how did melissa byers diewho came first, noah or abraham
To Powell, her death looked like a possible homicide. What was strange was that, while the drug showed up in Melissa Byers urine, suggesting recent use, it was not found in her blood, which would be expected of a lethal agent. Byers drove into Hardy accompanied by a teen-aged boy. Melissa Byers did not have a prescription for Dilaudid. Waser advised that it was unusual for a 40-year-old woman to pass away and an autopsy would be recommended to determine the cause. The two pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in October. In 1996, Melissa Byers died. Records of what happened next are vague. It was a call about Damien Echolshe wasnt dead, but his wife, Lorri Davis, feared he might be soon. While Byers went into the local gas company to conduct some business, another boy passed by the truck and he and the boy who was riding with Byers exchanged words. The boy on foot then proceeded to whats known as the old Hardy bridge over the Spring River, where he joined a group of four other friends, ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. It noted that she had been 68 inches tall and weighed 211 pounds. Theyve had several victories, including the case of Daniel Villegas, who was acquitted of capital murder in 2018 after a 25-year legal saga. Baldwin remembers the dire circumstances laid out during the call. But on that early morning in 1997, Jason Baldwin wasnt concerned with Berlinger and Sinofskys craft, or legal precedent, or crusading celebrities. A visual observation of Byers body revealed IV puncture marks on the top of her right and left foot, on the inside of her right wrist, and on the upper right thoracic area, Witt noted. I grabbed his arm and shoulder and guided his body to the floor. Beyond the black-and-white print of the newspaper, there was a movement brewing. On the left side of the bed there was a glass of clear liquid. "[15], Metz took Byers back to his home, but the two men were advised that no one was to enter the residence during the search. Melissa left her husband to live with her parents and had only been living at home for two to three weeks before she passed away. Maines won the lawsuit; police have never named Hobbs a suspect or charged him in connection with the killings.). Websleuths, an online forum for discussions about unsolved homicides and missing-person cases, has more than 100,000 members, and internet vigilantes have used social media and other online breadcrumbs to help track down actual criminals, such as the Canadian murderer and subject of the documentary Dont F*ck With Cats, Luka Magnotta. It is worth noting that these are the two parents who have made the most TV, print, and film appearances. That was more than the people deciding the case were able to hearthe presiding judge made the expert give most of his testimony without the jury in the courtroom because he questioned its relevance. ", >That same large number of people here feel that Mark Beyers is guilty of, >the 'Paradise Lost' murders because of skimpy evidence and the fact that. Instead, he had the crime labs vague conclusion that, because of the lack of definitive anatomic or toxicological findings, the cause and manner of death are left undetermined. According to Clark, the causes of about 4 to 8 percent of deaths that are presented to medical examiners nationally are found to be undetermined. Times 12/26/97, The Strange Demise of Melissa Byers. It tested positive for marijuana and for hydromorphone, the synthetic narcotic more commonly known as Dilaudid. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. A quarter-century later, what does the documentary tell us about citizen activism, the criminal justice system, and the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s? Berlinger and Sinofsky expected a similar result to come quickly in the West Memphis Three case. Melissa Byers was only 40 years old. While thats cooled from the days of concerts in the shadows of the Arkansas Supreme Court building, the documentaries still live on HBO Max, where they pull in new viewers to this day. 2 0 obj
He drove to 75 Skyline to assist. [14] In the statement given by Metz, he said that John Mark told him he thought Melissa had overdosed on a drug. Now, not quite three years after the murder of 8-year-old Christopher Byersand with some criminal charges against her and her husband still pendingMelissa Byers was dead. Melissa also had traces of Lithium, valproic acid (used to treat seizures and post traumatic stress disorder), and marijuana in her urine. The two met with Byers' neighbor, Metz, who expressed concern over Byers' step-son, Ryan Clark, as he had not returned to the residence after reportedly leaving abruptly while Melissa was being worked on. Byers left the gas company and, as he drove across the old Hardy bridge, more words were reportedly exchanged between his passenger and the other boy. Melissa and John Mark Byers were having problems in their marriage in 1996. Mark Byers faces trials on both the burglary charge and the charge stemming from the teen-agers fight. A longer trail of violence followed the lives of Melissa and Mark Byers, the mother and stepfather of Christopher Byers, another of the young victims of that crime, who, besides being murdered, was also found castrated. Hes subdued when discussing the facts of the case, but he comes alive while recounting his work with the Jaycees while in prison, or buying Metallicas Black Album when it came out in 1991. I'd be interested in knowing whether or not he also died under suspicious circumstances. The news was devastating beyond just word of his friends suffering. Mr. how did melissa byers die. "[32], Two contusions, ranging from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch, were noted as being located on Melissa's skull. When it didnt, the praise heaped on Paradise Lost felt hollow. ~~~~~ kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer Carolyne Powles Darrell 49377409 ~~~~~Inscription: Melissa Byers 10 Aug 1837-6 Mar 1920; Also buried there: Thomas Byers d. 3 Jun 1887 88y 2m 15d; Mary Byers wf of Thomas d. 16 Nov 1878 75y 8m 24d. Also, what's this about an older boy? But I had to. The assaults are but another twist in a tragic saga. Before the three teens were arrested, Beyers was giving the police the names of pawnbrokers and drug dealers as possible suspects (he's a police drug informant), claiming that there were a lot of people with grudges against him (diverting attention from himself? It's enough to provide plenty of tomatoes to keep the whole neighborhood supplied! Died on 29 Mar 1996. The two boys who had exchanged words, reportedly over a girl, now found themselves in a vicious fight, with Byers companion using the folded knife in his hand as what the boys called a fist pack. By the end of Augustfive months after the deathhe still had received no word from the crime lab concerning the autopsy results. He met Byers, who was leaving, on his way, and reported that Byers told him, Some smart-ass kid got his ass kicked. The mutilation appeared to have been inflicted with a knife. All three boys were found guilty. I couldnt not watch it at this point. That included Mojo, who came calling around 2 a.m. that day trying to coax him out of his cell. Before she went to the hospital. All of the documents pertaining to the investigation of Melissa Byers' death may be found here. As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know were dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. At the time of her youngest son's murder in May of 1993, Melissa was married to John Mark Byers. 