A succinct police note regarding James K. Martin                                        James Kenny Martin, 1993

James Kenny Martin

    Perhaps the thickest of all of the suspect files at the West Memphis Police Department evidence archives is that of James Kenny Martin. Martin, 33 years old in 1993, was a convicted child molestor and petty criminal with a long record extending over the years.  He volunteered his services to the West Memphis police to help them understand the mind of someone who would stalk children. He fancied himself in the role of Hannibal Lecter. "We are talking in a similar case of, well I'm not saying it was book written, or movie made, Silence of the Lamb. I mean if you take it, they had to go to this individual, who is a sick psyco individual to get information." [Martin interview, May 19, 1993]  

    As have several other figures in this case, Martin has visited web sites that discuss this crime and has posted extensively, giving more insight into his history and more declarations as to his whereabouts and actions at the time of the crime.  

    Beyond his Colorado rape convictions, he discussed the first time he molested a young child, a five year old child when he was fourteen or fifteen, how he himself was raped by his older brother and his brother's friend, and how he was raped at gunpoint at age 20.  He has a long list of other crimes, bad checks, third degree battery, grand larceny (pled down to petty theft), etc.  

    His potential connections to the West Memphis murders are as follows.  His mistress, Barbara McCafferty*, lived one long block from the Byers and the Moores, at the corner of Barton and Goodwin. Martin had trouble recalling her name during his interview, and later described her as being "just a ftf" (friend to fuck). According to Martin, Barbara McCafferty knew one of the victims. From his recent statements: "My friend Barbara, once told me later that I had met one of the boys, which one, I don't know, but her son was the same or close to the same age as them and went to Weaver with them... She called me that night around 6pm or so, to tell me about them missing, I was living in Marion at that time not far from Jesse's house, but I don't recall ever meeting any of them, execpt for Jesse's Dad after his arrest..." (McCafferty had a twelve year old.)

 
    Door to door interview notes, Barbara McCafferty, "Kids screaming."

    There are problems with James Martin's timeline for that evening.  In his police statement and echoed above he said at five to six pm Barbara had called him to tell him about the missing children. This timing is impossible, even the parents did not know about the three being missing together until after 8 pm.  He also claims to have seen a news story on television that night about the three missing children and he discussed it with his wife, Darlene, before going to work at the Flash Market on Broadway for a shift that began at 10 pm. (He had another job at W.B. Davis Electrical Supplies in Memphis, nearby Melissa Byers employment.)

    Problems with Martin's timeline overlap with problems with his alibi. In his West Memphis police interview and notes he described his day's activities as this:  He went to Shelby Farms (a park in Eastern Memphis) the afternoon of the fifth. He talked to Barbara McAfferty about the missing children as mentioned above around five to six pm. He was home with his wife and went to work at the Flash Market at 10 pm.

    Recently, he has given an altered version of his timeline. He says he slept until 2:40 pm (he had worked the night shift the night before). "I didn't work at W.B. [Davis Electric] that week, and my two girls [daughters of Darlene Conner] went to a school in west memphis, and my wife and I picked them up, and that was around 3:30pm, as always we went to a restraunt (johnnie's or something, right off I-55/40 near the service road to wal-mart^ one of west memphis' main drags ^ Lots of contractors eat there) and I'd say by 5pm we were on our way home, now from 6 to 8 she called cause it was at least an hour maybe more when we were home.... and my wife made a comment that we were just out that way, and we don't recall seeing anyone walking the service road or anything, now that was 5pm or so......" 

    Remarkably, he now claims to have taken his ten year old stepdaughter to work with him for the overnight shift -- on a school night.  And there is the matter of picking up his ten and twelve year old stepdaughters from Maddux Elementary in West Memphis, placing him just east of the missing children's homes that afternoon. 

    A more detailed and conflicting alibi came from Barbara McAfferty.  Instead of saying she was on the phone with him talking about the missing children, she says she went to his house after six pm and stayed until about sunset.  Recently, James Martin completely dismissed this alibi, calling it absurd. Not only did it not happen that night, he says the incident never happened.

    Martin's alibi, as related above, is that he was with his wife. The West Memphis Police included only a brief note regarding this.  "I talked to Darlene Kinard Martin in front of the the [sic] Detective Division. She stated that Kenny was with her on Wednesday evening the 5th of May until he went to work late that night. -- Det. B Ridge."  There are no notes of any further interview with Darlene Martin.



                        Barbara McCafferty, 1993

Sudbury: What kind of person are we dealing with then?
Martin: There are guys out there.  There are knicker, who are just child knickerphiliac, child molester knickerphiliacs, who just, you know, they have a strong belief of not enough sex.  I've met some of those guys.  I mean we are talking, these are guys who just, they like to kill their victims while performing sex with them.  [Martin interview, May 19, 1993]