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badfish_76
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Thanks to fearlessdove for the transcript
Part One:
Officer: Well i've never gone feeling anything like that so I can't sit here and say that I can imagine how it is cause I, I
Terry Hobbs: It's sad to have to, you know it's sad that you have to live with it,
Officer: Ya
Terry Hobbs: and it's even worse that there's people out here like them defense investigators that's just... "motions hand" my son told me yesterday, he said he had talk to
Officer: Do you have your microcassette in?
Officer: Huh?
Officer: Microcassette?
Officer: Don't have one, get one
Officer: Ya, you'll get one and we'll just set it in here to that way we'll be, it'll be easier for him.
Officers: "get up to get microcassete, two officers in room, one gets up, one goes to sit at desk"
Terry Hobbs: Well, they drug you into it as well, "laughs"
Officer: Oh
Terry Hobbs: you say you started here in 94?
Officer: No sir, I was actually i've been here since uh 91
Terry Hobbs: Ok
Officer: 1991
Officer: Um, but I wasn't uh, wasn't working in the criminal investigation division in 93, 94 and I didn't come until 96
Terry Hobbs: Ok
Officer: Upsstairs here, been here ever since.
Door opens
Officer back, coughs, hands other officer microcassette
Officer looking at cassette speaks into cassette
Officer: testing one two three
Officer plays back tape to ensure it's working, recording of his testing one, two three is heard.
Officer: K
Officer: Today's date is thursday June 21 2007, time now is 9:32am, I'm detective Lt. Ken Mitchell, presently along with detective Chuck Knolls. We're presently in the CDA office of the West Memphis police dept. conducting an interview with Mr. Terry Wayne Hobbs - H. O. B. B. S.
Officer: Um, in reference to uh, the uh triple homicide of three little boys from 1993, Uh "cough" The case number is 93 0 5 0 666 is the case number and uh I'd like to go back over a couple things with you if I could to start off with.
Officer: Uh the first one is a rule truth point 2, 3 rights form Um that Detective Knolls went over with you just a few minutes ago, um do you understand the 2 point 3 and are you here voluntarily today Terry?
Terry Hobbs: I understood the rule and I am here voluntarily
Officer: Ok, the first signature below that, is that yours?
Terry Hobbs: Yes sir
Officer: and below your signature is that Detective Knolls, the witness
Terry Hobbs: Yes sir
Officer: Ok, now I was not present, for, when he went over this with him
Terry Hobbs: Correct
Officer: Great, ok
Officer: Whats your, uh, if you would your full name and date of birth.
Terry Hobbs: Terry Wayne Hobbs, 5-21-1958
Officer: Your currently how old right now?
Terry Hobbs: 49
Officer: Great
Officer: Terry Um, What we'd like to do and what I was telling you just a few minutes ago Um, is uh, the Prosecuting Attorney Mr. Davis has asked us to interview a couple of people, uh, in light of some Umm, possible new evidence that they may have come up and just to uh fill in some blanks I guess uh as far as this case goes um that might be helpful.
Officer: Umm, and that's, that's what we've been asked to do and that's why we called and asked you, you know Detective knolls called you yesterday and asked if you could come in, and I appreciate greatly uh your availablity to us. I mean that you came in and came in and do this.
Officer: What we'd like to do with you to start out with, if you would, if you would take us back to, to May the 5th 1993, Ok and i'm going to start out by just asking a few questions and i'm going to let you kinda just walk us through the day in your mind what you can remember. If your not sure of something, you know, just tell us your not sure. What you don't know you don't know. Umm, I'm gonna put this a little closer to you to make it a little clearer when your speaking to us, uh, do you uh, where were you living, where were you living on May the 5th, 1993?
Terry Hobbs: May the 5th we were living on Mcauley street in West Memphis.
Officer: Do you remember the address:
Terry Hobbs: 1601
Officer: K and who, k and who all lived in that house
Terry Hobbs: Terry, Pam, Stevie and Amanda
Officer: k, uhh, mutter, and for purposes of this interview, uh when you say Pam who are you talking about?
Terry Hobbs: Pam Hobbs, my wife
Officer: K
Terry Hobbs: At the time.
Officer: And when you said Stevie
Terry Hobbs: Pam's, our, my stepson, Pam's son.
Officer: Uh, what's his last name?
Terry Hobbs: Steve Edward Branch, that's his full name.
Officer: K and how old was Stevie at the time?
Terry Hobbs: At the time, 8 years old.
Officer: K and you said Amanda?
Terry Hobbs: Amanda, Hobbs, she was 4 at the time.
Officer: K, Umm, was she um your daughter with Pam?
Terry Hobbs: Correct
Officer: OK, allright, you said she was 4.
Terry Hobbs: Correct, born here in West Memphis.
Officer: Ok, and on on May the 5th of that year umm, did, was Pam working anywhere?
Terry Hobbs: Uhh, Catfish Island, in West Memphis. I'm not sure of the street but it's over by that union 76 truck stop.
Officer: Ok and Umm, at that particular time where you also working?
Terry Hobbs: I was working at Memphis Ice Cream Company in Memphis Tennesee.
Officer: Where, where is Memphis
Terry Hobbs: 914 James street
Officer: James, is it still
Terry Hobbs: It's still there
Officer: It's still there?
Terry Hobbs: Uh huh
Officer: What was your, what was your job title and job description?
Terry Hobbs: I was a merchandiser, I sold Ice Cream
Officer: Do you uh, do you do that over the phone or do you have a route?
Terry Hobbs: I ran a route
Officer: You ran a route?
Terry Hobbs: uh hmm
Officer: What did your route consist of?
Terry Hobbs: Going to Ma and Pa stores, little corner groceries, to fill the freezers and selling ice cream.
Officer: Was that uh, was your route stricly in Tennesee or
Terry Hobbs: No, I come to West Memphis
Officer: Did you
Terry Hobbs: Forest City, out that way. Maryanna
Officer: Did you, Did you, so do you have a route in Tennessee and in Arkansas
Terry Hobbs: And Mississippi
Officer: And Mississippi, OK, uh, umm do you remember working on May the 5th 1993?
