Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast

Who was LG Hollingsworth, and why did his name become so closely tied to Damien Echols in the early days of the West Memphis Three investigation?

In this episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into one of the most complicated and controversial threads in the case: the Hollingsworth family, a series of conflicting eyewitness accounts, and the infamous “stinky box” allegations that helped fuel suspicion surrounding LG Hollingsworth, Damien Echols, and Domini Teer.

Following the investigation day by day, we examine Narlene Hollingsworth’s May 9...

In this Q&A episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, victim advocates and researchers Paul Day and Kristin Rich dig into detailed listener questions drawn from the case files surrounding the May 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

They open with thanks to community members who shared insights on Wicca and a call for a polygraph examiner to independently review Damien Echols’ charts.

The questions then take center stage: Was Damien still at the West Memphis Police Department during the anonymous 3:36 p.m. May 10 call claiming responsibility for the killings—and...

On May 10, 1993—the day that never ends—Damien Echols leaves a grueling interrogation with Detectives Ridge and Sudbury and walks straight into a polygraph with Detective Bill Durham. What follows is a tense, unrecorded session of pretest questions, ten carefully crafted polygraph queries, and a high-pressure post-test interview that would haunt the West Memphis Three case for decades.

Damien denies every relevant question about the murders. Durham scores every answer as deception. Pressure mounts. Damien claims he asked for an attorney three times; Durham insists he never did. Then comes the moment that gives this episode its name...

In this pivotal episode of Crooked Tree, forensic geologist and victim advocate Paul Day and criminologist and victim advocate Kristin Rich take a meticulous, slow-crawl look at one of the most consequential moments in the West Memphis Three investigation: the May 10, 1993, interview of Damien Echols at the West Memphis Police Department.

Beginning at 11:54 a.m., Echols—brought in with his mother—sits down with lead Detective Bryn Ridge and Lieutenant James Sudbury. What starts as a “person of interest” conversation lasting roughly 90 minutes ends with Damien labeled a suspect. Paul and Kristin carefully compare Ridge’s sparse interview...

In this episode of Crooked Tree, hosts Kristin Rich and Paul Day turn their focus to Murray Farris, an 18-year-old West Memphis resident whose name appears on Jerry Driver’s list of possible occult-linked individuals. On the evening of May 9, 1993—hours after Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin were questioned—Farris walks into the West Memphis Police Department.

What follows is a revealing interview. Farris describes his involvement in a small group identified as the Covenant of the Divine Light, a personal blend of Wiccan practice, biblical study, and protective symbolism including a pentagram medallion bearing the Tetragrammaton. He name...

In the hours and days after the bodies of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers are recovered, West Memphis investigators begin receiving tips steeped in the era’s widespread fears of satanic ritual abuse. A call from a Texas Child Protective Services worker about alleged ritualistic killings in Gilmer, TX sets an early tone. Lieutenant James Sudbury and juvenile officer Steve Jones quickly zero in on Damien Echols, interviewing the teenager at his family’s trailer on May 7 based on their shared belief that the crime shows “overtones of a cult sacrifice."

By Mother’s Day, May 9, t...

In this gripping Q&A installment of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, West Memphis Three researchers and victim advocates Kristin Rich and Paul Day confront listener questions that cut straight to the heart of the case—and the shadows still lingering over the 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

They open by addressing accusations of bias, revealing how their close ties to the Byers and Branch families formed only after years of independent, evidence-driven research—and why those relationships change nothing about the facts they’re presenting. From there, the episode descends into the un...

In this episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, forensic geologist and victim advocate Paul Day and criminologist and victim advocate Kristin Rich pull back the curtain on the law-enforcement climate surrounding the murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

Why did West Memphis Police Inspector Gary Gitchell decline substantial help from the Arkansas State Police—even as three children lay dead and the department reached out to the FBI? The hosts examine the West Memphis–Crittenden County Drug Task Force, its high-profile seizures of cash, vehicles, and guns, and the cloud of investigations that...

In the chaotic days after the bodies of three eight-year-old boys were discovered in West Memphis, the police—facing few solid leads—turned to the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico for an offender profile. They sent a case summary and victimology reports, hoping for scientific direction. What they received instead was generic interview guidance. No profile ever came.

In this episode of Crooked Tree, victim advocates Paul Day and Kristin Rich examine the only truly unbiased profile ever produced in the West Memphis Three case: the public analysis offered by Memphis psychologist Dr. L.D. Hutt Jr...

In this episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, hosts Kristin Rich and Paul Day pick up the trail from Dawn Moore and Kim Williams’ May 8, 1993 interviews with the West Memphis Police Department. The girls described three teenagers emerging from Devil’s Den who offered Dawn a “shot,” then later entering a house on Wilson Street—identified as the home of 13-year-old Carlos Seals at 808 Wilson.

