Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast

Q&A #5: The “Evil” Tattoo, The Phone Confession & Other Listener Questions

Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast

Show Notes

In this Q&A episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, victim advocates and researchers Paul Day and Kristin Rich dig into detailed listener questions drawn from the case files surrounding the May 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

They open with thanks to community members who shared insights on Wicca and a call for a polygraph examiner to independently review Damien Echols’ charts.

The questions then take center stage: Was Damien still at the West Memphis Police Department during the anonymous 3:36 p.m. May 10 call claiming responsibility for the killings—and could the voice have been his? Did Detective Bryn Ridge routinely ask religious and occult questions of multiple suspects? Why did Damien place himself at the Sanders house from 3–5 p.m., and did he wear a watch? Could an innocent person have inferred “two drowned and one was mutilated”? Did Jason Baldwin ever have “evil” tattooed across his knuckles? What does a fuller timeline from the boys’ last sightings to discovery look like, and is there evidence one person (or more) restrained all three? What about the gunshot heard in the woods during the search, and was Terry Hobbs known to carry? Finally, how much of Damien’s troubled past reached the jury, and did it drive the guilty verdicts?

As always, Paul and Kristin stay grounded in the documentation, clarify earlier points, correct misconceptions, and share what the records actually show—while teasing deeper dives still ahead. Join the discussion in the Facebook group and keep the questions coming.

More from Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast

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Sep 22, 2026

In the hours and days after the bodies of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers are recovered, West Memphis investigators begin receiving tips steeped in the era’s widespread fears of satanic ritual abuse. A call from a Texas Child Protective Services worker about alleged ritualistic killings in Gilmer, TX sets an early tone. Lieutenant James Sudbury and juvenile officer Steve Jones quickly zero in on Damien Echols, interviewing the teenager at his family’s trailer on May 7 based on their shared belief that the crime shows “overtones of a cult sacrifice."

Sep 15, 2026

In this gripping Q&A installment of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, West Memphis Three researchers and victim advocates Kristin Rich and Paul Day confront listener questions that cut straight to the heart of the case—and the shadows still lingering over the 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

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