Sorry folks, I give up. When emotional invalidity coerces intellect to the extent that the result is evasive logic, then I can't see the basis for a discussion. Eight year old children are driven largely by emotions, what they say, and what they do are sometimes completely different things. It's worth analysing, this often makes it easier to cope with their needs. We were all eight year olds, have so many people lost contact to their own childhood ?
The proposed extravagant plans these three boys fabricated, are indeed fabricated in the heads of grown-ups. Plans, elaborate enough to commit a bank robbery. There is no access to this case without a minimum of emotional intelligence. Enough to see the interactions of three eight year old boys, and mentally defective masculine control.
I agree with the profile done by Brent Turvey, that this is most definitely a
Battered Child Homicide.
But more importantly, the location of the dumpsite itself does not suggest a serial offender. As indicated, it's simply too close to the point of abduction. If this assailant had been a stranger to the victims, then he would have grabbed them, and, knowing that others would be looking for the boys soon, he would have left the area immediately. Subsequently, the bodies would have been disposed of somewhere far away from West Memphis along down the Interstate, and a greater attempt would have been made to prevent the bodies from being discovered. All of this would have served to help a stranger or serial offender in his escape from the area, undetected.
Instead, the bodies were disposed of right where they were last seen, in the area where most of the people searching for them were looking. This suggests that the assailant wanted the bodies to be found quickly. No time was taken to conceal the bodies, because the offender did not have a great distance to go in order to be in his safe-zone. They were just dumped in the water, clothes, bicycles and all.
Wound patterns
The wound patterns inflicted on these victims are punishment oriented. That is to say that they were inflicted with the intention to punish these children for a real or perceived transgression. This is known because the wounds are violent, traumatic, and the product of rage. But in addition to that, the type of injuries inflicted, (i.e. the bite marks and the evident anger), pointedly indicate a custodial type homicide.
Because this is so, and because of the other factors discussed, it further lessens the likelihood of a serial offender or stranger being involved in this case.
Battered Child Homicide Assessment In this examiner's opinion, this classification is the most consistent with the physical evidence, crime scene and victimological presentation in this case. According to Practical Homicide Investigation by Vern Geberth, 3rd Ed., pp.642-643, the interpretation of patterns of bite mark evidence breaks down, generally, as such
Homosexual Homicides tend to involve bite marks of the back, arms, shoulders, axillae (armpits, face, and scrotum of the victim).
Heterosexual Homicides usually involve bite marks delivered by the assailant to the breast and thighs.
Battered children most often have randomly placed bite marks on the cheeks, back, and sides. However, bite marks on battered children have also been found on the abdomen, scrotum, and buttocks. In child cases, biting seems to be done in a rapid, random, and enraged manner leaving tissue laceration, diffuse areas, and poor detail, as opposed to sexually associated bite marks, usually inflicted in a slow and sadistic manner and resulting in excellent detail.
Note: According to Dr. Lowell Levine (as detailed Practical Homicide Investigation), there are two general but distinct types of bite mark patterns.
1) Those which are inflicted slowly, which leave a central ecchymotic area or 'suck mark,' and a radiating linear abrasion pattern surrounding the central area resembling a sunburst. The type is most often found in sexually oriented homicides;
2) Those which resemble a tooth mark pattern. This is an attack or defensive bite mark and is seen most often in the battered-child type of homicide.
The bite marks in this case appear to be, in the majority, of the nature and quality described above in the Battered Child Homicide.
Purpose of the Assault
It is the opinion of this examiner that the primary reason for these killings was punitive. The victims were being punished for some real or perceived wrong. The reasons for this opinion have been thoroughly established in other parts of this report.
It should be pointed out at this point that this examiner is under the opinion that James M. Moore was a collateral victim. That is to say that he was not an intended victim, and that he died because of his association with the other two victims at the time. The anger of the assailant in this case, manifested in victim damage and sexual mutilation, is directed primarily at Steve Branch and Chris Byers. This would indicate that the strongest personal associations with the assailant are with Chris and Steve.
A Battered Child Homicide is not elaborate, and certainly not a fairy tale, it is pure blatant, violent reality. Here statistics taken from a book on the subject:
Child Homicide Parents who kill.
Lita Linzer Schwartz and Natalie K. Isser
Turning to the United States, we found different types of fathers who committed child homicide, although in most cases they shared a need to “control.” In one case, Michael James Shukry, characterized as a “neat freak,” had abundant “explanations” for the multiple injuries and ultimately the death of his girlfriend’s 7-year-old son. Naturally, these were all “accidents” or the boy’s fault, with 39 separate injuries found on him over time. Not long before the boy died, his aunt and a hospital social worker had contacted Child Protective Services in Sacramento (California) about possible child abuse, but the agency decided not to investigate. Shukry was convicted of child homicide and second-degree murder (Coronado, 2004).
As we have noted, neonaticide committed by fathers is very rare, but father figures are more often the guilty parties in infanticide or filicide in later childhood. “Fathers” include men who live with the mother of the children as her husband and the children’s biological father, as stepfather, or as live- in lover or boyfriend. They may displace their anger or lack of patience with a crying child or suffer from a personality disorder (Scott, 1973). They may become homicidal because of intoxication or substance abuse (Campion et al., 1988). Resnick (1969) found that the method used by a parent to kill a child varies by gender: mothers tended to drown, gas, or strangle a child, while fathers stabbed, squeezed, struck, or banged the head of the child.
