GK's convoluted theory... what's yours? Please share!

[Compassionate Reader]

Just to clarify, my speculation about political involvement revolves around the apparent reluctance to consider TH as a suspect by LE. As late as 2007, maybe later, LE officials made statements that TH "never was and is not now a suspect" for these murders. My first major red flag about all this went up when LE made that statement after the hair evidence came out, especially since, even Gitchell in his Pasdar depo admitted, parents and close relatives are always the first suspects and should be thoroughly investigated and cleared before moving on to other suspects. The fact that JM,Jr. was interrogated and, IMO, coerced into a confession just might have been a way to deflect attention from TH. Again, this is speculation on my part, but the only way that TH's lack of even "person of interest" status makes any sense at all is that TH knows something about someone that would be damaging to political aspirations if it came out. Investigate Arkansas politics just a little and you'll see what I mean. I still believe that finding out why "Teflon" Terry is immune from suspicion is the key to finding the truth.

As to the pedophile ring, yes, I've speculated that in the past, too. I'm still not willing to completely abandon it. I base my suspicions not only on the statements from the Hicks family, which, I agree, are suspect, but primarily on the knowledge of JKM, a known pedophile, about the crime. That has always bothered me.

Pedophiles aren't gay or straight, they're pedophiles. There's a difference. There has been speculation in the past, brought again to the forefront with the Guy/Stewart affidavits, that TH is at least bi-sexual if not homosexual, but IMO, that is not part of the whole possible pedophile thing. Many pedophiles prey on their own sex and the opposite sex in equal measure. Some prey only on the same sex, some on the opposite sex, but pedophilia is not the same as being a homosexual. Pedophilia is a perversion. Homosexuality is a sexual orientation or sexual preference, if you prefer. Just wanted to clear that up.

 

[Ausgirl]

Did we miss the / mark between "gay" and "pedos"? Meaning and/or? Should I use sarcasm font? Probably.

My point was that Aaron was describing a group of Spanish-speaking gay men. Which (even if this was true) doesn't automatically compute with "pedophile ring".

The tree house, were it in use by a group of latino gay men OR a bunch of pedos molesting kids up there in the trees ( that's an "or", as well as extremely unlikely) how'd they disassemble this structure that night, without anyone noticing?

If they did, did they take the majority of the timber away with them? If so, how? If so, why'd they leave bits and pieces of it lying it around?

My whole point is, Aaron and his mother are liars, we can all see this in black and white. How anything they have said might be taken as possible truth, I don't know. Let alone his Latino gay satanists.

I'm not saying the blind/tree house (note the / there) never existed. Just that there's every reason to doubt pedos OR gays OR satanists were meeting in those woods anywhere, if it came from the mouth of Aaron, who then flipped his story according to what was expected of him by his mother and/or the cops.

 

[GoblinKeeper]

For what it's worth, the tree house was supposedly "high up" in the trees. VH (I believe) said that it was an old deer stand left abandoned by a hunter, and that you could kind of see it from the pipe bridge, even before you crossed and entered the immediate area; and if you go on Callahan's and look at some of the crime scene photos, you'll see investigators on ladders looking at certain trees -- they were looking to corroborate the tree house location. They never definitively corroborated it, but never denied it either -- since they did find strange markings (as if something had been nailed or drilled) high up in the trees, which quite possibly indicated that a structure was once there.

There was also a local on a WM3 message board a while back who claimed that the tree house "was huge," that it was high up in the trees, and that it was still there the day before the murder (the 5th).

Take it for what's it worth.

Userid, I find it interesting that there should be such a structure in a small patch of woods so close to a major interstate highway, businesses, and houses. Even in Arkansas, such a deer blind might not be the most logical of uses for something like that. I don't see the possibility of too many deer in that very small patch of woods, and didn't see any "deer crossing" signs when I was out that way. I am not discounting it, you understand, just questioning the use of such a structure. Maybe kids, older ones, tried to construct a tree house or fort up in the trees, and over the years it slowly came apart, hence the boards laid haphazardly on the ground, covered by bushes? Maybe a partial floor was left and that's what three little boys and a friend called a "club house"? Thanks for the input, Userid, it makes yet another part of the theory make a little bit of sense. I am always grateful for anything that might help me to make some sort of sense, and there is nothing too far out to consider in this case!

 

[GoblinKeeper]

Aaron has always reminded me of other 'Satanic Panic" kids, who made up incredibly elaborate stories about cult activity and pedo rings, which never actually existed. I don't think he or his mother would know the truth if they fell over it. And I think certain members of WMPD's Christmases all came at once when they realised they had a pair of malleable "witnesses" who'd back up whatever story they wanted to spin (for different reasons). As they demonstrably did.

So I can't buy into gays/pedos in the trees. Just can't do it.

Ausgirl, no one is asking that you buy into anything. I just asked in my original post for any and all suggestions, ideas, additions, deletions, etc., that might help me to come up with a plausible theory as to what actually happened. And I believe it was the boys who were in the trees, not any gays or pedophiles. They would have been on the ground, if there were out there. I do agree that AH and VH had a very difficult time with the truth, although I believe there may have been a kernel of truth in AH's original statement before LE realized their latest and greatest "treasure" (shades of TWH's "treasure box"). With the conflicting stories VH told, and the outlandish later statements of AH, both of whom later said they didn't know why they lied, but they did (AH has shunned the spotlight in recent years, wanting to be left alone due to his part in the debacle), there was a great deal of Satanic panic in West Memphis. I believe the WMPD let it grow, as it helped to keep some folks in line...

I guess what I'm saying is that tolerance is all that is asked here, and perhaps a suspension of disbelief, in the hopes that something, anything, might spark a fire that will burn away the dross, and leave us with something more plausible than what was made up out of whole cloth at that time. Thanks!

 

[GoblinKeeper]

Well -- don't really know where I said anything about "gay pedos up in the trees" in my original post, at all -- but I guess people interpret posts in their own way sometimes.

I was specifically talking about the tree house, and only the tree house.

What we know about the tree house is the following:

A) That it did indeed exist, somewhere in Robin Hood (many people questioned acknowledged its existence -- not just AH and VH -- TH being one that I can think of off the top of my head).

B) That a tree house was never found when the entire woods (Devil's Den and BB Woods) were searched.

C) That markings were found high up in the trees by investigators.

I really don't think it's all that much of a stretch to imagine a tree house, actually up in a tree, but to each their own.

I agree -- AH and VH are unreliable and lied about a great many things, but this was somewhat corroborated by the markings.

I think everyone can pretty much agree (including themselves) that AH and VH were very unreliable, especially VH. I remain convinced, however, that there may have been a grain of truth in the earliest statements of AH, until LE realized what a great witness he could be against their suspects, and closed off the original avenue he was headed down. As for the tree house, I know that TWH said he knew of a place the boys played, but then he also disavowed any knowledge of the woods themselves. I don't believe that, personally, but he may have been referring to a tree house/club house. I did go back through some of the photos that I could find and did see investigators on ladders. Thanks for the catch on that, Userid! Very useful indeed... now if we only had statements to back up their interest officially, that would be icing on the cake! I remain convinced that there were no gays or pedos in the trees, however. I don't believe the flooring of such a structure would hold up to five men, although I believe it would have held four young boys. Thanks for the clarification statements, Userid, always helps to have someone else's eyes on this case, and brainstorming as zencompass has in the past pages helps get my juices going again.

