Used to be obsessed with this case, then took a step back from it and am now reapproaching. Disclaimer to start - I believe the WM3 - especially Damien - are guilty. I believe the murders happened relatively close to how Jesse described them in his confessions. However, I also believe that given the lack of usable physical evidence, had the WM3 not been poor white trash from the outskirts of society and had the means for a better legal defense, it's very likely they would've gotten reduced sentences or outright walked. Note that's in a
legal sense and nothing else.
Now on to JMB. For supports, I always wondered why you continued to focus on JMB. After reading all statements and testimony of who was with who when that night, JMB would have to have near Superman-like abilities to somehow make it to the woods or elsewhere, murder the boys, then dispose of their bodies at the site or somewhere else. JMB was with someone else in his or the other families or on the phone with the WMPD so often during the timeframe between when the boys went missing and were discovered, it just doesn't add up.
Before anyone else says it, I will. JMB does
not exercise good decision making, in fact he's the antithesis of this. He was convicted of many petty offenses and suspected of many more. Terry Hobbs himself said that he and Pam used to go to the Byers house to purchase antiques JMB said he found or got from yard sales. As it turns out, he stole them and was selling them for a profit. Stuff like that. However, I personally can't see anything in his profile - even the fighting he did with adults - that would make the leap to brutal child murder and mutilation.
JMB is also easily manipulated. He happily played the fool on PL2 and acted like a WWE heel character in exchange for payment. Even Byers himself told friends that wasn't the 'real' him which they knew and he was acting for a paycheck. This is another reason why I put no stock in virtually anything PL contends because it's not a documentary - it's a propaganda tool for the WM3.
Looking at JMB's movements that day:
- 3:30 to 6:30 PM: Movements all corroborated by multiple people including Melissa and Ryan plus people at the courthouse where he was taking Ryan for an appointment as a witness in a case
- 6:30 to 8:00 PM: In general said he was driving around looking for the boys. This was corroborated by Melissa and Ryan.
- 8:00 to 8:30 PM: Met with Ofc. Meek which was confirmed by her.
- 8:30 to 9:30 PM: Sketchy corroboration but several people he said he met with - which is understandable given the chaos of trying to find the boys - and went into the woods with.
- 9:45 to 10:15 PM: Searched woods with John Moore which Moore corroborated
After this, there were other calls to the police and meetings with families who were also looking. Several people unconnected to the case saw JMB around the neighborhood searching. I also don't understand if he was the perp why call LE as often as he did to the point where WMPD literally said stop calling unless you found them, we're looking too. The timeframe here is just way too tight. Melissa confirmed JMB searched off and on until around 3:00 AM and then started back up at 6:00 AM the next day so unless he somehow snuck away during the early hours of them missing, killed them at a different location and then transported them to the discovery site overnight, JMB as a suspect just doesn't hold weight.
I think at this point supporters are better off focusing on Terry Hobbs and Bojangles because there are other pieces of info that can point to them way more than JMB.