AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #2

[somequestions]

I had read on here and on several other pages that LE or someone pretending to be LE could be a possibility.

I do not think it is a law enforcement officer. I also do not think it is a blue light killer pretending to be a police officer.

The field of ballistics has been around for a while and with the license being out in the car the way it was I think law enforcement probably checked on it being one of their own. I am guessing here but police departments would probably issue a certain type of firearm for their officers and have records for it. The reason I do not think it is a police officer is because of the method of murder: shooting. Would you use your own police issued firearm and leave bullets that could be traced back to you in the victim? There is the possibility the police officer carries another weapon and used that, but why would he carry two guns? Probably this is a crime of opportunity and for all the investigation shows I have seen, when a police officer is involved the method of murder usually involves something other than shooting even when they are carrying their gun.

The reason I do not think it is a blue light killer pretending to be a police officer is because of the method of kidnapping. If you had taken the time to fit your car with a blue light so that you can stop your victims, why would you not have a vehicle big enough equipped to take your victim with you? The crime happened at night and I think it would be difficult without actually stopping the car to see who is inside of it. Why would a kidnapper rely on his victims form of transportation if he is planning a kidnapping? Then in this case you still have the kidnapper having to drive the vehicle back to where it is left. He might be able to force J.B. and Tracie to drive to wherever, but once they are dead he has to drive the car back.

One of the most interesting questions about J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett's murder case is how much gas was left in the gas tank. The only explanation I can come up with is that the car was never turned off during the entire time, maybe even when the car was left on Herring and then the killer came back and turned if off later. None of that makes any sense, but either does using an entire tank of gas in such a short period of time. Maybe the car got stuck, and they went looking for help. Why would they keep the car running? Maybe that is another clever ruse to make people think the killer is from farther away. When you think about it makes sense. If the Haunting Evidence psychics are wrong and the killer did not see them at the convenience store, he would have no way of knowing that where he leaves the car is so close to where it was last seen.

There are certain aspects of the case you dismiss immediately. One is that they knew their killer only because police would get DNA samples to eliminate that possibility from people close to the victims. This is a case where common sense does not make a lot of sense and that is probably why it is so difficult to solve.

 

[TedMac]

I had read on here and on several other pages that LE or someone pretending to be LE could be a possibility. Is it possible that someone did see a police car near the car at some point? Or even saw a police car parked along the road without another car nearby? If I saw a car pulled over by LE, I assume they were likely speeding or a light out. Would someone even report seeing a police car with or without their lights on if they saw it? How many people are driving around in that particular area that time of night? Around here, there are often police cars parked along roads where most people speed. I'm not sure if you could see anyone inside the car at night if the interior lights are off, especially on a highway driving at higher speeds. Most people are probably looking at their speedometers instead of inside the car anyways.

I come from a town with a history of LE corruption and misconduct. It's hard to read rumors about LE being involved in a murder and not be tempted to believe it true. It does seem a bit odd that no foreign fingerprints or hairs were found inside the vehicle. The killer would have had to have touched the steering wheel, gear shifter, and door handles, both inside and out. He could have also touched the seat belt, radio, rear view mirror, window controls/cranks, and several places on the outside of the vehicle to shut the door. Did the killer wear gloves, did he wipe down the car, was it his hand print on the trunk or was that an accidental print left behind by LE officers checking out the abandoned car? It seems odd that a LE killer would have left the ID on the dash. Maybe he didn't see it, but I would have guessed he'd be far more thorough than most. When the car was first found, did any LE enter the car? At some point, they entered to open the trunk, but what about prior to that? I'm not sure what the laws are on abandoned vehicles. Can they legally search the interior of the car without a warrant? Did a parent ok them entering the vehicle? Since it belonged to someone reported missing, I'm assuming it instantly became part of a suspected crime scene, but I have no clue how that all works.

