Last Sightings of the 3-eight-year-old Boys

UdbCrzy2

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This thread is to determine when the last known sightings of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Chris Byers. It appears that the last sightings were approximately 6:00 to 6:45pm according to the interviews below. If anyone has others to add please feel free to post them


Cindy Rico -saw boys at drainage ditch in RobinHood area 6:00 to 6:30pm
http://callahan.8k.com/images2/c_rico/rico_c_statement.jpg

Report - Cindy Rico
http://callahan.8k.com/images2/c_rico/rico_c_report.jpg

Bryan Woody 6:30 – 6:45 saw 4 boys with 2-bicycles going into RobinHood area off Goodwin.
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_woody_note.html


707 – CRAFTON – 7350291. BEN CRAFTON –15 Y/O – BEN SAW BRANCH + MOORE KIDS ON BIKES WED – 6:00PM GOING TOWARD GOODWYIN – KIM WILLIAMS WAS WITH THEM.

713 – JASON GOBBELL – AGE 8 –732-0396 – JASON SAW TWO BOYS ON BIKES AROUND 6:00 PM WED.

719 – JEFF MARTINS – AGE 18 – 735-8882. HE SAW ALL 3 ON BIKES 6:30 PM HEADED TOWARD ROBINHOOD AREA.
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_crafton_door.html

Ben Don Crafton
THE LAST TIME I SAW THE BOYS WAS BETWEEN 6:15 AND 6:30.
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_crafton_statement.html
 
Just some additional info re Kim Williams (8yo) .. interesting the other witness says he saw her "with" the boys.


LEAD TO FOLLOW: KIM STATED SHE SAW STEVE AND MICHAEL BETWEEN 5:30 AND 6:00 P.M. GOING INTO ROBIN HOOD INTO THE DITCH THAT GOES TO THE DEVILS DEN AREA. SHE SAW THEIR BIKES PARKED BY THE ROAD NEAR GOODWIN. KIM ALSO SAW THREE OLDER BOYS COMING OUT OF ROBIN HOOD NEAR THE DEAD END ROAD OFF OF GOODWIN. 1-W/M AND 2-B/M. SHE NEVER SAW CHRISTOPHER THAT DAY.

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/kimw.html

There's a lot to think about, there. Kim's statement is backed up by Dawn Moore, who also said she saw one white and two black males exiting the woods.
 
James Clark Ballard:

"At 6:30 PM on May 5, 1993, which was a Wednesday, my sister and I went out the front door of my house to go out to the car to meet the people who were picking us up to take us to Wednesday night youth group. As I came out into the front yard, I saw Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers come racing between my house and the house next door that was in the direction of the Hobbs’ house. [...] While I was out in the front yard in the evening of May 5, 1993, Terry Hobbs hollered at Stevie, Michael and Christopher to get back down to the Hobbs‘ house."

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_jamie_clark_ballard.pdf

Jamie's story is backed up by his mother and sister:

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_brandy_clark_williams.pdf

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_deborah_moyer.pdf
 
Christopher Wahl:
Saw Chris Byers and another boy, unnamed, probably Stevie, at 7.00pm.

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/c_wahl_notes.html

Is there any good reason to disbelieve Wahl? He has a good chronological marker for the time (night school getitng out) and may well have been the very last witness to see the boys alive.
 
Bryan Woody said he saw 4-boys around 6:30pm to 6:45pm.
http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/b_woody_note.html

Could the other boy be Aaron?


Byers in his statement claims that Chris plays with Aaron and is a good friend to Chris.

We also know that Aaron's mother purchased alcohol for Jessie Misskelley that same day.
 
One witness said they saw the boys in a group of nine or so kids earlier (sorry, too lazy to dig up the link, but it does in fact exist :B ) -- I think the 4th boy could have been ANY of the local kids who were hanging out with the victims that day.

Of interest to me is Bobby Posey who stated Chris Byers came by his house (Just after 5pm IIRC?), saying he'd been beaten by his dad and was planning on running away. Which - in 8yo terms - might mean hiding out in the woods a few hours past suppertime curfew.
 