Kristin and Paul examine how police zeroed in on Seals and his friends—Billy Sanderson, Kent Lynn, Jason White, and Samantha Gardner—through door-to-door notes and the girls’ account. Interviews on May 8 and 9 by...

In the shadowed hours before three young boys vanished into Robin Hood Hills, a critical gap in the West Memphis Three timeline has long gone unfilled… until now.

On this episode of Crooked Tree, West Memphis Three researchers Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into the missing thirty minutes between 5:15 and 5:45 p.m. on May 5, 1993. Drawing on overlooked door-to-door notes and police interviews, they track Stevie Branch and Michael Moore as they ride their bikes near Wilson and Holiday, then head toward the woods.

The most chilling detail emerges from the accounts of Kim Wi...

In this Q&A episode, West Memphis Three researchers and victim advocates Paul Day and Kristin Rich answer a wide range of listener questions submitted through their Facebook group. From the status of ongoing DNA testing and whether pressure exists to reopen the case, to crime-scene logistics, law-enforcement perceptions of the original investigation, case numbering oddities, overlooked persons of interest, family timelines and alibis, evidence handling, and why certain leads (including those involving Terry Hobbs) received limited early scrutiny—Paul and Kristin tackle the topics listeners are most curious about.

They share insights drawn from case files, di...

West Memphis suffered a devastating blow five years before the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. In 1988, the burned bodies of seven-year-old Bianca Tirado and two-year-old Maximilian McCoy were discovered at a dump site. Their mother, Barbara McCoy, and companion Mary Williams were charged with capital murder amid allegations of religious extremism and beliefs that the children were possessed. The case dominated local and national headlines, left the community reeling, and kept talk of cults and the occult fresh in residents’ minds. When the three boys were found in 1993, those same fears resurfaced immediately.

In...

In this episode, Kristin Rich and Paul Day dive deep into one of the most intriguing and under-examined leads in the West Memphis Three case: the mysterious "Tattooed Man."

On May 5, 1993, Ken Govar picked up a hitchhiker east of Little Rock. The man’s angry demeanor, inconsistent stories, terrifying tattoos (including a bone with dripping blood and a devil on its haunches), and specific request to be dropped off at a Flash Market just 1,600 feet from Devil's Den in West Memphis raised immediate red flags. Govar’s detailed police interview, composite sketches, and sharp observations paint a chil...

In this episode of Crooked Tree, Kristin and Paul dive deep into the chaotic first days of the West Memphis Police Department’s investigation following the discovery of the three murdered boys. They examine the flurry of tips pouring in and the frantic pursuit of transients, truckers, bicyclists, and odd characters near the crime scene.

From the detailed logs at the Blue Beacon truck wash and the overlooked Union 76 truck stop right by the trails, to the rapid follow-ups on individuals like Carroll Coleman, Gary Chadwick, Paul Champagne, John Connolly/James Barry, Tim Cotten, and several others, th...

In this episode of Crooked Tree, Kristin and Paul dive deep into the chaotic first days of the West Memphis Police Department’s investigation following the discovery of the three murdered boys. They examine the flurry of tips pouring in and the frantic pursuit of transients, truckers, bicyclists, and odd characters near the crime scene.

From the detailed logs at the Blue Beacon truck wash and the overlooked Union 76 truck stop right by the trails, to the rapid follow-ups on individuals like Carroll Coleman, Gary Chadwick, Paul Champagne, John Connolly/James Barry, Tim Cotten, and several others, th...

In Episode 9 of Crooked Tree, Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into the raw, unfiltered door-to-door canvassing notes compiled by West Memphis police during the critical first weekend after the discovery of the bodies of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore (May 7–9, 1993). 

From over 700 homes visited and more than 50 tips received, the episode explores a flood of neighborhood rumors, suspicious vehicles (brown Chevys, maroon cars, white vans, red trucks), strange individuals on bikes, reports of cults and Satan worshippers in Robin Hood, gunshots ringing out around 10–11 PM, a dog barking near the pipebridge, and eerie encou...

In this Q&A episode of Crooked Tree, Paul and Kristin tackle your thoughtful (and tough) questions about the West Memphis 3 case.

They start with an important clarification on the scuff and tool marks found on the east bank of the crime scene and what those marks actually reveal about how the perpetrator(s) tried to exit the area. The conversation then dives into the iconic loud splashes heard by Ryan and the searchers in Devil’s Den, Stevie Branch’s mysterious whereabouts between 4 and 5 PM, Christopher Byers’ skateboard, the shoe prints and lone fingerprint at the scene...