Terry Hobbs: I do
Officer: What was your, do you remember your schedule that day? What time you got up and went and what time you got home?
Terry Hobbs: "burp" excuse me, I usually went in everyday about 5:30 AM, and would get off around 2 - 2:30, 3 o clock PM Uh, about everyday
Officer: Now this, this particular day May the 5th, do you remember when you, or about what time you got home?
Terry Hobbs: Roughly guessing, about 3 - 3:30, something like that
Officer: And was anybody home when you got there?
Terry Hobbs: Pam and Amanda was home
Officer: Ok, umm, did you, did you see Stevie anywhere?
Terry Hobbs: I did not, he wasn't there
Officer: Do you know where he was at?
Terry Hobbs: When I walked in, I always checked on the kids and I didn't see Stevie so I asked Pam uh, where's Stevie and she said he went off to ride his bicycle with Michael Moore. His bicycle which his grandparents had just bought him prior to that day.
Officer: What uh, if you can remember, what kind of day had that day been for you? I mean was it uhh, anything about the day that stood out to that point?
Terry Hobbs: No, uh, just another working day getting home from work, Pam was cooking supper.
Officer: Anything unusual when you got home at all?
Terry Hobbs: Nothing other than Stevie wasn't home and I always wanted to know where the kids is at, that's why I asked her
Officer: Do you remember what Amanda was doing at that time or
Terry Hobbs: Seems like she was in Stevie's bedroom watching tv
Officer: Nobody, just, nobody else in the house other than you and Pam and Amanda?
Terry Hobbs: Right
Officer: K, did anybody come over while you were home, after you got in
Terry Hobbs: No
Officer: No, Umm, do you, did Pam work that particular day?
Terry Hobbs: She did
Officer: Do you know what her hours were?
Terry Hobbs: I think from 5 till 9, or closing, whatever time they closed. Might have been 10, but seemed like it was 9
Officer: How many, how many different vehicles did you own at that time
Terry Hobbs: I know of 2 but it could have been 3 because i liked to work on old trucks, and I had, I believe I had one at that time. I like to restore trucks and sell em.
Officer: Uh hmm
Terry Hobbs: I think I had one, I know we had 2 vehicles
Officer: The other 2 ones that you drove?
Terry Hobbs: Correct
Officer: And do you remember what they were?
Terry Hobbs: No, not really, No not really
Officer: Did both you and Pam drive daily?
Terry Hobbs: Yes, I had drove one to work. Trying to think of what I drove to work. It was a long time ago
Officer: Sure
Terry Hobbs: We had a Lebaron, a little Chrysler Lebaron, uhh we bought from City motors here in West Memphis. That might have been what I was driving to town
Part Two:
Terry Hobbs: Umm, Umm, Maybe blue
Officer: K
Terry Hobbs: I'm just guessing
Officer: Now umm, this particular day, the 5th, uhh, do you remember what time Pam left for work?
Terry Hobbs: We came, when I got home and seen Stevie wasn't there, she told me he had, he was suppose to be home by 4:30. So from the time I got home she was cooking supper and I would walk out to the driveway to see if I could see him coming down the road on his bicycle cuz he was proud of his new bike and I didn't see him, so from, we waited around and she had to be at work by 5 and you know I would go in and out of the house to see if i could see him coming because i had to take her to work. And you know, you just don't want to leave the kids at home by thereselves, well we didn't. And he wasn't he didn't show up
Officer: Is there any particular reason you had to take Pam to work?
Terry Hobbs: I don't know if there's a particular reason, I just did it, just the way we did things
Officer: Ok, and
Terry Hobbs; I'd take her to work and pick her up from work
Officer: Ok, Ok, so who all went when you took Pam to work, who all went?
Terry Hobbs: I drove, Pam went with me and Amanda
Officer: Ok, Umm, Let me back up for just a second. During this time period 1993, up to say from the beginning of 93 up to the 5th of May, umm, describe your marriage with Pam. How, what, how was your marriage? How would you describe it?
Terry Hobbs: Coulda been better, We'de had some. Pam had problems with staying faithful. She really did and that got me but she had uh something, she was working at poncho's one time down here and we had pool parties every once in awhile and some of the people from Poncho's would come over and one night I come in there after one of our pool parties we didn't want the drunk people to drive so we just, fall out wherever you laid is where you woke up at. Well one night we get up, looking through the house making sure everybody is ok and Pam is standing there wrapped up in the arms of a Mexican. His name is Jessie and he worked at Poncho's with Pam.
Terry Hobbs: Well i whooped the dog outa Jessy, it probably wasn't right but I did, and but you know that, that happened, and that was so I'm not going to say we had the perfect marriage, but that did happen during, before all that happened. But uh, we had a pretty good marriage I thought. But Pam just did some things you shouldn't
Officer: What room where they in when you said
Terry Hobbs: The kitchen
Officer: The kitchen
Terry Hobbs: Uh Huh
Officer: Ok, umm, now umm, any other problems that come to mind as far as your marriage at all during that time, prior to the 5th of May, obviously/
Terry Hobbs: Not really, other than her family, you know when I met Pam in that restaurant, then she asked me to marry her. Her dad let me know right off the bat, your not gotta to make her happy your gotta make me happy and I kinda thought, well that's kinda odd, you know, i'm not marrying you, I'm marrying your girl.
Officer: Uh Hmmm, k
Terry Hobbs: but it was uh, that statement was made and I don't know, nothing bad that I can think of had happened.You know other than I'd seen the son in laws beat up from the dad and the brother from when the girls would call home crying to dad or mom, my husband did this and the dad and brother would go over and beat em up. And I just thought, well I don't want that to happen to me so I just tried to stay away from them.
Officer: Did you and Pam ever have any kind of physical confrontations at all during the part of your marriage.