In response to your questions...Is it possible that someone saw a police car near that area that night? Yes, about anything is possible, but I don't recall any reports of that. Car wiped down? Killer wear gloves? Hand print on the trunk? I've never read anywhere that the car was wiped down or if the killer wore gloves. The hand print on the trunk was thought to be left by the killer. Also, going from memory here, but I want to say something like a grease spot was found in the back seat. The drivers license has been the subject of much debate. In addition to the scenarios you suggested, it could been a ploy to try to cast suspicion on LE. Another possibility could be the killer didn't know the girls names and rummaged through their purses after killing them just to see who they were. MOO.

Yes LE can search a vehicle left on the side of the road and they usually inventory a vehicle before towing it in. This is done to insure nothing is missing when the vehicle's owner picks it up. For example, the owner could say that "I had a $1,000.00 in cash under the front seat and now its gone." If inventoried properly, anything of value is noted on the inventory sheet. Also, if the vehicle is not damaged when the officer inventories it and is damaged when the owner picks it up, they will know someone possibly the wrecker driver damamged it after it was turned over to him.

 

[TedMac]

I had read on here and on several other pages that LE or someone pretending to be LE could be a possibility. ]

I do not think it is a law enforcement officer. I also do not think it is a blue light killer pretending to be a police officer.

The field of ballistics has been around for a while and with the license being out in the car the way it was I think law enforcement probably checked on it being one of their own. I am guessing here but police departments would probably issue a certain type of firearm for their officers and have records for it. The reason I do not think it is a police officer is because of the method of murder: shooting. Would you use your own police issued firearm and leave bullets that could be traced back to you in the victim? There is the possibility the police officer carries another weapon and used that, but why would he carry two guns? Probably this is a crime of opportunity and for all the investigation shows I have seen, when a police officer is involved the method of murder usually involves something other than shooting even when they are carrying their gun.

The reason I do not think it is a blue light killer pretending to be a police officer is because of the method of kidnapping. If you had taken the time to fit your car with a blue light so that you can stop your victims, why would you not have a vehicle big enough equipped to take your victim with you? The crime happened at night and I think it would be difficult without actually stopping the car to see who is inside of it. Why would a kidnapper rely on his victims form of transportation if he is planning a kidnapping? Then in this case you still have the kidnapper having to drive the vehicle back to where it is left. He might be able to force J.B. and Tracie to drive to wherever, but once they are dead he has to drive the car back.

One of the most interesting questions about J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett's murder case is how much gas was left in the gas tank. The only explanation I can come up with is that the car was never turned off during the entire time, maybe even when the car was left on Herring and then the killer came back and turned if off later. None of that makes any sense, but either does using an entire tank of gas in such a short period of time. Maybe the car got stuck, and they went looking for help. Why would they keep the car running? Maybe that is another clever ruse to make people think the killer is from farther away. When you think about it makes sense. If the Haunting Evidence psychics are wrong and the killer did not see them at the convenience store, he would have no way of knowing that where he leaves the car is so close to where it was last seen.

There are certain aspects of the case you dismiss immediately. One is that they knew their killer only because police would get DNA samples to eliminate that possibility from people close to the victims. This is a case where common sense does not make a lot of sense and that is probably why it is so difficult to solve.

I agree with what you wrote about it not being a police officer. For full disclosure, I am a former police officer. But, that is not my reason for thinking this. Chief Spivey stated in a press release that he had cleared all of his officers of any involvement in the case. Not sure how he did it, possibly polygraph? I'm sure other means were used as well.

I will add this...I have seen officers carry more than one gun. They do it in case someone was to get the drop on them and get their service gun. Most Departments prohibit this, but some officers do it anyway.

I believe that the killer was able to gain control of their car through some ruse or simply seeing them at a restaurant or maybe they stopped again to ask directions and he approached them at gunpoint. He probably forced them to drive to the place they were killed and he drove the car back to Herring Drive where he had his own vehicle parked nearby.

I wholeheartedly agree this case is a real head scratcher. Several LE agencies have been involved in the investigation including the FBI and no arrests yet.

There is a cold case investigator from the Alabama Attorney Generals' Office working on the case now. Hopefully, he can solve it.