In this deep-dive episode, Kristin Rich and Paul Day—victim advocates for two of the families—break down the critical hours between the boys leaving school and their disappearance on May 5, 1993. Using original West Memphis Police Department door-to-door canvassing notes, neighborhood interviews, tips, newspaper articles, and compiled timelines, they reconstruct where Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were playing that afternoon.

The hosts walk listeners through a detailed, chronological timeline of verified and probable sightings, complete with a custom map (posted in their Facebook group and on X) showing key locations in the Holiday Gardens neig...

In Episode 7 of Crooked Tree, Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into one of the most infamous and controversial incidents in the West Memphis 3 case — the Bojangles Man.

On the same night the three boys disappeared, a disoriented Black man, bleeding from one arm and wearing a cast/brace on the other, entered the women’s restroom at the Bojangles restaurant on North Missouri Street. Covered in mud and blood, he left behind a chaotic scene of blood on the walls, soiled clothes, and discarded sunglasses. Manager Marty King called police, Officer Regina Meek responded whil...

In this sixth episode of Crooked Tree, Kristin Rich and Paul Day dive even deeper into the chaotic day the bodies of Michael Moore, Christopher Byers, and Stevie Branch were discovered in the unnamed creek. What began as a missing persons case instantly transformed into a high-profile triple homicide when West Memphis PD assigned the ominous case number 93-05-0666.

The hosts examine the crime scene in detail: the mysterious “slicked-off bank,” footprints, a fingerprint left by someone standing in the Unnamed Creek, unusual sticks (one with a shirt wrapped around it), the children’s clothing, and the st...

In this deeply emotional and difficult episode of Crooked Tree, hosts Paul Day (forensic geologist and victim advocate) and Kristin Rich (criminologist and victim advocate) confront the heartbreaking reality at the heart of the case—the discovery of the bodies of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore.

This episode takes listeners into the wooded area near Robin Hood Hills and the unnamed creek on May 6, 1993. Paul provides a detailed, vivid breakdown of the challenging terrain—from the pipe bridge and Turtle Hill to the crooked tree, triple tree, ivy tree, and hollow tree—helping you visual...

Welcome to the first bonus Q&A episode of Crooked Tree! Kristin Rich and Paul Day dive into your questions from the Facebook group, tackling key details from the West Memphis case.

In this episode: A deep dive into Officer Regina Meek’s timeline on May 5, 1993 (including the mosquito incident, dispatch logs, and trial testimony), Christopher Byers’ “white lie” about where Stevie Branch lived, the history of Robin Hood Hills, why the floating shoes and Cub Scout cap weren’t spotted earlier, the flow of the unnamed creek, Steve Branch’s biological father during the searches, curfews and...

On the morning of May 6, 1993, exhausted and terrified parents in West Memphis, Arkansas, resume their desperate search for three missing eight-year-old boys—Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch—who vanished the evening before. With no meaningful help from law enforcement overnight, the families, joined by friends and community members, scour the bayous, woods, and bridges near Robin Hood Hills by first light.

As frustration mounts, Mark Byers pushes hard—alerting Search and Rescue, calling the media, and demanding action. Meanwhile, the West Memphis Police Department finally mobilizes, saturating Robin Hood Hills, the Blue Beacon woods, the 10-Mile...

In this gripping continuation of the West Memphis Three case timeline, Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into the chaotic night of May 5, 1993, after Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch disappeared.

From the moment the sun sets under a massive, bright waxing gibbous moon, the episode follows the desperate searches by the families and police. Paul and Kristin reconstruct key moments in detail: Pam Hobbs learning her son is missing while at work at Catfish Island, Officer John Moore taking reports, frantic foot searches in Robin Hood Hills and Devil’s Den, and the memorable “mosq...

In this gripping continuation of our deep-dive series on the 1993 West Memphis Three case, Paul Day and Kristin Rich meticulously reconstruct the critical hours after Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch vanished on May 5, 1993.

Starting with Christopher’s well-documented movements, the episode follows the frantic searches by the Byers family as daylight fades. You’ll hear how a simple lie about Stevie’s address sent the family looking in the wrong direction, the police encounters that led to official missing persons reports, and the pivotal moment when Dana Moore revealed the boys were last seen riding bikes...

On May 5, 1993, in West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys—Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore—did what kids do on a beautiful spring afternoon: they went to school, came home, and headed out to play. They never returned.

What started as an ordinary Wednesday in the tight-knit Holiday Gardens neighborhood turned into one of the most haunting and divisive true crime cases in American history. The next day, the boys were found murdered in a drainage ditch, their bodies bound and left in water. Three local teenagers—Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley—were arrested, tried, a...

Trailer for Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast