You can read them all yourself, but I'm culling out the issues on Hobbs' involvement below -
http://freewestmemphis3.org/download/Declarations%20of%20Pam%20Hobbs,%20JM%20Byers,%20Hicks,%20Frennch,%20etc.pdf?28e5bbf660cb545fc854f5c048c7be7c=1be1cae5715fbdb3ee9618dcb22f3887Obviously, the claim that the father of a murdered child literally "sold out" and accepted money to support the people he believes killed his son is just about the most offensive thing anyone can even conceive of saying. It's beyond a "low blow"; it's indescribably sleazy. I'm sorry nons feelings were hurt when Pam and Mark became supporters, but to express your feeling of betrayal by making a wild, vicious allegation like this is just beyond words.
It's also utter crap - Mark makes no more money by turning supporter than he would have made by continuing as a non.
So, to set the record straight -- here are some of the reasons Mark became a supporter; in his own words, in an affidavit from the Hobbs v. Pasdar suit, followed by the affidavit of Jo Lynn McCaughey, Pam's sister:
DECLARATION OF JOHN MARK BYERS
I, John Mark Byers, declare as follows:
1. My name is John Mark Byers. I am over the age of 21 and competent to give this declaration.
2. All of the information set forth herein is within my personal knowledge and is true and correct.
3. I am the father of Christopher Byers. Christopher is one of the 8 year old boys who was murdered in Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis, Arkansas, on or about May 5, 1993.
4. In 1994, three teenagers, Damien Echols, Jessie Miskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin were convicted of the murders. The press has referred to these three teenagers as the West Memphis 3.
(5-8 relevant only to Hobbs v. Pasdar issues)
9. In June and July 2007, certain events happened that made the murders, the trials the victims, the victims' families and Terry Hobbs in particular even more the focus of press attention. Specifically, new evidence came to light regarding the murders and that new evidence was made public in July of 2007. The first bit of new evidence that came to light was that two hairs had been found at the crime scene. These hairs were tested for DNA, and one hair was consistent with the hair of Hobbs. The other hair was consistent with the hair of Hobbs' friend David Jacoby.
(10-14 relevant only to Hobbs v. Pasdar issues)
15. I believe Terry Hobbs was involved in the murders. Some of the reasons I believe Hobbs was involved are set forth below.
16. Hobbs has claimed that the first time he met me was at 6:00 PM at Dana Moore's house when Dana, myself and Bobbs were looking for our children. He has claimed that at this time, 6 PM, I said I was going to call the police and report my son missing. Hobbs has also stated that he and his friend David Jacoby were searching Robin Hood Hills for the boys at 6:00 PM or 6:30 PM. Hobbs' statements are false.
17. In fact, I met Hobbs at my house at approximately 8:20 or 8:30 PM. I know it was 8:20 or 8:30 PM or so because: (1) Dana Moore had last seen the boys riding their bikes around 6:00 PM; and (2) I called the police to report Christopher missing around 8:08 PM. Simply put, I did not and Dana Moore did not even think the boys were missing at 6:00 PM or 6:30 PM. At 6:00 PM I was in the West Memphis courthouse picking up my son Ryan, who was testifying in a car wreck case. Officer Regina Meeks came over to my house to take the report after I called it in. Dana Moore, the mother of Michael Moore saw the polioe car and came over to my house to report her son missing as well. As Officer Meeks was leaving, Hobbs walked up.
18. I believe the reason that Hobbs' incorrect statements about the time We met and when he was searching is so important is because in fact, Hobbs' whereabouts from approximately 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM are wholly unaccounted for. David Jacoby, Hobbs' friend, has stated to me that Hobbs came to his house at approximately 5:00 PM and that as he was opening the door to let Hobbs in he saw 2 boys on bicycles and 1 boy on a skateboard ride by his house and that he believes one of the boys was Stevie. Jacoby has stated that Hobbs left at approximately 6OO PM or 6:30 PM to see if Stevie had come home. No one knows Hobbs' whereabouts from that time, 6:00 PM or 6:30 PM, until I saw Hobbs at the my house at approximately 8:30 PM. I believe that Hobbs has stated that he met me at the Moores at 6:00 PM so that he has an alibi for this time period in which his whereabouts are actually unknown. Jacoby also told me that he did not cross the pipe bridge or search in the woods for Stevie.
