Episode 11: "A bizarre and unusual manner" The Case Against with Gary Meece, #WM3 #DamienEchols #TrueCrime

From "Blood on Black: The Case Against the West Memphis 3 Killers, Volume I" by Gary Meece:  "A Bizarre and Unusual Manner"       Damien Echols was first referred to family treatment from the Department of Human Services on May 5, 1992,  a year to the day before the murders.  The family was living in Lakeshore.  The referral form, based on allegations from his sister Michelle, stated: “Child reported her step-father has been sexually abusing her for a long time. Her mother knows about it but has done nothing to stop it. Sexual abuse reportedly occurred periodically from age 7 until present. The abuse included fondling.” Charges were pending contingent on counseling.  According to records from the East Arkansas Regional Mental Health Center in West Memphis, the family was in deep disarray.  Gloria Stevenson, the family service worker, reported: “It appears that the Echols family has extreme problems related to an ongoing history of sexual abuse, suspected emotions problems and undefined interpersonal relationship disorders. Mr. Echols admits to being overly affectionate with Michelle and to have been charged for indecently exposing himself to an older daughter, however, Mrs. Echols states that she feels Michelle is lying as she has been skipping school and sexually acting out. Michelle alleges to have had several miscarriages though the mother denies it. Damien Echols on the other hand, holds his adopted father in low regard and feels the allegations are in fact true. Mrs. Echols states Damien is in need of counseling and evaluation as he feels he is ‘smarter than everyone else’ and will verbalize this fact. He also reportedly has little regard for others and stated he feels people have no true feeling for each other; Their main purpose is to use and bring harm to others around them. Mrs. Echols reports that Damien has attempted to fight with her on occasion.” Beyond the lack of consensus on reality among the Echols family, Damien’s mother described his persistent grandiosity and a view of reality typical of psychopathic personalities who have little empathy and view others as objects to be used.  His mother gave the lie to Damien’s claim that he was not violent as a teenager.  She later told caseworkers that she “was most concerned about son ‘not learning to deal with anger and rages.’ {Mother} mentioned her belief that son may be responding to outside stimulation. Voiced fear ‘son may be crazy.’” Besides the family drama,  Damien’s teenage love life took a histrionic turn. “By the age of sixteen Mr. Echols’ depression and hopelessness was written all over his body,” wrote Dr. George Woods in his 2001 report. “He wore black clothes, hair and nails. His strange, often flat affect kept him out of step with mainstream life in a small Arkansas town. Yet he found one person, a young girl with problems of her own, whom he felt could understand him. They developed a relationship and became inseparable. Her parents strongly opposed their dating and tried to keep them apart.  “Desperate to stay together, they planned to go to California. Mr. Echols’ mother, overtaxed with her own problems, did not intervene to keep the troubled teenagers near their parents. Instead, she gave them no more than $10.00 to $15.00 - the only money she had - as a contribution toward expenses.” Echols and Deanna Holcomb, 15, had broken up earlier that spring at the insistence of her parents. Echols’ violent reaction brought charges of terroristic threatening.  Echols promptly found a new girlfriend, Domini Teer, but continued to pursue Deanna. Finally, Damien and Deanna decided to run away together to California. They didn’t get far.  The teens were reported as runaways on May 19, 1992. Police found them hiding in the closet of an abandoned mobile home in Lakeshore.  The teens were “partially nude from the waist down,” according to the arrest report. Damien and Deanna were both charged initially with burglary and sexual misconduct and taken to the