American Scandal - West Memphis Three | Crime and Punishment | 2

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

A month after the brutal murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, a suspect confesses to police. His testimony leads to the arrest of two other local teenagers, who police accuse of conducting a Satanic ritual sacrifice. As the trial dates near, critics claim the affair has become more like a witch hunt than a legitimate investigation. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-scandal/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Want to get more from American Scandal? Subscribe to Wondry Plus for early access to new episodes, add free listening, and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. This episode contains descriptions of murder,

violence against children, and discussions of suicide. Listener discretion is advised. It's late on June 3, 1993, in a trailer park in West Memphis, Arkansas. Two police officers march 18-year-old Damien Eccles out of his parents, trailer with his hands cuff behind his back. Moments later, his friend Jason Baldwin follows. The convoy of police cars surround the trailer, their lights glaring eerily through the darkness.

It's been almost a month since the mutilated bodies of three eight-year-old boys were discovered in a wooded area off the interstate on the outskirts of town. Now, Eccles and Baldwin have been arrested on suspicion of committing the terrible crime. Eccles is strangely calm as he shoved into the back of a police car. But Baldwin's eyes are wild with fear. He's just 16 years old. It looks even younger than that. At 5'8, weighing just 112 pounds,

he's dwarfed by the police officers who push him into the car next to Eccles. Hey, I don't understand what's going. You've got the wrong people. My name's Jason Baldwin. I'm just 16. Man, they know that, Jason. With a skid of gravel, the police car moves off.

Baldwin stares at Eccles. How can you be so calm about all this? I guess I've sort of been waiting for this to happen. You're relieved? No, no. Yeah, I don't know. I told you. I haven't been sleeping.

But they think we're killers, man. Killers. We didn't do anything. Baldwin kicks the back of his seat in frustration. The cop in the driver's seat glares at him in the mirror. Eccles leans in a little closer. Hey, man, just stay calm, all right? We're going to get through this.

Why us, though? I mean, I don't get it. What do we do? Well, look at your shirt. Baldwin glances down. at his faded concert tea. What, they don't like Metallica? Probably not.

And it's black. Look, Jace, they think we're Satan worshippers or some crap. That's ridiculous. Metallica is a band. Eccles, shrugs, and Baldwin feels like screaming. It's all that wicker stuff you're into, isn't it? Oh, don't come at me, man. I told you to stop talking about that to people.

They don't know what it means. You got us into this. Jace, Jason, hey, listen to me, man. We can't turn on each other. We'll get a lawyer, and then everything's, going to be fine. They've got nothing, no evidence, because we didn't do it, right? And as long as we back each other up, we'll get through this. All right? Okay. God, what are my parents going to say, man? I can't go to prison. Did you, did you see how many cop cars there were? Yeah, they were just trying

to freak us out. You know how cops are. Just remember, whatever they say, we have to stick together, right? If we do that, we're going to get all this cleaned up. When they arrive at the West Memphis Police Station, Jason Baldwin and Damien Eckle, are separated. Their clothes are taken away, and then they have to give samples of their blood, hair, and saliva. But while they prepare for their first night behind bars, for the West Memphis Police Department, it's time to celebrate. The pressure on them has been intense, but now they believe they finally found the killers, and they can't wait to tell the world. Hey, Ontario, come on down to BetMGM Casino and see what our newest exclusive, the

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Fleeing persecution, a small band of Pilgrimpset sail across the Atlantic, risking everything to start again in the new world. But behind that story lies another, one of conflict, betrayal, and brutal violence against the very people who help them survive. Listen to American history tellers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scandal. In May 1993, three boys were found murdered in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas. Eight-year-old's Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore had been missing for less than 24 hours when their bodies were discovered in a creek. But detectives struggled to identify their killer. They only made arrests after a local teenager named Jesse Miss Kelly confessed to the crime

and identified Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin as his accomplices. But just hours after the three young men were taken into custody, 17-year-old Miss Kelly recanted his confession. Under duress, after a 12-hour interrogation, he'd been ready to say just about anything to the police. All he'd wanted was to go home. But thinking they found their killers, the police had no intention of letting them go. They pronounced the case was closed and scheduled a press conference for the following morning.