19. Several years ago I was talking to Hobbs and he made the statement that we had met for the first time around 6:00 PM on May 5, 1993. I told him that no, it was around 8:00 PM. He became enraged and started yelling, "it was 6:00 PM, it was 6:00 PM." I believe he was trying to convince me that it was 6:00 PM so that he would have an alibi, and the fact that I knew that he was lying sent him into a rage.
20. Hobbs also failed to tell his wife that Stevie was missing until he picked her up from work at 9:00 PM. This seems very strange to me. If a child were missing, the mother would want to know and I would think the stepfather would can her at work and tell her to leave work and come look.
21. Fairly soon after the murders, I asked Hobbs to go with me to shoot guns. I knew he had a 9 mm gun because Hobbs had told me about it. He claimed he couldn't go shoot with me because he thought his brother-in-law, Jackie Hicks, Jr., had stolen his gun.
22. In June of 2007, Hobbs also stated that he saw a black male "bum" crossing 'the bridge by Catfish Island, that he had long hair, raggedy clothes and that "he's noticeable, that image sticks in frame" for Hobbs. Hobbs also claims that his wife, Pam, was with him when he saw the black man.
23. Prior to 2007, I am unaware of Hobbs ever having mentioned seeing the black man to police or to me or to anyone involved with the events. That means that for 14 years, Hobbs had never said anything about the black man to anyone who had the power to investigate the sighting. I believe that Hobbs is now trying to throw another suspect into the mix to keep attentlon off of him. However, his statement is completely incredible. Why would a father not mention to the police for 14 years that he had seen a suspicious man around the location of the murders? It makes no sense, unless Terry Hobbs is trying to deflect attention from himself.
24. Hobbs told me many things that were simply not true around the time of the murders. He told me he was living in a different house at the time of the murders than the house he was actually living in. He told me that Stevie was cut from his ear to his jaw and that the right side of Stevie's face was gone; that was not true. Hobbs claimed he searched the woods with Officer Regina Meeks and in fact, she has stated she did not ever search into the woods because there were too many mosquitoes. Hobbs has said that he was the first parent to call the police about the missing boys; that is not tme.
25. Hobbs called me and told me that an investigator for the West Memphis 3, Ron Lax, had called him and told him that the DNA in the ligature of one of the victims matched his DNA. Hobbs told me that he had met with Lax. I asked Hobbs why he met with Lax, and Hobbs said that he went out of curiosity.
26. On one occasion, I asked Hobbs, "What if those three (the West Memphis 3) didn't do it, what happened if it was an accident?" Of course, it is preposterous to think that three 8 year old boys could be killed in the way that they were and it was an accident. Hobbs responded: "You are right, it could have been an accident and that would be like a drunk driver, that person would not be a monster," I thought it was appalling that a father of a victim would attempt to excuse such a vicious murder. It made me very suspicious of Hobbs' involvement to see him having sympathy for the murderer and/or explaining that he might not be a monster.
27. Hobbs has told me that he has a storage area where he keeps things. I have tried to get him to take me there and he has said he will but he never will.
DECLARATION OF JO LYNN MCCAUGHEY
24. ... I believe that it is possible that Terry was involved in the murders of Stevie and the other little boys.
...
31. I have a copy of a book handwritten by Terry Hobbs which I found in some of Pam's things. I read it. It is about the murders, the events, the trials, his whereabouts on the night in question and how he has been affected by all the events. The book is strange in that Terry always refers to Stevie as "the boy," not by name.
32. Terry has very bad morals. He has behaved very badly to his family and he is a mean person. Terry has a very bad reputation in the community. Some of the reasons that I think so little of Terry Hobbs' reputation and moral character are listed below.
33. Terry has repeatedly sexually molested his daughter, Amanda. Not long before Stevie's death, when Amanda was 4 years old, Amanda told me that Terry had put his fmger into her "booty."
34. I told Pam what Amanda had told me. Pam took Amanda to the hospital and the doctor confirmed that there had been penetration.
