Viable Suspect: John Mark Byers

[raweggsoup]

According to the timeline there is no way he should have ever been suspected.

...:::Murders In West Memphis:::...


He did not kill the boys.

Is this verified? This website is 12 years old.

 

[RubyJuno]

Does anyone know the circumstances of the one-car crash that killed JMB?

 

[SassySleuth33]

IMO, if JMB were guilty, he would definitely not be exposing himself to the police by contradicting their theory. Like another suspect, he would be more than willing to accept the police theory since it would keep the "heat" off of him. Also, his outrageous actions, IMO, would make a thinking person wonder why he was so "out there" all the time - until 2007 when the EDT had their press conference.

However, there is another adult male in this case who has been violent against both adults and children. The only physical evidence revealed in this case so far cannot exclude this adult male. His demeanor during this saga has been one of trying to hide from questioning until the innocent men were arrested and then laying low, letting JMB be the one "out there" for the public to see. IMO, laying low is much more suspicious than boisterously expressing one's opinion.

So, if Damien's actions don't make him guilty, then neither do JMB's. Trying to paint him as guilty based solely on his actions is exactly what the wmpd did to Damien, Jason and Jessie! As to the "other adult male" that I mentioned, we have much more than the actions that could easily be those of a grieving father upon which to suspect him. JMB was investigated - and cleared. The "other one" hasn't been investigated - at all!

ETA: The "other one" was also "on the hunt" for his son (supposedly) from 4:30 pm on May 5th. Also, Christopher didn't die "from blows" but rather from exsanguination, possibly from the penile injury (which IMO was from animal predation).

I couldn't have said it better myself. JMB was, at best, a ridiculous man and was the perfect red herring to divert attention away from TH.

JMB died recently. I noticed a few recent comments referring to him as still being alive. He died of injuries related to a crash June 18, 2020.

 

[SassySleuth33]

IMO, if JMB were guilty, he would definitely not be exposing himself to the police by contradicting their theory. Like another suspect, he would be more than willing to accept the police theory since it would keep the "heat" off of him. Also, his outrageous actions, IMO, would make a thinking person wonder why he was so "out there" all the time - until 2007 when the EDT had their press conference.

However, there is another adult male in this case who has been violent against both adults and children. The only physical evidence revealed in this case so far cannot exclude this adult male. His demeanor during this saga has been one of trying to hide from questioning until the innocent men were arrested and then laying low, letting JMB be the one "out there" for the public to see. IMO, laying low is much more suspicious than boisterously expressing one's opinion.

So, if Damien's actions don't make him guilty, then neither do JMB's. Trying to paint him as guilty based solely on his actions is exactly what the wmpd did to Damien, Jason and Jessie! As to the "other adult male" that I mentioned, we have much more than the actions that could easily be those of a grieving father upon which to suspect him. JMB was investigated - and cleared. The "other one" hasn't been investigated - at all!

ETA: The "other one" was also "on the hunt" for his son (supposedly) from 4:30 pm on May 5th. Also, Christopher didn't die "from blows" but rather from exsanguination, possibly from the penile injury (which IMO was from animal predation).

I couldn't have said it better myself. JMB was, at best, a ridiculous man and was the perfect red herring to divert attention away from TH.

JMB died recently. I noticed a few recent comments referring to him as still being alive. He died of injuries related to a crash June 18, 2020.

 

[ACG2x]

Used to be obsessed with this case, then took a step back from it and am now reapproaching. Disclaimer to start - I believe the WM3 - especially Damien - are guilty. I believe the murders happened relatively close to how Jesse described them in his confessions. However, I also believe that given the lack of usable physical evidence, had the WM3 not been poor white trash from the outskirts of society and had the means for a better legal defense, it's very likely they would've gotten reduced sentences or outright walked. Note that's in a legal sense and nothing else.