It was time to let the courts and prosecutors take over and finally secure justice for the three murdered boys. This is episode two, the trial of Jesse Miss Kelly. It's the morning of June 4, 1993, at the West Memphis Police Station. Journalists pack into a cramp briefing room for a hastily arranged press conference. A line of police officers stand behind a table at the front. Their faces are somber, but there's no mistaking the gleam of satisfaction in their eyes. All of their hard work has finally paid off. Cameras flash as chief of detectives Gary Gitchell takes a seat in front of a bank of microphones.

Looking around the room, he announces that their month-long investigation is at an end. The sadists who tortured and murdered three eight-year-old boys have finally done. been caught. Gitchell then confirms that the accused murderers are all local teenagers who have been under suspicion since the early days of the police investigation, Damien Eccles, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miss Kelly. Gitchell then sits back and opens up the floor to questions from journalists. There's an immediate rush, but to the reporter's obvious frustration, Gitchell can't say much yet. He won't tell them the motive of the killers if the murderers knew their victims or how Eccles, Baldwin, and Miss Kelly were finally caught.

But there is one question he does answer. When asked how confident he is in their case on a scale of 1 to 10, Chief Gitchell smiles and says 11. Soon after that, the press conference breaks up, and word of the arrest spreads across the country. But as the television news channels dissect Gitchell's public statements for any clue, in private the police are more forthcoming, additional information is provided to the relatives of the victims and the accused,

including a copy of Jesse Miss Kelly's confession. For the parents and loved ones of the murdered boys, Miss Kelly's account is a difficult read. But it provides some closure, at least, now they know what happened to their children. But for the families of Eccles, Baldwin, and Miss Kelly, the type confession raises more questions than it answers. To the mother of Jason Baldwin especially, the idea that he might be involved in the murders is ridiculous. Jason isn't a criminal, and nothing the police say can convince her otherwise. And even on the first reading, she can see that Miss Kelly. his account is riddled with errors and contradictions. He repeatedly insisted that the murders

happened early in the day, either in the morning or just afternoon. But as Baldwin's mother tries to point out to the police, that simply cannot be true. All three of the victims attended school that day, and so did Jason. The timeline suggested by Ms. Kelly is impossible, so either he's lying, or investigators had put words into his mouth. But the police don't budge, pointing out that Ms. Kelly's confession was recorded on tape, and they reject any suggestions that they could or would influence his testimony. And every officer in the department finds Ms. Kelly credible. Detectives simply can't believe any innocent person would falsely confess to such a heinous crime.

But despite their show of confidence in front of the media and the families, behind the scenes at West Memphis Police Station, investigators know their work is far from over. The reality is that aside from Ms. Kelly's confession, the police don't have anything on Baldwin and Eccles. The blood, hair, and saliva samples taken from them can't be linked to the crime scene. The detectives still haven't recovered the murder weapon, and they don't even have hard proof that the accused killers were actually Satanists.

All that leaves them with is some scattered witness testimony. Local woman Vicky Hutchison swears that Eccles and Miss Kelly took her to a witch's orgy, and there are several local teenagers who claim they overheard Eccles saying he committed the murders. Ordinarily, those statements and the Miss Kelly confession probably would not be enough for a conviction, but this is no ordinary case. And now that arrests have been made, most of the public seem to have made up their minds already. That's certainly true of 39-year-old John Mark Byers, the stepfather of one of the victims, he's become the unofficial spokesperson for

the grieving families. And on a sunny afternoon, soon after the police press conference, he agrees to speak with a film crew who are making a documentary about the case. The arrests in West Memphis have only deepened the media's obsession with the murders, and HBO has commissioned a film to chronicle the investigation and upcoming trial. So accompanied by the documentary team, Byers trudges through the small patch of forest where the bodies were found. Called Robin Hood Hills by the locals, it used to be a place where kids rode their bikes and ran around. Now, though, it's almost deserted. As he approaches the gully, where police recovered his steps on Christopher, Byers pauses.

