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Post by catherine on Dec 8, 2018 23:31:51 GMT -5
Did you intend to comment on this post? |
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Post by madeline on Dec 10, 2018 3:18:11 GMT -5
Did you intend to comment on this post?
I tried to post this yesterday, but for some reason, couldn't log in. Joanna was able to post it, but I don't know how.
Instead of quoting what the other person says, just click on "reply" at the bottom of the post and type your comment. From your name, I assume you're from Alabama and so am I and I'd like to know what you have to say about this case.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Mar 16, 2019 14:59:57 GMT -5
Arrest in Case of 1999 Murders of Alabama Teenagers
After almost 20 years, police in Ozark, Alabama may finally have a lead in the murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett back in 1999. Police have made an arrest after a DNA match was discovered through a family DNA website. Though police have not officially confirmed this development, former police Chief Tony Spivey was observed leaving the Ozark Police Department with Chief Marlos Walker and Sheriff Wally Olson Friday night.
On July 31, 1999, Northview students Beasley and Hawlett were on their way to a party in Headland in celebration of JB’s birthday: They never reached their destination. According to Tracie’s mother, Carol Roberts, the girls couldn’t understand the directions they had been given and got lost, ending up in Ozark. Eventually, Tracie called her mother from the Big Little Store and Chevron station at 763 East Broad Street, which is now an Inland gas station. “She said, ‘Mom, we’re on our way home,’” Roberts told a reporter in a 2007 interview.
The following morning, Tracie’s mother called the police and around 9 a.m. on August 1, police found the black Mazda JB was driving on the side of Herring Avenue. There were no apparent signs of foul play until officers opened the trunk and discovered the bodies of the two teenagers, both shot in the head. “One of the girl’s purses was located in the front area of the car,” Spivey said. “It had money, credit cards, things of value in there, which would lead us to believe the motive was not robbery.” According to retired Deputy Chief Eddy Henderson, there was mud on the girls’ feet and their pants were wet below the knees, indicating they teens had not died on Herring Avenue.
Police arrested a man named Johnny William Barrentine who implicated himself by placing himself at the crime scene during an interview with Alabama Bureau of Investigation agents and Ozark police officers. Barrentine would later claim he lied in an attempt to get the $35,000 reward that was promised for information leading to an arrest. He was later cleared when semen found on Beasley’s clothing and skin did not match his DNA and there was no physical evidence indicating his presence.
For two decades, the case remained in the minds of investigators, family and friends and the community at large. “I’ve been in this business for 24 years and I’ve investigated thousands of cases,” Spivey told WDHN back in 2007. “And this, of course, is by far the most challenging case that I can say I’ve been associated with.”
Meanwhile, the girls’ parents and friends remember and miss them deeply. “There is not a day that goes by I don’t think about JB,” said Patti Simpson, a friend of the teen’s, in an interview with The Dothan Eagle. “She was full of energy and just a joy to be around. She was an amazing, well-mannered girl who had a passion for dance.
“I take comfort in the fact knowing the last thing my daughter had to say to me was ‘I love you’,” Roberts said in the same article. “So many times those words are not the last words heard.”
With this latest development, there is a chance those mourning the untimely deaths of these young women may find some degree of closure almost 20 years later.
Source: Nathaniel Rodriguea, WDHN, March 16, 2019.
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Post by madeline on Mar 16, 2019 15:10:43 GMT -5
Finally! I just hope this isn't another false lead.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Mar 16, 2019 23:20:50 GMT -5
Suspect in Murder of Alabama Teenagers Identified
A new crime-solving technique may have led to a break in one of the most high-profile unsolved murder cases in the Wiregrass in recent history. Coley McCraney (above), 45, of Dothan and formerly of Ozark, faces multiple counts of capital murder and one count of first degree rape in connection with the 1999 slaying of teens J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. McCraney was booked into the Dale County Jail at 6:34 on the evening of March 16.
McCraney, born October 18, 1973, is a 1990 graduate of Carroll High School, where he was president of the Library Club. He is reportedly a veteran, married and has children. His last known address is 100 Hedstrom Drive 5078 3rd Avenue, Dothan, Alabama. McCraney is the incorporator, registered agent and a director of Spirit of Truth Ministries, Inc.
Information gathered indicates DNA collected at the crime scene was uploaded to a database where anyone can share their data from consumer DNA testing companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com to search for relatives who have submitted their DNA. The DNA data revealed matches equivalent to relatives of the individual who left the crime scene DNA. Other information allowed law enforcement to close in on a single person. A dispatcher at the Ozark Police Department said Chief Marlos Walker would not be available for comment until Monday. A representative of the Dale County Sheriff’s Office told the Dothan Eagle any public comment would be the responsibility of the Ozark police department.
