DNA testing of evidence tied to the 1993 killings at the center of the West Memphis Three case could begin in July 2026, potentially adding new forensic detail to a saga that has loomed over Arkansas for more than three decades. Defense teams and advocates say modern "touch DNA" methods can pull skin cells from porous items that older techniques missed, and several key pieces of evidence have already been moved for specialized analysis. As the court-ordered process inches toward testing, supporters, skeptics, and the victims' families are watching closely to see what, if anything, the lab work will change.
According to LocalMemphis, Damien Echols posted on social media on Tuesday, saying he had been told the testing would get underway in July. Echols' spokesman Lonnie Soury told Talk Business & Politics that ligatures, hairs, and other items have been at Bode Technology since last fall and that "hopefully, the testing will be done by the end of July and we can finally get some answers."
What's Being Tested
A Crittenden County order signed in August 2025 calls for roughly 15 categories of evidence to be analyzed, with ligatures and multiple hair samples at the top of the list. As reported by KAIT, the order directs that those items be shipped to a private lab and specifies that lab reports must be shared with prosecutors, the defendants' attorneys, and the Innocence Project, with copies filed in court once testing is complete.
How The Testing Will Be Done
The plan relies on advanced wet-vacuum "M-Vac" processing, a system that sprays a sterile solution into fabric or other porous material and vacuums up whatever cells are dislodged, allowing labs to capture more touch DNA than traditional swabbing often does. According to Forensic, Bode Technology recently acquired an M-Vac unit and trained staff to use it, and comparative studies show the method can recover substantially more nuclear DNA from porous items.
Background
The victims — Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers — disappeared in May 1993 and were found dead the next day in Robin Hood Hills. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were convicted in 1994. The three men were released in August 2011 after entering Alford pleas, which allowed them to maintain claims of innocence while resolving their cases, and Echols spent about 18 years on death row before his release, according to AP.
Evidence, Earlier Tests, and Discovery
Defense lawyers have long argued that evidence handling problems and losses complicated post-conviction testing efforts. Echols' team was able to review the state's inventory in December 2021 and identified a box that included the shoelaces used to bind the victims, an item advocates have said could hold touch DNA. Earlier rounds of testing, including work done in 2007, did not link the three men to the crime scene, and local reporting has noted that at least one hair recovered from a ligature was an almost-certain match to a family member of one victim. Those earlier findings are shaping expectations for what the new testing might show.
What To Watch Next
If testing is completed this month, the lab results will be provided to prosecutors, defense counsel, and outside organizations, with copies filed with the court, giving both sides a chance to fight over how significant the findings are or whether they are admissible, according to reporting on the agreed order. Prosecutors have warned about the risk of contamination and past handling, while supporters of the testing argue that modern methods are worth pursuing. Soury told Talk Business & Politics he hopes the work will be finished by the end of July.
