Paradise Lost - Melissa Byers
Jerry Moak
According to an article by Associated Press and published in the
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Oct 4: "The mother of a boy killed in West
Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but
not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. Sharp County
Sheriff T.J. "Sonny" Powell wouldn't say whether the drugs in Melissa
Byers' system were legal or illegal. He issued a statement citing the
drugs but didn't release more details from a state medical examiner's
report. Powell said pathologists couldn't determine what killed Byers,
40, who was pronounced dead March 29 after being found unconcious at
her home in Cherokee Village. Powell said then that there was no sign
of trauma. Powell said the woman's husband, John Mark Byers, found her
after they had lain down to rest and couldn't rouse her. A statement
from Powell's office said the state ME ruled the cause of death
"undetermined, and the manner of death undetermined". The report said
"Toxicology report findings indicate that drugs were found but not
enough to be lethal. There was no severe trauma found that would have
contributed to her death." "This case will remain open, so no further
autopsy details will be released concerning her medical condition at
the time of her death," Powell said.
Melissa Byers' son, Christopher, and two other 8-year-olds were
killed in May 1993. Three Crittenden County teenagers were convicted
in the murders. Byers and her husband later moved to Cherokee Village.
In Oct 1995, she pleaded innocent to a pair of aggravated assault
charges. She was accused of pointing a rifle at two carpet layers who
refused to lay carpet at her home because the site wasn't prepared. At
the time of her death, Melissa Byers and her husband also faced theft
and burglary charges stemming from a July 1994 break-in at a Cherokee
Village home. The two were accused of stealing more than $20,000 worth
of furniture and other items and selling them at pawnshops.
Rhiannon Mcfadden
jer...@ix.netcom.com(Jerry Moak ) wrote:
>According to an article by Associated Press and published in the
>Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Oct 4: "The mother of a boy killed in West
>Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but
>not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. [SNIP]
The plot thickens and takes another crazy twist. Interesting article,
although I do wish they had released more info (even though I understand
why they didn't). Not enough drugs to kill her, and no signs of trauma.
I see two possibilities: 1) natural death or 2) murder by asphyxiation.
Going by what was said in the article about the ME not being able to
determine cause of death, we can safely assume it wasn't a natural death
caused by something like a heart attack or massive cerebral hemmorage,
both of which leave definite signs. The question the police now have to
deal with is was it a death caused simply by the heart stopping (which
does happen) or was it murder?
This announcement really makes me wonder about Byers and the deaths of
his step-family. Anyone have any info about how the oldest boy died?
I'd be interested in knowing whether or not he also died under suspicious
circumstances.
NightShade HDZ...@prodigy.com
Cat People
Rhiannon Mcfadden <HDZ...@prodigy.com> wrote in article
<538a5o$1a...@usenetw1.news.prodigy.com>...
> jer...@ix.netcom.com(Jerry Moak ) wrote:
>
> >According to an article by Associated Press and published in the
> >Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Oct 4: "The mother of a boy killed in West
> >Memphis' 1993 triple murders had drugs in her system when she died, but
> >not enough to cause her death, a county sheriff says. [SNIP]
>
> This announcement really makes me wonder about Byers and the deaths of
> his step-family. Anyone have any info about how the oldest boy died?
> I'd be interested in knowing whether or not he also died under suspicious
> circumstances.
>
> NightShade HDZ...@prodigy.com
>
I agree. I've been suspicious of the Byers family since the beginning.
Not just because John Mark Byers is so creepy (though he IS), but because
the Byers boy was the only one who was sexually mutilated, AND Mr. Byers
was the one who reported the boys missing. In general, who is most likely
to commit a crime against a child: A family member or A devil worshiping
cult? The answer seems obvious.
It will be interesting to see if the police come up with anything on Mrs.
Byers' death, and if so, if they will possibly re-open investigations into
the murders of the three boys.
Also, what's this about an older boy? How many people from this family
have died / been murdered??!!
Debbie Smith
I haven't seen the movie yet (it's coming here in a few weeks), but I had
the misfortune to be at a Maury Povich taping, and the topic apparently
was these murders. I didn't know anything about them at the time (this
was in Summer 1994).
