American History Tellers - Listen Now: American Scandal | The West Memphis Three

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

On May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The tiny local police department launches an investigation but finds little physical evidence to lead them to a suspect. Eventually, outside pressure pushes them to charge someone with the killings, whether or not the evidence supports their conclusions.American Scandal takes you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. In our latest series, three teenage boys are falsely accused of a vicious triple homicide, but their story doesn't end with their trials or convictions. Instead, their plight will capture the imagination of the entire country and spark a campaign for justice that will last for almost two decades. Listen to American Scandal: The West Memphis Three: Wondery.fm/AS_IFDSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1993, three eight-year-old boys were brutally murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. As the small-town local police struggled to solve the crime, rumors soon spread that the killings were the work of a satanic cult. Suspicion landed on three local teenagers, but there was no real evidence linking them to the murders. Still, that would not protect them. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondry Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, three teenage boys are falsely accused of a vicious triple homicide. But their story doesn't end with their trials or convictions. Instead, their plight will capture the imagination of the entire country and spark a campaign for justice that will last for almost two decades. You're about to hear a clip from American Scandal. Follow American Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American Scandal, the West Memphis 3, early and

ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scamp. On the night of May 5, 1993, the tiny police department in West Memphis, Arkansas was swamped with distress calls. Three local eight-year-old boys had gone missing, and no one had a clue where they'd gone. Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers

were second-grade boys from ordinary blue-collar families. They were best friends, members of a local Cub Scout, troop and as inseparable in life as they would be in death. The savagery of their murders shocked their local community. Located on the eastern edge of Arkansas just across the Mississippi River from Tennessee, West Memphis was the kind of town where everyone seemed to know everyone else, and they all wanted to help find the little boy's killer. But with a lack of hard evidence and limited resources, local police would struggle to

resolve the case, and as pressure mounted, they would cast around for clues with increasing desperation, beginning to entertain any theory no matter how wild or unsubstantiated. Misled by local gossip, false evidence, and their own preconceptions, investigators would zero in on three teenagers as their primary suspects. There was little evidence tying them to the crime, but that didn't seem to matter. Someone had to pay for what had been done to the murdered boys, and three unpopular outsiders seem like the perfect culprits. This is episode one. The devil comes to West Memphis. It's May 6, 1993 at the police station in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Chief of Detective's Gary Gitchell holds up in his office. It's been several hours since the bodies of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch, and Christopher Byers were found in a stream near the interstate on the outskirts of town, and Gitchell has barely had a moment to think since. He strokes his thick mustache. He's been on the force more than ten years, but he's been on the force more than ten years, but He's never dealt with a case like this before. Things like this just don't happen in West Memphis.

As Gitchell considers his next move, the telephone on his desk rings, jolting him out of his days. Yeah, Gitchell. Hey, Chief, this is Jim Tucker. Governor, what can I do for you, sir? Well, we just got word about what happened to those three boys. Awful, awful tragedy.

I'll be talking to the families individually, of course, but I wanted to let you know that your entire town has my deepest condolences. You're all in my prayers. Well, thank you, sir. I appreciate that. We're doing everything we can to catch the person who did this. Sure you are.

You have any leads? Well, it's early days, and we're still waiting on the autopsy reports. But with the lack of blood on the scene, we're guessing that maybe they were just placed in this stream rather than killed there. Well, please know that you have my full support. I was thinking of sending down the state police to give you a hand, actually. Hmm.

I see, sir. They might have a little more experience handling cases like this. You don't get too many murders, down there in West Memphis. Well, I appreciate the offer, sir, and I'll be sure to let you know if we need any state help. But for the time being, I think we've got things handled on her own down here. Well, Chief Gitchell, this is a, you know, it's a major story. I understand that, sir.

And reporters from all over the country are going to be knocking on your door. I just, I want to make sure you're ready. We're ready. We can handle it, Governor. Because we can't afford any mistakes for the family's sake. They deserve justice. Yes, sir, and we're going to give it to them. All right, but, you know, I feel a lot better if you made use of all the resources at your disposal. And we feel strongly about solving this on our own terms. It's our town.

So you're telling me no? Well, I'm asking you to give us a chance, sir. All right. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll send a few of my guys down there a few, and just solely to assist, you will still be in charge. Let them give you a hand, do some interviews, but it'll all be your call. How's that sound? Sounds okay, sir. You won't regret it. Well, I better not. Just make you. make sure you catch this monster.

Despite Gary Gitchell's show of confidence, his investigators don't have much to go on. They've drained the stream where the bodies were found and recovered two of the boys' bicycles. But they haven't found any more of their clothing or the murder weapon. If there was anything else in the gully, the dark water seemed to have washed it away. But Gitchell is not deterred. Despite the lack of physical evidence, he's sure his men can still find the killer. It's just going to take some good old-fashioned detective work. So after his conversation with Governor Jim Tucker,

Chief of Detective's Gary Gitchell's next move is to reach out to the local people for help. West Memphis always used to be a close-knit community, a place where people left their front doors unlocked. But that seems to have changed almost overnight. Since news of the murders broke, neighbors have started looking at each other differently. The usual smiles, and friendly greetings have been replaced with paranoid stares and whispered gossip.

Much of that gossip soon reaches the police. Local residents flood investigators with every stray suspicion that crosses their mind, from the well-meaning to the absurd. But it takes a lot of police hours to tell the good information from the bad, and the departments lacks procedures only make things worse. Some detectives record their interviews properly. Others make handwritten notes but leave them unsigned and undated, and a few hardly document their work at all.

But the chaos goes beyond substandard record keeping. One tip directs police toward the Blue Beacon Truck Wash, a small business located not far from where the victims were found. Someone reports a suspicious white van in the parking lot, and that sets the police off investigating every van they see, no matter what color it is. Soon the media catches on as well, and the truck wash becomes a circus. No useful information about the murder.

is ever found, but plenty of time and effort is wasted. And with the mountain of tips yet to deliver a useful lead and detectives still waiting on the autopsy reports, all the police can do is interview the only witnesses they have, the deceased boys' families. Follow American Scandal on the Wondry app, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American Scandal, The West Memphis 3, early and ad-free, right now on Wondry Plus.