He runs a hand through his thinning, rust-colored hair, before pulling his camouflage hat down to height. Behind him, the director clears his throat and tease him up for the camera. All right, so can you tell us what's on your mind as you walk through these woods? Fires turns his gaze to the sky. The word of the Lord is all I'm thinking about. Is there a particular verse? Yay, though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil. Look, I'm not scared to the devil. Thy rod and my staff comfort me, you know? And I thank the Lord for letting me be able to believe in that with all my heart. You have anything to say to the three teenagers who are accused of killing your steps on? I do. I hope y'all really believe in your master

Satan, the slew foot, the devil himself, because he's not going to help you. He's going to laugh at you, mock you, and torture you. He didn't need your help. The devil's got all the demons he needs. So you're confident that killers worship Satan? Everybody's saying it. Lucifer didn't need them, but he took their minds and manipulated them. They prayed to the devil. They had their satanic worship surfaces out here, and they had all types of wild orgies, too. Who told you that? Well, I've been told crazy things. To me, the place where I'm standing is hell on earth.

Because I know that three babies were killed right where I stand. I know my son was castrated and probably laid there, right there on the bank, just bleeding to death. It's like those killers enjoyed it. Hey, if this is too difficult, we can pause for a moment. No, I'm not done. Jesse, Miss Kelly, Jason Baldwin, Damien Eccles. I hope your master, the devil takes you. I want you to meet him real soon.

The day you die, I'm going to praise God. Fires pauses for a moment, then looks directly into the camera. I'm going to make you a promise. Every year on May 5th, I'm going to come to your graveside and I'm going to spit on you. I'm going to curse the day you were born. Attorney Dan Stidim pulls his car into a parking spot outside of jail in the small town of Wayne, Arkansas, and then cuts the engine. He takes a moment, wondering what he's about to get himself in. into. He's been assigned to defend Jesse Miss Kelly, who's already confessed to murder. So Stidham would

be the first to admit that this case has him in over his head. He's only 27 and doesn't have much experience with serious felonies. And like nearly everyone else in America, Stidham assumes that because of the confession, Miss Kelly must be guilty. So his first meeting with his new client is a bit awkward. Stidham doesn't know what to say, and Miss Kelly barely looks at him. Jail has not been kind to Miss Kelly so far. He's always been a skinny kid, but now there are dark hollows under his cheeks, and his eyes are rimmed red with tears. Stidham tries to make a little small talk to cheer Miss Kelly up, but it doesn't do much good, so Stidham decides to cut to the chase, saying they need to make a deal with the prosecutors. Ms. Kelly's testimony is the key evidence

against Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin, so if they play their cards right, they can use it as leverage. By offering to testify against his alleged accomplices, Ms. Kelly, may be able to secure a favorable sentence. But as Stidham tries to explain this, Ms. Kelly doesn't seem to be listening. He just sits, hunched over with his head between his legs. Stidham crouches down, so he's eye-level with Miss Kelly. And in his most solemn and forceful tone, he reminds his client that the prosecution intends to try him as an adult. That would be serious. He could be facing the death penalty. But none of it appears to get through. So Stidham straightens up and sighs. He tries to hide his frustration, knowing that no matter what Miss Kelly may have done, he's still

only 17 years old and must be terrified. Looking around the jail cell and searching for a way to engage Miss Kelly, Stidham spots a glossy piece of paper on the cot beside him. It's a religious pamphlet, the kind passed out by churches to warn against sinful behavior. He raises an eyebrow and asks Miss Kelly about it. Ms. Kelly shrugs again and tells him he got it from a preacher in jail. Then he asks if Stidham knows who Satin is. Stidham shakes his head, asking what Miss Kelly means. The boy replies that when the pastor came by,

he said Miss Kelly was going to hell and gave him this pamphlet, telling him all about it. Then with some difficulty, Miss Kelly reads part of the pamphlet out loud. He says it's all about someone named Satin. Stidham's jaw drops as he realizes what he's here. He looks again at Ms. Kelly and the utter sincerity of the boy's face. This is who's being accused of participating in a satanic cult, of being a witch, of sacrificing three little boys to the devil, and he doesn't even know who Satan is.

