THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
MOTHER OF SLAIN W. MEMPHIS BOY PRONOUNCED DEAD
Date: March 30, 1996
Section: Metro
Page: B3
Edition: Final
Author: Chris Conley The Commercial Appeal
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
The mother of one of the three boys killed in a triple murder in West Memphis in 1993 was pronounced dead Friday evening after being found unconscious in her home in Sharp County in north-central Arkansas
Melissa Byers, 40, was taken to Eastern Ozarks Regional Medical Center at Cherokee Village, where she was declared dead at 6:30 p.m. A neighbor called security officers at the Cherokee Village resort and retirement community after Byers was found in bed unconscious at 5:20 p.m.
The cause of death was not apparent, and "there was no visible trauma to the body," said Sharp County Sheriff T. J. 'Sonny' Powell.
Her body will be taken to the state crime lab in Little Rock for an autopsy by the state medical examiner.
Her husband, John Mark Byers, who lived with her at the Cherokee Village home, told authorities that he was unable to rouse her after a rest, Powell said.
Powell said the death will be investigated by his office, Arkansas State Police and Cherokee Village security.
Melissa Byers's son, Christopher, and two other 8-year-olds were found murdered and mutilated in a shallow ditch in a wooded area of West Memphis in May 1993. Three Crittenden County teens were convicted of the murders. Christopher was John Byers's stepson.
The couple faced theft and burglary charges stemming from the 1994 break-in at a Cherokee Village home. The two were accused of stealing more than $20,000 worth of items and selling them at pawnshops.
The case has not been resolved, Powell said. Melissa Byers pleaded not guilty in October to charges she pointed a rifle at men who refused to lay carpeting at her home because the site wasn't prepared.
John Byers was convicted last year of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for standing by while two youths settled their differences with a fistfight.
Copyright 1996 The Commercial Appeal
Accession Number: CMA03300055
MOTHER OF SLAIN W. MEMPHIS BOY PRONOUNCED DEAD
Date: March 30, 1996
Section: Metro
Page: B3
Edition: Final
Author: Chris Conley The Commercial Appeal
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
The mother of one of the three boys killed in a triple murder in West Memphis in 1993 was pronounced dead Friday evening after being found unconscious in her home in Sharp County in north-central Arkansas
Melissa Byers, 40, was taken to Eastern Ozarks Regional Medical Center at Cherokee Village, where she was declared dead at 6:30 p.m. A neighbor called security officers at the Cherokee Village resort and retirement community after Byers was found in bed unconscious at 5:20 p.m.
The cause of death was not apparent, and "there was no visible trauma to the body," said Sharp County Sheriff T. J. 'Sonny' Powell.
Her body will be taken to the state crime lab in Little Rock for an autopsy by the state medical examiner.
Her husband, John Mark Byers, who lived with her at the Cherokee Village home, told authorities that he was unable to rouse her after a rest, Powell said.
Powell said the death will be investigated by his office, Arkansas State Police and Cherokee Village security.
Melissa Byers's son, Christopher, and two other 8-year-olds were found murdered and mutilated in a shallow ditch in a wooded area of West Memphis in May 1993. Three Crittenden County teens were convicted of the murders. Christopher was John Byers's stepson.
The couple faced theft and burglary charges stemming from the 1994 break-in at a Cherokee Village home. The two were accused of stealing more than $20,000 worth of items and selling them at pawnshops.
The case has not been resolved, Powell said. Melissa Byers pleaded not guilty in October to charges she pointed a rifle at men who refused to lay carpeting at her home because the site wasn't prepared.
John Byers was convicted last year of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for standing by while two youths settled their differences with a fistfight.
Copyright 1996 The Commercial Appeal
Accession Number: CMA03300055
