Melissa's return to the home coincided with her son's. The 33 Unnamed Hawkins Lab Employees are seen through the lab's security cameras and throughout the hallways. Melissa gurgled up some fluid and Metz called for an ambulance. As of "The Piggyback", 825+ characters are known to have died throughout the show's run. She died on March 11, 2007 at 39 years old. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. For 48 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond with your support, we can do even more. By collecting seeds from your own garden or buying them in bulk, you can save money on future purchases. 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. It was clear that Paradise Lost was resonating. In July, John Mark Byers was involved in an incident in which a group of teen-agers fought while Byers reportedly stood watch with a rifle to make sure the fight went on. Maybe, maybe not, but there's no evidence (aside from that knife, which never underwent full DNA testing as far as I know). > I'd be interested in knowing whether or not he also died under suspicious, > circumstances. Sinofsky family connection aside, Berlinger says this was an important part of the film: The prosecutors had put heavy metal lyrics and Baldwins and Echolss Metallica fandom on trial as much as the teens themselves. [16], When Waser returned to the Byers' home he was informed that Ryan Clark still had not returned. Byers also said that Ryan had spent the night at John Mark's brother-in-law's house. While Echols was characterized as the group s ringleader and sentenced to death, Misskelley and Ba1dwin were sentenced to life in prison. He was just taking in the enormity of the defining event of his life to that point, which had been committed to film and was now playing for him inside the cavernous, auditorium-style visitation room. Arkansas Times reports that Byers was in a single-car crash on Chambers John Mark Byers and Melissa Byers. But life was continuing for John Mark Byers. One of Kathy Bakkens earliest jobs in Los Angeles allowed her a certain kind of cultural currency: She designed movie posters for an entertainment-advertising company, which meant she got to see films months before they were released. [33], No semen was found. Hicks was hospitalized in critical condition. The two met with Byers' neighbor, Metz, who expressed concern over Byers' step-son, Ryan Clark, as he had not returned to the residence after reportedly leaving abruptly while Melissa was being worked on. Byers asked Metz to come over to the house. Powell told Witt that a woman named Melissa Byers had been taken by ambulance from her residence in Cherokee Village to Eastern Ozarks Regional Hospital. 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. At the end of September 1996, a month after Byers appearance in court, investigator Witt received the medical examiners report on Melissa. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. how did melissa byers die 'We are still working hard to bring you fresh content and good vibes, even in these trying times!' . But most of defense lawyers efforts to bring that information before the jury never got out of the judges chambers. You need corroborating evidence.. It was nude and lying on the stretcher where she had died. While thats cooled from the days of concerts in the shadows of the Arkansas Supreme Court building, the documentaries still live on HBO Max, where they pull in new viewers to this day. The trials were sensational from start to finish, partly for the gruesomeness of the crimes, and partly because the police case was predicated on the belief that the killings had been part of a Satanistic orgy. Its no surprise the juries found the prosecutions narrative compelling, Leveritt says: For them, the image of killer satanists headbanging to Metallica was more than plausible. No physical evidence was produced linking any of the accused teen-agers with the crime, and no motive for the killings was introduced other than that the murders had been part of an demonic ritual. I grabbed his arm and shoulder and guided his body to the floor. Beyond the black-and-white print of the newspaper, there was a movement brewing. Gitchell said, Thats our problem. Lacking a coherent explanation from its owner, the question of how human blood got on that knife a 9-inch long, serrated Kershaw has never been cleared up. But the lawyer quickly noticed inconsistencies in Misskelleys purported confession. Email: melissa.byers@legacylawmissouri.com Phone Number: (636) 486-2669. That inability on the part of the doctors to determine the cause of Melissa Byers death was what prompted Sheriff Powell to telephone Witt. As more people learned about the case from Paradise Lost and the work of people like Bakken and Sauls, the phrase Free the West Memphis Three caught on as a slogan for progressive musicians and actors in the 1990s, up there with Save the Rainforest and Free Tibet. Eddie Vedder became an early leading voice, soon followed by the likes of Peter Jackson, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Maines from the band then known as the Dixie Chicks. Byers has a teen-aged stepson, but the boy who was with him on this day who will not be identified because of his age was not a relative. Founded 1974, the Arkansas Times is a lively, opinionated source for news, politics & culture in Arkansas. She threw up some liquid. All of those factors combined to create a tipping point, says Leveritt. 