Dan Stidim came to this jail, assuming his new client was a vicious murderer. But suddenly, in a flash, he's not so sure. Jesse and Miss Kelly may not be guilty at all. In the fall of 1620, a battered merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail across the Atlantic. It carried 102 men, women, and children, risking it all to start again in the new world. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of American history tellers. Every week, we take you through the moments that shaped America, and in our latest season, we explore the untold story of the Pilgrims,

one that goes far beyond the familiar tale of the first Thanksgiving. After landing at Cape Cod, the Pilgrims forged an unlikely alliance with the Wapinog people who helped the pilgrims survive the most brutal winter they'd ever known, laying the foundation for a powerful national myth. But behind that story lies another, one of conflict, betrayal, and brutal violence against the very people who helped the Pilgrim survive. Follow American History Tellers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American History Tellers The Mayflower,

early and ad-free, right now on Wondry Plus. In just a few years, Ozympic has gone from a diabetes drug to a global phenomenon, but behind the miracle claims, another battle is raging. Demand is exploding, supply can't keep up, and as drugmaker Novo Nordisk scrambles to produce more, its rival Eli Lilly is racing to take the crown. Meanwhile, a darker market is emerging. Shady online sellers are offering cheap unregulated knockoffs. Now millions are injecting mystery vials with no FDA.

oversight. I'm David Brown, host of Business Wars. In our latest season, we're diving into the race to Ozempic and the billion-dollar showdown between Big Pharma's biggest players. Can they close the supply gap before one bad vial destroys everything? Make sure to follow Business Wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of business wars early and ad-free right now on Wondry Plus. Following his meeting with Jesse Ms. Kelly, defense attorney Dan Stidham changes strategy. His original plan had been to seek a plea deal, gaining Ms. Kelly a more favorable sentence in exchange for his cooperation in the case.

But now Stidham has decided that Ms. Kelly should plead not guilty instead. He wants to take the case to trial because the only real evidence tying Ms. Kelly to the crime is his 34-minute tape confession, and Stidham hopes to get it thrown out. If he can convince a judge that the confession was coerced and should not be heard by the jury, then the prosecution will have almost nothing to base their case on. And recent developments have only given Stidham more hope.

West Memphis police have finally received the autopsy results weeks after the examinations were performed. The reason for the delay is unclear, but the findings contradicts some of the investigation's major assumptions and Ms. Kelly's confession. Because the victims were found nude and one was apparently castrated, detectives have long believed that there was a sexual component to the crime. In his confession, Ms. Kelly stated that Eccles and Baldwin repeatedly assaulted the boys.

But now the autopsy reports suggest that there was no sexual assaults at all and that at least some of the mutilation to the bodies was likely caused by wild animals instead. Stidham believes that these latest revelations will strengthen his case. And over months of pretrial motions, he tries to convince the authorities to throw out Ms. Kelly's statement but to no avail. Stidim's arguments are rejected, and it's determined that the jurors should be the ones to decide whether the confession is valid or not. It's a blow for Ms. Kelly's defense. And meanwhile, the prosecution is working hard to find more evidence to use against him and the other two accused. They searched the suspect's home and forensically test hundreds of samples everything from clothing to possible weapons.

Eventually, experts find several fibers on Baldwin and Eccles' clothing that are microscopically similar to those found at the scene of the crime. But then it's confirmed that the fibers come from mass-produced clothing that can be purchased at stores across the nation. And that's the only link investigators find. Despite the brutality of the murders, there's not a single hair, fingerprint, or drop of blood that can tie Eccles, Miss Kelly, or Baldwin to the case. So investigators rack their brain, searching for something.