Terry Hobbs: No
Officer: No, Ok
Terry Hobbs: Not that I can think of
Officer: Umm, ya as far as the as far as the children, umm, as far as Stevie and Amanda, uh, discipline, who, did either or both of you discipline the kids when they did wrong?
Terry Hobbs: We would, sure
Officer: Both of you
*Note: I'm not exactly sure what he says here but sounds like, well not the dole team?? Maybe someone can clarify that.
Terry: Well not the dole team?
Officer: No, no well that's not what i'm saying, i'm just saying were both of you, did both, how did you discipline your children?
Terry Hobbs: With a belt
Officer: K
Terry Hobbs: Or make them stand in a corner, and or ground them, take something away that they liked. Stevie liked Nintendo games. So we would bar him from the Nintendo, or bar him from riding his bicycle.
Officer: What about Pam, how did she discipline the kids?
Terry Hobbs: When she would, yell at em, well yell, not mean yell but just being a mom that left it up to dad most times but she would whoop em, you know on occassions.
Officer: Umm, so I guess from the two of you who was the bigger disciplinarian?
Terry Hobbs; Dad, me - "chuckle's"
Officer: Ok, uh, was there anything in particular uh that you can remember that Stevie was you know into, i'm just saying its an 8 year little old boy, typical 8 year old little boy. Is there any anything that he was really into at that time as far as some stuff he really liked?
Terry Hobbs: Well he thought, he liked watching Ninja Turtles
Officer: Uh hmm
Terry Hobbs: On tv, and he woudl get out there and think that he was Bruce Lee. You know, doing his karate and back flips, and he liked the swimming pool. And we had the house and a nice swimming pool in the backyard, and he enjoyed that. And he got into ahh the boy scouts. You know he won that race that year with them little cars that they had to make.
Officer: oh, Soap Box derby?
Terry Hobbs: ya, he, he won that race that year.
Officer: Did he really?
Terry Hobbs: Yeah, yep
Officer: Umm, Now, Stevie's friends. Did he have any friends that he was particulary close to or hung out with more?
Terry Hobbs: I would say a boy named George. I don't know his last name. At the time there was George and Michael and Chris, yeah. And then we had some friends lived a couple streets over and we'd go over there and of course they'd had uh the girls a little bit older than Stevie was at the time, but he had a little crush on her I think, or she mighta had a crush on him.
Officer: What, do you remember the name of those people?
Terry Hobbs: Yeah, David and Jabobby Coby, David and Bobby Jacoby.
Officer: Jacoby
Terry Hobbs: Nods
Officer: What street did they live on?
Terry Hobbs: From where we lived you get on MaCauley. One or two streets over, I don't know the name of the street. But we go, I got David a job with me one time, he run out of work so they put him to work over where I was working at the ice cream company. Kinda help him out and we'd play guitars together and so, you know Pam knew him from Blytheville. That's how I met him.
Officer: Oh, Ok
Terry: Yeah, I didn't really know him but we met him through her and when I got him the job where I worked at they was kinda struggling. So I just tried to be nice and help em out.
Officer: Where are you originally from?
Terry Hobbs: Cave City Arkansas
Officer: Cave City
Terry Hobbs: Yep *Note: don't understand what he says here, something about CCA
Officer: Umm, what about Pam, where's she
Terry Hobbs: From Blytheville
Officer: From Blytheville
Terry Hobbs: *note, don't really understand what he says but says something before he says Missurri
Officer: K, Umm Did, did Stevie ever have any, any friends come over and you know, spend the night, sleep over or anything like that?
Terry Hobbs: He did. I'm just trying to think, uhh, Michael may have came, i'm not sure cause it's been awhile.
Officer: Sure, certainly
Terry Hobbs: Yeah, but I, seems like there was some kids come over. I can't remember. George might have. This little boy named George.
Officer: You ever remember uh Stevie going to spend the night at anybody elses house?
Terry Hobbs: His grandparents alot. Uhh, maybe his Aunt's and Uncles on Pam's side of the family. Uh, I don't know about in West Memphis though. I don't think so. It's possible but I cant remember that one.
Officer: Do you all remember when you moved to West Memphis?
Terry Hobbs: 86 or 87 sometime in there when that tornado had come through here.
Officer: Uh hmm, Did you all move here before or after the tornado?
Terry Hobbs: After
Officer: Afterwards
Terry Hobbs: uh hmm
Officer: Ok
Part Three:
Officer: Going back to May the 5th, you said before, correct me if i'm wrong, ok, please. Umm, you said that you took Pam to work at Catfish Island.
Terry Hobbs: Nods
Officer: Ok, who went with you when you took her?
Terry Hobbs: Amanda
Officer: Ok, ummm, and when you dropped Pam off at work where did you and Amanda go from there?
Terry Hobbs: On our way to take Pam to work. Well after I got home if you remember, Pam told me that when I asked where's Stevie at, she said he's riding his bicycle with Michael Moore. So on our way to take her to work we went by the Moore's house to see if Stevie was there or if Mike was there. Dawn was there, and uh she told us that, you know they're riding their bicycles. So, you know me and Pam decided to take Pam to work and I'd go back and I had Amanda with me. We'd go back and try to find em. And when we left Catfish Island, uh, we went back by the Moore's house and just uh started going street to street in the neighbourhood to see if we could find them.
Officer: and did, and you said that you went back, did you talk to Mr/Mrs. Moore?
Terry Hobbs: Pause, no cuz i don't think Dawn, or Dana was home at the time. Dawn was, you know we did talk to her, you know we asked her is Stevie or Mike here when I took Pam to work.
Officer: Ok
Terry Hobbs: And when I come back you know I didn't see any change, no bicycles in the front yard so we just drove around from street to street in the neighbourhood, seeing if we could see em.
Officer: You and?
Terry Hobbs: Amanda
Officer: Amanda, Ok
Officer: Umm, how long did you do that?