Now on to JMB. For supports, I always wondered why you continued to focus on JMB. After reading all statements and testimony of who was with who when that night, JMB would have to have near Superman-like abilities to somehow make it to the woods or elsewhere, murder the boys, then dispose of their bodies at the site or somewhere else. JMB was with someone else in his or the other families or on the phone with the WMPD so often during the timeframe between when the boys went missing and were discovered, it just doesn't add up.

Before anyone else says it, I will. JMB does not exercise good decision making, in fact he's the antithesis of this. He was convicted of many petty offenses and suspected of many more. Terry Hobbs himself said that he and Pam used to go to the Byers house to purchase antiques JMB said he found or got from yard sales. As it turns out, he stole them and was selling them for a profit. Stuff like that. However, I personally can't see anything in his profile - even the fighting he did with adults - that would make the leap to brutal child murder and mutilation.

JMB is also easily manipulated. He happily played the fool on PL2 and acted like a WWE heel character in exchange for payment. Even Byers himself told friends that wasn't the 'real' him which they knew and he was acting for a paycheck. This is another reason why I put no stock in virtually anything PL contends because it's not a documentary - it's a propaganda tool for the WM3.

Looking at JMB's movements that day:

• 3:30 to 6:30 PM: Movements all corroborated by multiple people including Melissa and Ryan plus people at the courthouse where he was taking Ryan for an appointment as a witness in a case
• 6:30 to 8:00 PM: In general said he was driving around looking for the boys. This was corroborated by Melissa and Ryan.
• 8:00 to 8:30 PM: Met with Ofc. Meek which was confirmed by her.
• 8:30 to 9:30 PM: Sketchy corroboration but several people he said he met with - which is understandable given the chaos of trying to find the boys - and went into the woods with.
• 9:45 to 10:15 PM: Searched woods with John Moore which Moore corroborated

After this, there were other calls to the police and meetings with families who were also looking. Several people unconnected to the case saw JMB around the neighborhood searching. I also don't understand if he was the perp why call LE as often as he did to the point where WMPD literally said stop calling unless you found them, we're looking too. The timeframe here is just way too tight. Melissa confirmed JMB searched off and on until around 3:00 AM and then started back up at 6:00 AM the next day so unless he somehow snuck away during the early hours of them missing, killed them at a different location and then transported them to the discovery site overnight, JMB as a suspect just doesn't hold weight.

I think at this point supporters are better off focusing on Terry Hobbs and Bojangles because there are other pieces of info that can point to them way more than JMB.

 

[DHT1339]

Used to be obsessed with this case, then took a step back from it and am now reapproaching. Disclaimer to start - I believe the WM3 - especially Damien - are guilty. I believe the murders happened relatively close to how Jesse described them in his confessions. However, I also believe that given the lack of usable physical evidence, had the WM3 not been poor white trash from the outskirts of society and had the means for a better legal defense, it's very likely they would've gotten reduced sentences or outright walked. Note that's in a legal sense and nothing else.

Now on to JMB. For supports, I always wondered why you continued to focus on JMB. After reading all statements and testimony of who was with who when that night, JMB would have to have near Superman-like abilities to somehow make it to the woods or elsewhere, murder the boys, then dispose of their bodies at the site or somewhere else. JMB was with someone else in his or the other families or on the phone with the WMPD so often during the timeframe between when the boys went missing and were discovered, it just doesn't add up.

Before anyone else says it, I will. JMB does not exercise good decision making, in fact he's the antithesis of this. He was convicted of many petty offenses and suspected of many more. Terry Hobbs himself said that he and Pam used to go to the Byers house to purchase antiques JMB said he found or got from yard sales. As it turns out, he stole them and was selling them for a profit. Stuff like that. However, I personally can't see anything in his profile - even the fighting he did with adults - that would make the leap to brutal child murder and mutilation.

JMB is also easily manipulated. He happily played the fool on PL2 and acted like a WWE heel character in exchange for payment. Even Byers himself told friends that wasn't the 'real' him which they knew and he was acting for a paycheck. This is another reason why I put no stock in virtually anything PL contends because it's not a documentary - it's a propaganda tool for the WM3.