They were seen going into or near the woods at 6:45pm by two witnesses that I know of. The older boys 1WM/2BM were leaving the area before the boys arrived.

We probably will never know what Chris was thinking at this point.

I suggested Aaron because Byers said in his interview/report that he was one of Chris's good friends. Also Aaron is Vickie's son who was in contact with Misskelley because she bought him booze that very day. Aaron also gave a report that he saw what happened.
 
James Clark Ballard:

"At 6:30 PM on May 5, 1993, which was a Wednesday, my sister and I went out the front door of my house to go out to the car to meet the people who were picking us up to take us to Wednesday night youth group. As I came out into the front yard, I saw Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers come racing between my house and the house next door that was in the direction of the Hobbs’ house. [...] While I was out in the front yard in the evening of May 5, 1993, Terry Hobbs hollered at Stevie, Michael and Christopher to get back down to the Hobbs‘ house."

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_jamie_clark_ballard.pdf

Jamie's story is backed up by his mother and sister:

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_brandy_clark_williams.pdf

http://callahan.8k.com/pdf/affidavit_deborah_moyer.pdf

FYI, Jamie Clark Ballard is a female. She and her sister and mother all three gave affidavits (as was linked), but IIRC, Jamie was the only one interviewed in West of Memphis.
 
I have a question about the Diana Moore-sighting. She claims that she saw Steve, Michael and Chris riding north on 14th street around 18:00. The children were on two bikes: Michael was on his red bike, and Chris and Steve were on Steve's green bike. But, as you can see in this picture, Steve's bike had no 'cargo rack'. So how could Chris have been on Steve's bike?
Green bike.png

And if Chris was on Steve's bike, that doesn't explain why his skateboard has never been found (although there are conflicting statements about this. JMB identified a skateboard in the street as belonging to Chris, while Ryan Clark testified in court that he had never seen that skateboard before)
 
Um, I think you got it mixed up there, Lethal. MM's bike was the green one. The green one is actually a girl's bike (MM's sister's), painted green. SB's is the newer, red/black bike that his Granpa JH had just given to him as a present.

I don't really know anything about a cargo rack. To my knowledge, neither bike had a cargo rack. CB was riding, I imagine, on top of the handlebars. Also, I always thought that CB was riding on MM's handlebars. From the picture, it would make more sense for him to be doing so, in that SB's bike has a black bar that goes across the top of the handlebars, but the green bike does not, making the curvature a much more suitable seat.

PS: where did you get that picture? It's phenomenal -- I've never seen that picture. Very clear image of the bikes, particularly MM's.
 
It's also possible that CB was riding on the "banana" seat with SB. Those elongated seats permitted two people (providing they weren't too big) to ride together. The handlebars are possible, but I think the seat is more likely. As to the skateboard, I think that the one JMB identified as CB's was CB's and that RC was mistaken. The murder of CB hit RC pretty hard, so he could have easily been confused. AFAIK, RC still doesn't discuss this case publicly.
 
Um, I think you got it mixed up there, Lethal. MM's bike was the green one. The green one is actually a girl's bike (MM's sister's), painted green. SB's is the newer, red/black bike that his Granpa JH had just given to him as a present.

I don't really know anything about a cargo rack. To my knowledge, neither bike had a cargo rack. CB was riding, I imagine, on top of the handlebars. Also, I always thought that CB was riding on MM's handlebars. From the picture, it would make more sense for him to be doing so, in that SB's bike has a black bar that goes across the top of the handlebars, but the green bike does not, making the curvature a much more suitable seat.

PS: where did you get that picture? It's phenomenal -- I've never seen that picture. Very clear image of the bikes, particularly MM's.