35. Throughout the years, Amanda has repeatedly accused Terry of sexual abuse. In approximately 2002, Amanda told me that Terry had grabbed her breasts. On one occasion Amanda called me at 3 AM and asked me to come and get her in Paris, Tennessee and take her away from Terry. She refused to go back home to Terry. I told her that I was 2 hours away and that we should get her mom, Pam, to go and get her. She said okay, and that she wanted me to meet her and Pam halfway. So Pam went and got Amanda and I met them halfway. Amanda came with me to Blytheville and refused to go back to Terry in Memphis. I called the Tennessee government and told them that Amanda had told me that Terry had sexually molested her. Tennessee sent an agency to investigate the matter. They interviewed Amanda and made a report.
36. Terry is also a known drug user. Pam ultimately decided to leave Terry and move from Memphis to Blytheville, Arkansas. Terry tried to take Stevie's things from Pam. I had moved to a bigger house so Pam and Amanda could stay with me and my husband. I went to Memphis with Pam to pack her things. We took the police with us so Terry could not hurt anyone. When we got there, Terry had taken all of Stevie's belongings and locked them up in the trunk of his car. He lied to the police and told the police that he did not have Stevie's belongings. I told the police that Stevie's belongings were probably in the trunk of his car. The police asked Terry to go open up the trunk of his car. Before we could get out to the car, Amanda had pulled out Terry's drug paraphernalia from where he hid it and showed it to the police. The police made Terry open the trunk of his car, and when he did, he could see that all of Stevie's things were in the trunk. The police then arrested Terry. I know that Terry has been involved in drugs. He has used marijuana, cocaine and crystal methamphetamine.
37. Later, when Amanda was older, she again told me that Terry had sexually abused her and that he was physically abusive to her when she was pregnant. She said that Terry slammed her into a sink, causing the loss of the pregnancy.
38. I am aware that Terry had molested a neighbor of his many years earlier; the neighbor's name was Mildred French, and while Mildred was in the shower Terry broke in, went in her bathroom, and grabbed her breasts.
39. Terry, I believe, physically abused his wife, Pam, and he has shot my brother with a gun, which ultimately resulted in my brother's death. In 1997, Terry and Pam had an argument in which Terry had hit Pam in the face and Pam called the family to come help her. My brother, Jackie Hicks, Jr., got into a fight with Terry when they got to Pam's house (Terry was supposed to have left) and Terry shot my brother in the abdomen in front ofmy parents. My brother was seriously injured, and had to have a large number of surgeries as a result. My brother died in approximately February of 2006 from complications with one of those surgeries.
40. Terry is a violent individual who is always armed. Terry always had guns around. Also, it seemed like he traded guns with other people a lot. In fact, it was very strange, but Terry would frequently obtain a gun, take it somewhere and later, he wouldn't have the old gun, but he would have a new, different gun.
41. Terry has squandered the charity the public gave to Stevie's family. People from all over the country have sent money and gifts to Pam and Terry to help them take care of their family in the time of crisis. The money that has come in has been squandered by Terry. Terry has literally used thousands of dollars given by sympathetic people for his own interests.
42. Terry physically abused Stevie when they were alone. Terry had a bad relationship with Stevie. He would punish Stevie by hitting him with a belt until he drew blood. Terry would also punish Stevie by locking him in a closet. One time when Stevie was staying with my parents and he was potty training, he had a little bit of an accident. He got terrified and went and hid. My mother, Marie Hicks, and I looked everywhere and could not find Stevie until we went in my mother's room. She had a box of clothes in her closet and his foot fell out of the box. When we pulled Stevie out he was hot and sweaty and we asked him what was wrong. Stevie said "Daddy Terry's going to whip me, he's going to whip me." Stevie was terrified.
43. Terry did not act responsibly following Stevie's death. Terry did not seem to mourn the loss of Stevie. Instead he seemed to immediately move on. He left my sister Pam for approximately 2 weeks and moved away with another woman.
44. Terry has stolen from his own family. Terry's family had a family business where they owned restaurants. Terry used to work for the family business, but his father kicked him out of the business because he caught Terry stealing money from the business.
Informal poll for nons
Why Mark Byers (and other former nons) became supporters / Why Hobbs is guilty