 

[GoblinKeeper]

Just to clarify, my speculation about political involvement revolves around the apparent reluctance to consider TH as a suspect by LE. As late as 2007, maybe later, LE officials made statements that TH "never was and is not now a suspect" for these murders. My first major red flag about all this went up when LE made that statement after the hair evidence came out, especially since, even Gitchell in his Pasdar depo admitted, parents and close relatives are always the first suspects and should be thoroughly investigated and cleared before moving on to other suspects. The fact that JM,Jr. was interrogated and, IMO, coerced into a confession just might have been a way to deflect attention from TH. Again, this is speculation on my part, but the only way that TH's lack of even "person of interest" status makes any sense at all is that TH knows something about someone that would be damaging to political aspirations if it came out. Investigate Arkansas politics just a little and you'll see what I mean. I still believe that finding out why "Teflon" Terry is immune from suspicion is the key to finding the truth.

As to the pedophile ring, yes, I've speculated that in the past, too. I'm still not willing to completely abandon it. I base my suspicions not only on the statements from the Hicks family, which, I agree, are suspect, but primarily on the knowledge of JKM, a known pedophile, about the crime. That has always bothered me.

Pedophiles aren't gay or straight, they're pedophiles. There's a difference. There has been speculation in the past, brought again to the forefront with the Guy/Stewart affidavits, that TH is at least bi-sexual if not homosexual, but IMO, that is not part of the whole possible pedophile thing. Many pedophiles prey on their own sex and the opposite sex in equal measure. Some prey only on the same sex, some on the opposite sex, but pedophilia is not the same as being a homosexual. Pedophilia is a perversion. Homosexuality is a sexual orientation or sexual preference, if you prefer. Just wanted to clear that up.

Good to see you back, CR! And your clarification here is most welcome, as it seems we were getting off track just a mite... It is interesting that the "Teflon Don" in this case turned out to be TWH, it seems. Other parents and step-parents were questioned and cleared (somewhat), but he seems to have been cleared without a single question until almost 14 years had passed! So I see it as very plausible that he knew, and perhaps still knows somehow, things of a political bent and associated legal issues that someone with aspirations recognized might be harmful or useful. We don't know, but can only speculate on that matter. However, I believe there is something there that has always needed closer investigation. And there could definitely have been a pedophile ring operating at the time; it is not hard to speculate on them now, with so many child cases turning up, with rings involving politicians, LE officials, school officials, and other professionals and non-professionals. I don't see why there couldn't have been one there at that time, given the number of pedophiles and suspect individuals living there at the time. That truly begs the question why those certain individuals, especially JKM, weren't ever seriously considered. Thanks for the clarification about pedophiles and orientation, CR. I had thought it was the same, but glad that you have helped me to understand that better. I admit, I'm a bit naive in that regard! But then, nothing would truly surprise me about this whole sorry affair.

 

[GoblinKeeper]

Did we miss the / mark between "gay" and "pedos"? Meaning and/or? Should I use sarcasm font? Probably.

My point was that Aaron was describing a group of Spanish-speaking gay men. Which (even if this was true) doesn't automatically compute with "pedophile ring".

The tree house, were it in use by a group of latino gay men OR a bunch of pedos molesting kids up there in the trees ( that's an "or", as well as extremely unlikely) how'd they disassemble this structure that night, without anyone noticing?

If they did, did they take the majority of the timber away with them? If so, how? If so, why'd they leave bits and pieces of it lying it around?

My whole point is, Aaron and his mother are liars, we can all see this in black and white. How anything they have said might be taken as possible truth, I don't know. Let alone his Latino gay satanists.

I'm not saying the blind/tree house (note the / there) never existed. Just that there's every reason to doubt pedos OR gays OR satanists were meeting in those woods anywhere, if it came from the mouth of Aaron, who then flipped his story according to what was expected of him by his mother and/or the cops.