Palermo (2002) offered case examples that included shaken baby syndrome, battered child syndrome, head trauma, stabbing, or drowning. Some of the father figures involved were psychotic; others were unable to control their destructive emotions. In a study by Herman-Giddens and colleagues (1999), it was found that almost two thirds of child maltreatment fatalities were at the hands of the children’s biological parents. They also found that most of the time (65.5%), the killer was male: father, stepfather, or mother’s boyfriend.
The team reviewed five information sources (Air Force FAP Child/Spouse Abuse Incident Report, birth record of victim, medical record of victim, autopsy record of victim, and Air Force Office of Special Investigation’s [OSI] Record of the Investigation [ROI], p. 94) and developed 58 variables concerning the victim, perpetrator, family, or incident.
58% died of traumatic head injuries, while another 29% died of asphyxiation
Unlike the perpetrators in many other studies, 97% of the parents in this study were married and living with spouse and child at the time of the infant’s death. Several had been abused as children or had been seen clinically for spouse or child abuse. The fatal incident usually occurred “in the perpetrator’s home (71%) when the perpetrator was left alone (86%) with the infant on the weekend (47%)” (p. 100).
It is so obvious who the perpetrator is. I can only presume that some posters who are adamant on protecting TH, either identify themselves with the emotional desolation that he displays, or they identify a parent / partner with a similar demeanour. On the whole, in the year I've been studying this case, I have been shocked by the amount of posters on various boards, who felt "comfortably numb" looking at the battered bodies of three little boys, rather than to look at the corpses in their own cellars.
TH and PH had a fatal attraction to each other. Until this very day PH does not know if TH killed her son or not. I guess she would have felt a lot better if she could have believed it was the WM3. She didn't take the easy way out, as others did. If she decides to take a stance and say TH was the perp, that would mean she would have to take part of the responsibility for not protecting her son enough, adding to the fact that she lived with the murderer of her son. That is quite a terrible conflict. I feel very sorry for her.
Another look at:
Child Homicide Parents who kill.
Lita Linzer Schwartz and Natalie K. Isser
the motives of those who murder children, usually their own. Wilczynski (1997a), in her book Child Homicide, listed ten categories of motives, some of which we have already touched on:
1. Retaliating killings (those in which one parent murders the children to get back at the other parent, usually an ex-spouse at the time)
2. Jealousy of or rejection by the victim (usually the father commits the homicide)
3. Unwanted child (the most common basis of neonaticide)
4. Discipline (overzealous corporal punishment of the child for crying or disobedience)
5. Altruistic a.Primary (usually “mercy killing” of very ill/retarded child)
b.Secondary (possible postpartum depression, lack of support in parenting)
6.Psychotic parent (delusions about child)
7.Munchausen syndrome by proxy (direct physical actions of parent that lead to invasive medical investigations of child)
8.Secondary to sexual or ritual abuse
9.No intent to kill or injure (neglect in the absence of criminal intent)
10.Not known
Taken from a post by PH on another board:
"Honestly I have no ideal of what went on in my home when I was working which was always the 5-9pm 10pm shift."
The list of victims and intruders who were used / abused and punished for breaking TH law, and the allegations against TH.
Angela H. (First wife) (Abuse)
Bryan H. (Son in first marriage) (Abuse, Sexual Abuse)
Mildred F. Intruder (Sexual assault / Assault /Criminal Trespass)
Jesse the Mexican. Intruder (Assault)
Stevie B Intruder (Abuse / Sexual Abuse)
Chris B. Intruder ( ? )
Michael M. (He didn't break TH law, he just witnessed the punishment of SB, and CB)
Jackie H. Jnr. Intruder (Aggravated Assault, ended fatally)
Andy N. Intruder (assault)
Pam H. (Abuse)
Amanda H. (Sexual Abuse, Abuse, Loss of pregnancy due to physical abuse)
Other evidence, circumstantial evidence, psychological evidence, is all present, it just needs to be verified / analysed by the authorities.
I hope that TH will someday be made responsible for what he did. It hurts to see that some "Average Joe" parents kill their own children. Yes a lot of us have "Average Joe" parents.
All the parts of the puzzle can be found in the Hobbs/Hicks network, it's just a matter of wanting to see them, or not. If the authorities had taken the Mildred F, incident seriously, these three boys might still be alive. Not only these three boys, but also Melissa Byers, Jackie Hicks Jnr, the person who was knocked down by Dana M. The others who are alive, will remain survivors.
The WM3, who were abducted by the state of Arkansas for 18 years, well that is another story, ironically it has nothing to do with the murders of SH, CB, and MM.
After all this, I would have loved to have met Stevie, Chris and Michael, hug them, take them into my heart, stroke their heads.
This is my personal opinion. Anyone who feels offended by my remarks, my remarks were meant to be offensive, some of you who don't feel offended, should feel offended. Those who are passionate about this case, have no need to feel offended. This is a wake up call.
"It must be torture for a murderer who is not caught and convicted. All the love he receives from there on, he knows it's meant for someone else who he is giving himself out to be."
Anonymous Police Officer
"I also remember while I, Terry, was trying to keep my job at the ice cream company, all of my customers were so nice I could not handle it. I would walk in to do my job, and I did not know how many of my customers would hug me, and some of them would even start to cry. This seemed to make me nervous. As nice as my customers were and as nice as all of the employees of Memphis Ice Cream Company were, since they did not -- they did not know what being overly nice to me was doing to me. As long as I’ve been at the ice cream and had the same customers for years, this kind of being nice to me was making my mind seem like it was frying."
Taken from TH Pasdar Deposition