Terry Hobbs: Probably 30 minutes and I went Uhhh, maybe an hour I don't know about the time exactly but after we went back to see if we could find them in the neighbourhood, me and Amanda. I took Amanda to, well we both went home and I said, come on, we'll go walk around the neighbourhood and see if we can hear em behind them fences in somebody's yard, because I didn't know where George lived, which is one of his little friends. And, but we was gonna see if we could hear em playing behind the fences, the privacy fences. So we did that for awhile, and we didn't see em. We went back to our house and, um, we hadn't been there very long and Dana pulled up and asked if Michael was at our house and I told her I said no, but they're suppose to be at your house . She said I just left my house and they're not and i'm looking for em and I said well we've been looking for em
Officer: Did she, did uh, did Miss Moore say if the boys had ever been to her house that afternoon? Or?
Terry Hobbs: She didn't, I don't think she said that, but you know I told her I said, there was, they were suppose to be at your house so we went by there on our way to work, to take Pam to work and then we come back by and didn't see no bikes, so we walked around and then here we are, we're fixing to drive around some more, we're heading back to your house. And she said, well i'm heading to my house cuz Dawn was there, and I said we'll follow you over there.
Officer: Who is Dawn?
Terry Hobbs: Dawn's their daughter.
Officer: Their daughter?
Terry Hobbs: Nods
Officer: How old was she at time? Best guess.
Terry Hobbs: 6.
Officer: 6 years old?
Terry Hobbs: No, no she was older than Stevie. I think she was 10 maybe 11.
Officer: Ok
Terry Hobbs: Just guessing
Officer: What about Mr. Moore, did you ever talk to him that afternoon or evening?
Terry Hobbs: No. He was truck driving, somewhere, working.
Officer: Ok, Ummm, Ok so *clears throat* After you talked to uh Miss Moore, she comes by your house and tells you that she's, she's looking for em, looking for the boys to. At this time do you know anything about Christopher Byers.
Terry Hobbs: No
Officer: Ok, umm, so what, what do you do after you talk to Miss Moore?
Terry Hobbs: She says she's going to her house and I say, well i'm coming over there to. And, cuz we went over there and Dawn was still there and Dawn said she em go this way on their bicycles. So, uh while we're standing there in the front yard talking, here comes a big booly looking dude walking across the street and I look at him and I say, who's that? and of course that's Mark Byers. That's when i first met Mark Byers
Officer: Ok
Terry Hobbs: He was,looked like the Shaggy D.A., don't quote that "laugh" But he comes across the street and he says, have you all seen Chris? And we said No, but have you seen Michael and Stevie "No"
Terry Hobbs: Uh, I think right then is when we put together that they might have been together...... at that time.
Officer: What when uhh when Dawn Moore says that she saw them going up the street did she say who all she saw?
Terry Hobbs: No
Officer: but she said they were on their bikes?
Terry Hobbs: Cuz Dana said, she asked her when she got there, you know has Michael been home, has he called, something like that. And is Stevie with him? Something like that.ahh, And Mark come walking across the street saying, you all seen Christopher. And I think right then is when we all figured out that they might have all three been togther.
Officer: And you never met Mark Byers before that day?
Terry Hobbs: NO
Officer: Ok, what, what happens and you, you still have Amanda with you?
Terry Hobbs: Correct
Officer: Ok, what happens then?
Terry Hobbs: I, I believe I drive around a little bit more looking for them and then go back to David and Bobby's house and I drop Amanda off there and I asked David, I said will you go help me, you know, try to find these boys. He said, come on lets go, cuz he knew Stevie up in Blytheville, he knew Pam's first husband, and he knew Pam most of her life or all of her life. And so working with him, he seems like a pretty good guy, he looks like a zz top, he had long hair, long beard *chuckle* and so, and he went with me, we drove around. He was with me probably 2-3 o-clock in the morning, may the 6th.
Officer: When did you see Pam again?
Terry: When I picked her up from work.
Officer: Can you remember about what time that was?
Terry Hobbs: It was right at 9 o-clock.
Officer: Ok, and when you went to pick her up who all was with you?
Terry Hobbs: Amanda
Officer: Just Amanda, k
Terry Hobbs: Ok, I had picked her up, ya cuz I had her with me so I picked Pam up.
Officer: When you met Pam uh at, at her job. What was the first thing you all talked about?
Terry Hobbs: Pam, like every other night come out of the, uh, the building with 2 pieces of candy, one for Amanda and one for Stevie. She came out that night with 2 pieces of candy and she asked where's Stevie? I said Pam we haven't been able to find him yet, and she says, he's dead. And I said, Pam don't say that!, cuz who would think that? I was getting nervous, a little bit before I picked Pam up cause it's started getting dark, and when your kids is out there after dark, well as a parent you know you get them things. But, first thing Pam said was he's dead and I said, don't say that.
Terry Hobbs: and I say, how do you, what makes you say that? You know? I don't know why she said that? But she said that.
Officer: Do you know who uh, who was the first family or the first ones to call the police on this?
Terry Hobbs: I know when we's at a Dana's house when we I first met Mark we said right then we was gonna call the police. But I thought I called them before that? And, I can't remember, but it seemed like I did, but I ain't gonna sit here and say that.I, I'm just trying to think back.
Officer: Did you have a home phone at the time, would you have called from your home or ?
Terry Hobbs: Nooo, pay phone.
Officer: Pay phone?
Terry Hobbs: ya
Officer: Did you have a working home phone at that time?
Terry Hobbs: Sure
Officer: Did you, ok
Terry Hobbs: yes
Officer: Uhhh
Terry Hobbs: I mighta even called from there cuz i'm, I don't remember that, but i'm, I member when we's at the Moore's house and I met Mark, I member telling Dana cuz they both said they was gonna call the police and I told one of, I said, tell them Stevie ain't here too. So I think, I didn't call, I didn't make that call right then but I mentioned that to Dana.