Ausgirl, I'm not sure if AH was describing the Spanish speaking men as being gay themselves; they were in the woods, yes, but I believe the stories somehow got mixed up in the telling. Remember, any and every thing is open here, no matter how outlandish. Truth IS stranger than fiction, and idle speculation or even serious idea-tion might help us find an answer in the whole tangled web LE spun about this horrendous crime. If there were a tree house, it is possible that by the time of the murders, all that was left was flooring. That would explain the marks in the trees that Userid speculated about with LE on ladders examining trees. It might also help to explain the wood on the forest floor being grown over and "reclaimed" by the woods. I don't believe the men would have been up in the tree house, as I don't think their combined weight would have held them. It might have been strong enough to hold up to four young boys, though. And perhaps when the boys were caught, the attempt to get at them caused the structure to collapse, where the injuries on their legs and the "road rash" injuries may have occurred. (See? Brainstorming like this can do some good... there's a possible explanation for some of the injuries! Maybe not, but who knows?) I agree, AH was molded by VH and LE to their own brand of lies in order to railroad three innocent teenagers, but that does not preclude the possibility, however slim, of there actually being men in the woods for other purposes. Not extremely likely, but possible nonetheless. I am willing to examine any and all angles in the hopes that something might prove useful when it comes time to speculate further on a comprehensive theory. And it seems to me there was a lot more going on at that time and place than many of us know. Suspicions are all we have at this time, but sometimes they work out in ways we never realized. All it takes is a little imagination, and a willingness to suspend disbelief for a little while, just long enough to see if something fits or doesn't...

 

[Userid]

Did we miss the / mark between "gay" and "pedos"? Meaning and/or? Should I use sarcasm font? Probably.

My point was that Aaron was describing a group of Spanish-speaking gay men. Which (even if this was true) doesn't automatically compute with "pedophile ring".

The tree house, were it in use by a group of latino gay men OR a bunch of pedos molesting kids up there in the trees ( that's an "or", as well as extremely unlikely) how'd they disassemble this structure that night, without anyone noticing?

If they did, did they take the majority of the timber away with them? If so, how? If so, why'd they leave bits and pieces of it lying it around?

My whole point is, Aaron and his mother are liars, we can all see this in black and white. How anything they have said might be taken as possible truth, I don't know. Let alone his Latino gay satanists.

I'm not saying the blind/tree house (note the / there) never existed. Just that there's every reason to doubt pedos OR gays OR satanists were meeting in those woods anywhere, if it came from the mouth of Aaron, who then flipped his story according to what was expected of him by his mother and/or the cops.

I'll say it for the second time: I mentioned nothing about gays and/or pedos in my post. I am not focusing on that aspect; I don't know why you're hell-bent on combining the two. Also, your whole "this is what a slash is for" schtick is quite cute, but also quite unnecessary and completely irrelevant. It was your use of "up in the trees" that is relevant to this argument; and which, again, shouldn't be coupled with gays/pedos. The tree house and gays/pedos are two separate entities.

I'm working under the assumption that, not everything AH told authorities was false. The majority of what he told? Sure -- that is most likely BS, but is it completely out of the realm of possibility that he lied about some things, but not ALL things? For you, it seems so; for me, it isn't -- particular in regards to something relatively trivial as the location of a tree house -- which again, was corroborated by authorities. See below:

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/griffis.html

"....IT MAY BE USEFUL TO YOU TO KNOW THAT A TREE HOUSE WAS KNOWN TO EXIST OVERLOOKING THE AREA WHERE THE HOMICIDE OCCURRED BUT THAT THE TREE HOUSE HAS BEEN TORN DOWN PRIOR TO THE HOMICIDES OR POSSIBLY ON THE DAY OF THE HOMICIDES. HOWEVER NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHO TORE THE TREE HOUSE DOWN OR EVEN WHAT BECAME OF THE BOARDS THAT IT WAS CONSTRUCTED OF. WHEN THE FRIEND OF THE VICTIMS POINTED OUT THE LOCATION WHERE THE TREE HOUSE WAS LOCATED AN EXAMINATION WAS CONDUCTED THAT REVEALED THAT A TREE HOUSE SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN IN THE TREE DUE TO SOME WEAR MARKS ON THE TREE A FEW FEET OFF OF THE GROUND."