Looking at JMB's movements that day:

• 3:30 to 6:30 PM: Movements all corroborated by multiple people including Melissa and Ryan plus people at the courthouse where he was taking Ryan for an appointment as a witness in a case
• 6:30 to 8:00 PM: In general said he was driving around looking for the boys. This was corroborated by Melissa and Ryan.
• 8:00 to 8:30 PM: Met with Ofc. Meek which was confirmed by her.
• 8:30 to 9:30 PM: Sketchy corroboration but several people he said he met with - which is understandable given the chaos of trying to find the boys - and went into the woods with.
• 9:45 to 10:15 PM: Searched woods with John Moore which Moore corroborated

After this, there were other calls to the police and meetings with families who were also looking. Several people unconnected to the case saw JMB around the neighborhood searching. I also don't understand if he was the perp why call LE as often as he did to the point where WMPD literally said stop calling unless you found them, we're looking too. The timeframe here is just way too tight. Melissa confirmed JMB searched off and on until around 3:00 AM and then started back up at 6:00 AM the next day so unless he somehow snuck away during the early hours of them missing, killed them at a different location and then transported them to the discovery site overnight, JMB as a suspect just doesn't hold weight.

I think at this point supporters are better off focusing on Terry Hobbs and Bojangles because there are other pieces of info that can point to them way more than JMB.

just curious as to what your thoughts are on how JM's "confessions" changed numerous times? even when it came to stuff like the evan williams bottle, his account differs from one to the next. it's something that the non crowd always points to as evidence of their guilt, but i just can't see how when important details changed over time

as for JMB, i've never looked at him as a suspect. he did a great job at bringing a lot of unnecessary attention upon himself, but he would have only had a small window of time to commit the crime that night and i don't think it's possible he could have even done that without RC and MB being in on it somehow. bojangles guy is always interesting to speculate about, but i don't see the point when there's simply nothing anyone knows about him other than how he showed up bloody and dazed in a restaurant bathroom just miles away from where the most notorious crime in state history had just occurred

 

[ACG2x]

just curious as to what your thoughts are on how JM's "confessions" changed numerous times? even when it came to stuff like the evan williams bottle, his account differs from one to the next. it's something that the non crowd always points to as evidence of their guilt, but i just can't see how when important details changed over time

as for JMB, i've never looked at him as a suspect. he did a great job at bringing a lot of unnecessary attention upon himself, but he would have only had a small window of time to commit the crime that night and i don't think it's possible he could have even done that without RC and MB being in on it somehow. bojangles guy is always interesting to speculate about, but i don't see the point when there's simply nothing anyone knows about him other than how he showed up bloody and dazed in a restaurant bathroom just miles away from where the most notorious crime in state history had just occurred

I think the inconsistencies were partially because by his own admission in his first confession, Jesse went from confession to "trying to throw them" and/or reduce his own culpability. That's why he said "...and then I left" so many times. Trying to distance himself. The general outline of his story has stayed the same though.

I've always found the Bojangles guy to be a very interesting lead. It's really too bad there's not other evidence that can be used to identify him. Just very strange that right around the timeframe of the murders, a guy who is bleeding and disheveled shows up at a restaurant miles from the crime scene, then vanishes. It does seem like a massive coincidence, but this is one where we'll just never know.

JMB was a fool, but not a killer. It was the WM3's focus on him in PL2 that made me sour on the filmmakers. You portray this guy as this crazed redneck murderer when if you think about it logically, there's just no way he could've done it. Made me think how much of the PL's is presenting fact and how much is propaganda. Then I went back and watched PL 1 again and said wow this is all propaganda.

 

[DHT1339]

I think the inconsistencies were partially because by his own admission in his first confession, Jesse went from confession to "trying to throw them" and/or reduce his own culpability. That's why he said "...and then I left" so many times. Trying to distance himself. The general outline of his story has stayed the same though.

