{"podcast":{"title":"Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast","slug":"crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947","podcast_index_feed_id":7844947,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting/IrKJTEIs.rss","website_url":"https://x.com/CrookedTreePod?s=20","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/podcasts/36cd24e0-6713-4048-af5f-e27cdd9cc588/logos/34a09a4c-2739-4603-9cf5-336ff84d4f8d.jpeg","author":"Paul Day and Kristin Rich","episode_count":20,"summary":"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 y…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-09T02:17:33.235330+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 12: Sir Mikeal and the King","slug":"episode-12-sir-mikeal-and-the-king","published_at":"2026-08-04T09:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947/episode-12-sir-mikeal-and-the-king","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/bea1db3fd183d4f7c54eb68cd625756bfb856b8ec466ff08a4a20a29677a5db2/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI2ZWNmMTBlNy0wZDRkLTRlZTctOTc1ZS1mZDU2OTQ1MTRiNTkiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiIzNmNkMjRlMC02NzEzLTQwNDgtYWY1Zi1lMjdjZGQ5Y2M1ODgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJjZjcyNGNkZmZkMjBmNjI3OGUyYzQiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmE3MWEyNTA1NTE0ZTE4MDk4NmUyZTY1L3BhdWxzLXN0dWRpby1XcXFWcS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTgtNF9fMTAtMjYtNTYubXAzIn0=.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/bea1db3fd183d4f7c54eb68cd625756bfb856b8ec466ff08a4a20a29677a5db2/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI2ZWNmMTBlNy0wZDRkLTRlZTctOTc1ZS1mZDU2OTQ1MTRiNTkiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiIzNmNkMjRlMC02NzEzLTQwNDgtYWY1Zi1lMjdjZGQ5Y2M1ODgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJjZjcyNGNkZmZkMjBmNjI3OGUyYzQiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmE3MWEyNTA1NTE0ZTE4MDk4NmUyZTY1L3BhdWxzLXN0dWRpby1XcXFWcS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTgtNF9fMTAtMjYtNTYubXAzIn0=.mp3","summary":"West Memphis suffered a devastating blow five years before the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. In 1988, the burned bodies of seven-year-old Bianca Tirado and two-year-old Maximilian McCoy were discovered at a dump site. Their mother, Barbara McCoy, and companion Mary Williams were charged with capital murder amid allegations of religious extremism and beliefs that the children were possessed. The case dominated local and national headlines, left the community reeling, and kept talk of cults and the occult fresh in residents’ minds. When the three boys were found in 1993, those same fears resurfaced immediately. In this episode, Kristin and Paul examine the 1988 double homicide in detail—through contemporary newspaper accounts—and show how it shaped the atmosphere surrounding the West Memphis Three investigation. They then turn to two unusual newcomers living just steps from Devil’s Den: Sir Mikeal Williams, a Pentecostal minister, and his roommate King David Samuel Beasley. After a suspicious doorstep encounter during neighborhood canvassing, both men were brought in for questioning. The hosts walk through the police interviews, the men’s alibis (and the gaps in them), the religious symbols and behavior that raised red flags, lab evidence, and why these two figures continued to linger in investigators’ notes long after they were supposedly cleared. A look at how prior tragedy, community panic, and non-mainstream faith intersected in the early days of the case.","meta_description":"West Memphis suffered a devastating blow five years before the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. In 1988, the burned bodies…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3222,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947/episodes/episode-12-sir-mikeal-and-the-king/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947/episode-12-sir-mikeal-and-the-king.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}