Criminology

May 5, 1993  300pm  Chris Byers, Steve Branch, and James Moore leave Weaver Elementary School at the daily dismissal and walk home.

May 5, 1993  310pm  Mark Byers (Step-father of Chris Byers) arrives home.  Chris Byers is not at home as he was supposed to wait for someone, either Mark or his step-brother Ryan, to let him in the house.

May 5, 1993  330pm  Steve Branch arrived home and checked in with his mother.  He then left the premise to play outside.  Ryan Byers returned to the home from school and did not see Chris Byers waiting for him.

May 5, 1993  350 pm  Mark Byers took Ryan Byers to the courthouse for a 400pm appointment. Ryan was a witness in a trial. Mark Byers leaves Ryan at the courthouse to go pick up his wife, Melissa, telling Ryan to get a ride home with Chad Bell and his mother, also part of the trial, if he Mark had not returned in time.

May 5, 1993  520 pm  Mark and Melissa Byers return home and find evidence that Chris Byers had been there and tried to gain access to the house.

May 5, 1993 (time unknown)  Mark Byers left home to pick up Ryan Byers at the courthouse and found Chris Byers playing with friends.  He and Chris returned home where he punished Chris with a spanking with a belt in front of Melissa.  Punishment was for Chris not waiting outside, because Mark believed that Chris was too young for a key to the house. Mark Byers left the home and returned to the courthouse to pick up Ryan, leaving Chris to clean up around the car port.

May 5, 1993  810pm  Mark Byers reports his step son, Chris Byers, missing.  Last seen at 530pm in front of their house.

May 5, 1993  924pm  Diane Moore reports her son missing.  Last seen at 600pm riding bikes with Chris Byers and Steve Branch

May 5, 1993  925pm  Pamela Hobbes (Mother of Steve Branch) reports her son missing, last seen at 330pm that afternoon.

May 6, 1993  daybreak  approximate time of death for all three boys.

May 6, 1993  145pm  The first body was found by the police in the drainage ditch.

May 6, 1993  256pm  The second body was found approximately 25 south of the first body.

May 6, 1993  259pm  The third body was found approximately 5 south of the second body.

May 6, 1993  358pm  Steve Branch pronounced dead at the scene.

May 6, 1993  402pm  Chris Byers and James Moore pronounced dead at the scene.

Evidence
Documents Handwriting samples
Latent Prints Box with fingerprints axe tire billy knives hammers
Serology Hair blood sexual assault evidence saliva
Trace Evidence Hair blood sexual assault evidence kit tire billy knives hammers clothes razors plastic bags hook cotton rope saliva.

Truth Table
In the following truth table the variables are D for documents, L for latent prints S for serology and T for trace evidence.  The factors of the table are that document or latent evidence is secondary to the serological and trace evidence whish is primary and needed to place the suspect at the crime.

Suspect Statements
There are no suspect statements within the case file.

Witness Statements
The three boys were seen by each of their families between the hours of 330 pm and 600pm.  Each had returned home and checked in.  The last person to see the boys was Diane Moore, James Moores mother, who saw the three boys riding bikes.

Theories of Detectives
The inclusion of James Moore was probably coincidental to the abduction of the other two boys.  He lived in a lower socio-economic neighborhood, but had a very structured and protective life in the aspects of parental supervision and extracurricular activities, including Boy Scouts.

The abduction of Steven Branch seems to have been based on the perceived or real wrong committed by the victim against the perpetrator.  He lived in a lower socio-economic neighborhood but had a very structured protective life in the aspects of parental supervision and extracurricular activities, including Boy Scouts.

The abduction of Chris Byers seems to have been based on the perceived or real wrong committed by the victim against the perpetrator.  He lived with his family but was did not have a very structured home life.  He had been having psychological problems including ADD and oppositional defiance disorder, which created ostracism in regards of friendships.

The only similarity that all the boys had with one another was that they all attended the same elementary school, Weaver Elementary. The fact that all three boys were together would have created a high risk for abduction from the perpetrators point of view.  This would mean that the perpetrator was probably someone whom was known to the boys, and whom they trusted.

The consensus is that there were two perpetrators in this crime, which would have been necessary to control the situation and in the binding of the children. The main perpetrator was avenging some real or perceived wrong that had been afflicted on him by Stephen Branch and more importantly, Chris Byers, due to the fact that their torture and murder were more vicious.