1993 West Memphis homicides case discussion. It is perhaps the cause of SuddenAdult Death Syndrome, a little talked about cause of death. Originally from Willard, Mo., she spent nearly three years reporting in Arkansas and Illinois before returning to Missouri and joining The Star in 2017. Once there got to be this global pressure, and there was a big concert here with really big-name musicians within a mile of our Supreme Court building, things started suddenly to change, she says. The final scene Berlinger and Sinofsky filmed may have been the piece that stuck with viewers the most: the image of Baldwin and Echols being led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and bulletproof vests, now property of the state. He was charged with a felony cocaine count and carrying a weapon. He advised her mouth was wide open, her eyes were closed, she was totally limp, and her arms were down by her side. When someone in the group noticed the knife, and hollered out, He has a knife, Byers companion threw the knife an Uncle Henry bone-handled, 5-inch pocket knife aside. Thats one of the reasons Im arresting you.. "[24], In December of 1997, Mandy Beasley told Investigator Stan Witt that while she was at the Byers' residence on the day Melissa died, John Mark told her that he hoped the investigators would not find the three syringes that were located in the bottom drawer of a dresser in the bedroom. Speaking by phone last month, he comes across, in many ways, like the person Berlinger says he encountered in prison in 1994: polite, deferential, soft-spoken. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. Powell told Witt that a woman named Melissa Byers had been taken by ambulance from her residence in Cherokee Village to Eastern Ozarks Regional Hospital. It was so emotionally taxing to watch and go through it again, he says. I think I introduced my dad to it because that was not his normal genre., Three Metallica songsOrion, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), and Call of Ktuluwould play throughout the documentary. Witt arrived at the hospital about 35 minutes later. "[3], On March 29th, 1996, at 3:30pm, Ryan and his girlfriend, Amanda, were dropped off from school at the Byers' residence. Inevitably, the West Memphis Three case always comes up. It ranges from Mark Byers, the crusading stepfather who became one of the West Memphis Threes biggest allies in the years before his 2020 death, to famed FBI criminal profiler (and Mindhunter inspiration) John E. Douglas. A drug screen tested positive for hydromorphone (Dilaudid), but negative for alcohol). According to the negotiated plea, Byers was to pay $20,000 to the woman whose house was burglarized, make restitution to the father of the boy who was injured in the fight, and pay a $250 fine. Peter Jackson, who would produce a separate documentary about the case titled West of Memphis in 2012, and his partner, Fran Walsh, funded an extensive private investigation and helped hire forensic experts to comb through evidence. how did melissa byers die 'We are still working hard to bring you fresh content and good vibes, even in these trying times!' . Byers was later charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. But then the verdicts arrived: Both Baldwin and Echols were found guilty on all counts, just like Misskelley had been six weeks before them. [18], Efforts to locate Ryan Clark were unsuccessful that evening. She was laying on her back and was not breathing. At approximately 9:40 that night, Witt and eight other officers organized a search at the Byers home. Echols, who prosecutors argued was the ringleader, was sentenced to death. On the street, it sells as much as $50 per tablet. No physical evidence was produced linking any of the accused teen-agers with the crime, and no motive for the killings was introduced other than that the murders had been part of an demonic ritual. But that was all, and the amounts of neither of those substances exceeded therapeutic levels. She died of undetermined causes on March 29, 1996. She's determined to turn over an old leaf and slide right back into the safety of being a wallflow. But life was continuing for John Mark Byers. They described Byers, whom no one knew, as dirty, with a blonde beard and sunglasses, 230-250 pounds, wearing like a flag shirt with blue jeans, 35-40 years old, with brownish-black hair. They also gave a description of his vehicle. Stidham says he has a hard time sleeping at night, so convinced is he that his client and the boys convicted with him were victims of what one witness for the defense labeled a satanic panic. He is aware of Byers record, and of the further violence erupting in the family of Steve Branch, but Stidham is careful about throwing stones. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. According to Dan Stidham, the attorney for Misskelley, that money became essential for the cash-strapped defense teams, who needed to pay for expert witnesses and other expenses. Her body showed no visible signs of trauma. Baldwin remembers grabbing a Mountain Dew and a burrito and sitting down, still unaware of what he was about to watch. )When NO evidence is held up against SOME evidence, most investigations would follow the trail of SOME evidence.Remember, too that the primary evidence that most of us armchair jurors have convicted OJ on is blood evidence (there's also a family connection, which is very common, and a history of domestic abuse).The three teens, however, were ONLY "creepy. Growing up and over a 6 foot trellis and trailing back down to the ground, this plant looks incredibly healthy with no leaf loss anywhere. Rhiannon Mcfadden
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