Officer: Ok so
Part Four:
Officer: After you have gotten and picked up Pam at work, where do you all go? What happens then, I guess?
Terry Hobbs: I think we go by the house first, or we mighta went to Robinhood first. Over in the wooded area where someone, you know, the last people that we talked to said they'd seen em go in Robinhood area. We didn't know there was a Robinhood area there.
Officer: who did you talk to that said they'd seen em, the boys go in there?
Terry Hobbs: Some of the neighbours, cuz there was alot of people out there, you know, we was going door to door asking, you seen three little boys? someone said they'd think, seen em go in Robinhood around the time some show come on. So you know from that, seemed like from that time on we just couldn't let go of Robinhood.
Officer: What, what did you know of Robinhood hills of that day?
Terry Hobbs: Didn't know a thing about it.
Officer: You ever heard about it before that day?
Terry Hobbs: Not a thing.
Officer: Umm
Terry Hobbs: When we got out there I just thought I can't see our boys coming out here, cuz what it looked like.
Officer: What did it, describe for me what it, what you remember it looked like.
Terry Hobbs: Like a Jungle. Looked like something that grown ups would go in, not kids, and just trails through *stumbles* the wooded area. You know, and ditches of water back there that, I couldn't see 8 year old boys hanging around.
Officer: So you, I take it you went in, into this wooded area?
Terry Hobbs: uh huh
Officer: Who all, do you remember who all went into that wooded area during the time that you were there?
Terry Hobbs: I know when the police were called Regena come out and she went in with us a little ways and turned around and come back out cuz it, it was hot, it was muggy and it was growed up and it was full of mosquito's and, and I was getting mosquito bite and so and I believe it was starting becoming shift change and Regena told us that she's gonna pass it on down there to the police that all this was going on out here, but there was alot of people.
Officer: Regena? Is that, that a police officer?
Terry Hobbs: Nods, Regena Meeks
Officer: Ok, ok
Terry Hobbs: There was alot of people out there, going through them woods.
Officer: Do you remember, if you could tell me as many people as you can remember by name?
Terry Hobbs: David
Officer: Jacoby?
Terry Hobbs: uh huh, I didn't know anybody else.
Officer: Did Pam go into the woods?
Terry Hobbs: Not until I picked her up, we went in together.
Officer: Did you go into the woods before you picked up Pam?
Terry Hobbs: Sure
Officer: You did,
Terry Hobbs: nods yes
Officer: You remember about what time that was?
Terry Hobbs: 6 - 6:30
Officer: K, who was with you at that time?
Terry Hobbs: David
Officer: David Jacoby. Anybody else?
Terry Hobbs: Just alot of neighbourhood people. Cause there was people on 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, motorcycles, bicycles, on foot. That was you know, help calling, us, helping us look for 3 kids.
Officer: Is there anything that you saw that you uhh, was it daylight or dark when you all went out there the first time?
Terry Hobbs: Daylight
Officer: Daylight? Was there anything out there that that struck you as unusual or odd that you saw?
Terry Hobbs: Nothing other than I wouldn't have been out here, this is not a place I hang out, No. And we were told at one time that there was something that covered up a hole or something and they thought they mighta been in that hole so some of them little kids that knew where that place was at said that they'd go check it. I think uhh, that little Byers boy. The one that was alive. There's another one alive. I can't think of his name, but I think he was gonna go with some of the people that was there and check, but I don't know what they's talking about.
Officer: Was that suppose to be out there in the wooded area also?
Terry Hobbs: Uhh hmm
Officer: Ok, Ok. Umm, so when you, how long you think you stayed out there in the wooded area the first time? Robinhood area?
Terry Hobbs: I don't know cause we would drive around looking and then go down the service road looking up in there and walk in out there from both sides.
Officer: Did you see anybody uh hanging around that area that, that. Well you said that people were looking, I mean, if you had, your best guess I guess Terry umm. How many people do you, your best estimate of how many people do you during this first time your out there do you think are out in that area loooking?
Terry Hobbs: 20 to 40
Officer: 20 to 40, ok so that's a good number, thats a large amount of people
Terry HObbs: uh hmmm
Officer: Umm, were any of them police officers at that time? Or were they just citizens?
Terry Hobbs: Just Regena, and, after shift change another officer came out, but he aint go in the woods. He stayed in his car.
Officer: k, When you get done, is this the first time your out in the wooded area? Or the
Terry Hobbs: Probably
Officer: Ok, when you get, when you leave there, when. How long after you leave there did you go to pick up Pam?
Terry Hobbs: I picked Pam up at 9 o clock, uh, you know not only are we looking in the wooded area but people keep saying well there's 3 boys riding a bike over here, we seen 3 boys over here, someone said 3 boys so we would go everywhere we heard
Six seconds of silence
Terry Hobbs: I know I did
Officer: Yep, yep
Terry Hobbs: I don't know what, you know there was a time I was in the woods I seen Mark and his wife Melissa drive down the service road, looking, you know looking in the woods.
Officer: When ahh, after you got Terry, did a, did you go straight back to the Robinhood area after you picked her up from work?
Terry Hobbs: Pam
Officer: uh, uh, sorry, Pam, uh excuse me
Terry Hobbs: Uh, I believe we did.
Officer: And did she go in the woods that time with you?
Terry Hobbs: Uh hmm
Oficer: Ok, where was Amanda?
Terry Hobbs: Probably at the Jacoby's, uh NO, you see, you see ya, it seems like we mighta took her back there
Officer: K
Terry Hobbs: Cause Pam wanted to go in the woods
Officer: At that time after you picked Pam up you go back to the Robinhood area. How many people are in the woods at that time?
Terry Hobbs: I know Pam called her dad, and her dad and her mom come down from Blytheville
Officer: uh hmm
Terry Hobbs: And they're with her some of that, now I can't tell you exactly what times but they're with her some of that night. Uh, most of the night a matter of fact, and uh. I don't know how many people at the time was with us because you know I, David was still with me and then Pam got with me, but Pam was also with her dad and mom that night.
