S3 Ep115: West Memphis Three: Robin Hood Hills (Part 1)

03/10/23 • 111 min

2 Listeners

West Memphis, Arkansas is located in Crittenden County and is directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis Tennessee, but in 1993, West Memphis and Memphis were worlds apart. Memphis boasted a healthy and growing population of over 620 thousand, while West Memphis had just over 28 thousand residents. But Memphis, TN struggled with high crime rates, with 1993 setting a record for the most homicides in one year, a record that wasn’t broken until 2016. West Memphis Arkansas had a more small town, laid back feel, and as cliche as it sounds, people felt safe leaving their doors unlocked and letting their young children play outside all day with no supervision. That was until May 5th, 1993, when three eight year old boys rode away on their bikes, eager to expel the energy they had built up all day while sitting in their second grade classrooms at Weaver Elementary School, but they never came home. It wouldn’t be long before the residents of West Memphis and then the world found out what happened to Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. Their battered and mutilated bodies were found the next day in a swampy wooded area known to locals as Robin Hood Hills, and the community of West Memphis felt a shockwave hit their community that they would not recover from for some time. Within a month three teenagers were arrested and charged with capital murder, and it wasn’t long before whispers of witchcraft, devil worship and occult killings rippled throught the homes and businesses of West Memphis, and those whispers eventually turned into a loud roar, a roar that might accompany an angry mob looking for someone to blame for an unimaginable tragedy, akin to the infamous witch hunts that are dotted throughout history. This is the story of six boys from West Memphis, Arkansas; three were brutally murdered and stolen from this world far before their time, the other three were marched to the proverbial gallows, guilty in the court of public opinion, and found guilty in an actual court of law. Six lives destroyed, six lives forever changed, six lives eternally tied together.
Try our coffee!! - www.CriminalCoffeeCo.com
Become a Patreon member -- > https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeekly
Shop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shop
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcast
Website: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.com
Instagram: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Twitter: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Facebook: @CrimeWeeklyPod
ADS:
1. Magellan TV
Claim your SPECIAL OFFER for MagellanTV here:https://try.magellantv.com/crimeweekly. Start your free trial TODAY so you can watch 'Britain's Child Drug Runners', and all of MagellanTV’s other exclusive true crime content.
2. Helix
Helix is offering up to 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners! Go to HelixSleep.com/CrimeWeekly. This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long! With Helix, better sleep starts now.
3. Prose
Go to Prose.com/crimeweekly for your FREE in-depth hair consultation and 15% off.
4. Beis
Go to BEISTRAVEL.com/CRIMEWEEKLYfor 15% off your first purchase.
5. HelloFresh
Go to HelloFresh.com/crimeweekly60 and use code crimeweekly60 for 60% off plus free shipping!

Previous Episode

S3 Ep114: Jennifer Kesse: "Chino" (Part 3)

Orlando, Florida - Home of Mickey Mouse and sunny beach vacations, a city that 60 million people flock to every year whether it’s for the theme parks or just the sun and heat that South Florida is known for. But for the friends and family of 24 year old Jennifer Kesse, this city would become a symbol of all that was wrong and evil in the world. Jennifer was last seen on January 23rd, 2006, she spoke to her family and her boyfriend on the phone that evening and said she was going to bed, she was tired from a trip she had just home from. But the next day, when she didn’t show up for work, her parents traveled to her Orlando condo and found everything normal, as if she had woken up and planned to go to work that day. There was still water in the shower, clothes tossed on an unmade bed, and a wet towel in the laundry room. Days later, Jennifer’s 2004 black Chevy Malibu would be found abandoned a mile down the road, in a not so great part of town, but the car held no clues as to where Jennifer Kesse was either. The one clue that law enforcement was able to retrieve should have cracked the case wide open. It was surveillance video of a person parking Jennifer’s car and walking away from it without even a glance back, and the surveillance clicked a photo of this person every three seconds, and every three seconds this person's face was obscured by a tall wrought iron fence. To this day, Jennifer Kesse has not been found, dead or alive, and the people who love her have fought tirelessly for answers, a fight that included receiving over 16 thousand pages of police records on the investigation, and these pages held more clues which has only fed the fire of this mystery.
Try our coffee!! - www.CriminalCoffeeCo.com
Become a Patreon member -- > https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeekly
Shop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shop
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcast
Website: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.com
Instagram: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Twitter: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Facebook: @CrimeWeeklyPod
ADS:
PDS Debt
PDS DEBT is offering free debt analysis to our listeners just for completing the quick and easy debt assessment at www.PDSDebt.com/crime.

