Abomination: Devil Worship and Deception in the West Memphis Three Murders (19 page)

Ridge: Okay, so that is satanic symbolism?

Climer: Yeah

Ridge: You’ve been with or present when that symbolism has been painted in different places?

Climer: Yes

Ridge: Okay, Damien or Michael, Jason and Jessie has been a part of that?

Climer: Yes

Ridge: Okay, what other activities have you seen them do, as for as, okay, when you would have these barn fires, uh were animals killed?

Climer: Yeah.

Ridge: And what kind of animals?

Climer: You know, cats, dogs, you know, and this pig. You know this pig, we did that once.
¹¹⁷

On the 18th, Climer told Gitchell that Damien and Jason tortured a girl with a rope. According to Climer, they fashioned a slipknot around her neck and hung her from a tree. His testimony would be referenced at the trial.

June 17th, 1993

Shane Divilbiss

Investigative Report

Allen: Okay, its my understanding that you went to school in Marion and knew Damien Echols. Can you explain to me how you know Damien Echols and understand you and him had an altercation over a girl and explain to me what occurred?

Divilbiss: Alright, I was going to school, I met Deanna Holcomb and in turn Damien Echols, because they were boyfriend and girlfriend at the time. I began to hang around with them I spoke with Damien Echols on several occasions just like friends, then emotional things began to developed between me and Deanna Holcomb she broke up with Damien and soon went out with me which lead Damien to believe I had stolen Deanna from him. He threatened to kill Deanna threatened to kill several of my family members just not my uncle but several others. He threatened to kill me and then later came up behind me in the hallway while I was at my locker. I knew he was back there so I just started to walk. I didn't look at him or anything he jumped on me from behind dragged me down to the ground and clawing at my face with his fingernails. He uh, people was saying he was trying to rip my eyes out and my the scars is what it looked like, when I got up I turn around and I was going to fight but he was being held down by several of the people that were in the hallway witnessing it so I didn't have to.

Allen: Were the school officials notified of what happened?

Shane: Yes they were, one of the people that holding, one of the persons that was holding him down was my chemistry teacher, Mr. Foster and he took us both to the office, Damien was suspended for fighting and I wasn't because I didn't fight back even though I was going to but I didn't because they already had him down. He was suspended for fighting but I wasn't they just let me go back to class. You know cause they saw, Mr. Foster saw what happened and vouched me that I was attacked. It would have been self defense if I had fought.

Allen: You were talking about he had made some threats to you and had talked about some of your family members and Deanna can you describe in detail exactly what kind of threats these were and the way he phrased them?

Shane: Okay one of the threats was against my uncle whom had told him that if he had fought with me that my uncle would jump into and threatened him by saying if he jumped in he cut him to pieces and bury him in Deanna's front yard.

Allen: Okay, now how old is your uncle?

Shane: He's 16.

Allen: He's 16.

Shane: Right now.

Allen: Okay, he goes, does he go to school also at Marion?

Shane: He uh, went to school at Marion yes.

Allen: Okay, now did you ever hear this or is this something your uncle told you?

Shane: I didn't over hear it, it was something my uncle and several other people told me.

Allen: What is his name?

Shane: Kyle Perkins.

Allen: Kyle Perkins, okay, he made this threat to Kyle Perkins.

Shane: Yes he did.

Allen: Allegedly.

Shane: Yes.

Allen: As far as any threats that he made directly to you what can you remember any of.

Shane: Most of them were generally just short you know like “I'm going to kill you” or you know like when he had me down on the ground he said “I'm going to kill you, I'm going to rip your eyes out” and all this stuff, you know generally you know just short phrases there was no long drawn out threats.

Allen: On your way down here from your residence you were explaining to me that you and Damien had talked on numberless occasions when you first meet Deanna and first meet him. Can you recall anything in particular that you might have talked to him about did he ever talk about any religious beliefs any thing of that nature?

Shane: No he didn't talk about any religious beliefs at the time but I do know at the time he did talk about going to church but he didn't talk about God, he talked about how when he was at church he generally cut up in the back he generally made fun of it. He did talk about you know about sitting in the back hollering things like groovy and stuff like that you know while the preacher was preaching but other then that he didn't tell me about his beliefs he didn't tell me you know whether he believed in God or whether he was a God fearing Christian or whatever nothing like that.

Allen: Okay, generally back when, now most of this occurred now correct me if I'm wrong, most of this occurred at the beginning of, I mean at the end of the school year 92 is that correct:

Shane: That's correct.

Allen: Okay, did you have an occasion, did you go to school this last school year?

Shane: Yes I did.

Allen: Okay was he in school at that time?

Shane: Not at that time he did come back to the school at the beginning of the school year he was in the office and I saw him there, uh, back I don't think they admitted him back into the school back in class or anything, I did see him in the office once, though.

