West Memphis Three DNA Testing Complete

DNA testing on evidence from the 14-year-old West Memphis Three murder case has concluded without a positive match between genetic evidence and the three men convicted of the crime. According to a document filed with the Arkansas Supreme Court by Damien Echols' attorney, the majority of the evidence tested belonged to the three victims, but other evidence can't be linked to the victims or Echols, Jason Baldwin or Jesse Miskelley.

The West Memphis Three were convicted in the 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Steven Baldwin. Scant physical evidence, an error-riddled confession and what critics claim was a biased investigation has made the convictions controversial.

According to the filing, attorneys for the defendants and Brent Davis, Craighead County Prosecuting Attorney, have agreed to more extensive testing of certain items felt to have evidentiary value. There are certain other items impounded during the course of the initial investigation that may also be made available for testing by Bode Laboratories in Virginia.

According to a web posting by author Mara Leveritt, who has followed the case, Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Stevie Branch, was told by an investigator that his hair was found in a knot used to bind Michael Moore. Hobbs has since been questioned by the West Memphis Police Department. "I sat in a room the other day and was filmed, videoed and audioed," Hobbs said. "It kind of aggravated me."

Source: WM3.Org: (http://wm3.org/live/newsevents/newsitem.php?index=1&news_Id=131)