 

[Hoosier952]

I know LE often do carry their main weapon and a back-up weapon. Usually one on a belt holster and another in an ankle holster or a shoulder holster. If there were agency issued, they would be traceable, but most probably have personal weapons at their disposal that wouldn't necessarily be traceable. There might not even be record of them owning a personal weapon.

A blue light killer would just need $10-20 and a cigarette lighter/12V plug in. The first responder type lights can be had cheap and plug right in. They usually have a magnetic bottom to hold them in place. One doesn't even need to exit the vehicle to put the light on top. Even some of the larger light bars can be plugged in without special wiring. Not that it means that someone was using a light, just that it would be easy to do.

Regarding the gas, according to what I found a 93 Mazda 929 gets 17-22 mpg and has an 18.5 gallon fuel capacity. Lets aim for the low end, because they never get the mileage they claim and they weren't on the highways the entire time. So assuming a full tank, they would have needed to drive about 314 miles. I'm going to guess they drove about 75 miles from the time she filled up the day before to the time they hit Ozark. That would have used a bit less than 1/4 tank. So they'd have about 14 gallons of gas left and it's 11:30 pm. According to reports, time of death was between 12:30 and 2 am. Let's say 2 am. In 2.5 hours, they could have possibly driven 150 miles, but still would have left 6 or 7 gallons of gas left. If the car idled 2 hours, they probably only would have burnt 1-2 gallons at the most. If they were only averaging about 15 mpg and were pretty much driving the entire night, they could get down to about 3.5 gallons left, but to get that many miles in, they would have been driving the highway and likely getting better than 15 mpg. I just can't imagine any way of burning through an entire tank of gas in 4 hours.

 

[paul1980]

Is it possible the killer was a mechanic and drained the petrol?

 

[killarney rose]

One of the original POI in this case was a mechanic. This was discussed quite a bit on the first thread when we were discussing the grease stain in the back seat of the car. That person is now deceased.

 

[TedMac]

One of the original POI in this case was a mechanic. This was discussed quite a bit on the first thread when we were discussing the grease stain in the back seat of the car. That person is now deceased.

He was actually arrested and charged with the killings only to be released later and the charges dropped. When interviewed by LE, he admitted to killing them. He later recanted his story and said LE coerced or tricked into confessing. Most people feel that he did not kill J.B. and Tracie, but probably saw something that evening and it involved the two victims as he was able to correctly the clothes they were wearing. Since he now deceased, we will probably never know his true involvement. I will add this...the DNA found on J.B. was tested and it was not his.

 

[paul1980]

There's seems to be a strong indication there were few plausible ways for that amount of petrol to be used up in such short a time. I think someone - maybe the killer, maybe his accomplice, drained the tank.

 

[morf13]

This is another one of those frustrating, but very interesting cases

 

[morf13]

I'm re-reading this entire thread. Just to catch up, in case I missed it, but were these girls raped at all, or robbed?

 

[morf13]

I'm re-reading this entire thread. Just to catch up, in case I missed it, but were these girls raped at all, or robbed?

Scratch that, I found out that there was a sexual element, though I am curious if it was full rape, etc

 

[somequestions]

I agree with what you wrote about it not being a police officer. For full disclosure, I am a former police officer. But, that is not my reason for thinking this. Chief Spivey stated in a press release that he had cleared all of his officers of any involvement in the case. Not sure how he did it, possibly polygraph? I'm sure other means were used as well.

I will add this...I have seen officers carry more than one gun. They do it in case someone was to get the drop on them and get their service gun. Most Departments prohibit this, but some officers do it anyway.

I believe that the killer was able to gain control of their car through some ruse or simply seeing them at a restaurant or maybe they stopped again to ask directions and he approached them at gunpoint. He probably forced them to drive to the place they were killed and he drove the car back to Herring Drive where he had his own vehicle parked nearby.

I wholeheartedly agree this case is a real head scratcher. Several LE agencies have been involved in the investigation including the FBI and no arrests yet.

There is a cold case investigator from the Alabama Attorney Generals' Office working on the case now. Hopefully, he can solve it.

