{"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 16: West Memphis Confidential","slug":"episode-16-west-memphis-confidential","published_at":"2026-09-08T11:07:05+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947/episode-16-west-memphis-confidential","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/crooked-tree-a-west-memphis-3-podcast-7844947","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/cd74ba73f503de9319cc776f3f77977e79a879fb116e2a7d0f2fb23e72e7d290/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiIxNTYwZDZhMi04NmFhLTRlZmYtYTY5Ny02M2YwZGM1OTcwYmUiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiIzNmNkMjRlMC02NzEzLTQwNDgtYWY1Zi1lMjdjZGQ5Y2M1ODgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJjZjcyNGNkZmZkMjBmNjI3OGUyYzQiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmE5ZmVjNWE2MDg4Yjk1YzY4MmMwNGJiL3BhdWxzLXN0dWRpby1XcXFWcS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTktOF9fMTMtNy01Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/cd74ba73f503de9319cc776f3f77977e79a879fb116e2a7d0f2fb23e72e7d290/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiIxNTYwZDZhMi04NmFhLTRlZmYtYTY5Ny02M2YwZGM1OTcwYmUiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiIzNmNkMjRlMC02NzEzLTQwNDgtYWY1Zi1lMjdjZGQ5Y2M1ODgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJjZjcyNGNkZmZkMjBmNjI3OGUyYzQiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmE5ZmVjNWE2MDg4Yjk1YzY4MmMwNGJiL3BhdWxzLXN0dWRpby1XcXFWcS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTktOF9fMTMtNy01Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, forensic geologist and victim advocate Paul Day and criminologist and victim advocate Kristin Rich pull back the curtain on the law-enforcement climate surrounding the murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch, and Michael Moore. Why did West Memphis Police Inspector Gary Gitchell decline substantial help from the Arkansas State Police—even as three children lay dead and the department reached out to the FBI? The hosts examine the West Memphis–Crittenden County Drug Task Force, its high-profile seizures of cash, vehicles, and guns, and the cloud of investigations that hung over it in early 1993. Through contemporary newspaper reporting, they document allegations of confiscated property diverted for personal use, unaccounted cash, weapons handed out far beyond the evidence locker, and the subsequent state and federal probes that followed key officers for years. Names that surface repeatedly in the boys’ case—James Sudbury, Tony Miller, Shane Griffin, and others—also appear in these drug-unit controversies. The episode traces how those parallel scandals, personnel changes, and later criminal cases (including firings, indictments, and other serious misconduct) raise hard questions about integrity, priorities, and culture inside the agencies investigating the murders. Paul and Kristin are careful to distinguish individual failings from the trauma many officers carried, while underscoring why these issues matter to understanding the investigation itself. A clear-eyed look at the institutional backdrop of one of the most scrutinized cases in true-crime history.","meta_description":"In this episode of Crooked Tree: A West Memphis 3 Podcast, forensic geologist and victim advocate Paul Day and criminologist and victim advocate Kristin R…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4730,"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-16-west-memphis-confidential/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-16-west-memphis-confidential.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}