But does anyone have a GOOD take on what motive T.H. would have to do somethng this horrendous?...To methodically and brutally murder his own 8 year old stepson and 2 friends? I'd love to hear it! After reviewing this interview (and watching the videos of it.. and various interviews with T.H.) THAT'S what I have trouble with...he just doesn't come across as a diabolical, savage child murderer.
Pally, in the Declaration of John Mark Byers filed in the lawsuit TH brought against the Dixie Chicks, Mr. Byers relates a conversation he had with TH where TH said the murderer might not be a monster. TH told Mr. Byers that it could have been an accident, like a drunk driver. To me, this was TH's attempt to rationalize his behavior and reduce his culpability to a level he can accept - that is, somewhere below monster.
I can think of no Good Motive to kill a child, let alone three children. Statistics tell us that when a child is murdered, the murderer is most likely a parent or step-parent. Of this group, the most likely murderer is a stepfather. TH was Stevie's stepfather. BratButtBetty has a good discussion on this Board revealing what makes men murder children. This discussion is very interesting and very much outside my field. I just know statistically that TH is a member of the most likely group of probable murderers, and I continue to be amazed that he was not investigated thoroughly for the murders by the WMPD or the WM3 Defense Teams in 1993. He was not interviewed, his neighbors were not interviewed, his family was not interviewed, his criminal record was not checked, his alibi was not checked, and neither his house nor automobile was searched. He stayed in the shadows and flew under the radar. When Pam Hobbs, Stevie's mother, tried to discuss some items that were not adding up for her after the WM3 were arrested, Gitchell, who headed the WMPD investigation, told her to be quiet and not mess up His Case. The police needed a conviction, and Gitchell did not need to hear questions from the mother of a victim. It was His Case and He was running it His way.
Based on the available evidence, here is what I believe happened on May 5, 1993, that resulted in the boys' death.
TH got home from work about 4:15 to 4:25 in a pretty good mood. He asked Pam where is "Frog Legs," his nickname for Stevie. Pam said Stevie went with Michael Moore and is suppose to be home by 4:30. TH got out of his work clothes, showered and was ready for supper. It was after 4:30 and Stevie was not home. Pam was harping, as mothers do, "I told him to be home by 4:30. That young man is grounded for two weeks. Yada, yada, yada." TH went out to see if he could see Stevie and holler him home, hoping to regain some peace and quiet, eat a quick bite, take Pam to work, and then go hang out with his friend David Jacoby. He did not see Stevie. Pam was in no mood to put food on the table and there really was not time to eat.
At about 4:50 TH takes Pam to work, circling by the Moores' house to see if Stevie was there. He was not, so they continued on to Pam's work arriving shortly before 5:00. TH returns home with Amanda to find Stevie, Michael and Chris there. Stevie had come home for supper, but was late. He had eaten some green beans and changed into red shorts before TH got home. This was the first time TH had seen Stevie that day. TH did not go off on Stevie. He tells Stevie he was supposed to be home by 4:30 and "your mother is madder than a wet hen and you are going to have to deal with that, but if you want to play some more with your friends, go ahead. It may be the last time you get to ride your bike for a couple of weeks. You know your mother. I'm taking Sister over to the Jacobys. You be back here by 6:30."
Please note the red shorts and green beans are important in assessing TH's guilt. When Stevie left the house with Michael before TH came home, he was wearing blue jeans. In his missing person report taken at about 9:25 Pam describes Stevie as last seen wearing blue jeans. TH was present when the missing person report was taken. However, after 5:00 the only description we have of what Stevie was wearing is shorts,not jeans. If he in fact was wearing shorts when he went missing, who but TH would have the motive or opportunity to switch the shorts for the blue jeans found at the discovery site?
Stevie's autopsy report shows green vegetable material in his lumen. Pam made green beans for supper that night, and green beans were Stevie's favorite. Where did the green vegetable material in Stevie's lumen come from if he did not return home and eat? Given the various sitings of the boys from after 5:10 to 7:00, Stevie had to have eaten those green beans and changed into shorts between 4:50 and 5:10. TH says he came home with Amanda after taking Pam to work. How did TH not see Stevie?
Anyway, back to what happened next.
TH left his house with Amanda and went to the Jacobys, who lived right around the corner about a half-block to a block away, arriving at about 5:10 to 5:15. The boys followed TH, and David Jacoby saw them as he greeted TH and Amanda at his front door. TH never mentions to Jacoby that Stevie is missing during this visit. The two play guitars in his living room until about 6:15-6:30 when TH says he needs to go check and see if Stevie has made it home. TH arrives home with Amanda, and the two are in the driveway when TH sees Stevie, Michael and Chris. He hollers for them to come to his house, and the boys comply. Stevie wants to keep playing, but TH says no. TH does allow Stevie to ride Chris home with strict instructions that Stevie come straight back. Stevie misread TH's mood. Stevie thought if he was back in an hour, that would be okay. But when Stevie was not back in 15 minutes, TH decided he needed to teach Stevie a lesson. He went back to the Jacobys to leave Amanda while he looked for Stevie. This was about 6:45. David Jacoby volunteered to go with TH, and TH allowed this. The two went on a short drive around the neighborhood (10-15 minutes). TH then dropped Jacoby off at Jacoby's home without explanation and went on to go check another place. That place was in Robin Hood at or near a manhole, and that was where TH delivered his message to Stevie - a good strike to the jaw that knocked Stevie down. Stevie's head struck the concrete collar around the manhole and he was hurt really bad, unconcious and maybe dead. TH, Michael and Chris were in shock. TH went to help Stevie, crying "what have I done." Michael and Chris stayed with their friend to help, and one volunteered to get his mother or go call an ambulance. TH could not allow this, changing from the "drunk driver" to the "monster." In the end, all three boys wound up in the manhole. Dumped on their heads, dead or dying in the shallow water. Food for the animals.
TH left and went back to Jacoby's, arriving around 7:40-7:50. The two resumed the "search" for Stevie. During this search, they were told that the boys were seen behind the Mayfair Apartments near the woods. At about 8:10 they returned to Jacoby's so Jacoby could change clothes and get flashlights. TH picked up Amanda and returned home to find Dana Moore. He did not report to Dana at that time and did not later report to any of the parents or police that the boys were seen near the woods behind the apartments. His activity thereafter was designed to keep others away from where he had left the boys. Between 8:45 and 9:15, he was in Robin Hood on the Interstate side of the 10-mile Bayou directing searchers away from the boys by splashing rocks in the Bayou and firing a gun. At about 10:15 to 10:30 he abandoned Pam and Amanda at the Hobbs' home without explanation and was gone about an hour. During this time he stripped the boys, tied them and switched the blue jeans for the shorts. Between 2:30 and 5:00 a.m., he moved the boys' bodies from the manhole to the drainage ditch, buried the bodies under water and staged the discovery site.
That is how the evidence plays out for me. I admit I place more emphasis on the shorts and green beans than most. But nobody points to any evidence or witness statement that offers an alternative explanation for either item. The DNA certainly points to TH, and for the life of me I cannot see the WM3 committing the crime without leaving DNA behind. And I for sure do not believe the WM3 fed Stevie or went to his house to fetch his jeans.
