Viable Suspect: Terry Hobbs - #2

[Cappuccino]

And why would you be skeptical of independent stories involving his sexual abuse of children? You are free to stay on any fence you like, but if you want to converse, please explain why you think Terry's first wife lied about what he did to her son. Keep in mind also, that he sexually assaulted an older neighbor who believed he was beating his baby son. Was she a liar too?

I never said anyone was a liar, don't put words in my mouth. I stand by what I said in my last two posts - TH can't be ruled out but he can't be ruled guilty either.

 

[Cappuccino]

And why would you be skeptical of independent stories involving his sexual abuse of children? You are free to stay on any fence you like, but if you want to converse, please explain why you think Terry's first wife lied about what he did to her son. Keep in mind also, that he sexually assaulted an older neighbor who believed he was beating his baby son. Was she a liar too?

Double post.

 

[herb4]

And why would you be skeptical of independent stories involving his sexual abuse of children? You are free to stay on any fence you like, but if you want to converse, please explain why you think Terry's first wife lied about what he did to her son. Keep in mind also, that he sexually assaulted an older neighbor who believed he was beating his baby son. Was she a liar too?

I think by "skeptical" the person meant "nothing has been proven and you need to tread lightly with allegations like that because it can ruin lives and, like it or not, people WILL sometimes makes stuff up to hurt someone. I'm a strong proponent of believing victims myself but am not ready to paint anyone with that brush unless it's fully investigated. Not trying to speak for anyone here.

I lean towards believing the allegations but I can't say for sure they're 100% true.

I have a lot of unproven suspicions about Terry Hobbs as a matter of fact but they're all based on physical evidence, his own words and the recollections of his alibi witness(es) from May 5, 1993. I have some ideas as to why he was treated with kid gloves and outright ignored in the initial investigation too.

But I can't prove it. And I don't care much one way or the other if the testing results from the bindings prove me right or wrong so long as we can finally solve this case. If it turns out to be some trucker, John Mark Byers or even the WM3, I just want justice and hopefully will have learned a lot during the process.

 

[HarmonyE.]

I think by "skeptical" the person meant "nothing has been proven and you need to tread lightly with allegations like that because it can ruin lives and, like it or not, people WILL sometimes makes stuff up to hurt someone. I'm a strong proponent of believing victims myself but am not ready to paint anyone with that brush unless it's fully investigated. Not trying to speak for anyone here.

Absolutely nothing anyone says out here is going to impact Terry Hobbs' life. He is the one who brought it all out into the open when he stupidly sued the Dixie Chicks.

 

[ACG2x]

As someone who has always believed the WM3 were guilty, I admit the Hobbs theory is an interesting one. I think supporters put way too much stock in the hair - which wasn't even 100% confirmed to come from Hobbs and could've gotten there via secondary transfer - but that's a different argument.

I have always conceded that the WMPD's investigation was less than stellar. They were offered assistance from multiple larger agencies and refused it which was a mistake. I don't think it was purposeful or so they could "target" Echols et. al but was more out of stubbornness and arrogance. Gitchell's "11" comment still makes me cringe.

I understand why the State denied the WM3's request to do additional testing as a matter of law and procedure so as to not set a precedent that flies in the face of every other defendant who is out under an Alford plea. It's as they say the rules and the WM3 are not special in this regard. They are treated like every other Alford defendants have been.

It's too bad because I'd be interested to see what additional testing would unearth, even though as I said I do believe the right men were convicted, I have always kept an open mind that if additional information were brought to light to possibly exonerate the WM3, I'll listen. But to date, it's a bunch of unproductive arguing on the internet and propaganda by both sides that turns into this big noise where everyone is yelling at everyone with no purpose.

Regarding Hobbs, I've listened to multiple interviews of his and he sounds like a simple man who gets straight to the point. To be honest, I don't know if he's capable of spinning a huge web of lies to throw suspicion away from himself. He sounds believable. But I take that with a grain of salt because appearances can be deceiving.

 

[Ozoner]

As someone who has always believed the WM3 were guilty, I admit the Hobbs theory is an interesting one. I think supporters put way too much stock in the hair - which wasn't even 100% confirmed to come from Hobbs and could've gotten there via secondary transfer - but that's a different argument.

Regarding Hobbs, I've listened to multiple interviews of his and he sounds like a simple man who gets straight to the point. To be honest, I don't know if he's capable of spinning a huge web of lies to throw suspicion away from himself. He sounds believable. But I take that with a grain of salt because appearances can be deceiving.

I am undecided about the guilt of the WM3. I certainly haven't ruled them out.