they may have overlooked. Six months after the murders, in November of 1993, a deputy prosecutor on the case has a sudden bolt of inspiration. While driving one day, he notices a lake between the Baldwin and Eccles family trailers, and it looks to him like an ideal place to get rid of evidence. So a team of divers searches the pond. Soon an officer surfaces holding a nine-inch survival knife. The autopsies of the victims determine their wounds were caused by a serrated blade, and this one fits the bill. Investigators can't definitively prove it's the murder weapon, or even that it belonged to any of the accused,

but one of Eccles' ex-girlfriends says it looks similar to a knife he used to carry. And as far as police and prosecutors are concerned, it's another brick in their growing wall of evidence that they will first use in the case against Jesse Miss Kelly, who's being tried separately from the other two suspects. On January 18, 1994, proceedings get underway in a packed court. courtroom in the town of Corning, Arkansas. The presiding judge is David Burnett, a former prosecutor

with a feathery crop of gold and red hair. The testimony of the court hears over the following days is devastating. Three little bicycles owned by the eight-year-old victims are wheeled into the room to show the jury, along with graphic images of the abuse they suffered at the hands of their killers. Throughout at all, Miss Kelly remains hunched over, his eyes downcast. He never looks up, even when he's directly addressed by witnesses. His attorney, Dan Stiddam, has advised him to sit like that. He doesn't want Ms. Kelly to seem arrogant, but as the trial continues, it becomes clear it's not leaving a good impression on spectators. It doesn't look humble, and instead Ms. Kelly just appears guilty. So it's up to Stidham to turn things around. The crucial witness for the prosecution is the

West Memphis Police Department's chief of detectives Gary Gitchell. He led the interview in which Miss Kelly made his confession, and Stidham knows he has to be discredited. So during cross-examination, he quickly homes in on the inconsistencies in Miss Kelly's account. Inspector Gitchell, we all heard the tape recording of Jesse's confession. Did you find his testimony plausible? Yes, sir, I did. That's the reason why we're all here. But his statement wasn't perfect, wasn't?

I don't know what you mean. Well, would you agree that not everything my client said aligns with the known facts of the case? Well, no confession. On the tape, Jesse claimed the victim skipped school on the day of the murders. Is that accurate? No, sir, it's not. My client also stated the boys were killed around noon. Is that accurate?

No. According to the forensics, they weren't killed until later that night. And you knew that that was incorrect when Jesse told you that. Yes, sir. Thank you. How are the boys tied when their bodies were discovered? A shoestring from the wrist, like right wrist to right ankle. But in Jesse's statement, that was played to the jury, didn't he tell you that they

were tied with brown rope? That's correct. And is there any evidence that the victims were choked to death, as Jesse described? No. Is there any evidence that they were sodomized, as Jesse described? No, I don't believe so. Well, these seem to be pretty important issues. At any time when he was telling you these things, that you knew were incorrect, did it ever occurred to you that if what he was telling you was false, then perhaps his entire story was false as well? I believe Jesse was manipulating the facts to his own advantage. For what advantage? To minimize his own involvement in the murders. That's just common, at least in my 20-year career. But these are major errors, Inspector. It was a long day. Jesse simply got

confused, that's all. So he confused day with night, repeated sexual assaults with no sexual assault, brown rope with black shoelaces. On issue after issue, there is simply no evidence to support the things he says. Actually, there is some. Excuse me? If I recall, there was a wound on one of the boys that suggested to me that they were tied with rope at one point or another. The courtroom murmurs as the jury leans in. Stidham tries to regain his composure. Well, hold on now. That's new information.

It's never been suggested that ropes were used. Did you record this observation in any of your notes at the time? No, I don't think so. You didn't. Is there anything in the medical examiner's findings that confirms these suspicions? I'm not sure. Then, Your Honor, this is pure, unadulterated speculation from a witness who is not qualified to render such an opinion.

Well, if you want, I can draw a picture for the jury. I still remember what the mark looked like. Dan Stidham turns to the judge, expecting that his objection will be upheld. But instead, Stidham is flabbergasted when Judge Burnett permits Inspector Gitchell to sketch the wounds he claim he saw and then pass the crude diagram to the jurors. This is a serious blow to Stidham's case. Instead of highlighting the inconsistencies in Ms. Kelly's confession, Gitchell's testimony has only added more evidence of guilt.