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. Melissa was the biological mother of Chris Byers and Ryan Clark. Since moving to Cherokee Village in 1994, the couple had had frequent run-ins with police. According to her family tree, she married Kelly T. Hale on April 30, 1999 in Texas. He said he left the home around 3pm when Ryan and his girlfriend were at the home. The hospital staff came to his aid and I excused myself to the visitor's room. [29], On April 1, 1996, the following individuals signed off on the examination and autopsy of Melissa Byers: Stephen Erickson, M.D. Melissa DeFir Byers was born on January 15, 1956. 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. It wasnt hard for him to imagine his teenage self ending up in Echolss situation. 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. Family (1) Spouse John Mark Byers (c. 1986 - 29 March 1996) (her death) See also Other Works | Publicity Listings | Official Sites In August 2011, Jason Baldwin was pulled from his prison cell under confusing circumstances once again. The state police investigation had just ended, their information had been turned over to West Memphis police, and they were expecting Byers to be arrested when the boys triple murder occurred. The lawyers particularly wanted to focus on the criminal history of Mark Byers a history that, according to police records, involved prior attacks on family members, and to which police apparently paid only slight attention. Baldwin, who had been coached by his lawyers to avoid speaking to the press, says money was the only reason he agreed to the added pressure of appearing in the documentary, especially when everyone else in a position of authority seemed adversarial toward him. 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.'. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. 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. The woman told Investigator Steve Huddleston that she had known the Byerses for years, that the couple had recently been estranged, and that Melissa had been taking Dilaudid, a powerful narcotic that, when diverted to the black market, is one of the most popular illegal drugs in the country. Interesting article, although I do wish they had released more info (even though I understand why they didn't). As the 20th century turned to the 21st, the movement seemed to be picking up steam. Throughout the trials, Melissa Byers and her husband, John Mark Byers, were seen frequently on TV, often cursing the defendants. By the end of Paradise Lost, you cant believe they were found guilty, Bakken says. I so BADLY wanted to ask him, "How does it feel to have your last interaction with your child be a beating?". Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. I agree. Court records show the charges were later amended. Berlinger says that after months of filming, the parents of one of the victims raised the issue of payment. Baldwins attorneys even avoided putting him on the witness stand or mounting much of a defense, believing the burden was on the state. He responded proudly, 11.. People would drive by and yell at us, Theyre going to burn in hell, Sauls says. She died at . . whittier union high school district superintendent. That story line would make up the bulk of 2000s Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, a rare sequel for a documentary, especially before the streaming era proved that true crime series like Making a Murderer and The Staircase could maintain audience interest for years. If the state of Arkansas has a deep and abiding belief that the West Memphis Three are child murderers and did these terrible crimes, then shame on them for letting them out after 18 and a half years because a bunch of celebrities are whining about it, Berlinger says. The two boys who had exchanged words, reportedly over a girl, now found themselves in a vicious fight, with Byers companion using the folded knife in his hand as what the boys called a fist pack. But that was all, and the amounts of neither of those substances exceeded therapeutic levels. Being sweet, intelligent and loyal are not good traits to have in the Stranger Things universe. Could you elaborate on what happened to his stepfamily these past three years?Also, what exactly are the mysterious circumstances of his wife's death? Here were these guysat best they were neutral. Defense lawyers tried to suggest that family violence may have played a role in the killings, rather than satanic blood-thirst, as was alleged. Waser advised that it was unusual for a 40-year-old woman to pass away and an autopsy would be recommended to determine the cause. The concept of citizen investigations intrigues Berlinger just as much as it did in the 1990s, though today hes often more concerned with the moral implications. Getting that kind of creative validation was exciting, but we were also extremely frustrated that it didnt move from the entertainment page of the newspaper to the editorial page, Berlinger says. )+B]{uApptJ'\`\R@=]%m=VWrZ$K" As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know were dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. Im seeing the things I experienced, but not through my own point of view. Hicks had gotten Hobbs down on the ground, when Hobbs reached into his pocket, pulled out the gun, and shot Hicks in the abdomen. 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. 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. "[8], Fred Waser from the Sharp County Sheriff's Department was filling his patrol vehicle with fuel when he heard over the radio that an ambulance has been dispatched in his immediate area. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. Melissa's heart was reportedly enlarged and her atrioventricular node was narrowed. She was previously married to John Mark Byers. He's really no creepier than a lot of guys from that area, but why didn't they spend that extra dollar and do a real DNA test on the (dried blood fround in the mechanism of the serrated) knife? 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. Theyve had several victories, including the case of Daniel Villegas, who was acquitted of capital murder in 2018 after a 25-year legal saga. Today, Berlinger calls Revelations the weakest of the three films in the trilogyadvocacy in search of a story as opposed to the in-the-moment, on-the-ground approach of the first Paradise Lost and the in-depth exploration of new evidence in 2011s Purgatory. Estate Planning Paralegal. We know that Melissa A. American actress, TV director, producer, politician, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, Melissa Gilbert's cause of death is spreading as a rumor since reports claimed she passed away on October 27, 2022. After allegedly beating his wife and shooting his brother-in-law, Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Steve Branch, was released from jail in Memphis on $20,000 bond. James stated that Byers had intentionally killed his wife. Jackie Hicks, Pamela Hobbs brother, came from the house and confronted Terry Hobbs again. 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. When Rose reached the scene, he questioned the boys involved, none of whom, he said, hes had any trouble with before. (Its worth noting that despite the issues raised by Lindseys work, the first season of Up and Vanished renewed interest in the case, which ultimately led to arrests, albeit of people that Lindsey hadnt previously covered on the podcast.). Come through the kitchen door., As Witt later recorded: Metz advised that he went to the Byers residence and went inside through the door leading from the carport and saw the Byers son, Ryan Clark, and his girlfriend nude on the couch. For the next two hours and 29 minutes, the two inmates sat in near silence watching Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, the landmark documentary released on HBO 25 years ago this week that captured the trials of Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols, the three teenagers convicted in 1994 of the crimes that ripped through the small, working-class community of West Memphis, Arkansas. He returned to the Byers' home on March 31st, 1996 to interview Ryan. Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). 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. It will be interesting to see if the police come up with anything on Mrs.Byers' death, and if so, if they will possibly re-open investigations intothe murders of the three boys. Melissa DeFir Byers was born on January 15, 1996. The following year, three West Memphis teen-agers were convicted for the killings in a pair of sensational trials, which hinged on allegations of Satanism. Sheriff Powell is keeping his open. The two pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in October. He did not know if John Mark had anything to do with Melissa's death and said that "everyone seemed to be happy and jolly during the partying time. When you can get it, Hawley accuses Biden nominee of lying under oath about her political social media posts, Johnson County mom sentenced to 10 years for toddlers fentanyl death in 2020, Not putting anyone else in harms way. Standoff continues after 3 KC police shot, Police respond to several false calls of active shooters at Kansas high schools, Kansas City, Kansas man convicted of murder for killing wife who had protective order, CEO of Kansas hospice care facility arrested for alleged sale of sexual relations. But it wasnt in the ways its directors had hoped. Kaitlyn Schwers covers breaking news and crime at night for The Kansas City Star. Accueil; Solution; Tarif; PRO; Mon compte; France; Accueil; Solution; Tarif; PRO; Mon compte I am attempting to take cuttings from this plant so I can, Fighting Fungal Diseases on Plants - Exploring the Use of Copper, Daconil & Copper Fungicides, The use of copper to fight plant diseases is an intriguing concept that has been around for some time. The shooting Tuesday led to an hours long standoff at the house in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard. The brother-in-law, Dennis DeFir, brought Ryan back to the home the day after Melissa died. Kansas City man found guilty of murder in wifes 2017 stabbing death at their home, Daughter finds mothers body in the basement; her father is charged with murder, Man found dead inside house where Kansas City police officers were shot late Tuesday, Three Kansas City police officers shot and injured while executing search warrant, Bald eagles egg breaks in nest, Minnesota photo shows. He claimed that Ryan told him on a number of occasions that his step-father had been in on the murder of the three children in West Memphis, AR, Stevie Branch, Chris Byers, and Michael Moore. Did Byers do it? But for every Your Own Backyard or Ill Be Gone in the Dark that has applied journalistic rigor to their research in the past two decades, theres an Up and Vanished, which has been at the center of ethical debates since the podcast debuted in 2016. Even though I understand why they did n't ) since moving to Cherokee Village 1994., she married Kelly T. Hale on April 30, 1999 in Texas even. 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