Allen: Okay, as far as I know this would be something you would of heard but you had mention to me also something earlier about how you made the observation that people he hung around with tend to do things he said can you explain that?

Shane: He was very imposing person he when he was around some one he could, he was around “friends” he could silence them with just a glance. I mean he could look at them and they would be quiet. You know if they were saying something he disagreed with or if they were disagreeing with him he would just have one look and they would be quiet. It seemed to me that all his friends feared him including Deanna Holcomb. The way it seemed to me that she was around him because she was afraid that if she left he would kill her.

Allen: Okay, who was some of his friends that you know of as people that he hung around with.

Shane: At the time the people that he hung around with I didn't see many more of his friends. There was a lot of them that was involved this particular, you know. I don't remember his name was Jason that's all I knew him as.

Allen: Jason.

Shane: He was the blonde hair curly.

Allen: Do you remember him from school?

Shane: Yes I remember him from school.

Allen: I've got a photograph here of the three that were arrested. Do you know who this person here is?

Shane: Damien Echols.

Allen: Okay.

Shane: Jason Baldwin. I didn't know his last name but...

Allen: But that is the one you are referring to?

Shane: That is Jason.

Allen: That hung around with him at school.

Shane: I do not know the, I don't know the third.

Allen: You don't know him, you didn't go to school with him?

Shane: I think. I know that I did go to school with him I heard his name around school before, but I've never seen him or interacted with him. (inaudible)

Allen: Other than Jason Baldwin and Deanna dating him prior to you dating Deanna Holcomb any other close friends of his that you remember?

Shane: Not that I knew by name, okay because like (inaudible) the people I really hung around with when I was hanging around with Damien was him and Deanna and Jason Baldwin (inaudible) I ever knew and talked to. Everyone else was kind of like background generally but they did say things occasionally that, that Damien would just you know like I said sounds from a glance and that seemed a little bit odd to me. They he would be able to scare someone so much that he wouldn't have to say anything to them.

Allen: Deanna Holcomb---has she ever told you anything about why she was so afraid of him or anything? I know probably from the newspaper articles and things of that nature that there was supposed, so like, dog, cats sacrifices different things of that nature, rumors of things of that nature. Do you know anything that Deanna ever mentioned anything about some things that Damien would do that made her scared of him, or...

Shane: She didn't tell me any thing in detail. She did tell me that he scared her, that she thought he was crazy. She told me that several times whenever the subject came up about him which I generally tried to avoid there because, then one thing I wanted to do was get her away from him. She didn't tell me anything about sacrifices or anything but she did tell me that at one time they had sexual intercourse in a room full of people watching them, she told me of you know that is the main thing she told me about like a circle of people were watching them, and that is with candles around and everything like that which you know kind of reminded me of you know unusual practice.

Allen: Did she ever talk about being tied up or anything?

Shane: She never told me anything about that.

Allen: Is there anything you could add that, at this point that might be beneficial in this investigation as far as any information that something that you may have heard from someone else something that hadn't been brought up so far that might assist us in kind of way?

Shane: Nothing but the fact that I know Damien is exactly highly intelligence he knows a lot about things. He knows how to work with a person's mind. He can manipulate a persons mind to where what he believes in he finds someone that he can't control that he can't influence, he hate them.

Allen: Okay, so you feel like most of the people that he dealt with as far as Jason Baldwin and Deanna at time were the kind of people he preyed up on?

Shane: Yeah, it was very noticeable they were susceptible to another persons mind if they imposed it you know they would believe what they told...

The investigation returned to Deanna Holcomb:

Allen: As far as Deanna..did she ever mention anything about Damien being a devil worshiping or anything other than what you gather from the sexual intercourse they with a group of people in a room and candles?

Shane: She didn’t say he was exactly worshiping. She said that he proclaimed himself to be the Son of Satan. Occasionally, that he did strange things that lead her to believe he was demoniac. Or you know that he, he, the things he wrote---I read a little bit of his poetry which generally mainly about death, about dark forces...People would think he was like a Satan worshipper just by looking, at the time I know him. You know because of the way he dressed, but you know looks sometimes are deceiving. You know he might exactly been in it, he just might of wanted people to think that.

Allen: There was talk at school he, in fact I read this in the newspaper, that the talk at school that he had some kind of skull something around his neck. Did you ever see any him at with any skulls?

Shane: Like necklaces and things like that with bones on them, yeah when Deanna broke up with him he gave her two things gave her a coin, golden coin and crows foot.

Allen: Crows foot.

Shane: And a crow’s foot. The crow’s foot was generally used in black magic. Was supposed to be a hex. He gave her a crows foot, he generally gave her a choice. Gold coin was supposed to represent pleasure, the crows foot was supposed to represent pain. Okay, that I mean he did things that did represent black magic.