John Byers Case Study

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Recommended: Crime investigation and evidence

Elane Cun
December 10, 2013
Nick Sinigaglia
Philosophy 11

“The Unconsidered Suspect John Mark Byers”
The sickening and vicious murder of the three young West Memphis boys: Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch was and still is an uncommon case due to the choices of suspects and lack of evidence available. Evidence and information that have been revealed, indicates Christopher’s Byers step-father John Mark Byers as a reasonable suspect. John Byers has been established to be a man with a history of domestic violence’s and many other criminal activities. It has been discovered that there is a sensible motive, dishonesty in his statements/alibi, and possible physical evidences. From all those factors, it would be logical to take an interest in John Byers as a suspect in this horrifying murder.
In this case, there were multiple motives take in into deliberation, however the most interesting and promising motives for the crime belonged to John Byers. Byer has a criminal past with a history of domestic violence against his ex-wife Sandra Slone stated in the book Devil’s Knot “Byers came to the her house around 6 A.M, demanding to take the children, he then “began to threaten her, telling her he wanted full custody of the kids, that he was going to kill her” (pg 20)”. She also says “her ex-husband had threatened to kill her or have someone else kill her several times in the past; that she sought a restraining order against him (pg 21).” Not only was he violent to her, but to his own children. She told Lax the private investigator for the defense team that “he used to beat her and the children but did so in a way which left to visible marks or bruises when dressed” (pg 205). It is not only his blood related children he bea...

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...yers body. In addition with John Byers history of abuse with Chris and Chris being the only one with a “two old scars on his face, one on his chest and "a few" on his lower extremities. But the other two children have no old scars” (jivepuppi.com).
Christopher Byers was a problem child because of an attention disorder he had, which would provide problems for his parents. A women said “she overheard the couple continuing to discuss how they needed “to get rid of Chris” (pg 30). Having a problem child, being in trouble with the police, and a history of domestic violence clearly is an appropriate motive for this murder. John Byers ex-wife Sandra said in the Devil’s Knots that she automatically thought that John Mark Byers was the one to be blamed for this. With all the evidence presented and points towards John Byers, he should be looked at as a possible suspect.

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