This is Det. Sgt. Mike Allen with the West Memphis Police Dept. Today's date is June 17th, 1993 time presently 1:24PM present in this interview is Shane Divilbiss is that correct?
Shane: Divilbiss
Allen: Divilbiss
Shane: Divilbiss
Allen: Divilbiss
Shane: Long I.
Allen: State your full name for me please?
Shane: Shane Bradley Divilbiss.
Allen: And your address Shane
Shane: 369 Park.
Allen: How old are you Shane?
Shane: 18
Allen: Okay, it's my understanding that you went 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 on that?
Shane: Alright, I was going to school and meant Deanna Holcomb and in turn Damien Echols. Because they were boyfriend, 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 develope 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 draggin 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. (inaudible)
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 hollowing 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 weather he believed in God or weather 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 ocurred 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 quote friends he could silence them with just a glance. I mean he could look at them and they would be quite. 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 quite 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 curly hair
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 seamed 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 rumor of thing of that nature, do you know anything that Deanna ever mention 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 person mind to where what he believes in he finds someone that can't control that he can't influence he hate them.
Allen: Okay, so you feel like most of the people that he that he dealt with as far as Jason Baldwin and Deanna at time were the kind of people he prayed 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
Allen: Anything about, you mention so friends of his that gave you a hard time, when he was mad at you for stealing Deanna away or whatever? You mention so friends that he had that gave you a hard time do you remember any of their names?
Shane: I don't recall, they were mainly around Damien when they did it. I. You know.
Allen: How many, in this group that hung around Damien how many would you say hung around with him quite often at school?
Shane: I couldn't really tell you in numbers there were alot of them though, I know that much, uh because there was one day I came to school that I just remembered, I came school and I told you my uncle Kyle he has a whole lot of friends and you know how the school has its own little clicks you know it has you know certain people that call them different things every different year, you know but Damien had his little group around the corner of the school, and Kyle knew about it they wanted to fight, all the sudden I saw these sides forming you know one for Damien and one for me and then I saw him come around the corner of the bldg with about 15 people just behind him just looked like they were ready to go and then I turned around and noticed that I generally had the same amount directly behind me, ready for exactly the same thing fortunately the bell rang and everybody went in. But I figured if something hadn't happened there would have been a confrontation that day and sides do form quickly, do form quickly.
Allen: As far a Deanna never mention, 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 the room and candles?
Shane: She didn't say he was exactly worshiping she said that he proclaim himself to be the son of Satan occasionally that he did some 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 he is composed himself he let off the image that he was generally, people would think like he was a Satan worshiper just by looking at the time I know him. You know because of the way he dressed way just his general outlook but you know looks sometimes are deceiving you know he might exactly been in it he just might have 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
skull something around his neck did you ever see any hime 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 a crow's foot
Allen: Crow's foot
Shane: And a crow's foot, the crow's foot was generally used in black magic, was suppose to be a hex, gold coin was suppose to represented(inaudible) pleasure, the crow's foot was supposed to represent pain. Okay I mean that he did things that did represent black magic
Allen: And basically know the difference between what they call white magic vicar and black magic?
Shane: Yeah, I have done a little study in that area and have looked up quite a few things
Allen: Was this prior to this or just over the years?
Shane: Just over the years, just in general I absorbed things that I absorbed knowledge of just about anything I can get my hands on, and you know alot of people would think that because I study over those things that I know I practice them but I don't but I do know about though
Allen: Okay
Shane: While I was out I have meet a (inaudible) priest who gave me information and told me about things you know so that is one way I know things about like ceremonies I've never been in a ceremony but I do know how ceremonies are run sometimes I do know about the vicar use of pentagram and I do know the use of white magic use of a pentagram which are exactly two different things
Allen: That is my understanding that is the way the star is pointed
Shane: Yeah, uh, in vicar there is a downward pointing pentagram but it used for warding off, for you know that is what it's supposed to be used for, it suppose to be used for ward that is a warding pentacle, and if it's right side up it's suppose to be invoking pentacle
Allen: In what you have gathered from these, talking to these people and stuff, what is your assessment of what happened to the boys as far, now at this point Damien has been charged and it hadn't been proven guilty at this point say that Damien did do this, you feel like that was some kind of a ceremony are something that was being done?
Shane: Due to like the graphic nature of what would happen it might have been, but the thing is there's not any ceremony that I know if. You know because I do know a few ceremonies you know and that one seemed generally sexually related because of you know the certain dismemberment of the bodies but if it was a ceremony it probably, uh it looks like a ceremony it does, but it's not any that I know of
Allen: Have you ever heard oh, I don't want to just right out ask it, have you ever heard any bi-sexual tendencies of Damien or Jason or anybody that he has associated with?
Shane: I haven't heard of any but you know, I kind of figure if he were in black magic there would be bi-sexual tendencies
Allen: There be or there wouldn't be?
Shane: There would be because in, in all magic including vicar there are ceremonies which include bi-sexual sex magic is what it is called. It does include you know bi-sexual intercourse
Allen: Is there anything you would like to add before I conclude this statement?