Several of the parents were there, and I distinctly remember being very
creeped out by one man in particular. He was wearing sunglasses and had
this weird hair, big cowboy boots. When he first approached the stage, I
thought, "Wow! He's in disguise!" But he wasn't, and they made him take
off those sunglasses.
I think this must be this Byers guy, because near the end, he got all
teary and was hollering, "How would you like to know that your son was
[attempted detailed recitation of various sexual mutilations]." I
thought that was *very* strange, his insistence on re-living the whole
thing.
(I also knew that Susan Smith killed her kids from her first interview
pleading for the abductor to "bring back my baaaabies.")
Also, the guy I think was Byers said that the last time he saw his son,
he was giving him a beating because the son had been riding his bicycle
in the street or something like that. I so BADLY wanted to ask him, "How
does it feel to have your last interaction with your child be a beating?"
In fact, people in the audience criticized him for the beating, which
is what prompted his outburst about the mutilations.
All in all, very strange.
Debbie
David S. Goslin
Let's see if I have this right.
A large number of people here feel the three teens convicted for the
'Paradise Lost' murders were wrongly convicted because of skimpy
evidence and the fact that the teens were thought of as 'creepy'.
That same large number of people here feel that Mark Beyers is guilty of
the 'Paradise Lost' murders because of skimpy evidence and the fact that
he is thought of as 'creepy'.
Seems pretty creepy to me.
DSG
Captain Scarlet
I don' think in Beyers' case it's the "creepy" factor as much as it is
the evidence against him which wasn't looked at with more interest by
the court. He's really no creepier than a lot of guys from that area,
but why didn't they spend that extra dollar and do a real DNA test on
the (dried blood fround in the mechanism of the serrated) knife? Why
wasn't he questioned about several other inconsistencies and
"coincidences" surrounding his step-son's murder? Before the three
teens were arrested, Beyers was giving the police the names of
pawnbrokers and drug dealers as possible suspects (he's a police drug
informant), claiming that there were a lot of people with grudges
against him (diverting attention from himself?)
When NO evidence is held up against SOME evidence, most investigations
would follow the trail of SOME evidence.
Remember, too that the primary evidence that most of us armchair
jurors have convicted OJ on is blood evidence (there's also a family
connection, which is very common, and a history of domestic abuse).
The three teens, however, were ONLY "creepy."
You're right, it IS creepy.
later,
-b
Rhiannon Mcfadden
"David S. Goslin" <dsgo...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>That same large number of people here feel that Mark Beyers is guilty of
>the 'Paradise Lost' murders because of skimpy evidence and the fact that
>he is thought of as 'creepy'.
Pretty large generalization (and assumption) there. Did Byers do it?
Maybe, maybe not, but there's no evidence (aside from that knife, which
never underwent full DNA testing as far as I know). There is a lot of
suspicion surrounding him, especially in light of what's happened to his
stepfamily in these past 3 years. There are some interesting "events" in
his criminal past, including threatening a 5 year old and forcing a
couple of teens into a knife fight. Then there's the mysterious
circumstances of his wife's death. All in all, in light of what I know
about this case, I don't think the investigators looked at Byers hard
enough and were too willing to opt for the easy way out in arresting the
teens since they were "creepy" and fit the Christian mythic description
of satanists. I have my doubts as to whether the teens actually
committed the murders, and I consider Byers suspicious, but that's a long
way from declaring him guilty.
-
NightShade HDZ...@prodigy.com
Dennis Davis
In article <53o294$1c...@usenetw1.news.prodigy.com>, HDZ...@prodigy.com
(Rhiannon Mcfadden) wrote:
Could you elaborate on what happened to his stepfamily these past three years?
Also, what exactly are the mysterious circumstances of his wife's death?
-Dennis
ded...@flash.net
Sarah A. Brice
>after they had lain down to rest and couldn't rouse her. A statement
>from Powell's office said the state ME ruled the cause of death
>"undetermined, and the manner of death undetermined". The report said
>"Toxicology report findings indicate that drugs were found but not
>enough to be lethal. There was no severe trauma found that would have
>contributed to her death." "This case will remain open, so no further
>autopsy details will be released concerning her medical condition at
>the time of her death," Powell said.
Chances are, if death was from natural causes, it came about by arrythmia,
which leaves no traces after death. It is perhaps the cause of Sudden
Adult Death Syndrome, a little talked about cause of death.
Sarah