Beasley and Hawlett were both 17 in 1999 when they planned to attend a party in Headland on the night of July 31. The girls were found in the trunk of Beasley’s abandoned vehicle on Herring Avenue in Ozark on the morning of Aug. 1.
Since the killings, the case has been taken up by numerous cold case units and task forces. It has been featured on several unsolved crime television shows and the subject of countless rumors related to potential suspects.
Sources: Lance Griffin, The Dothan Eagle, March 16, 2019, and WTVY, March 16, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Mar 17, 2019 8:20:55 GMT -5
There's a housing project near where their car was found, probably where that son-of-a-bitch lived. Today, instead of being taught to follow their instincts, girls are brainwashed into trusting those who aren't trustworthy.
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Post by madeline on Mar 17, 2019 10:04:32 GMT -5
There's a housing project near where their car was found, probably where that son-of-a-bitch lived. Today, instead of being taught to follow their instincts, girls are brainwashed into trusting those who aren't trustworthy. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Mar 17, 2019 10:24:53 GMT -5
I’ve updated the above article as follows: Coley L. McCraney is the incorporator, registered agent and a director of Spirit of Truth Ministries, Inc.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Mar 21, 2019 15:08:46 GMT -5
Attorneys, Wife Proclaim Suspect’s InnocenceColey L. McCraney’s family members gathered with his attorneys at the Dale County courthouse Wednesday to proclaim McCraney’s innocence. His wife, Jeanette McCraney, described her husband as a family man who has been her rock of stability, a man who prayed with people who needed prayer and who had never been in trouble with the law. “Coley is a military veteran who loves his family, and he is a man of God,” she declared. “I know my husband is innocent. He could never do what he is being accused of.”
David Harrison, one of McCraney’s attorneys, told reporters his client “absolutely maintains his innocence” in the 1999 killings of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. He also said DNA evidence deserves to be questioned just like any other evidence in a case and asked that everyone keep an open mind while the legal process runs its course. “We need to remember Mr. McCraney is innocent until proven guilty. Everyone is basing their decision on the DNA. Everyone believes DNA stands for ‘do not ask.’ It doesn’t prove anything, other than they knew each other,” he added. The Geneva attorney then old The Dothan Eagle he did not believe McCraney could receive a fair trial in Dale County and planned to seek a change of venue.
Andrew Scarborough, Harrison’s co-counsel, asked for patience during the case, which he said could last for years. “Everyone believes DNA doesn’t lie. This is not 1-800-dial-a-conviction,” he reminded those present.
Mrs. McCraney admitted she and her husband had talked about the Beasley/Hawlett murders in the past, but only in relation to the rearing of their children. “We both talked about this case with our children,” she explained. “We wanted our children to be aware of the dangers. That’s what parents do. We have sympathy for these families and our hearts go out to these families – they really do. But, my husband did not do this.”
She said she has known Coley McCraney since 1998, but the two did not marry until a few years later. Her husband, she insisted, is known for being a father who pushes his children to succeed in life. “We have a 16-year-old child who will graduate early from high school and her father has pushed her to succeed,” she continued. “He has called while on the road to make sure she is on top of her homework and if she has any questions, he is there. That’s what kind of man Coley is. I can guarantee my husband is in that jail not only praying about what he is facing, but he is also praying for each of you. That’s what kind of man Coley is. He is a Godly man.” The McCraneys have six children and eight grandchildren.
Jeanette McCraney then announced she would be her husband’s advocate while he is in jail. “I will be my husband’s voice, because everyone that knows Coley knows he is innocent,” she said. “I will be praying. I will be praying that what God has put together, let no one tear it apart. If you pray for my family, pray for my whole family. Don’t pray for me and my children. Pray for my whole family.”
According to Mrs. McCraney, her husband had worked as a long-haul truck driver, but about two years ago, went to work for a company making local runs.
McCraney is charged with five counts of murder because crimes believed to have occurred during the course of a murder can trigger separate charges. The charges include two counts of capital murder, two counts of murder committed during the commission of a felony, and one count of murder committed during rape.
Harrison added that both he and Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams (pictured above) share the common goal of making sure McCraney receives a fair trial. “We haven’t seen the evidence yet,” Harrison told reporters. “Let us see the evidence, before everyone convicts this man. Because I am letting you know my client is an innocent man.”
Adams intends to seek the death penalty.
Sources: Michele W. Forehand, The Dothan Eagle, March 20, 2019, and Jay Reeves and Kim Chandler, The Associated Press, March 19, 2019.
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Post by catherine on Mar 21, 2019 22:35:58 GMT -5
That predatory SOB's defense is that he met the girls and had sex with JB Beasley, but they were alive when he left. So in addition to being murdered, they're now going to be accused of being sluts.
