WEST MEMPHIS , Arkansas ( CNN ) -- They are known as the `` West Memphis Three '' -- young men who were arrested as teens and convicted of a triple killing with occult overtones that chills this working-class Mississippi River town to this day . Jessie Misskelley implicated his co-defendants and could be paroled someday . Defense attorneys for death row inmate Damien Echols say they have uncovered forensic evidence that could spare their client 's life and help clear his co-defendants as well . In the spring of 1993 , three 8-year-old boys were found murdered in a drainage ditch not far from their homes . Their hands and feet were tied with their shoelaces . And at the time it was thought to be an occult killing involving sexual abuse and mutilation . Watch doubts cast in gruesome case » . A month after the bodies were found , three teenagers -- Echols , who was 18 at the time , Jessie Misskelley , then 17 , and Jason Baldwin , then 16 -- were charged with the boys ' murders . They were convicted a year later after a trial that featured testimony about satanic rituals and heavy metal music . Misskelley is the only one given a chance at parole . The case has long had its doubters , and it has been the subject of books and documentaries . The West Memphis Three have a following of celebrity activists . In court papers filed last week , attorneys for Echols stated that -- even with DNA testing unavailable in 1993 -- they have uncovered no forensic evidence tying the three to the murders of Christopher Byers , Steven Branch and James Michael Moore . But DNA that might belong to two other men was found in hairs found at the crime scene , the documents state . The slayings of the three Cub Scouts struck fear deep in the heart of a community , and some people say that fear led to a rush to arrest and convict . `` It was hysteria . Everyone was concerned . Everyone started bringing their children in , '' said Ron Lax , who has worked the case as a private investigator for the defense since 1993 . `` They were convinced there were monsters loose , devil worshipers , Satanists , '' he recalled . `` It was like the community was relieved when the arrests were made because the big , bad boogeyman had been caught . '' `` I 'm not sure Perry Mason could have got those boys off , '' said Gerald Skahan , a member of Damien Echols ' defense team . The convictions followed , in part , as a result of statements by Misskelley . The reliability of his words has long been called into question . Misskelley , who is `` borderline retarded , '' Lax said , `` had a very difficult time keeping the story straight -- even with the help of police . '' Misskelley 's father , Jessie Misskelley Sr. , maintained police forced his son to make the confession . `` My son is innocent , '' he said . In their court papers , Echols ' defense team pointed out that there is no physical evidence linking the three men convicted to the three boys slain . No hairs , no fibers , and not a shred of DNA . `` We are saying is that there 's no credible evidence that links any of these defendants to the crime , '' said Dennis Riordan , San Francisco-based defense attorney . Riordan said a team of seven forensic scientists has reviewed the autopsy results , photographs and trial testimony . As part of a 200-plus page filing , the experts concluded there was no evidence of sexual abuse or any type of satanic killing . They also found that the injuries on the bodies of the boys -- which prosecutors called mutilation -- actually were caused by animals after the boys were killed . Echols ' lawyers maintained that it 's not their job to solve the crime , only to show that their client was n't involved . But the defense team said two hairs found at the crime scene could belong to one of the victim 's stepfathers and the man 's friend . `` The new DNA evidence is that one hair that was found in the ligature of the shoelaces that bound Michael Moore is consistent with the DNA of Terry Hobbs , who is the father of Stevie Branch , '' Lax told CNN . He continued : `` Another hair that had been found at the crime scene , which had been unidentified for all these years , has just recently been tested . And the DNA on that hair is consistent with the DNA of David Jacoby . David Jacoby is a good friend or was a good friend of Terry Hobbs , and Terry Hobbs was at his house just that afternoon and evening . '' While David Jacoby did not return CNN 's calls , Hobbs ' attorney , Ross Sampson , told CNN it 's possible his client 's hair was found at the scene . `` It was naturally transferred ; it was a child that lived with him , '' Sampson said . `` Mr. Hobbs had absolutely nothing to do with the death of his own stepson or the two other individuals in this matter , '' Sampson stated . Hobbs spoke with CNN . He said the new suspicions are hurtful to him . `` It 's hard as a parent to live with the loss of your home , of your wife , your family and then to have your friends and neighbors look at you and think , 'Is there something else there ? ' That hurts , '' he said . State prosecutor Brent Davis would not comment on the case and his office referred calls to the Arkansas attorney general . `` While the State will look at the new allegations and evidence objectively , it stands behind the conviction of Mr. Echols and that of his codefendants and does not anticipate a reversal of the juries ' verdicts , '' Gabe Holmstrom , spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel , said in a written statement . West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert was not working in the town when the murders took place . But he did n't rule out further investigation . `` If we 're told to look into it we will . If they have DNA evidence that would give evidence that these three did not commit that crime , I would want to see it absolutely . I 'm the first to say that if they have evidence to free those three I would support it 100 percent . '' In the meantime , Echols , Misskelley and Baldwin wait in jail , hoping to one day be free men . The families of the victims grieve . A town still hopes to some day recover . And new questions in this old case continue to go unanswered . E-mail to a friend .
Defense says new evidence includes evidence that could tie the others to crime . Police chief says he 'll take another look at case if court asks . Appeal heard last week in federal court . Damien Echols is on death row ; both serving life sentences .