Upon reading her autopsy and the overwhelming health issues noted, I'm actually surprised she lived as long as she did given her lifestyle in the end.
A detailed discussion of the death of Melissa Byers, consisting of information from the hospital in Ash Flats and the autopsy report, as well as anecdotal information directly from Mark Byers and his family, can be found in my book
Untying the Knot: John Mark Byers and the West Memphis Three. But Larry is essentially correct: Melissa Byers was an accident waiting to happen.
I was also aware of the fact that both her and Mark were IV drug users. (Dilaudid being their drug of choice - which was also present in her system at autopsy.
This is untrue. Melissa was an habitual IV drug user, it's true, and Dilaudid was her drug. However, Mark never used IV drugs, and didn't even use cocaine (though he was arrested for attempting to broker a sale of cocaine to federal agents.) Again, details are in the book.
Actually, the list is longer than that, and he has done time more than once.
Mark was incarcerated in EARU in Brickeys, AR from May of 1999 until January 2000, at which time he was transferred to the Delta Regional unit, total time of incarceration=15 months of an 8 year sentence. He was paroled in June 2000, and fulfilled the conditions of his parole in May of 2007.
Melissa was aware of his infidelity long before her death.
Not sure where you are getting this information. Although Mark saw Mandy Beasley (d. July 26, 2002) for a period
after Melissa's death on March 29, 1996, there is no evidence that he was having an affair with Beasley prior to that, and further there was no indication that Melissa thought anything was going on. Melissa and Mandy were friends (Beasley knew Mark from Marked Tree High School, and she coincidentally moved to Cherokee Village, where she and Melissa were introduced), and the two even fixed up Melissa's older son Ryan with Beasley's daughter Anneleise. Cherokee Village neighbor Fern Moyer described Beasley as Mark's "girlfriend" when police were investigating Melissa's death, but there was nothing to substantiate that claim.
Again, it's all in the book.
Since he was arrested for using a cattle prod on his first wife, I can't imagine anyone questioning whether or not he abused his partners.
It wasn't a "cattle-prod." It was a stun gun, and he didn't "use it on her", but merely threatened her with it (after she spat in his face, the intent of which was to provoke a conflict to help support her side of a custody battle which she was in danger of loosing). Sandra Sloan was an adulteress. The text of a letter to her lover is included in the book.
During his last stint in prison, he became a quasi-member of the arian [sic]group GFBD to "keep ******s off him" as he put it
For one thing, "GFBD" is not a gang name, but a slogan ("God Forgives, Brotherhood Doesn't) used by the Aryan Brotherhood. Mark was not a member of this ultra-violent, "blood-in blood-out" gang, but rather he was an associate of the smaller, much less radical Dirty White Boys. This is a matter of survival in prison as anyone who has ever been inside knows.
Again, the book has an entire chapter devoted to Mark's time in prison.
You can get a Kindle copy of the book for less than $4.00. If you're interested in this topic I think you should spring for a copy. Of course, if you'd rather, I'd be happy to send you a signed copy for $10 plus postage while supplies last. :facepalm:
~Greg Day Author: Untying the Knot: John Mark Byers and the West Memphis Three.~
P.S. For what it's worth, I believe that the West Memphis Three, and they alone, are guilty of the murders of Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore.
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