The Commercial Appeal
Misskelley guilty in boys' slayings
Outrage, relief flow after trial; school tries to carry on
Date: February 5, 1994 Section: News Page: A1 Illustration: photo Source: John Beifuss The Commercial Appeal Dateline: WEST MEMPHIS Edition: Final
The trees have yet to be planted in the new reading grove at Weaver Elementary School. The trees will be added to the playground site when the weather warms, said Sarah Kirkley, Weaver principal.
In time, they'll grow, along with the children who will study and play under their shadowy boughs.
Three children won't grow, won't read, won't be there -- Michael Moore, Steve Branch and Christopher Byers, killed May 5 just blocks from their school, their homes.
Tragedy has trapped them in time. While their classmates move on, they will forever be referred to as ``8 years old,'' as ``second-graders.''
The grove is being planted as a memorial to the boys, who were Weaver students and Cub Scouts.
``The little boys all liked to read,'' Kirkley said. ``We wanted to emphasize the positive aspects of the boys.''
Friday, negative aspects of the case -- the rehashing of the murders, the gory details on the evening news -- came closer to resolution: Eighteen-year-old Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. was convicted in the murders after a capital murder trial in Corning, Ark.
Awaiting trial are two others charged in the murders, Damien Wayne Echols, 19, and Charles Jason Baldwin, 16.
Friends of Misskelley, who testified during the trial that he had been with them around the time of the murder, said they were outraged at the verdict.
``Nobody cared about Jessie,'' said Susie Brewer, 15, Misskelley's girlfriend, who stood outside the Misskelley trailer home in Marion, Ark., which was decorated with a yellow ribbon. ``They (the jury) already had their minds made up.''
She wore a yellow ribbon on her shirt with the words ``Jessie Jr.'' written on its bows, and a heart-shaped ring that she said Misskelley had given her last Easter.
``He was lovable, very sweet, and he could not do anything like this,'' she said.
But most people interviewed in Crittenden County Friday seemed relieved after the verdict, as if it had been a personal ordeal.
``Justice has been done,'' said Debbie Perkins, 30, whose 7-year-old son Zac attends Weaver.
Although police say the murders occurred in the nearby swampy woods where the bodies were found, Perkins said, ``I don't think it had anything to do with this area. We were just the unlucky ones.''
Said Kirkley: ``I'm glad this part is over. We're trying to stay as normal as possible. Today, the big deal (in school) is ordering Valentine's Day candy-grams. That's our focus. It's not the murders.''
When the children learn of the verdict, ``I think it will be sort of a sense of relief, like it has been for us,'' said Lynette Moore, 47, an elementary school counselor at Weaver.
``I've had a few children that have been upset since the trial started, just the fact of bringing it back up,'' she said.
Kirkley said the murders had a profound impact on students.
``I think for a little while they realized that you can be sitting in your second-grade classroom one day, and then you never come back,'' she said. ``I think they valued each other more after that.''
Stephanie Dollar, a neighbor who testified on Misskelley's behalf, said the verdict was ``ridiculous'' and ``stupid.''
``All they had (to convict him) was a taped confession, and everybody knows how police are,'' she said.
Pamela Howe, 50, who lives in the same trailer park neighborhood as Misskelley, disagreed.
``I think they should torture all three like they tortured those kids,'' she said.
Whatever happens to the other defendants, Perkins and other mothers said their fear remains.
``What we were scared of in our nightmares really happened,'' Perkins said of the murders.
``You have to be protective of your kids all the time,'' said Sherry Fountain, 36, whose 8-year-old daughter Lori attended school with the boys.
The mothers aren't sure when their lives will return to normal.
``To be honest with you, I don't know if they ever will,'' Fountain said.
Caption: By Robert Cohen
Todd Moore, father of slain West Memphis second-grader Michael Moore, mourns with his family following the first-degree murder conviction of Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. in Corning, Ark., on Friday. Misskelley received a life sentence in Michael's death.