Beis
Right now, BÉIS (base) is offering our listeners 15% off your first purchase by visiting BEISTRAVEL.com/CRIMEWEEKLY
Alo Moves
For a limited time, Alo Moves is offering my listeners, a free 30-day trial PLUS – get this - 50% off an annual membership. But you can only get it by going to ALOMOVES.com and use code CRIMEWEEKLY in all caps.
Lomi
If you want to start making a positive environmental impact or just make clean up after dinner that much easier, Lomi is perfect for you. Head to LOMI.COM/CRIMEWEEKLY and use the promo code CRIMEWEEKLY to get $50 off your Lomi.

Next Episode

S3 Ep116: West Memphis Three: Satanic Panic (Part 2)

West Memphis, Arkansas is located in Crittenden County and is directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis Tennessee, but in 1993, West Memphis and Memphis were worlds apart. Memphis boasted a healthy and growing population of over 620 thousand, while West Memphis had just over 28 thousand residents. But Memphis, TN struggled with high crime rates, with 1993 setting a record for the most homicides in one year, a record that wasn’t broken until 2016. West Memphis Arkansas had a more small town, laid back feel, and as cliche as it sounds, people felt safe leaving their doors unlocked and letting their young children play outside all day with no supervision. That was until May 5th, 1993, when three eight year old boys rode away on their bikes, eager to expel the energy they had built up all day while sitting in their second grade classrooms at Weaver Elementary School, but they never came home. It wouldn’t be long before the residents of West Memphis and then the world found out what happened to Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. Their battered and mutilated bodies were found the next day in a swampy wooded area known to locals as Robin Hood Hills, and the community of West Memphis felt a shockwave hit their community that they would not recover from for some time. Within a month three teenagers were arrested and charged with capital murder, and it wasn’t long before whispers of witchcraft, devil worship and occult killings rippled throught the homes and businesses of West Memphis, and those whispers eventually turned into a loud roar, a roar that might accompany an angry mob looking for someone to blame for an unimaginable tragedy, akin to the infamous witch hunts that are dotted throughout history. This is the story of six boys from West Memphis, Arkansas; three were brutally murdered and stolen from this world far before their time, the other three were marched to the proverbial gallows, guilty in the court of public opinion, and found guilty in an actual court of law. Six lives destroyed, six lives forever changed, six lives eternally tied together.
Try our coffee!! - www.CriminalCoffeeCo.com
Become a Patreon member -- > https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeekly
Shop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shop
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcast
Website: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.com
Instagram: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Twitter: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Facebook: @CrimeWeeklyPod
ADS:
1. SurfShark
Go to https://Surfshark.deals/crimeweekly and use code crimeweekly to get 83% off a 2 year plan plus 3 extra months for free!
2. Daily Harvest
Let Daily Harvest do more so you can do less. Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/crimeweekly to get up to forty dollars off your first box.
3. PrettyLitter
You don’t want people coming into your home and being hit with a nose full of “cat stink” - get PrettyLitter today! Go to PrettyLitter.com/crimeweekly to save twenty percent on your FIRST order. 4. Thuma
Create that feeling of checking in to your favorite boutique hotel suite, but at home, with The Bed, by Thuma. And now go to Thuma.co/WEEKLY to receive a twenty-five dollar credit towards your purchase of The Bed plus free shipping in the continental U.S.