But there's still hope because the prosecution hasn't yet established a motive. Sid and watches the next witness carefully. Thirty-year-old Vicki Hutchison strides across the courtroom, her tweed jacket flapping behind her. Despite not being a police officer, she voluntarily went undercover to investigate Damien Eccles' supposed involvement in Satanism. For eight days, she roped the 18-year-old Eccles into a fake romance, while reporting everything he supposedly told her to Detective Donald Bray of the mayor. Police Department. Now, after swearing her oath, Hutchison explains to the jury how Eccles

invited her to a twisted orgy in the woods and how Jesse Miss Kelly was there too. Throughout Hutchison's testimony, Dan Stidham objects again and again, telling the judge that the alleged cult meeting is irrelevant because Hutchison claims it occurred weeks after the killings. There was nothing at the actual scene of the crime that indicated the murders were satanic or related to any other known cult. But once again, Stidham's objections are overruled, and the prosecution is delighted. Hutchison's testimony provides exactly what they were missing. The reason Miss Kelly and the others allegedly killed the three-eight-year-olds, it was because they worship Satan. So during his cross-examination, Stidham tries to call Hutchison's credibility into question, pointing out that before

she started working with Detective Bray, she had been accused of overcharging a company credit card and was also under investigation for writing fake checks, but after she went undercover, those investigations suddenly disappeared. Stidham hints that a quid pro quo was involved, that Hutchison helped the police out of a desire to escape her own legal troubles, or in the hopes of claiming a reward. But Hutchison insists none of that was ever on her mind. Stidham is sure that she's stretching the truth, but he can't deny that she's an effective witness. Even when she told the court her over-the-top story about the satanic cult meeting in the woods, he could see the jurors hanging on every word.

Day by day, it feels to Stidim as if he's losing ground. So when prosecutor Brent Davis takes the floor to make his final arguments, Stidham hopes for an opening, something that might salvage the case. He doesn't get one. Davis begins by minimizing the errors in Ms. Kelly's statement to police, saying the defense admits Ms. Kelly is a liar when they claim he gave a false confession. Yet now they're asking the jury to believe the police are the ones. twisting the truth. Quivering with emotion, Davis goes on, saying that he finds that

repugnant. And when it comes to the murders themselves, he focuses on the brutality of the crimes. The savagery is evidence enough that the devil was at work in West Memphis. But thanks to Vicki Hutchison's compelling testimony, Davis argues there's plenty of reasons to believe Ms. Kelly was part of a demonic organization and that the 12 people on the jury have the power to fight back against the devil himself, to put one of his servants away where he can't harm anyone else again. By the time Davis is finished, many in the courtroom are in tears, and Stidham is devastated.

He looks over at his client and sees Jesse Miss Kelly put his head in his hands. Both he and Stidham know there's only one verdict the jury is going to come back with. Guilty. Okay, Carrie, you ready? Quick, quick, quick, quick. List three gifts you'd never give a cowboy. A Lacey Bobby Sox. A diamond bracelet.

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And in the latest season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Oleg Gordievsky, the spy who outran the KGB. A rising star in the heart of Soviet power, Gordievsky is secretly feeding MI6 the Kremlin's deadliest secrets. For 11 years, he walked a razor's edge, exposing KGB threats that hastened the Cold War's end and helped prevent nuclear annihilation. But the KGB have a mole of their own. When they discover the truth, Gordievsky's world collapses. MI6 hatch a desperate, high-stakes plan to smuggle him out of Moscow, an escape that could rewrite history. Follow the Spy Who on the Wondry app or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Or you can binge the full season of the Spy Who outran the KGB early and ad-free with Wondry Plus. On February 5, 1994, Jesse Miss Kelly is found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He's sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years. Afterwards, he's asked if he has anything to say to the court, but Miss Kelly can't bring himself to speak. The unofficial spokesman for the victim's family has a lot to say, though. Outside the court building, a triumphant John Mark Byers tells reporters that he hopes Ms. Kelly never sees sunlight again, and now he just wants his stepson's other two killers to face justice in the same way.