The perpetrator will probably have a record because it would seem that he knows the types of investigative techniques that can be used and knows ways in which to corrupt the evidence. The previous arrests would have probably been for assault, drugs or other violent crimes.

The perpetrator will probably have probably have problems with relationships with both males and females.  Long term romantic relationships with women will be sporadic and short lived, for he will want to have complete control of every situation.  This type of scenario will often lead to domestic violence.

The residence of the perpetrator will be close to the dump site.  The area must have been known to the perpetrator for he left the bodies in a place that is easily accessed by not in view of the road or the establishment in front of the drainage ditch.  He would also have to know the times that the ditch held water in which to use to finish the murders with drowning the boys in the ditch.

He will be skilled with hand and enjoy using them in different types of activities.  He will probably also have an array or knives that he uses for hunting and such. His education will only be high school level and his job history will be sporadic and often times he will have been fired for not showing up for work.  He will be very macho and often want to prove his masculinity because of low self-esteem and the need to hide any homosexual desires or actions.

Crime Reconstructionist
The purpose of the assault is punitive in that the perpetrator believed that these children wronged him in some way and that these actions were their punishment for that perceived or real action on their part. It would seem that James Moore was not in the same category as Stephen Branch and Chris Byers.

Moores injuries were less severe than the other two boys.  However this act was based on anger against the boys.

It would seem that for logistic reasons there were two assailants in this crime.  The attacks on both Stephen Branch and Chris Byers are very different and therefore, it can be assumed that there are two assailants within this action. The attack on Branch could have been enacted by either male or female however, the aggressive emasculation on Byers was definitively male in maliciousness in the need to prove sexual superiority over the child.

The actions would have taken place in a location that was comfortable to the perpetrator but not known to the child.  It would have been far enough out of the way that the screams of the children would not have been heard.  The fact is that the location would have had to be close to the dump site, for not only were the bodies dumped, but their clothes and bikes were left at the dump site as well.  This person would have had to been watching the search parties to ensure that the boys would be found, but that he would not be associated with the crime.  It is very possible that he would actually help with the search of the boys.

There are no signs of satanic ritual or of serial killers.  In the case of satanic ritual, the act usually occurs on a member or someone who wants to be member of the cult and is left as a warning to other.  The serial killer mentality often does not include children since they are missed very quickly.  Another reason to eliminate the possibility of a serial killer is that the serial killer would not have stayed in the area, but would have moved as far away from the area as possible.

Attorney
There are no statements of the attorneys in the case file.

Based on the actions of the Mark Byers and the fact that the evidence found on Chris Byers body shows previous abuse, and then the main suspect should have been Mark Byers.  Mark is the only person that gave the police his whereabouts from the early morning throughout the entire night and into the next day.  However, the information is more than just the abuse that needs to be considered.

First off, is that Mark fits the profile of the perpetrator.  He is an unemployed, disabled jewelry maker, who is a man who has to be in control of his surroundings, which includes taking his wife to work and picking her up at the end of the day.  He is also very demanding of the 8 year old Chris, who has many problems.  He is also an informant for the police in regards to drug dealer, which means that he has either been into drug dealing or been a user, which fits the profile.  It should also be mentioned that one of Marks knives is found that has a very tiny bit of evidence, but it is too small to use for analysis. Marks story also does not play out when he tells officers that Chris never goes to the Robin Hood Hill area however Melissa Byers tells the officers that she knows Chris has gone in that direction several times.

However, Mark is not the only suspect that should be considered.  The fact is that Mark could have gotten the children all together, because he is known to them.  But he would have been hard pressed to control them all at the same time.  The use of a second person at the murder location would have been the optimal choice, and since evidence has been found placing James Baldwin in contact with one of the victims, he would be the perfect person to have helped Mark do away with this unruly son and his friends.  He probably took all the boys so that the disappearance of his step-son alone would not be as obvious and the boys could not have put him with Chris last.

The least amount of damage was associated with James Moore.  He was probably just hit until he passed out and then drowned when thrown in the ditch.  However, the differences in the murders of would show that James Baldwin probably killed Stephen Branch and that Mark Byers killed his step-son.  The other option would be that Ryan Byers was also in on the murder and he was the one who beat James Moore.  Ryan, being only fourteen years old would not have been as vicious as the other two men in the crime.

Based on this understanding of those that participated in the search, and was the most forthcoming with information that really was not important, also known as spontaneous comments, the perpetrator of this heinous act is Mark Byers, James Baldwin, and possibly Ryan Byers.