IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
WESTERN DIVISION
TERRY HOBBS,
Plaintiff,
v.
NATALIE PASDAR, et al.,
Defendants.
CV NO.: 4-09-CV-0008BSM
DECLARATION OF DAVID JACOBY
I, David Jacoby, declare as follows:
1. "My name is David Jacoby. I am over the age of 21 and competent to give this declaration.
2. All of the information set forth herein is within my personal knowledge and is true and correct.
3. I am a friend of Terry Hobbs and Pam Hobbs. On May 5, 1993, I lived in the same neighborhood as Terry and Pam Hobbs and their children Stevie Branch and Amanda Hobbs. Stevie Branch was one of the three little boys murdered in the Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis, Arkansas on or about May 5, 1993.
4. The murders, the investigation into the murders, the victims, the families of the victims, the trials of the three teenagers ultimately convicted of the murders ("the West Memphis Three"), their appeals, and the question of whether the West Memphis Three actually committed the murders have received a lot of national and local press attention since 1993. I personally have received a great deal of requests for interviews from the press, as well as from investigators and writers, regarding the questions of who committed the murders and whether Terry Hobbs was involved in the murders of the three little boys. I have generally refused to talk to the press about the murders, the events relating to the murders and Terry Hobbs.
5. Terry Hobbs and I worked together at the Memphis Ice Cream Company in Memphis, Tennessee in May of 1993.
6. On May 5, 1993, I worked at the Memphis Ice Cream Company. I got home from work at approximately 4:30 PM on that day. Sometime between 5 PM and 5:30 PM on May 5, 1993 (it could have been as late as 6 PM, but I believe it was between 5 and 5:30 PM), Terry Hobbs came over to my house.
7. I believe I saw Terry's step-son, Stevie Branch, ride by on his bicycle in the street in front of my house. I also believe I saw two other little boys with Stevie. One of the other boys who went by the front of my house was on a bicycle and the other boy was on a skateboard.
8. Terry and Amanda came inside my house. Amanda played with toys, and Terry and I sat down and played guitars for up to one hour. At some point while Terry and I were playing guitars, I asked, "Where's Stevie?" because Stevie usually came over to my house with Terry and Amanda (and also Pam Hobbs when she came over). Terry responded that Stevie was riding his bike.
9. Between approximately 6 PM and 6:30 PM on May 5, 1993, Terry got up from playing guitars and told me that he was going to his house to see if Stevie was at home. Terry told me that Stevie was supposed to be home and he thought for sure Stevie would be home "before dark" or "by dark," or something to that effect. Terry then left my house. I am 90% sure that Terry left Amanda at my house for me and my wife to watch and that Terry left my house alone.
10. Terry was gone from my house for awhile. Terry returned to my house later and asked if Stevie had come by. When I said no, I volunteered to go out with Terry to ride with him to look for Stevie.
11. Terry and I drove around the neighborhood for approximately 10-15 minutes looking for Stevie. We drove near some apartments. We did not stop at any houses or talk to anyone at this point.
12. Terry then dropped me off at my house and said he was going to check a few other places for Stevie. I believe Terry again left alone, with Amanda staying at my house.
13. After awhile, Terry drove back to my house. I again went with Terry to ride around and look for Stevie. We drove two more times nearly the same route we had driven before. I remember that we again went by the apartment complex and saw some kids playing. Terry told the kids that he was looking for a little blond headed boy. A little black girl told Terry that he had seen that there were some boys riding their bikes near the woods near the apartments, which were the Robin Hood Hills Woods.
14. Terry again took me home and dropped me off because it was getting dark and I was going to change clothes and get flashlights to search further. I do not know where Terry went, but I expected him to come back to get me. I believe he took Amanda with him. I changed clothes, but Terry never showed back up.
15. Pam Hobbs did come over to my house later looking for Stevie and I drove her around to look for him. Pam and I ended up meeting up with other people looking for Stevie and the two other boys, including Terry. Specifically, in addition to Terry and Pam, I also recall searching at different times with Jackie Hicks, Sr. (Pam's father). I also recall seeing Dana Moore and Mark Byers out looking for their boys. I searched for Stevie and the other boys until nearly 3 AM on May 6, 1993, and then I went home.
16. I was not in Robin Hood Hills Woods searching for Stevie or other missing children alone or with Terry Hobbs on May 5, 1993 at or near 6 PM or 6:30 PM. Additionally, I recall that I was not looking for Stevie or the other boys near the woods until it was already dark, much later than 6 PM or 6:30 PM.
17. I searched near the woods by the apartments and stood near or on the pipe bridge into the woods. However, I did not cross the pipe bridge into the woods. I also drove around to the Blue Beacon side of the woods and looked in the weeds around the woods. I made it far enough into the woods to see the pipe bridge from that side.
18. I did not see Terry Hobbs call the police on May 5, 1993 or May 6, 1993. Also, Terry did not tell me he had called the police and did not ask me to call the police on those dates. I did not know that anyone had called the police until I saw Pam on the night of May 5, 1993.
19. On May 5, 1993 and May 6, 1993, I did not drive by or go inside the police station alone or with Terry Hobbs or anyone else. I did not see Terry Hobbs go to the police station on those dates.
20. Terry Hobbs has never told me that he saw a "black bum" or any other individual near Robin Hood Hills Woods on the morning of May 6, 1993.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct and that this declaration was executed in Shelby County, Tennessee.
