TOUGH, A BIT TROUBLED, BUT KIND TO KIDS
Date: Saturday, June 5, 1993
Source: By Richard Kelley The Commercial Appeal
Neighbors on streets washed by the soft whine of I-55 used words such as "respectful" and "well-mannered" to describe Jessie Lloyd Misskelley on Friday.
From accounts of those near Highland Trailer Court between Marion and West Memphis, he also was quick and good with his fists when he wasn't being respectful. Many people called him easily persuaded, said he could be vulnerable or even naive, but they add he was good with kids and that they liked him.
Interviews with people here who have known the 17-year-old for years sketch a portrait that could apply to many teenagers these days: a school dropout with a history of minor trouble with the law, and a sometime rebel with a reputation as a good worker when you could get him to the job.
People say he tried hard to fit in with his friends, to be part of a new crowd that worshiped heavy metal music.
"He's been in a little trouble, like sniffing gasoline and stuff," said neighbor Patricia Howe, 25. "He just got in with the wrong people, or got into the wrong gasoline."
The troubles of 'Little Jessie' Misskelley, charged Friday with capital murder and facing a possible death sentence, have grown larger.
Over the course of a dozen interviews Friday, several neighbors and acquaintances said Misskelley's relatives told them Misskelley had told police he had a role in the killings.
"From what his aunt said, right across the road, he's already confessed, and he wanted to get this off his chest," Howe said.
Rita Holmes, 29, another neighbor, added, "Little Jessie admitted he hit one in the head. And the one got away from him and he ran and caught him back to where the other boys was at," she added, attributing the information to members of the Misskelley family.
Jim McNease, owner of Jim's Repair Service, employs Misskelley's father and at times the son. He said the younger Misskelley is "easy persuaded."
"They sent him out to lure the kids in," McNease said. "I talked to the cops, and they said he lured them into the woods. I think they say he hit one and chased one down."
Misskelley's girlfriend also lives in the neighborhood. Her mother, Beverly, declined to allow her daughter to be questioned, or to give her last name Friday.
"Susie is shocked - she's mad," the mother said. "You would be, too, if you cared for somebody and they admitted to doing something like this."
Police have as yet declined to give much information on the arrests, any confession, possible motives for the killings or details of the murder scene. But neighbors here point darkly to the possibility of some sort of cult activity, another rumor which police have yet to address.
"He was just a normal kid," his 54-year-old father, known as Big Jessie, said at the county courthouse Friday.
He said his son had been arrested and appeared in juvenile court a couple of times for fighting and breaking windows. He said he quit Marion High School last year.
He said his son liked professional wrestling, as well as hunting squirrels and rabbits although he didn't own a gun. He said he had tried for a general equivalency diploma but that he didn't like school and quit that as well.
Neighbors said the younger Misskelley often played with their children in this close-knit neighborhood where most people know each other. Some said he would babysit for them.
"Every time I asked him to do something, he's done it," said Holmes. ''He's even stayed at my house, and watched my kids when I went to the store."
"All three of them boys have been here," said 22-year-old Robert Howe, Patricia's brother, at a nearby home. "They talk a little bit, and they'd be on their way. (Misskelley) picked them up, hugged them and kissed them, but never hurt them."
Karen Sims, 28, said Misskelley was "respectful, well-mannered."
"He's never given me any trouble," said McNease, who owns the auto repair shop where Misskelley's father worked as a mechanic. McNease also said the younger Misskelley also worked for him part time.
"He's just like one of our kids. He'd come in here and hug my neck," he said, "just like he was one of my young 'uns."
He said the elder Misskelley had raised his son alone, after the teenager's mother moved to California.
McNease said Misskelley and the other two murder suspects, Michael Wayne Echols and Jason Baldwin, rode bicycles a lot around Marion and West Memphis. Misskelley had a temper when pushed, McNease said.
"He was a fighter," he said. "If you picked on him, he would bop you in the mouth.
"He whipped a grown man right out there the other day," McNease said, pointing to the driveway to his shop. "If it hadn't been for Big Jessie stepping in to stop it, he would have hurt that man bad."