I've always found the Bojangles guy to be a very interesting lead. It's really too bad there's not other evidence that can be used to identify him. Just very strange that right around the timeframe of the murders, a guy who is bleeding and disheveled shows up at a restaurant miles from the crime scene, then vanishes. It does seem like a massive coincidence, but this is one where we'll just never know.

JMB was a fool, but not a killer. It was the WM3's focus on him in PL2 that made me sour on the filmmakers. You portray this guy as this crazed redneck murderer when if you think about it logically, there's just no way he could've done it. Made me think how much of the PL's is presenting fact and how much is propaganda. Then I went back and watched PL 1 again and said wow this is all propaganda.

i believe someone at the blue beacon reported seeing a black man covered in blood that same night. always wondered if it was the same guy. you'd assume a guy who just murdered 3 young boys or was part of the crime wouldn't walk right into a restaurant after, but who knows, especially if he had been under the influence of something as his behavior seemed to indicate. i've never thought of him was a suspect, but it's just too much of a coincidence to pass off as nothing

meh. the docs are a good intro to the case. that's how i first heard about it and what got me interested in the first place. but if you're genuinely interested in learning more about the case, they are certainly not a useful resource. the only non-biased way to properly research the case is simply by going through the available documents and forming your own conclusion of what may have happened

 

[ACG2x]

i believe someone at the blue beacon reported seeing a black man covered in blood that same night. always wondered if it was the same guy. you'd assume a guy who just murdered 3 young boys or was part of the crime wouldn't walk right into a restaurant after, but who knows, especially if he had been under the influence of something as his behavior seemed to indicate. i've never thought of him was a suspect, but it's just too much of a coincidence to pass off as nothing

meh. the docs are a good intro to the case. that's how i first heard about it and what got me interested in the first place. but if you're genuinely interested in learning more about the case, they are certainly not a useful resource. the only non-biased way to properly research the case is simply by going through the available documents and forming your own conclusion of what may have happened

100% agree - it's why I can't argue with someone who uses the docs and the subsequent post-prison release interviews of the WM3 as their source of truth. That's like asking OJ if he did it - what answer do you honestly expect? IMO, people who only follow the info put out by the WM3 already have blinders on and don't want to see the whole picture. They've made up their minds so there's really no point discussing.

I love having rational discussions about this case with people - even those who think the WM3 are not guilty but understand the evidence against them. People who think - IDK if Damien is a killer, but yeah he's not just some weird kid who listened to Metallica and that's why he was targeted. That's utter nonsense. People who aren't certain if Jesse's confessions were genuine, but understand that he got a lot of what happened at the murder scene right and wasn't held hostage at the police station for 12 hours or whatever. Again - verifiably untrue.

I have always thought the WM3 are guilty but have always conceded that the police investigation around them left a lot to be desired and the State went into one track mind once they thought they had their men when there were a lot of unanswered questions that seemed to be pushed aside. Note that does not make the WM3 innocent but may have made at least one of them (Jason) not guilty legally, but I can only discuss the case with people who understand the significant difference between the two.

 

[herb4]

Mark was a good suspect and did himself no favors in the docs but, over time, and the more I took a good look at it, his timeline just never worked out for me and am 100% convinced of his innocence. If he'd had anything to do with it, I highly doubt he would have publicly changed his stance on the WM3's guilt, knowing that 3 other people went down for the crime and were already locked up. Seems foolish if he'd been involved.

Same with the WM3, actually. No one would push for any DNA testing AT ALL if they had been released from prison for something they were guilty of. That's absurd and one really has to stretch credibility to create any real explanation for that, although many try. I find that completely ridiculous.

BTW, Did any information ever come out regarding Mark's death and the single vehicle crash that caused it? I immediately suspected alcohol or drugs (based on his history) but never heard anything. Did he just have a stroke or a heart attack or something?