So, in conclusion: yes, it's quite possible he/they were lying about the satanists/pedos/latinos/(have I proven I know how to use a slash, yet?)etc., but it's also very possible that he was not lying about the location of the club house, since, you know, there is actually evidence of it (the markings). This is precisely why the two subjects should not necessarily be coupled.

 

[Userid]

I think everyone can pretty much agree (including themselves) that AH and VH were very unreliable, especially VH. I remain convinced, however, that there may have been a grain of truth in the earliest statements of AH, until LE realized what a great witness he could be against their suspects, and closed off the original avenue he was headed down. As for the tree house, I know that TWH said he knew of a place the boys played, but then he also disavowed any knowledge of the woods themselves. I don't believe that, personally, but he may have been referring to a tree house/club house. I did go back through some of the photos that I could find and did see investigators on ladders. Thanks for the catch on that, Userid! Very useful indeed... now if we only had statements to back up their interest officially, that would be icing on the cake! I remain convinced that there were no gays or pedos in the trees, however. I don't believe the flooring of such a structure would hold up to five men, although I believe it would have held four young boys. Thanks for the clarification statements, Userid, always helps to have someone else's eyes on this case, and brainstorming as zencompass has in the past pages helps get my juices going again.

No problem, GK. I agree with your assessment that there are "kernels of truth" in AH's early statements -- they may be few and far between, but I believe they are there; and that not every single thing he told authorities was a lie -- the dilemma is deciphering what is truth and what is fiction, obviously.

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/img/crime_scene_area.html

In all honesty, the tree house may have had absolutely zero to do with this case (if it had been torn down before the day of the murders); just thought it was worth mentioning, either way.

 

[zencompass]

I've searched for any notes Donald Bray may have made of Aaron's initial statement of May 6th to no avail. There is reference to it but I can't find the actual note. I keep going back to Aaron's initial statements because I do agree that there are kernels of truth there before the gross exaggerations start. That he mentioned a clubhouse, that he mentioned that he had wanted to go there after school on May 5th with Christopher and Michael but his mother apparently said no, that the last time Aaron was at the "clubhouse" he and his friends spied on five men, they possibly spoke Spanish and they were smoking rolled up white cigarettes. Also he stated that he and his friends had seen one of these men at the Flash Market and that the woman recognized him and said his name but Aaron didn't remember the name. I do think that somewhere in these notions are kernels of truth however sifting through them will prove to be quite a task.

As for the "Spanish speaking" and that the men were "black", there is the fact that Craig Petties was operating within a drug cartel on the other side of the river in Memphis. A Mexican drug cartel was involved in shipping drugs via the highways and Petties was reportedly involved in this during the mid 1990's. There is the possibility that the boys spied on a meeting of the members of the Memphis piece of the cartel as there was a path from the trucking stop to the Robin Hood woods. That Aaron put it together so quickly that the men could have seen his friends and killed him is a possibility. Again, these are just possible scenarios but feasible as the drug trafficking via trucks on that interstate was certainly thriving in 1993. This scenario to me makes much more sense than a "satanic" killing. I just find that I keep going back to Aaron's initial statement that there was a clubhouse and the boys spied on men from their hiding place. Somewhere in there is the truth. JMO

 

[Compassionate Reader]

First, I'm following a train of thought here. If the tree house/deer blind was torn down on the day of the murders, how about this scenario? Let's suppose that the Guy/Stewart statements contain at least some truth. Additionally, let's suppose that, as AH stated, the boys were already in the trees - including, on this fateful day, SB. SB sees his father down there doing "nasty stuff" with the others. He makes a sound. TH, hearing and then seeing Steven, becomes enraged, climbs up and forces the boys from the tree house/deer blind and begins to "discipline" SB for spying. (The others present detain the other two boys.) Then, as I've stated before, things got out of hand. SB was rendered unconscious, but TH thought he was dead. The other two boys were likewise rendered unconscious but believed to be dead, and TH, still enraged, tears down the tree house/deer blind and either takes the boards with him (for later disposal in the Mississippi) or buries them or throws them into his truck.

