Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast - podcast cover

Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast

Paul Day and Kristin Richx.com

Welcome to this long-form podcast series on one of the most controversial and heavily debated true crime cases in American history: the West Memphis Three.


In this series, Paul Day — victim advocate, evidence researcher, and longtime friend of the Byers family — teams up with Kristin Rich, a criminologist and victim advocate who has immersed herself in the case for years. Together, they embark on an in-depth journey that tells the story from the victims’ perspective.

Focusing on the three eight-year-old boys — Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch — whose lives were tragically cut short on May 5, 1993, in West Memphis, Arkansas, Paul and Kristin draw on their extensive research, personal connections to the families, and deep knowledge of the victims’ personalities, family dynamics, and the West Memphis community.


This series delivers fresh perspectives, previously undiscussed details, and thoughtful analysis that challenges surface-level narratives. Expect detailed timelines, evidence discussions, family insights, and open conversation as the hosts carefully unpack what happened that spring afternoon in 1993 — and why things were not as they first appeared.


Whether you’re new to the West Memphis Three case or have followed it for years, this respectful, victim-focused series offers a compelling and meticulously researched re-examination. New episodes will continue building the most comprehensive account to date.


Recommended prior viewing/listening:

  • The groundbreaking documentary Paradise Lost
  • Explore the full case files at the Callahan WM3 website


Subscribe now and join Paul and Kristin for what promises to be an epic, long-running exploration of truth, justice, and the events surrounding the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch.

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Episodes

Episode 5: Horror Behind the Blue Beacon

In this deeply emotional and difficult episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast , hosts Paul Day (forensic geologist and victim advocate) and Kristin Rich (criminologist and victim advocate) confront the heartbreaking reality at the heart of the case—the discovery of the bodies of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore. This episode takes listeners into the wooded area near Robin Hood Hills and the unnamed creek on May 6, 1993. Paul provides a detailed, vivid breakdown of t...

Jun 09, 202654 minSeason 1Ep. 5

Bonus Q&A for Episodes 1-4

Welcome to the first bonus Q&A episode of Crooked Tree! Kristin Rich and Paul Day dive into your questions from the Facebook group, tackling key details from the West Memphis case. In this episode: A deep dive into Officer Regina Meek’s timeline on May 5, 1993 (including the mosquito incident, dispatch logs, and trial testimony), Christopher Byers’ “white lie” about where Stevie Branch lived, the history of Robin Hood Hills, why the floating shoes and Cub Scout cap weren’t spotted earlier, t...

Jun 02, 202640 min

Episode 4: A Shoe in the Unnamed Creek

On the morning of May 6, 1993, exhausted and terrified parents in West Memphis, Arkansas, resume their desperate search for three missing eight-year-old boys—Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch—who vanished the evening before. With no meaningful help from law enforcement overnight, the families, joined by friends and community members, scour the bayous, woods, and bridges near Robin Hood Hills by first light. As frustration mounts, Mark Byers pushes hard—alerting Search and Rescu...

May 26, 202633 minSeason 1Ep. 4

Episode 3: Searching Robin Hood

In this gripping continuation of the West Memphis Three case timeline, Paul Day and Kristin Rich dive deep into the chaotic night of May 5, 1993, after Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch disappeared. From the moment the sun sets under a massive, bright waxing gibbous moon, the episode follows the desperate searches by the families and police. Paul and Kristin reconstruct key moments in detail: Pam Hobbs learning her son is missing while at work at Catfish Island, Officer John Mo...

May 19, 202649 minSeason 1Ep. 3

Episode 2: Bike Tracks in Devil's Den

In this gripping continuation of our deep-dive series on the 1993 West Memphis Three case, Paul Day and Kristin Rich meticulously reconstruct the critical hours after Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch vanished on May 5, 1993. Starting with Christopher’s well-documented movements, the episode follows the frantic searches by the Byers family as daylight fades. You’ll hear how a simple lie about Stevie’s address sent the family looking in the wrong direction, the police encounters...

May 12, 202644 minSeason 1Ep. 2

Episode 1: Two Bikes and a Skateboard

On May 5, 1993, in West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys—Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore—did what kids do on a beautiful spring afternoon: they went to school, came home, and headed out to play. They never returned. What started as an ordinary Wednesday in the tight-knit Holiday Gardens neighborhood turned into one of the most haunting and divisive true crime cases in American history. The next day, the boys were found murdered in a drainage ditch, their bodies bo...

May 05, 202654 minSeason 1Ep. 1
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