I did not know police officers possibly carry two guns. There is always the possibility it is a police officer from somewhere else, but I really do not think so.

The only other thing that caught my eye about this case was how perfect the perpendicular parking was at night. Basing this off a picture I saw and only one example is difficult to make any determinations, but I thought the killer might be someone like a bus driver or other individual who is good at perpendicular parking. I am a stickler for details and would have measured the angle the car was pulled into the spot as well as how far from the front of the cars to the tree line. I would have also looked at the grass to see which angle the tires might have pulled into the spot.


Sometimes I wonder if this is how police officers think or if it is just me. So if I were profiling this case I would look for a killer who lives either due north or south of where the car was found. I would look for someone who has some sort of driving experience and possibility knows the roads, someone the girls might think would know the area. With the localized nature of the case, I would also look for someone who might have moved.

 

[morf13]

The fact her license was out, may indicate that they thought they were being pulled over by police. I am thinking EMT,Firefighter,or any other county type worker who may have a light of some sort in his car. The car was parked very close to where the lady that gave her directions last saw them,so either they did not get very far before their attacker(s) happened upon them, or the attacker(s)brought the car back to that scene later.

I think this Person has a history or background with attacks on Women, even if not previously murdering them. It's cold blooded, and ruthless. I also wonder if the semen found on her was done after the actual murders? The mud on the clothes & shoes sure does indicate they tried to escape or were ordered off the road etc.
I am curious why the killer(s) would make them go back to the car at all instead of shooting them while they were away from the car, or discarding the Bodies someplace else. Maybe he wanted them to be found?
Certainly a fascinating case.

 

[TedMac]

I'm re-reading this entire thread. Just to catch up, in case I missed it, but were these girls raped at all, or robbed?

According to LE, they were neither raped or robbed. Their purses were in the vehicle and each contained money. However, J.B. had semen on her bra and panties. This has been a point of much debate. Did it come from the killer? It has been submitted to the lab and no match has ever been found. I understand that several of her friends were tested, too and again no match. Also, each POI was tested including the one that was originally charged with the killings and it didn't match any of them either. Not sure what to make of it.

 

[CanManEh]

As iam watching this haunted evidence on you tube i dont put anything into the show other then it gives you a timeline and what happend kind of events and right away its prety obvious that when they stopped to make a phone call and say mom we couldnt find the party we about 20 miles out in ozarks and were heading home .someone asked them for a ride at that gas station /7/11 and down the road he pulled a gun on the too girls the car was found a short distance from the store where they called from so its the only logical thing is in someway shape or form they were ok untill they stopped at the store i dont know if he or they strong armed the too girls maybe in the car or did he/they ask for a ride im not sure how they were intercepted but i believe it happend at the store that they found trouble thats where it all originated from i think anyway.

 

[morf13]

According to LE, they were neither raped or robbed. Their purses were in the vehicle and each contained money. However, J.B. had semen on her bra and panties. This has been a point of much debate. Did it come from the killer? It has been submitted to the lab and no match has ever been found. I understand that several of her friends were tested, too and again no match. Also, each POI was tested including the one that was originally charged with the killings and it didn't match any of them either. Not sure what to make of it.

If the killer deposited the semen on the Victim after they were killed, this is more typical of what you see with certain serial killers,which puts this in a whole separate category if it's the case

 

[CanManEh]

soo 100 percent they have this guys cemon/DNA as of the night they were found iam surprised there has been no updates about this case with them having the evidence on the perp.I hope its being run alot through codis..Also does anyone know if the gas station they stopped at had surveilance...

 

[morf13]

There was surveillance and actually, a white truck of interest was seen ithe gas station lot around the same time they were there

 

[morf13]

You may find this interview with an investigator in the case helpful [video=youtube;FK-OJ7SGSb8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK-OJ7SGSb8[/video]

 

[CanManEh]

ya i just watched that thanks...there is alot of crime in the ozarks i had no idea but when u look it up its press conference after press conference...didnt know it was such a bad place..