Date: Saturday, June 5, 1993
Source: By Richard Kelley The Commercial Appeal
Neighbors on streets washed by the soft whine of I-55 used words such as "respectful" and "well-mannered" to describe Jessie Lloyd Misskelley on Friday.
From accounts of those near Highland Trailer Court between Marion and West Memphis, he also was quick and good with his fists when he wasn't being respectful. Many people called him easily persuaded, said he could be vulnerable or even naive, but they add he was good with kids and that they liked him.
Interviews with people here who have known the 17-year-old for years sketch a portrait that could apply to many teenagers these days: a school dropout with a history of minor trouble with the law, and a sometime rebel with a reputation as a good worker when you could get him to the job.
People say he tried hard to fit in with his friends, to be part of a new crowd that worshiped heavy metal music.
"He's been in a little trouble, like sniffing gasoline and stuff," said neighbor Patricia Howe, 25. "He just got in with the wrong people, or got into the wrong gasoline."
The troubles of 'Little Jessie' Misskelley, charged Friday with capital murder and facing a possible death sentence, have grown larger.
Over the course of a dozen interviews Friday, several neighbors and acquaintances said Misskelley's relatives told them Misskelley had told police he had a role in the killings.
"From what his aunt said, right across the road, he's already confessed, and he wanted to get this off his chest," Howe said.
Rita Holmes, 29, another neighbor, added, "Little Jessie admitted he hit one in the head. And the one got away from him and he ran and caught him back to where the other boys was at," she added, attributing the information to members of the Misskelley family.
Jim McNease, owner of Jim's Repair Service, employs Misskelley's father and at times the son. He said the younger Misskelley is "easy persuaded."
"They sent him out to lure the kids in," McNease said. "I talked to the cops, and they said he lured them into the woods. I think they say he hit one and chased one down."
Misskelley's girlfriend also lives in the neighborhood. Her mother, Beverly, declined to allow her daughter to be questioned, or to give her last name Friday.
"Susie is shocked - she's mad," the mother said. "You would be, too, if you cared for somebody and they admitted to doing something like this."
Police have as yet declined to give much information on the arrests, any confession, possible motives for the killings or details of the murder scene. But neighbors here point darkly to the possibility of some sort of cult activity, another rumor which police have yet to address.
"He was just a normal kid," his 54-year-old father, known as Big Jessie, said at the county courthouse Friday.
He said his son had been arrested and appeared in juvenile court a couple of times for fighting and breaking windows. He said he quit Marion High School last year.
He said his son liked professional wrestling, as well as hunting squirrels and rabbits although he didn't own a gun. He said he had tried for a general equivalency diploma but that he didn't like school and quit that as well.
Neighbors said the younger Misskelley often played with their children in this close-knit neighborhood where most people know each other. Some said he would babysit for them.
"Every time I asked him to do something, he's done it," said Holmes. ''He's even stayed at my house, and watched my kids when I went to the store."
"All three of them boys have been here," said 22-year-old Robert Howe, Patricia's brother, at a nearby home. "They talk a little bit, and they'd be on their way. (Misskelley) picked them up, hugged them and kissed them, but never hurt them."
Karen Sims, 28, said Misskelley was "respectful, well-mannered."
"He's never given me any trouble," said McNease, who owns the auto repair shop where Misskelley's father worked as a mechanic. McNease also said the younger Misskelley also worked for him part time.
"He's just like one of our kids. He'd come in here and hug my neck," he said, "just like he was one of my young 'uns."
He said the elder Misskelley had raised his son alone, after the teenager's mother moved to California.
McNease said Misskelley and the other two murder suspects, Michael Wayne Echols and Jason Baldwin, rode bicycles a lot around Marion and West Memphis. Misskelley had a temper when pushed, McNease said.
"He was a fighter," he said. "If you picked on him, he would bop you in the mouth.
"He whipped a grown man right out there the other day," McNease said, pointing to the driveway to his shop. "If it hadn't been for Big Jessie stepping in to stop it, he would have hurt that man bad."