Officer: K, lets move through the night all the way. Did you ever go back home during the night to Macauley?
Terry Hobbs: We did, so we could change clothes
Officer: Ok
Terry Hobbs: Yep, Pam had her work uniform on and uh she wanted to go back and change so we did. And we, I mighta put a long sleeve on or something to keep the mosquito's off of us but or got bug spray was all we done, but I did take her by the house so she could change. Yeah
Officer: Did you all go back to the Robinhood area after you'd changed or after she changed?
Terry Hobbs: All night long
Officer: All night long,ok
Officer: Ummm, lets, lets move forward to daylight, on May 6th the next morning ok. Carry me through from daylight on through that day. Tell me what's, what's going on. What your doing, what you and Pam are doing.
Terry Hobbs: From daylight, uh Pam had made the statement to the police or somebody that her ex husband she thought done it, cause we couldn't find Stevie, and didn't know where they's at and she thought he mighta kidnapped Stevie. So they called him and he comes down the next morning. Uh, there's a guy, a bum walking down, crossing that bridge by catfish island on that street. Is that Missurri Street? Or 7th
Officer: Uh, at the time it was 7th street I believe where catfish island was located.
Terry Hobbs: Ok there's a bum walking on that street, and he's wet and looking terrible but he walks, follows, gets on the railroad tracks and starts going west.
Officer: You see this person?
Terry Hobbs: I see this guy
Officer: K, this a white male, black male?
Terry Hobbs: Black
Officer: Black Male
Part Five:
Officer: Umm, just give me a good physical description of him best you can. Bout how old he is and what he looks like.
Terry Hobbs: I'm not good at guessing the black folks age. But seemed like he had long locked hair. Uhh, just all raggedy looking clothes, maybe 40's age roughly guessing 30's, 40's for his age.
Officer: ok, ok umm
Terry Hobbs: But you know we noticed him, I noticed him especially because I, you know we're focused on Robinhood, he's coming from that area. And but he's noticeable, and you, that image sticks in your brain. But we spend the rest of the morning, after Daylight we go to the schools to see if they show up at school. Uh, we're still riding around, still walking around through Robinhood.
Officer: WHo is we when your talking about we?
Terry Hobbs: Family, uh during the night uh you know we're out, in and out of Robinhood all during the night. Pam, her dad, myself, David. Up until David I asked David, I said you mand you need, you gotta go home cause you gotta go to work in the morning. And uh, just friends, really not friends just family, yeah. It's really Me and David and her Dad, for awhile.
Officer: ok, now umm. You've said you've seen this, you saw this black male, umm, who was with you when you saw him?
Terry Hobbs: Pam was there, seems like she seen him. Steve, Pam's ex husband might have been in the area i'm not sure if he made it there yet, but uh, I don't know, be honest about it. He was somebody that just looked like a bum out here going on.
Officer: ok
Officer: Take us on through, just keep going with what you remember from that moment.
Terry Hobbs: WEll after we go to the schools, we go back to Robinhood and, there's the media there, I think Ben Watson was the reporter at the time that was there. And, uh cause we had called, Mark had called search and rescue in Mariam and they said they couldn't come until West Memphis Police Dept had called them and said show up, you know come out here we got a problem. So you know we felt like we'd done what we knew to do. And, but the daylight comes rolling around; Mark and Melissa went home during the night and they showed back up daylight. And so we go to school and they don't show up and we go back out to Robinhood and there's the Media and they're broadcasting live and then wasn't to long after that here comes search and rescue. Here comes the police officers from everywhere and the morning goes on and they start the search and doing things. I'm watching, talking to some of them as they're going down the bayou in a little boat. And they tell me they're going to drain the bayou or something like that. But, I don't know? We spend the rest of the day still riding around, me and Pam, and her dad had to take his wife back to Blytheville to be with the kids up there. And while they were up there the next day while they're up there, uh, me and Pam's riding around. We go and get something to eat and we really couldn't eat. Uh, but we'd go somewhere and we'd hear somebody say they found 3 boys. And they tell us its on that road by the apartments, over there.
Officer: Uh hmmm
Terry Hobbs: and so, we fly back over there, me and Pam and Jolyne mighta been there with her at the time. Seems like she was but i'm not sure.
Officer: Jolyne?
Terry Hobbs: Her sister
Officer: Pam's sister
Terry Hobbs: Yeah
Officer: Ok
Terry Hobbs: Uhh, but seems like she mighta been, i'm not, don't quote me on that, but we get back over there and see the crime scene tape up there and we don't know what's going on but there's alot of people there. We park our vehicle, we get out, we start running up to the tape and Pam faints. And,*crying* I help her get back to the car. Then I go up to the, I go up to the crime scene tape. Gary Gitchels standing there. I pass Pam's husband, ex husband. He said, they won't let ya past the tape. And I said something to him, kept on walking. I get there and Gary Gitchels standing there and I ask him have you found something? You know Gary. And I ask him, have yall,what, what'd you find? And he said, 3 boys. He said, he said I think it's a homicide, or it looked like a homicide something like that. And I asked him I said why? He said it looked like they had been murdered. And I just fall to my knees and start crying. I looked back there at Pam, she's, they're trying to get her woke up. She's having a hard time. *silence* I don't know.
Officer: I'm going to change sides real quickly on this.
Officer: K
Silence
Officer: So you've talked to Gary Gitchel and he's told you what, what they found, and that they were treating it as a homicide, is that right?
Terry Hobbs: I guess. He just told me it looked like a homicide and looked like they'd been murdered.
Officer: Did you hear anything, where there alot of people around there at that time?
Terry Hobbs: There was
Officer: Did you hear anybody say anything about it, any, any rumours circulating at that time that you remember hearing?
Terry Hobbs: Mmmm
Officer: How long did you stay there? Did you stay there awhile or did you try to get Pam out of there or what did you do?
