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With the devil so prominent in news reports, ministers were quoted as experts. Six hundred people turned out two weeks after the arrests when the Missouri Street Church of Christ offered a free lecture on what advertisements said were “the six indicators of Satanic involvement.” They were an obsession with death, possession of “Satanic paraphernalia,” kidnapping, sexual abuse, cannibalism, and cremation. Reporters for the West Memphis paper covered the event. They also contacted “experts” in the occult, such as Driver and a Memphis psychiatrist and writer.137Based on those interviews, the paper reported that “Echols’ reading habits could help determine the nature of his thinking and possible cult activities. People who knew Echols said he dressed in black, called himself ‘Damien,’ and carried a cat’s skull.” The Memphis psychiatrist reportedly confirmed that those were common signs that teenagers were “delving into Satanism.”138

While preachers railed against Satan and reporters examined library books, police were coming to terms with the reality underlying the arrests. That was, as Fogleman would later delicately acknowledge, that Jessie Misskelley’s statement “had to be investigated further, to see whether or not more evidence could be developed.” The police had suspects, but did Fogleman have a case? With the three teenagers in custody, the West Memphis police entered the second phase of their investigation: a scramble to find evidence against them.

Aaron Revisited

Detective Bray of Marion had introduced Vicki and Aaron Hutcheson to the West Memphis police. The Hutchesons had led them to Jessie Misskelley. And Jessie had handed them their big break in the case. Now, as detectives turned to the task of supporting what Jessie had said, Bray tried again to help. Again he turned to eight-year-old Aaron Hutcheson.

By the time of the arrests, Aaron had made several statements, many of them highly conflicting. But Bray was convinced that Aaron knew more than he’d yet acknowledged. A few hours after Gitchell announced the arrests, Bray interviewed the boy again. And now, Aaron’s account of what he’d seen took another dramatic turn. For the first time, the boy told Bray that he had been in the woods with the victims on the afternoon they disappeared. In fact, he said, he’d witnessed their murders. Suddenly, Aaron was now also clear as to the identities of his friends’ killers. The men he’d seen in the woods, Aaron said—the men he’d seen murdering his friends—were Damien, Jason, and Jessie.

In a long, disjointed statement, Aaron told Bray that on the afternoon the boys disappeared, he’d ridden his bike to Robin Hood. He said he’d seen five men in the woods: the three defendants and two others, whom he could not identify. They all wore black T-shirts with dragons on them and had knives “like Indians in the jungle have.” Jessie was holding Stevie down in the water, telling him, “I don’t want to kill you yet until what my boss says.” Damien was the boss. Michael and Chris found two guns lying on the pipe. They hid behind a tree. They planned, on the count of three, to jump out and shoot all five of the men. They counted to three, but when they began shooting, they discovered that the guns were not loaded. By then, Michael’s neck had been cut and blood was pouring out all over his T-shirt. After Michael was dead, Damien removed the boy’s clothes and raped him. Jessie cut the private parts off all three boys. Aaron began to run. Jessie saw him and started to chase him, but Aaron tripped him and got away.

Bray had long believed that Aaron had witnessed the murders, and now he was sure he’d been right.139Four days later, on June 8, he questioned Aaron again. This time, Aaron’s details were even more preposterous. This time Aaron said that Jessie had called him the night before the murders. Jessie told Aaron to bring his friends to the woods, and that they would all “do something.” When Aaron arrived, Michael and Chris were behind a tree. (Later he said they were in a tree.) Jessie got hold of Stevie. Damien was