Copyright 1994, The Commercial Appeal
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
February 6, 1994, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 1409 words
HEADLINE: Tape of Misskelley can't be used at trial of other 2 suspects
BYLINE: Bartholomew Sullivan and Marc Perrusquia The Commercial Appeal
BODY:
When Damien Wayne Echols and Charles Jason Baldwin go on trial Feb.
22 for the murders of three West Memphis second-graders, jurors will
hear the same horrific crime scene testimony as the jury that
convicted Jessie Misskelley Jr. on Friday.
But they will not hear Misskelley's taped confession. The
32-minute statement in which Misskelley told investigators he was on
hand as Echols and Baldwin killed 8-year-olds Steve Branch, Michael
Moore and Christopher Byers is not admissible because one suspect's
confession cannot be used to implicate other suspects.
The confession was crucial in convicting Misskelley because
prosecutors presented no physical evidence linking him to the scene of
the May 5 slayings. But Echols, 19, and Baldwin, 16, have made no
such statements to police. And Misskelley, facing life in prison, is
not expected to testify at the second trial, particularly if he
intends to maintain his innocence during an appeal.
A Corning, Ark., jury convicted Misskelley, 18, on one count of
first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He was
sentenced to life plus 40 years. In the second trial, which will be
held in Jonesboro, Ark., Second Judicial Dist. Atty. Brent Davis and
Deputy Prosecutor John N. Fogleman will seek the death penalty for
Echols and Baldwin just as they did for Misskelley.
Prosecutors may seek to present police testimony that Misskelley
told them Baldwin called him the night before the brutal slayings to
say he and Echols planned to ''get some boys and hurt them.'' But a
fight can be expected over whether the jury should be allowed to hear
it.
Among the mountain of items introduced at Misskelley's trial the
boys' bicycles, club-like tree branches, receipts and tape recordings
trace evidence of cloth fibers found at the suspects' houses was shown
to link Baldwin and Echols to the crime scene.
But those fibers are only ''microscopically similar,'' an expert
testified.
West Memphis Police Insp. Gary Gitchell, who shepherded the case
through the 28 days leading to the suspects' arrests, hinted Friday
there is a stronger case against Echols and Baldwin than against
Misskelley.
That may mean the state plans to put 8-year-old Aaron Hutcheson on
the witness stand. A tape of his voice was played for jurors in
Corning saying, ''Nobody knows what happened but me.'' He never
testified at Misskelley's trial.
His mother, Victoria M. Hutcheson, was the state's key witness to
an occult connection in the murders. She told jurors that she ''played
detective'' and attended a satanic ''esbat'' meeting with Misskelley
and Echols, then got a ride home with Echols. She was not asked to
offer details of what occurred at the session.
Neither side asked to introduce the rest of what the youngster
said in his taped statement.
While Michael Moore tried to escape but was chased down by
Misskelley, some are wondering whether Aaron Hutcheson got away.
Domini Teer, Echols's girlfriend, could play a pivotal role in
Baldwin's defense.
Attorney Paul N. Ford said last fall that he may assert that Teer
not Baldwin was seen near the crime scene the night of the murders.
Tabitha Hollingsworth, 17, of the Lakeshore trailer park near
Marion, testified Jan. 27 that she saw Echols and Teer walking near
the crime scene the night of the murders. Prosecutors maintain
Hollingsworth confused Teer with Baldwin.
Fogleman said during closing arguments that Hollingsworth's
testimony helped corroborate Misskelley's statement. He suggested
Hollingsworth confused Baldwin and Teer, in part, because it was dark.
Teer and Baldwin are both thin and, at the time, had long,
light-colored hair, Fogleman said.
Misskelley told police Baldwin wore black pants with holes in the
knees the night of the murders. Hollingsworth said Teer was wearing
black pants with holes in the knees. But she said the pants also had
''flowers.''
During deliberations last week, jurors asked to review
Hollingsworth's testimony about seeing the two while riding on the
interstate.
If prosecutors call Hollingsworth in the Jonesboro trial, her
testimony could raise questions about Teer, rather than confirm
Baldwin's alleged presence.
Hollingsworth's mother, Narlene, who also was subpoenaed to
testify in the Misskelley trial but wasn't called, is even more
adamant in her claim she saw Teer near the crime scene.
''I know that freckle-faced, red-headed girl anywhere,''
Hollingsworth said when challenged last fall.
Domini's mother, Dian Teer, said Saturday she expects that she and
her daughter will be called to testify. Both appeared on defense
witness lists in the Misskelley trial but were not subpoenaed.
Teer, 44, said again Saturday that Domini was home in bed the
night of the murders and dismissed claims by the Hollingsworths.
''That's a bunch of lies,'' Teer said, saying she believes all the
defendants are innocent. ''They're being framed. I think somebody else
did it.''
Several teenagers who know Echols could be called by defense
attorneys to muddy the prosecution's case.
One is Chris Littrell, a West Memphis High School senior who,
responding to a subpoena, sat reading in the courthouse in Corning but
wasn't called.
Littrell might be asked to testify about the way police handled
him during the investigation last year. He told The Commercial Appeal
last summer that Gitchell stuck a finger in his face, pounded on a
table top and yelled at him during an interrogation.
''He acted like he was very angry,'' Littrell said in the
interview. ''He thought I was lying.''
Littrell's testimony could have bolstered defense claims that
police coerced Misskelley into making a false confession. Defense
attorneys decided not to call Littrell after Gitchell testified he at
times got verbally tough with some witnesses but not with Misskelley.
Littrell and other teens also could support defense claims that
police focused their investigation on Echols and tips that the murders
were related to a cult. Littrell said he had an academic interest in
the occult and had met Echols on a couple of occasions.
Police asked Littrell several questions and showed an interest in
a book called Helping Yourself with White Witchcraft by Al G. Manning,
which he brought to the police station.
The prosecution may need to be more explicit about its theory of
cult involvement this time and could be expected to call Jerry Driver,
Crittenden County's chief juvenile officer. Driver testified briefly
in Corning that he saw Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin one night in
November 1992 dressed in black and carrying staffs.
Driver conducted an investigation into animal sacrifices, a
mysterious school fire and vandalism believed to be connected to the
occult in Crittenden County, and he has kept detailed files on youth
interest in the subject for the past several years.
Defense attorneys for Baldwin have asked Circuit Judge David
Burnett not to allow the jury to see the 6-inch survival knife found
Nov. 17 in the lake behind Baldwin's home. According to Misskelley's
taped confession, Baldwin had a knife and cut Steve Branch in the
face. But his description of the knife, used as a basis for search
warrants, is confusing.
The knife is either 6 inches long, ''like a regular knife blade,''
or it's a folding knife, Misskelley said.
Misskelley uses both ''he'' and ''them'' when he refers to whoever
castrated Christopher Byers, according to the statement.
Misskelley's statement also says Echols had been watching the boys
before they were killed.
It is not known whether defense attorneys for Echols will make an
issue of his mental health, an issue central to Misskelley's defense.
Echols took an overdose of the prescription antidepressant
Amitriptyline five days after he was jailed.
Later this week, Burnett is expected to schedule a hearing on
Baldwin's request to be given a separate trial. At the same time, the
judge is expected to hear arguments on whether a taped statement
Baldwin gave to a documentary film crew must be turned over to state
prosecutors.
