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

[somequestions]

I think the bullet found on J.B. Beasley's leg according to her sister is significant in that J.B. Beasley might have still been alive after she was shot. With the trunk probably being a very hot and humid place to sleep she may have been tossing from side to side until she lost enough blood and passed away.

If a killer uses a gun, maybe they are interested in guns. I am guessing police checked out local gun shops in the course of their investigation. There is one right in town called Cliff's gun shop that supposedly has been open over 30 years. The owner died last year, but from what I read it was a hot spot for people interested in guns to go in and talk to the owner who seemed to be very knowledgeable about guns and history.

Even if the killer put the bullet on J.B. Beasley's pants leg for whatever reason, how he managed to then drive without it falling off is beyond physics to me. I know the conclusion might be that he put the bullet on her pants leg after he stopped the car, but that makes no sense. According to J.B.'s sister she was found in a sleeping position, something I think the killer might have noticed if he opened the trunk before he left the car. Or he would have noticed the bullet and taken it before leaving.

So that aspect of the case is hard to understand.

 

[CoolJ]

I think we are all on the same page with Johnny. If I remember correctly, he caught a couple of assault charges from striking his wife and his sister. I wonder if anyone in LE has spoken with Mrs. Barrentine since his death. She might be willing to say more with him dead than she was when he was alive. I still think it was someone with a personal motive, who was also connected to Johnny in some way.

I am beginning to think that Johnny B was nothing more than an intended patsy. They tried to pin it on him(and came very close to succeeding) until that DNA foiled their plans.

 

[TedMac]

I think we are all on the same page with Johnny. If I remember correctly, he caught a couple of assault charges from striking his wife and his sister. I wonder if anyone in LE has spoken with Mrs. Barrentine since his death. She might be willing to say more with him dead than she was when he was alive. I still think it was someone with a personal motive, who was also connected to Johnny in some way.

BBM

Agreed. I like that idea. I was really hoping they (LE) would have gone back to J. Barrentine after the grand jury failed to indict him and explained to him that they were not trying to accuse him of the crime, but said something to him like, "what did you actually see or hear that night". I am not sure if they ever did that or not. After what he was put through, I doubt he would have told them anything. Can't say that I would blame him if he wouldn't cooperate.

 

[TedMac]

I am beginning to think that Johnny B was nothing more than an intended patsy. They tried to pin it on him(and came very close to succeeding) until that DNA foiled their plans.

He may have been an intended patsy, but he brought it on himself. He wanted the reward money and went to LE with a story that took them all of 30 seconds to see through. He wasn't even on their radar until he stumbled in with his fabricated story. At that point, they became suspicious of him and when he could correctly identify the girl's clothing and other things about the crime (according to the testimony of the ABI Investigator) they knew he had some knowledge of the what happened.

I don't believe he was the killer or that he was an accessory in any way. I think he simply saw the girls that night and it is a good chance he saw them near where they were abducted.

To me, the sad part is he could have helped the investigation if had just told LE what he actually saw. Instead, he sent them on a wild goose chase that side tracked the investigation for at least 30 days.

 

[CoolJ]

I think we are all on the same page with Johnny. If I remember correctly, he caught a couple of assault charges from striking his wife and his sister. I wonder if anyone in LE has spoken with Mrs. Barrentine since his death. She might be willing to say more with him dead than she was when he was alive. I still think it was someone with a personal motive, who was also connected to Johnny in some way.

Yeah Johnny might have known something for sure. But there is no way LE thought that he was responsible for the murders IMO.

Ive said this before.... I would love to see a videotape of that 4hr interrogation.

 

[CoolJ]

He may have been an intended patsy, but he brought it on himself. He wanted the reward money and went to LE with a story that took them all of 30 seconds to see through. He wasn't even on their radar until he stumbled in with his fabricated story. At that point, they became suspicious of him and when he could correctly identify the girl's clothing and other things about the crime (according to the testimony of the ABI Investigator) they knew he had some knowledge of the what happened.

I don't believe he was the killer or that he was an accessory in any way. I think he simply saw the girls that night and it is a good chance he saw them near where they were abducted.

To me, the sad part is he could have helped the investigation if had just told LE what he actually saw. Instead, he sent them on a wild goose chase that side tracked the investigation for at least 30 days.

Good thoughts TedMac. But I will need to see or at least know what was said in that interrogation before I know what he was trying to tell them. Maybe he was trying to help and it was them who sent him on a wild goose chase?