Misskelley guilty in boys' slayings
Outrage, relief flow after trial; school tries to carry on
Date: February 5, 1994 Section: News Page: A1 Illustration: photo Source: John Beifuss The Commercial Appeal Dateline: WEST MEMPHIS Edition: Final
The trees have yet to be planted in the new reading grove at Weaver Elementary School. The trees will be added to the playground site when the weather warms, said Sarah Kirkley, Weaver principal.
In time, they'll grow, along with the children who will study and play under their shadowy boughs.
Three children won't grow, won't read, won't be there -- Michael Moore, Steve Branch and Christopher Byers, killed May 5 just blocks from their school, their homes.
Tragedy has trapped them in time. While their classmates move on, they will forever be referred to as ``8 years old,'' as ``second-graders.''
The grove is being planted as a memorial to the boys, who were Weaver students and Cub Scouts.
``The little boys all liked to read,'' Kirkley said. ``We wanted to emphasize the positive aspects of the boys.''
Friday, negative aspects of the case -- the rehashing of the murders, the gory details on the evening news -- came closer to resolution: Eighteen-year-old Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. was convicted in the murders after a capital murder trial in Corning, Ark.
Awaiting trial are two others charged in the murders, Damien Wayne Echols, 19, and Charles Jason Baldwin, 16.
Friends of Misskelley, who testified during the trial that he had been with them around the time of the murder, said they were outraged at the verdict.
``Nobody cared about Jessie,'' said Susie Brewer, 15, Misskelley's girlfriend, who stood outside the Misskelley trailer home in Marion, Ark., which was decorated with a yellow ribbon. ``They (the jury) already had their minds made up.''
She wore a yellow ribbon on her shirt with the words ``Jessie Jr.'' written on its bows, and a heart-shaped ring that she said Misskelley had given her last Easter.
``He was lovable, very sweet, and he could not do anything like this,'' she said.
But most people interviewed in Crittenden County Friday seemed relieved after the verdict, as if it had been a personal ordeal.
``Justice has been done,'' said Debbie Perkins, 30, whose 7-year-old son Zac attends Weaver.
Although police say the murders occurred in the nearby swampy woods where the bodies were found, Perkins said, ``I don't think it had anything to do with this area. We were just the unlucky ones.''
Said Kirkley: ``I'm glad this part is over. We're trying to stay as normal as possible. Today, the big deal (in school) is ordering Valentine's Day candy-grams. That's our focus. It's not the murders.''
When the children learn of the verdict, ``I think it will be sort of a sense of relief, like it has been for us,'' said Lynette Moore, 47, an elementary school counselor at Weaver.
``I've had a few children that have been upset since the trial started, just the fact of bringing it back up,'' she said.
Kirkley said the murders had a profound impact on students.
``I think for a little while they realized that you can be sitting in your second-grade classroom one day, and then you never come back,'' she said. ``I think they valued each other more after that.''
Stephanie Dollar, a neighbor who testified on Misskelley's behalf, said the verdict was ``ridiculous'' and ``stupid.''
``All they had (to convict him) was a taped confession, and everybody knows how police are,'' she said.
Pamela Howe, 50, who lives in the same trailer park neighborhood as Misskelley, disagreed.
``I think they should torture all three like they tortured those kids,'' she said.
Whatever happens to the other defendants, Perkins and other mothers said their fear remains.
``What we were scared of in our nightmares really happened,'' Perkins said of the murders.
``You have to be protective of your kids all the time,'' said Sherry Fountain, 36, whose 8-year-old daughter Lori attended school with the boys.
The mothers aren't sure when their lives will return to normal.
``To be honest with you, I don't know if they ever will,'' Fountain said.
Caption: By Robert Cohen
Todd Moore, father of slain West Memphis second-grader Michael Moore, mourns with his family following the first-degree murder conviction of Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr. in Corning, Ark., on Friday. Misskelley received a life sentence in Michael's death.