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Post by pat on Mar 22, 2019 8:10:23 GMT -5
That predatory SOB's defense is that he met the girls and had sex with JB Beasley, but they were alive when he left. So in addition to being murdered, they're now going to be accused of being sluts. |
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Post by madeline on Mar 22, 2019 10:03:31 GMT -5
Someone should have asked her if he mentioned having sex with one of the girls while they were talking about the case.
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Post by Kate on Mar 23, 2019 4:03:59 GMT -5
Someone should have asked her if he mentioned having sex with one of the girls while they were talking about the case. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Apr 6, 2019 17:08:36 GMT -5
Air Force Investigated Suspect for Aggravated Assault
On Wednesday, April 3, Coley L. McCraney, the man accused of capital murder in the 1999 deaths of two Dothan teenagers, appeared before Dale County District Judge Stanley Garner Jr. in a preliminary hearing. During the proceedings, it was revealed that McCraney was investigated for aggravated assault in 1994 while a member of the US Air Force, and possessed a weapon similar to the one believed to have been used in the killings of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett.
Lieutenant Michael Bryan of the Ozark Police Department testified that analysis of the evidence from the 1999 crime scene indicated the two girls had been shot in the head with a 9mm handgun. Bullets and a shell casing retrieved at the scene were analyzed by a forensic investigator who narrowed down the likely weapons to three types, one of which was a Hi-Point handgun.
Assistant District Attorney David Emery provided Air Force records indicating McCraney had been charged with aggravated assault upon a person under 16-years-of-age, unlawful detention and possession of a concealed weapon which was listed as a Hi-Point 9mm handgun. Emery did not reveal whether McCraney was convicted of the charges.
On cross examination, David Harrison, one of McCraney’s defense attorneys, challenged the report, asserting McCraney didn’t possess the gun, claiming the gun may have belonged to a civilian associate.
Bryan also testified that before the bodies of Beasley and Hawlett were found, a patrol officer spotted the abandoned vehicle on Herring Avenue, just minutes from the Dale County Courthouse. Roughly around the time the officer was calling out concerning the vehicle, the Dothan Police Department was issuing a missing-person report on the two girls. “Officers with the Ozark Police Department and Dothan Police Department located the girls inside the vehicle’s trunk,” Bryan added. The bodies were transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for autopsy and the vehicle was taken to the Dothan Police Department.
Bryan also testified two projectiles were removed from the vehicle, along with a 9mm casing. The evidence retrieved was also sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. According to Bryan, each girl suffered a gunshot wound to the head resulting in death and Beasley was raped. “The report also showed both victims had gunpowder residue on their hands and heads, showing the victims were shot at close range, within a few feet,” he continued.
Other items retrieved from the vehicle included clothing and biological evidence and DNA found on Beasley’s body matched that of McCraney. Bryan explained once the GEDMatch and Parabon Snapshot results were released to the Ozark Police, officers commenced investigating McCraney. “We were able to locate records from the Ozark Water and Alabama Power which confirmed McCraney, in 1999, lived less than a mile from the store where the girls were last seen and less than a mile from where the car was located,” he testified. When McCraney was interviewed, Bryan said the suspect provided a different address. “McCraney did live at that address, but at a later time,” he confirmed.
“This report does not say my client had a handgun in his possession,” Harrison countered on cross-examination. “The report does not say that at all. Now, also why is my client being charged with rape?” The defense attorney argued the reports released by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences did not state either victim was raped. “You just said my client raped J.B. Beasley,” Harrison charged. “The reports state semen was found on JB. That does not prove she was raped,” he insisted. According to Harrison, the forensic reports do not indicate any trauma to the vaginal area. “There is no proof my client raped anyone or killed these girls,” he claimed. “There is no evidence.”
Harrison continued, alleging his client was mistreated the night of his arrest. “Did my client ask for an attorney after he was detained?” Harrison asked. “My client stayed in an interrogation room for 27 hours.” According to Harrison, within a period of one hour, McCraney requested an attorney eight times.
McCraney is also represented by Andrew Scarborough, who called Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker as a witness to explain how he became familiar with Parabon Labs. Walker testified that after learning about the Golden State Killer case and the assistance from Parabon, he contacted the lab and requested information. “After reviewing the information, the DNA sample was sent by FedEx,” he said.
Following the hearing, McCraney was returned to the Dale County jail.
Source: Michele W. Forehand, The Dothan Eagle, April 3, 2019. |
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Post by pat on Apr 6, 2019 17:38:57 GMT -5
I'd like to know if the person under 16 years old that he assaulted was female.
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