ETA- but I do think he saw something that night. Where did that comment about him "acting strange and staring at his tv all night" come from? Was that in an old newspaper article?

 

[TedMac]

Yeah Johnny might have known something for sure. But there is no way LE thought that he was responsible for the murders IMO.

Ive said this before.... I would love to see a videotape of that 4hr interrogation.

The Police Chief said they charged him acting on instructions from the assistant prosecuting attorney who was present for the interviews. Probably, the fact that he knew what the girls were wearing and whatever else he knew about the crime is what aroused their suspicions. That and he came to them with a fabricated story.

What irratates me about Barrentine is he threw the investigation off by the lies he told.

 

[TedMac]

Good thoughts TedMac. But I will need to see or at least know what was said in that interrogation before I know what he was trying to tell them. Maybe he was trying to help and it was them who sent him on a wild goose chase?

ETA- but I do think he saw something that night. Where did that comment about him "acting strange and staring at his tv all night" come from? Was that in an old newspaper article?

Barrentine was motivated by money. That was his goal. He first told the story of a man covered in tatoos had killed them and run into his vehicle. Then he told a couple of other stories including one that his neighbor or former neighbor was the killer. He also talked of how one of the girls was combative and fought back and at least one of the girls tried to run away but was re-captured. I have always believed that there is a little bit of truth in most lies and we know who one of his former neighbors is!

 

[CoolJ]

Barrentine was motivated by money. That was his goal. He first told the story of a man covered in tatoos had killed them and run into his vehicle. Then he told a couple of other stories including one that his neighbor or former neighbor was the killer. He also talked of how one of the girls was combative and fought back and at least one of the girls tried to run away but was re-captured. I have always believed that there is a little bit of truth in most lies and we know who one of his former neighbors is!

I don't disagree with you, i just don't 100% believe that what we heard he said is actual fact. Not in this case.

 

[somequestions]

The real question about whether Barrentine was involved should be based on the evidence. If he was involved I would think police would have a general idea of where the assault took place. Plus, I cannot remember his story completely, but I thought he said he heard two gunshots and then drove this mystery man somewhere. That would suggest Barrentine was very close to the actual crime scene since police have determined the car was moved after the girls were shot.

So when Barrentine came home that night, did he have mud and briars on his pants and clothing? If Barrentine was home by 1 am and the trunk was not opened until 2 pm the following day, would the pants on the girls be dry by then? These are all interesting questions to ask. I think his story, based on the evidence, would either exclude or include him as a suspect in the case. Like so much, we do not know the exact story of what he said happened that night.

 

[somequestions]

The case of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett is interesting to me because of the mapping aspect. If they were not lost, that means that they really only could have been kidnapped from either AL 27, US 231, or AL 123 if they took that route through town. This is if you believe they were headed home to Dothan, AL like Tracie told her mother on the phone.

When I drove the route on Google maps it took exactly 6 stoplights with the 6th being the turn to go south on US 231. Her sister had said that Ms. Merritt who gave them directions told them to go one stoplight too many, but this could be because in 1999 one of these intersections today might not have had a stoplight in 1999. There really are only 3 mapping ideas and 1 car idea I can come up with as to how they got lost. Mapping is my specialty so I like to think I have some expertise in this regard.

1. They traveled the 6 stoplights in 1999 and then turned around when they went too far. At the intersection their car makes a left and they accidentally head north. J.B. Beasley probably would have realized rather quickly they were going the wrong way and turned the car around to go south on 231. In the process of turning around their car stops and they are kidnapped.

2. They for whatever reason decide to go back the way they came when they entered Ozark, but miss the turn over the railroad tracks to follow AL 27. This puts them on Bingham and they follow it to a dead end. They are kidnapped somewhere in the south side of Bingham Ave.

3. They decide to take the 123 route to leave town. Instead of turning at 123, they turn early at the street before and end up in a circle like pattern driving around Ozark getting back to what they think is 123 and repeating over again. This causes them to stop to try to figure out where they went wrong or ask someone for directions. I think it is natural that we follow light at night so the fact that the car was found on Herring which everyone says is a dark street does not, in my opinion, mean they were kidnapped on Herring.

4. J.B. Beasley accidentally pops the trunk on the Mazda and they stop at someone's residence to put the trunk lid down. What is interesting about this Mazda 929 is that I read the trunk space is kind of small for a bigger car. The trunk release is very unique. It is a power button located on the drivers side door. While I know that does not excuse leaving the bodies of two people in the trunk until 2 pm., if what I read pertains to their car, it starts to make sense why no one knew how to pop the trunk.