Terry Hobbs: Try and get Pam back to the house. Yeah cuz she'd fainted and we got her back to the car and then back to the house later. I don't know how long we was there.
Silence
Officer: Now, as far as Stevie, was there, did he have any. I guess for lack of a better term any prize possesions that he kept with him, anything that he wore, or kept in his pockets or anything that you would know of that you remember from back then? Anything, in the mind of an 8 year old anything that they might consider special
Part Six:
Terry Hobbs: Maybe ahh, his, I think he mighta had a Ninja Turtle watch, i'm just guessing but seem like I remember that. I don't know of anything else. Not, not at this time.
Officer: And, it's my understanding uh from when i was sitting down talking with Pam a couple days ago that, that you and Pam are now divorced.
Terry Hobbs: correct
Officer: You remembe what year you divorced?
Terry Hobbs: 03, i think? I'm just guessing
Officer: Where was the divorce, where did you go to court on the divorce.
Terry Hobbs: Never had to go to court. I used an attorney in Osceola. I can't even think of his name at the moment. He was one of Brents friends.
Officer: Brent?
Terry Hobbs: Davis
Officer: Oh, ok, ok Umm, so was this an uncontested divorce, was there?
Terry Hobbs: Yes it was
Officer: ok, umm, who filed?
Terry Hobbs: I did
Officer: You did? Under, what's grounds?
Terry Hobbs: All the abuse, the accusations, the threats, coming from Pam and that side of the family.
Officer: But what do you, you, kinda if you could, could you kind of explain that to us what your talking about?
Terry Hobbs: Uh Hmm. After this happened, for some reason, they, Pam and some of her family went around and started telling people. Terry Hobbs killed them kids. I don't know why they done this. Uh, so she'd convinced her brother Jackie Jr. Hicks that i'd killed them kids and he would make the threat, the remarks to me, I'm gonna kill you. If it hadn't been for dad I woulda killed you already. His daddy. I couldn't for the life of me understand why they would think on this line, but, and the abuse is them going around telling people I did it. The threats is coming from the family. The boy, the brother. Uh, that he gonna kill me for doing this. Which i didn't do this. But still yet, it took a toll on the Hicks family that i've never seen, and of course i've never been around anything like this so I didn't know what to expect. But I was seeing things that I just couldn't believe. You know going around and accusing everybody in West Memphis. We'd go down talk to the, and come down and talk to the police and Pam would call all peoples names she didn't know but still accuse them of it. So they'd go out and ask questions I guess. And, I just seen it take a toll on this family that I couldn't imagine, I couldn't understand.
Officer: Do you ever have any, any incidents with anybody in Pams family, any kind of physical confrontations anything after this happened?
Terry Hobbs: Sure. Me and Pam bought a home in Raleigh and Pam been, at the time, struggling with this. We just bought this home up there, we didn't know anybody up there but you know I bought it from one of the people at the ice cream company. One of the boys that the family that owned the ice cream company his girlfriend owned that home so we bought it from them. Financed it, financed it I believe through FHA. And Pam, Amanda would go ride her, you know we rode bicycles in the neighbourhood, and then Amanda had met some girls down the street, cuz she was in the *Note - incomprehensible* so instead of Pam going down there with her, I'd ask Pam why don't you ride down there, you know, they're girls. Uh, she wouldn't do it. So I'd ride down there and keep my eye on Amanda. We just lost one baby and we ain't gonna loose another. So I ride down there with Amanda. Keep my eye on her, cuz we didn't know. Uh, so she met these kids and I end up meeting their parents. Which was nothing to me, just parents. Well Pam had this thing in her mind I loved these women, these kid's parents, the women and all I was doing was keeping an eye on my daughter. And so this one particular day. Well really several days Pam would accuse me of, them of wanting me, as is a woman thing, or of me of wanting them. Which was nothing to it, uh, and this one certain day she just kept on and kept on and wanting to argue with me bout them kid's mother, and I kept trying to tell her Pam quite it, you know. You just making this stuff up and she tried the same thing here in West Memphis, whenever I caught her with that Mexican, she'd just automatically blow it off the wall, well you got a girlfriend over here. Well I didn't have a girlfriend over here, I didn't play that. Uhh, but uhh when we got over there it just started happening and just one day I looked at Pam and over and over just kept trying to tell her there's nothing to this, and shut it up, leave me alone. I'd go in another room and here she'd come in another room and just nagging on and I'm wanna, I looked at her and said, I'm gonna slap the dog outa you if you don't shut this up. Well I wasn't happy about saying that, but I told her that. And she kept on and so i'd go in another room and here she'd chase me in another room, say the same stuff. so we was sitting on the couch and Pam quit it. I tried my best to get her to quit and she wouldn't do it so I just reached over and back handed her. And I know I was wrong for that, but I didn't care. You know she, I tried to get her to quit, this went on for hours, not minutes, hours. And I did reach over across there and back handed her right in the mouth. And when I did she popped me upside the head and grabbed my car keys and threw them across the house. And grabbed her car keys gonna head out the door. So I just thought No, uh uh. And I grabbed her arm which had her keys in em, I was gonna throw hers over there to, kinda childish but it's just what was going through my mind. So I grabbed her, we wrestled over her keys and I, uh got her with my elbow when we was wrestling. She uh, that was the end of the fight when my elbow hit her. And she told everybody after that, that I broke her jaw. She called her family, and told them I broke her jaw. And I knew what that was gonna do. And it was gonna bring it down here. So I called the police in Memphis, this is, there's two recordings of me calling the police in Memphis. One before, just after the fight I called them and told them about the fight and what happened and what she done and they tell me that we can't send someone out there to wait on em, but when they get there uhh call us back and we'll send someone out there and I said Thank you. But,so we're talking about an hour, maybe a little longer to her brother, his wife, her dad and mom come knocking on our door. Shorter, bout an hour, hour and a half after that and they come in yelling at me cuz she's, you know, I slapped her. I aint gonna deny that and I hit her with my elbow, I aint gonna deny that. But, I aint beat her up like she told everybody, and I didn't break her jaw like she told everybody, I knew that. And after the fight me and Amanda, you know I felt bad about it, and there's my wife sitting there looking like this, all over nuttin. Uhh, so we made her ice packs, me and my daughter and gave em to her. To put on her jaws. And, she, her family showed up and her dad come in yelling at me. Brother come in looking at me. And so I seen a chance where I could get my telephone, and I grabbed my telephone and walked outside and called the police again. And tell them you know, I got some trouble out here you know, they're back, they're here. Uh, get me them people, send the police out here. And they said ok. I said well in the meantime I have a gun and i'm gonna load it and i'm gonna put it on me.