Having kept tabs on Ms. Kelly's trial from their jail cells, Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin are left shocked by the verdict. Up until now, they have both taken their situation seriously, but still believe the evidence was on their side and that they'd ultimately be exonerated. Now, though, they both face the very real prospect of life in prison, or even the death penalty. It's Ackles, who struggles the most. While behind bars, his beloved grandmother has died, grief and his growing anxiety make a poisonous combination. He's now only getting a few hours of sleep every night, and as the weeks pass, he becomes erratic and even paranoid. At one point, he starts to believe the police are tampering with his medication, drugging his prison food, even pumping toxic gas through the vents. But despite his fragile state of mind, Eccles' defense team still

needs his help to prepare for the trial. They've hired a Memphis private detective named Ron Lax, and they need Eccles to tell Lax everything. Curled up on his cod, Eccles looks up as Lax has shown inside. Hey, Ron. Hey, Damien. How you doing? I got you something. Lax pulls out a pack of cigarettes, which Eccles practically snatches from his hands. Lacks then sits down on the cock and offers him a light. So I heard about your grandmother's passing. Man, I'm sorry for your loss. Probably better.

She won't be around a sea. See what? Them lock me away or kill me? Ah, Damien, you have to stay strong. That's what my girlfriend says. Well, she's a smart woman. Hey, and I heard you're a father now. Eccles just nods.

So you've got a lot to fight for. They won't even let me hold him. Well, you will. You keep telling yourself that. You're going to get out of here. Well, I'm not going out like Jesse, that's for sure. Because they're going to find you innocent. No, I'm saying if they don't find me innocent, I'm not going to prison.

I'm going to end it right there in the courtroom. Hey, hey, don't talk like that. Let's focus on your case. All right, good. I know we need to talk about the witnesses again. I know you said you didn't want to discuss it, but we have to get everything, everything out in the open. Prosecution have these girls who are saying that they overheard you confess to the murderers at a softball game. Does that sound familiar to you at all?

Maybe. Come on, tell me their line or something. Well, they are. I mean, I never said I did it. But? Yeah, well, but maybe I made some jokes. Everyone was saying I was the devil and all that, so I just, I don't know, I leaned in. What'd you say?

I don't even remember. I wasn't serious. I was joking. Well, if these girls did overhear you, do you think your jokes could be misinterpreted? I don't know. Damien, come on. Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay?

I'm sorry. I wear black. I'm sorry I grew my hair out. I'm sorry I do anything. I don't know what I said. I just opened my mouth. Words spill out. Hey, hey, it's okay. It's not illegal to make a joke. And the cops still don't have any real evidence tying you to the crime. Well, that didn't stop them from convicting Jesse. Jesse confessed. And as long as he doesn't testify, they won't be allowed to use that against you and Jason. Your case is strong, but I need you to take a second. I need you to take a second and think. Try to remember all the jokes you might have made before you got arrested. And I need some. specifics. Every word people might use against you. I need to know it all. Damien Eccles stares off into space. The sarcastic, edgy persona he spent his teenage years cultivating is now his biggest liability. Smoking his cigarette down to the filter, Eccles tries to remember every off-color joke he's made in the past few months. About the murders, about Satanism, about being evil, these are the details lacks needs, and he's glad to get them

privately. Because though Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin's trial may not have started yet, almost every detail of the case has already reached the press. For months, reporters from all over the country have been camped out in West Memphis. Some of them inflamed the gossip about Satanism. Others gleefully paint the town as backward and superstitious. Still, there are some who hold a more genuine interest in getting to the bottom of the case. By early 1994, the HBO documentary film crew has been in Arkansas for over six months, and they spent a significant amount of time with the families of both the victims and the accused. John Mark Byers and his wife, Melissa, had become especially close to the filmmakers. And as a gift, just prior to Eccles and Baldwin's

trial, Byers gives a member of the documentary crew a fold-out hunting knife. Soon after, the filmmakers returned to New York for a short break. And while fiddling with the knife there, one of them notices a dark stain at the base of the nine-inch blade near the hinges. They take a closer look under a bright light, and at first glance, it's hard to make out. The stain could be anything. But to someone working on a documentary about a triple murder, it looks a lot like blood. When Byers gave them the knife, he said it had never been used, so seeing Blood unnerves the filmmakers.