My understanding is that Hobbs was in possession of his stepson's pocket knife after the murders—a knife that the boy never went anywhere without. If that's true, I'd like to hear Hobbs's explanation.

 

[ACG2x]

I am undecided about the guilt of the WM3. I certainly haven't ruled them out.

My understanding is that Hobbs was in possession of his stepson's pocket knife after the murders—a knife that the boy never went anywhere without. If that's true, I'd like to hear Hobbs's explanation.

I remember hearing that somewhere, but the wounds on the boys weren't made from a pocket knife it was something much larger. I think what you are getting at is if Stevie never went anywhere without it, why does it show up on Terry's person the day his stepson goes missing and turns up murdered, correct?

If so, I would like to hear it too. It's possible that Stevie just forgot it that day because he was so excited to go out and play with Chris & Michael. Or it's possible Terry took it for some other reason when he went to work and Stevie never had it that day. Personally I don't think it means much, but like you said, if Stevie always had it with him, then there should be an explanation for why he didn't have it that day.

In the end for me though, when I think about this logically, all roads lead back to the WM3. I can put others in places at times that day that give them such a limited window to even attempt to commit this crime but can't for the WM3. I've heard the alibi's of Damien's about he was on the phone with girls which has been proven to be true...hours after the murders occurred.

He has no girl he says he was on the phone with during the time of the murders corroborate this and several outright said they talked to him but well after the time the murders are believed to have happened. His lawyers also did not introduce any phone records at trial showing he was on the phone with anyone, nor have any of his appellate lawyers or lawyers today. Damien has access to some of the top criminal defense talent in the country. If there were a provable way to show he was on the phone with girls that night, it would've been introduced by now. He's also stupid for trying to lie about that because records can prove it one way or the other.

When you look at the evidence - albeit circumstantial - in totality, I can't come to any other conclusion than the WM3 did it. However, as I said I do keep a door always open in case new evidence is brought to light.

 

[herb4]

One thing to remember about the 97% match with the Hobbs hair is that even if it isn't a match, it had to be from someone within his lineage; at least IIRC. So I'd say that really narrows it down and puts an end to this talk about x number people in the population. We're not talking about the number of people in the world here. We're talking about the population of West Memphis that shares Terry Hobbs family DNA. Further, when you factor in the Jacoby hair, the likelihood goes UP quite exponentially.

Let's say one item is a 90% match and another is 80%. Here you've got a probability situation and it's not as simple as averaging 90 v 80 and arriving at 85. When one is 90% certain and the other is 80% certain, then the odds of them both being mistaken is much higher when taken together. The chances of them BOTH being false positives is 10% x 20% in this scenario, so we get .02%, if I am, in fact, doing this right, and I used lower estimates here.

Someone who knows more about math than I do can feel free to correct me on this but I am confident that those hairs belong to TH and DJ. Now, what they MEAN is open for interpretation. All I'm saying is that, combined, the odds are FAR longer than the individual percentages if we were to look at as singular pieces of evidence and that one can't view them as separate things.

 

[herb4]

What one has to do in order to begin to really see the problems some of us have with Hobbs and his statements is watch: His WMPD interview, his Pasdar deposition and David Jacoby's interview with Bob Ruff. Any rational person will immediately begin to spot several issues and conclude that SOMEONE is lying. None of it is enough to convict ina court of law but a lot of it is at least enough to warrant firther investigation

 

[Tricia]

We are interviewing Terry Hobbs tonight (Saturday) at 10:30 PM Eastern on Websleuths YouTube Live

 

[herb4]

Wow. Lots to unpack here. I'll make an effort post about it when I have more time but I encourage anyone who listens to this to also listen to the Pasdar deposition and the Dimension films interviews. Both are easy to find.

Thanks for doing this though and also the pushback on the "blood type v. DNA" necklace evidence but your comparison to the hair DNA match is way off in terms of % likelihood of a match; especially when one factors in TWO likely matches. Even if the hair means nothing, it had to come either from Terry Hobbs OR someone in his family lineage so we're not talking about millions of people here.

Couple questions I would like to have asked were:

- When and where was Mr. Hobbs' 9mm handgun stolen and did he report it to police?

- When did Mr. Hobbs take away Stevie's pocket knife? If it was a gift, why not object to it immediately?

- How did Terry recognize Mark and Melissa Byers on the service road from his vantage point in the woods around 5:30 pm when he had never met them until later that night?

- Mr. Hobbs says he "didn't take notes" about the timeline the night of murders. Fair enough. But he also said he started a journal on May 6th so...I would think that might include some details that would help him remember certain things.

I haven't finished listening yet and I am not accusing Terry Hobbs of anything. I apologize if some of these questions did actually get asked.