Police didn't only look at those three. There were other suspects at first, including two other local teenagers who were questioned, one of whom used to drive an ice cream truck and was familiar with the kids around town.

But reminiscent of how the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by members of the "Manson Family" in August 1969 immediately led to rumors about Satanic cults and human sacrifice due to the shockingly grisly crime scenes, so in this case did the police—and subsequently the media—start propagating the theory that Steve, Michael and Chris fell prey to some gruesome ritual.

Then came stories of Echols' interest in the occult, that maybe he was some sort of devil worshiper. He had a book with a pentagram on it after all. (He also had a pregnant girlfriend, Domini Teer, who gave birth to their son when he was in jail.) When they first questioned him on May 7, he denied having anything to do with the murders and was given a polygraph test. Police would talk to him multiple times over the ensuing month, more than any other suspect.

"Satanic panic," one of the defense attorneys would call it at trial, describing the paranoid reaction to what amounted to something different from the town's churchgoing norm.

Misskelley came in for questioning and police talked to him for 12 hours without his parents in the room, despite him being a minor and having, as was later reported, an IQ of 72, which would lead to questions about his ability to fully process what was happening.