They're wary of publicizing the discovery and potentially pulling Byers into a storm of controversy. But even so, there is a remote possibility it has something to do with the murders. Some people have pointed the finger at Byers as the possible killer, and this knife has a serrated edge, just like the one supposedly used in the murders. So troubled, the filmmakers call several meetings with their producers at HBO to debate their next move. In the end, they decide that turning over the knife to the West Memphis Police is the right thing to do. The authorities then send it off for testing at a lab in North Carolina, and a few weeks later, they called John Mark Byers in for an interview.

It's West Memphis Chief Inspector Gary Gitchell and Detective Brin Ridge who ask him the questions. When they mention the knife, Byers claims he got it for deer hunting, but then never ended up using it. Gitchell presses him, but Byers insisted he hasn't cut anything with it, not even a single time. Gitchell leans back, trouble. Then he asks if anyone else might have had access to the knife, maybe Byer's wife, or his teenage steps on. But Byers is adamant. He says before he gave it to the documentary crew member, he kept the knife in his chest. chest of drawers. Detective Ridge pipes in at this point, asking Byers if there was any period of time

no matter how narrow when the knife was not kept in a drawer. That's when Byers acknowledges that there is one possibility. He admits he may have trimmed his nails with the knife once. That's when Chief Gitchell drops a bombshell. He tells Byers that they've got results back from a crime lab in North Carolina. It's confirmed that there's blood on the knife. Biers is surprised, but he suddenly seems to remember something else, telling the detectives that he actually did use the knife once to try and skin a deer, but he found it wasn't as good as his other blades, so he just put it up in his chest of drawers afterward. Gitchell tells Byers that while his story may be true, it doesn't explain the lab's findings, because the forensic experts did not find deer blood

on the blade. It was human, and its type matched eight-year-old Christopher, Bayer's steps on. At this point, Bayer's voice becomes shaky. He claims he has no idea how human blood could have gotten on the knife and insists again that he never cut himself or anyone else using it. It all seems impossible. Quietly and almost apologetically, Gitchell then asks Byers if he had anything to do with the deaths of Christopher and the other two little boys. Beyer's response is unequivocal. No, absolutely not.

After that, the police let Byers go, and a few hours later, they get more results from the lab. There isn't enough blood on the knife to get a precise DNA profile, but what they have is not only consistent with Christopher, but also with Byers himself. When that information is then relayed to Byers, he informs the police that actually he does remember cutting himself with it once. The investigators don't press him any further. It seems that with the trials of Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin about to begin, the last thing the police want is to reopen the case.

A bloody knife, belonging to the stepfather of one of the victims, is not the kind of evidence they're interested in. All that matters is that they've found a nest of Satanists, and they all already know the devil is guilty. From Wander E, this is episode two of the West Memphis 3 for Americans' game. In our next episode, after Jesse Miss Kelly's conviction, it's Damien Eccles and Jason Baldwin's turning for it, and the second trial of the West Memphis 3 will prove even more sensational than the first.

If you're in general, you're in general, you know, if you're in general, you know, if you're in Enjoying American Scandal, you can unlock exclusive seasons on Wondry Plus. Binge new seasons first and listen completely ad-free when you join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey at Wondry.com slash survey. If you'd like to learn more about the West Memphis 3, we recommend the book Devils None, the true story of the West Memphis 3 by Mara Leverett, and the three-part HBO documentary Paradise Lost. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details.

And while in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham for Airship, audio editing by Mohamed Shanzib, sound design by Gabriel Gould, music by Throne. This episode is written and researched by Terrell Wells, fact-checking by Alyssa Jung Perry, managing producer Emily Burr, development by Stephanie Jen. Senior producer Andy Beckerman, executive producers are William Simpson for airship, and Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louis for Wondering. 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. Follow American Scandal on the Wondria, 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.