Autopsies revealed that Michael Moore and Stevie Branch died from "multiple injuries with drowning," while Christopher Byers died from blood loss due to severe stabbing and mutilation in the groin area.
One of the most significant forensic anomalies captured in the crime scene photos was the near-total absence of blood at the location where the bodies were found. This led critics and later investigators to argue the boys may have been murdered elsewhere and moved to the ditch. Forensic Analysis: Satanic Ritual vs. Nature west memphis 3 crime scene photos
The initial prosecution relied heavily on the gruesome nature of the injuries seen in the photos to argue the murders were part of a "Satanic ritual". However, decades of subsequent expert review have challenged this narrative: Autopsies revealed that Michael Moore and Stevie Branch
Forensic pathologists who re-examined the photographs, such as Dr. Rebecca Hsu, concluded that many of the "mutilations" previously attributed to human torture were actually the result of post-mortem animal activity, specifically from turtles and fish in the creek. Forensic Analysis: Satanic Ritual vs
The boys had been stripped and hogtied using their own shoelaces—specifically, their right wrists were tied to their right ankles and left wrists to left ankles behind their backs.