Second, I agree that the area was too small to have the expectation of deer in sufficient numbers to warrant building a deer blind. Maybe one of the fathers had put some old boards together as a tree house for the boys. IDK, but I feel sure that some sort of structure was in the tree. However, I don't believe it was used by men, only boys.

Finally, does anyone know how AH recognized that Spanish was being spoken? I don't believe that there were a sufficient number of Hispanics in the area for him to recognize it, but I could be wrong. However, I, too, believe that there is some truth in his original statement. Of course, his later statements were unduly influenced by his mother and LE, but the initial statement was on the day of the arrests, IIRC. So, his original statement could not have been specifically inculpatory toward Damien, Jason and Jessie. His later statements, and VH's statements prior to and at trial are total BS, though.

 

[Userid]

I agree about the deer stand, CR -- I think VH was, for all intents and purposes, just talking out of her when she threw that out there. I think it was just a regular tree house; older boys tended to hang out there, who would have been equipped to build such a structure.

I always assumed that AH (if he did actually see/hear individuals there -- I'm not as adamant about this as I am the tree house, want to make that clear; just entertaining your thought) heard a foreign language of some sort and just assumed it was spanish. It could have been any foreign language, for all we know.

I don't abide by the Guy/Stewart statements; there are things that don't really add up to me, personally. Zencompass' thoughts about drug runners, accessing the site via the trail that led from the back of the 76 Truck Stop to the ditch -- that is a scenario I find more intriguing.

 

[Compassionate Reader]

I don't buy the Guy/Stewart statements totally, either. I just think that there are kernels of truth within them. I'm still trying to sort it all out!

 

[zencompass]

When Compassionate Reader and Goblin Keeper posted the information about the huge industry of drug smuggling via trucks on that interstate and the vast amount of money travelling in that area in cash and drugs, it got me to thinking that it was possible that a few members of that "trade" might be likely to meet around that busy interstate truck stop.

With two of the heaviest travelled interstates, I-40 and I-55 intersecting at West Memphis, it's unimaginable the amount of cash and drugs moving in that area. When the F.B.I. investigated drug task force officers in West Memphis over missing cash confiscated and then fired them, it certainly looked like West Memphis in May of 1993 was a hot bed of all sorts of criminal activity and a chance happening upon any of these elements would likely ensue in murder.

 

[Ausgirl]

When Compassionate Reader and Goblin Keeper posted the information about the huge industry of drug smuggling via trucks on that interstate and the vast amount of money travelling in that area in cash and drugs, it got me to thinking that it was possible that a few members of that "trade" might be likely to meet around that busy interstate truck stop.

With two of the heaviest travelled interstates, I-40 and I-55 intersecting at West Memphis, it's unimaginable the amount of cash and drugs moving in that area. When the F.B.I. investigated drug task force officers in West Memphis over missing cash confiscated and then fired them, it certainly looked like West Memphis in May of 1993 was a hot bed of all sorts of criminal activity and a chance happening upon any of these elements would likely ensue in murder.

This has crossed my mind many times. For several very relevant-to-case reasons.

 

[zencompass]

With that scenario Compassion Reader laid out, that would explain the few boards haphazardly lying beside the tree. Also there could be kernels of truth in the Guy/Stewart statements as well. Sometimes the keys to truth are hidden in initial statements that were never followed up properly. Ryan Clark mentions in his statement that around 9pm he heard loud splashes - could that be the bikes being tossed into the water or were they already in the water? As Goblin Keeper says, all scenarios are welcome!

 

[zencompass]

Sesame Street did have some characters speaking Spanish around 1987 and as well, some truck drivers may have been overheard at the truck stop or the store speaking Spanish.

