Dixie Chicks embroiled in murder mystery

Natalie Maines (pictured), the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, the all-girl country band who whipped up a furore in the US when they criticised George W Bush's decision to invade Iraq, is being sued for defamation.

The legal suit, which has been filed in Arkansas, follows remarks made by Maines, 34, at a public meeting last December at which the murders of three eight-year-old boys murdered in 1993 was discussed. The singer alleged that one of the boy's stepfathers, Terry Hobbs, was involved in the killings. She was speaking in defence of Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley, the so-called ‘West Memphis Three’ who were convicted of the crimes but thought by many to be innocent.

Maines's comments echoed a letter that appears on the Dixie Chicks' website in which she claims that new DNA testing of hair from the crime scene linked Hobbs to the killings and that his behavior after the murders indicated his guilt. The legal action, which names all three of the Dixie Chicks but focuses on Maines, states this is false, and makes a claim for compensatory and punitive damages.

There is certainly a lot of money in the Dixie Chicks' kitty. They have sold more than 36 million copies of their albums, including the Grammy-winning 2007 classic, Taking the Long Way. ·