddy Lucas took place in
1994. In a phone conversation with Prosecutor Fogleman, Buddy Lucas explains his hesitancy when speaking with police. The conversation verifies that there existed in West Memphis in 1993-4 a pervasive sense of fear. Locals thought they were watched and people were scared. Fogleman asks Buddy if he knows why witnesses are changing their stories:

Fogleman: No, we're not going to bother you Buddy. We just want to know the truth about it because you know these people are telling us things and this investigator this [Investigator] Lax guy is going around getting all kinds of witnesses to change their stories. And I never had -- I've been doing this for over ten years and I've never had one witness change their story. Once they tell the police, I've never had them do it and we've had at least three in this case do it. And I'm just trying to find out what in the world is going on.

Buddy: I know they hollered at me Mr. John and that ain't no lie.

Fogleman: Well...

Buddy: That Durham guy...

Fogleman: Yeah well if he did he shouldn't have done that but why --

Buddy: Mr. John, I was scared, crying, didn't know what to do. I figured they was gonna throw me in jail. And I ain't never been locked up in my life.

Fogleman: Well and you're not gonna be locked up. You know I'm just wanting to know you know like Eddie and Amy Wilson they called the police and said that he had heard - he said that he had heard that you'd been talking around your job saying that you had something to do with it. And he said -- wait, let me finish -- he said that he went down and confronted you about it and that you said naw I didn't have anything to do with it and I hadn't been saying that but he did---Jessie, did give me these bloody tennis shoes.
¹³⁶

December 3rd, 1993

Jerry Driver

Police Interview

Jerry Driver, the West Memphis probation officer, provided police with information he had compiled about Echols. On December 3rd, 1993, he went to the West Memphis Police Department. He had been deeply concerned about occult activity in West Memphis for years, and knew Damien Echols well. In May of 1992, Echols was arrested with his former girlfriend Deanna Holcomb and was charged with burglary and sexual misconduct, and Driver was assigned as his juvenile officer. After the arrest, he questioned Echols about the charges. Echols told Driver that he was a grey witch. Driver told police Detective Bill Durham that:

...and that he had a group of people that uh, participated in this with him and that his main um participant was a boy named Jason Baldwin who also lived at Lakeshore, and he also informed me at that time that Jason would never ever give him up that he loved him. Um, during this same interview uh, Mr. Echols was asked um, what the extent of the cult activities was in Crittenden County and the West Memphis area was and he told us that it was fairly extensive, that there was 3 or 4 groups in West Memphis itself. They were further uh, along in their activities then he may or may not of been and by that uh, he said that he meant, uh that they had reached the end of their animal sacrifice uh portion uh to receive power and that the next logical step would be the sacrifice of a human. And we asked him if he knew it was going to be, and he denied that he knew who it was, uh, he did say that he knew who the people where involved in the cult's, but he didn't want to give name's. He said that uh one of the cult's in particular was uh waiting uh, for the return to Crittenden County of uh, I believe the number was 7 individuals who had been involved before here and they were out of town and they were coming back in the summer of 92 to participate in a sacrifice, uh shortly after that, we did have I think about 7 kids show up down at West Memphis PD who had all the ear marks of it, with the tattoo's, and the devil rings and this, that and the other. But it turns out they probably weren’t the same ones.

Durham: Where were these youngsters from?

Driver: The Chicago area. Mr. Echols gave great detail as to what it was that he supposedly was involved in. He said that he worshiped an entity called Hecate and one called Diana and that um, he told us about um. . . . ., um the initiation into. . , into his coven. He also informed me at that time he had been brought in into this group by an older woman at some time previously to this, uh this occurrence, um at the same time he also told me he had been a member of the Catholic Church and that's when he changed his name to

Damien, uh, to honor St. Damien,who evidently is some saint in the hierarchy.

Durham: Did he say who this older woman was?

Driver: He never said and. . ., and on I've probably

talked to Damien 20 times in the last 2 years, and he's always maintained that there was an older woman that brought him into it, but he would never tell me who it was.
¹³⁷

Driver told police he watched Echols as his probation officer throughout 1992 until the murders that occurred on May 5th, 1993. He related to police that Echols sucked the blood of fellow inmates, and that was how he received power. He said it was with “willing people” and that Echols has the scars to prove it.
¹³⁸
He also informed police he saw Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley walking, all in black with long trench coats, in Lakeshore Trailer Park. All three walked with long wooden staffs, or staves. Driver said he saw all three together at Highland Trailer Park as well. Echols told Driver he read the
Necronomicon
. According to Driver, the cult was to have a human sacrifice in 1992. Driver said that Domini Teer, Echol’s girlfriend, drank blood and that her mother drank blood. Stories of Damien Echols lengthy psychiatric history permeate the interview with Det. Allen.

December 31st, 1993