Part Seven:
Terry Hobbs: So I did. And I had .357 magnum and I loaded it with hollow points.
Officer: Ya
Terry Hobbs: Umm, put it under my shirt and walked outside, had my phone, stood by my truck outside and waited for the police to get there.
Terry Hobbs: Uhh, their dad, and the, his son come out and looked at me. I'm standing out there by my truck, waiting on the police to get there. And walked back in the house and directed the boy come out there, Jackie Jr. Come walking out there, I'm standing by the, at the bed of my truck waiting on the police to get there, not saying nuttin to anybody. And he walks up to the side of my truck and he said, Terry man what happened? And then he reach over and grabs me by the back of my hair and starts pulling me backwards. And I've got my arm on the side of the bed of my pick up and i'm just hanging on, you know, like that, best I can, well he's a bigger boy. And I hang on until uh, I lose my grip. And then, I don't know what happened, after that. Uh, until i'm laying on the ground, I wake up. I'm thinking if I wasn't knocked out, I don't remember nutting else till i'm laying flat on the ground. He's got both his knee's on my back and he has my head twisted like this. And I'm thinking, this has got to quit, I pull my gun out, pointed it up in the air and pulled the trigger. But just so happened hit him. Uh, I didn't point it at him and shoot him. I"s just gonna *incomprehensible* I had a gun you know, so I coulda yelled it out sure. I just pointed it up in the air and pulled the trigger, it knocked him off of me. And then uh the ambulance showed up before the police did over there. But they came picked him up, and they put me through the ringer over there with that.
Officer: Ok, Umm, when was the last time that you and Pam actually lived together?
Terry Hobbs: Probably 05/06 cause she moved. She come back down here, or maybe 04, i'm not sure? O5/06 something like that. She come back down here and went to work at superlo on Coten and Pike and she lived with me for awhile. And, then she moved out and got an apartment on Coten and Pike. And live there until she moved back to *?*
Officer: Was there any other occasion where she ,I guess when, before she moved out, was there any other run in with the police?
Terry Hobbs: Oh ya, several of them.
Officer: Any of them where you were arrested? During that time?
Terry Hobbs: "nodding" Ya, thanks to Jolynn. Pam's sister.
Officer: Was that the, the last time the two of you lived together, you and Pam?
Terry Hobbs: No, this was uhh, after my divorce and. I believe it was after my divorce, our divorce. And me and Pam had another separation. She took off to Blytheville and I called her up and I said if you going up there with John and Jolynn don't you ever come back to my house again. So the next day she brings Jolynn to my house. Jolynn brings in a bag of weed and a bag of white powder and of course she had, I don't know this, she has it hidden on her. But, they bring the police, the Memphis Police with them ok. Uh, they come, they get inside, I had broke the key off in the, in the keyhole cause I didn't want them in our house. Cause I knew what these people or had done to me in the past and I didn't want them to come back and do it again. So I broke the key off and my daughter breaks in through the back door, Amanda. And I open, I see that she aint gonna quit so I open the door and let her in, she goes over and opens the other door and the police is out there and Pam and Jolyne's out there. Well they come in the house and my daughter, I had half a joint, I aint gonna lie about this. I had half a joint on my tray under my china cabinet. Umm, my daughter runs strait to that and pulls it out and gives it to the police. Jolynn walks to my bedroom and places that white bag of powder and white, and some marijuana on my dresser and goes back in the front and tells the police he's got drugs in his bedroom on his dresser. They run back there and find this and arrest me. And, Uhh on my way down there, well matter a fact as we're walking out of the house, on my, i'm handcuffed they put me in the police car. Amanda, Pam and Jolynn standing on the patio, or carport. Pam and Jolynn are yelling at the top of their lungs you killed Stevie, they're chanting this, you killed Stevie. They're saying it so loud and so many times that that police officer, well he gets me down there by the car, he says, he stops me and he says, "who's stevie"? and I tell him a little bit of, about what happened over here.
Officer: Uh Hmmm
Terry Hobbs: And he said, well i'm gonna get you away from these women. I said, Please do *chuckle* and that's just the way that happened. But, I did get arrested for that. And they dropped that charge on me, over there. Now, I think they was probably gonna charge me for that white powder, I told them, I know nuttin about that and neither one of them bags are mine. But that one thing was mine. They went ahead, they went ahead and charged me for the weed I think, which came from her.
Officer: I'm gonna go through and show you some pictures and see if you can help me with this. Go through umm, see if you, see if you recognize these items ok? Uhhh, let me write this list out *mumbles*
Officer: Sheet number 1 here I'm gonna show you here, uhh there's a cigarette box and it looks like uhh, it looks like maybe some partial dentures.
Terry Hobbs: I had one that looked like that.
Officer: Do you still have it?
Terry Hobbs: No, Jolynn and Pam took it and gave it to Damien's attorney's
Other Officer: Do you smoke Marlboros?
Terry Hobbs: I, I did at the time.
Officer: K, Umm, this is a uhh, a more blown up picture, of, with the same set.
Terry Hobbs: This was made in Blytheville Arkansas by the, a dentist up there.
Officer: That look like
Terry Hobbs: That looks like mine, yeah
Officer: Would you uh, would you
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