 

[Userid]

With that scenario Compassion Reader laid out, that would explain the few boards haphazardly lying beside the tree. Also there could be kernels of truth in the Guy/Stewart statements as well. Sometimes the keys to truth are hidden in initial statements that were never followed up properly. Ryan Clark mentions in his statement that around 9pm he heard loud splashes - could that be the bikes being tossed into the water or were they already in the water? As Goblin Keeper says, all scenarios are welcome!

These splashes have always fascinated me. If I recall, he heard 5 loud splashes; after the 3rd splash Ryan and his friend took off running. They had called out after the first splash, but were only answered by another splash, so they bolted.

If I also recall correctly, the place where they heard these splashes was by the Devil's Den area near the Goodwin entrance to the woods(where the boys were last seen entering) -- this area shouldn't be confused with the pipe-bridge/McCauley entrance/blue-beacon woods were the bodies were found, in that they are quite far from each other. Mara Leveritt, of course, says in one of her books that the boys were found in the Devil's Den area, which is completely false, so many people confuse the two areas. I think Leveritt said that, knowing that it was BS, but it makes the story all the more spicier to the reader to say they were found in a place called "Devil's Den." This is one reason I do not like ML, at least as a writer. That's either grossly negligent or completely unethical, as your responsibility as a writer, to say that. (tangent over).

But yes, they heard the splashes -- then they ran from the woods back up to Goodwin, then up WE Catt, to the McCauley entrance (pipe bridge). So, in my opinion, the splashes couldn't have been the bikes and/or the bodies -- but the fact there were five total (2 bikes, 3 bodies) is eerie; and the fact these splashes took place in a part of the bayou where the boys were last seen entering makes me wonder if that was indeed the killer making those splashes to scare off Ryan while he was transporting the bodies from the murder site to the dump site.

 

[KAYTOM]

These splashes have always fascinated me. If I recall, he heard 5 loud splashes; after the 3rd splash Ryan and his friend took off running. They had called out after the first splash, but were only answered by another splash, so they bolted.

If I also recall correctly, the place where they heard these splashes was by the Devil's Den area near the Goodwin entrance to the woods(where the boys were last seen entering) -- this area shouldn't be confused with the pipe-bridge/McCauley entrance/blue-beacon woods were the bodies were found, in that they are quite far from each other. Mara Leveritt, of course, says in one of her books that the boys were found in the Devil's Den area, which is completely false, so many people confuse the two areas. I think Leveritt said that, knowing that it was BS, but it makes the story all the more spicier to the reader to say they were found in a place called "Devil's Den." This is one reason I do not like ML, at least as a writer. That's either grossly negligent or completely unethical, as your responsibility as a writer, to say that. (tangent over).

But yes, they heard the splashes -- then they ran from the woods back up to Goodwin, then up WE Catt, to the McCauley entrance (pipe bridge). So, in my opinion, the splashes couldn't have been the bikes and/or the bodies -- but the fact there were five total (2 bikes, 3 bodies) is eerie; and the fact these splashes took place in a part of the bayou where the boys were last seen entering makes me wonder if that was indeed the killer making those splashes to scare off Ryan while he was transporting the bodies from the murder site to the dump site.

The splashes could also be something simple like a couple of frogs hanging out on the bank that got spooked by the boys.

 

[Justiceseeker35]

The splashes could also be something simple like a couple of frogs hanging out on the bank that got spooked by the boys.

I just assumed he stated Spanish because it was a foreign language like latin to give the story of devil worship more credibility. There was lots of reading devil worship into the smallest details going on. And I assumed the splashes were the bikes or belongings going into the water or perps running away. Also I do tend to believe on the lines that JMB and TH were somehow involved in the drug traffic goings on related to the WMPD. This goes along with the idea that they were somehow going to protect them or not investigate to closely or dig too deep and pin it on the misfit teens. I think there was a lot of back woods small community looking the other way happening at that time. There's probably kernals of truth in all the scenarios. A tangled web of events (drugs, violent tendencies, jealousy, corruption, domestic abuse, child abuse) that lead to the murders of three small children.