Thank you for the rectification. I would think that SB would have a hard time riding his bicycle with a 55-pound kid on his handlebars, but I can't speak from experience. Just seems odd to me that a kid would choose to go on the handlebar/black bar, rather than take his own skateboard.
I got the picture from an article in the Commercial Appeal, which talked about Pam Hicks suing the WMPD to release evidence. The WMPD refused because, according to the police chief: 'The whole case doens't seem over for me'. So I guess the WMPD can keep the evidence (clothing, bikes, the ligatures) for as long as they want. Here is the article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/mother-one-west-memphis-3-victims-sues-police-see
 
As to the skateboard, I think that the one JMB identified as CB's was CB's and that RC was mistaken. The murder of CB hit RC pretty hard, so he could have easily been confused. AFAIK, RC still doesn't discuss this case publicly.

I was wondering about RC. He had a really tough life: he was sexually abused by his biological father (according to Melissa), his brother was murdered and then his mother died a premature death. Not to mention that his stepfather was not an easy person to live with, I can imagine. Wonder how he's doing right now..
 
Hi Lethalmatthew - that is so very kind of you to think of how R.C. is doing now. I often think of all of the collateral damage surrounding this case, especially since all of the people who were affected now realize that the investigation could have been conducted in a more honest and effective manner with the goal of discovering who really committed this horrible crime. I cannot even imagine how the family members, extended family members and community members at the time feel about the crime and how justice was not served for the little boys. I feel I would have something hard like a small uneven and unfamiliar rock unsettled in my heart and it would be difficult to soften it. So much pain and confusion and frustration would likely stay with a good number of the individuals. We are not the only ones who crave answers to this of course and it is very kind of you to think of the others who suffered the collateral damage, the falling out from all of this.

Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects. – Dalai Lama
 
You're absolutely right, Zencompass. The killer(s) did far more than murder three innocent children. They destroyed the lives of the victims' parents and loved ones. I felt really sad when I saw how far the Byers had fallen in the three years after the murders, and especially the scene where JMB weeps at Melissa's grave. Some think it was just an act, but all I saw was a husband and stepfather who was filled with grief. The other family members suffered just as much. I really want to see justice prevail in this
 
In West of Memphis, there's an interview with JMB pretty early on, and the difference in his appearance there and later, like at the funeral, speaks volumes. I, too, believe that much of his behavior was due to grief over the death of his son. I wish I had some news on RC, but, AFAIK he's off the grid.
 
http://callahan.8k.com/images2/c_wahl/wahl_c_notes.jpg
I was looking through the documents on Callahan, and I found a note on an interview with Chris W. that also seems to contain an interview with PH. I can't make out the exact words, but it says something like: '3.30, told to be back at 4.30. Michael was here when begging (to stay?) till 4.30. 3.40 Christopher comes over looking for her son and Michael'.
Thought it was interesting, because I don't remember seeing any other document from 1993 containing PH's story of the afternoon's events.
 
I can only confirm that LM, either there was no official police interview in '93 which seems to fit in with the suspicion that the whole Hobbs / Hicks family were not investigated at all, or the corresponding documents are not available at callahan.

The earliest official documents concerning PH's statement are the trial documents:

Misskelley Trial January 26, 1994

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/phobbs.html

Echols/Baldwin Trial February 28, 1994

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/ebtrial/pamhobbs.html

I think because PH tells the story of the day in PL I, generally seems to distract attention from this. I was also surprised to see that there was virtually nothing from'93.
 
I'd just like to add this: CAllahan's is a fantastic site, but it is not exhaustive. From what I understand (and anyone can correct me if I'm wrong), it is basically comprised of actual documents that a few interested people obtained by going to the WMPD and grabbing/photographing everything they possibly could within the time constraints that were both imposed by themselves and by the police department. Obviously, they couldn't photograph and/or go through everything. There are boxes upon boxes upon boxes of evidence in this case. Callahan's, in my best guesstimate, contains 1/4 of this information -- and if we're lucky, at that.
 
I'd like to add one caveat to the information about Callahan's. The people involved, IIRC, were both nons until they actually examined the evidence and photographed it. One remained a non while the other was convinced, by the evidence, that the three wrongfully convicted men were factually innocent. So, I'm sure that the photography was not biased in any way. Although everything might not have been photographed, over the years, as the information was made public, the site has been updated. So, I'm pretty sure that all legal documents are there by now.
 

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