The one commonality with all these ideas is that in order for them to be kidnapped the car has to stop moving. So basically all my theories suggest the killer lives north of town, south of town, or in the middle of town which does not really help narrow down where their car potentially stopped that night. All you can do is check out each theory and hope that one of them makes sense.

Where and why J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett stopped on the night of July 31, 1999 is probably what will end up solving this case.

 

[killarney rose]

I totally agree with your last paragraph.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

The killer lived within a close proximity to where the car was found.


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[iron_iking]

Long time lurker. I know that law enforcement has said that their driver licenses were not out, but I'm not buying it. They put that info out too long ago to come back and change it now and say it was all a mistake.

I've talked the facts over at work with people who are interested in true crime cases like me, and they agree with me that this case screams of a traffic stop by law enforcement, or someone purporting to be law enforcement.

 

[somequestions]

Long time lurker. I know that law enforcement has said that their driver licenses were not out, but I'm not buying it. They put that info out too long ago to come back and change it now and say it was all a mistake.

I've talked the facts over at work with people who are interested in true crime cases like me, and they agree with me that this case screams of a traffic stop by law enforcement, or someone purporting to be law enforcement.

I agree that a police officer is a very good suspect. The problem with a police officer or a military person has to do with other aspects of the case. For example, we know the girls had mud and briars on them. So would a police officer march them out into an area with mud and briars to get them on their clothing too. It could have been a plain clothed officer who did not care about his clothing or shoes. I just have the impression that police checked out their own and military people nearby.

Then you have the roads. If they are not lost and go straight home they really can only be kidnapped on AL 27, US 231, or AL 123. So would a police officer who knows what happens with abandoned vehicles leave his car parked on the side of a main road while he commits a double murder? OR
you would have to believe that they were lost and in the process of being lost the police officer follows them and stops them. But what did he use to stop them? Large flashing lights that neighbors might see and recognize at night? And if a person is lurking waiting for victims why would they drive the victims car? Why would they not be prepared to take them in their own vehicle?

So while I agree a police officer or military person is definitely a good suspect, because of the other parts of the case, it makes me think there is more to it. I do think whoever it was has a fascination with guns. It would not surprise me at all if they have attended gun shows, stopped by that gun shop in town(Cliff's), or showed guns off to others.

But just like a police officer or military person would probably know about guns does not make it any more likely that it is a police officer or military than a resident who lives in town. So who killed J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett is as much a guess today as it has been for many years.

 

[CoolJ]

Long time lurker. I know that law enforcement has said that their driver licenses were not out, but I'm not buying it. They put that info out too long ago to come back and change it now and say it was all a mistake.

I've talked the facts over at work with people who are interested in true crime cases like me, and they agree with me that this case screams of a traffic stop by law enforcement, or someone purporting to be law enforcement.

....or possibly someone trying to make it look like LE.

But, whether LE was involved or not, I do not think it was a traffic stop of any kind.

 

[Bulldog23]

....or possibly someone trying to make it look like LE.

But, whether LE was involved or not, I do not think it was a traffic stop of any kind.

One possible theory is that the killer(s) wasn't a LE officer, but he was the close friend or relative of an officer. I think it is possible the killer knew JB, became enraged, and shot her during an argument. Then he has a huge problem. One dead girl, and the other knows who he is. He needs help, so he calls a friend who is LE, and he and that friend (the officer) realize that the only way out is of this is to murder Tracie, cover up and intimidate. Now, I also believe that most LE officers are good guys, but in this case, I am not ruling out that a LE officer, who was loyal to the killer(s), was involved. Just an idea. But I've heard that one of the people that might have been involved was also connected to some of the LE officers from the Henry County Report article. It is also possible the killer had LE training but was not a LE officer at the time.

 

[somequestions]

So what type of person killed J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett?

It is an interesting question. I think coming up with a profile of the killer has to be largely based on whether or not you think they were targeted that night or just happened to run into their killer randomly by chance. So I think you have to create two profiles:

1. If they were targeted- If targeted, it is unique that the killer chose two victims. It is not unheard of though as this could be a power trip type of individual. Assault the one while the other is forced to watch. The one does was she is told thinking she is helping her friend. There is a 48 hours episode called On the River's Edge about a woman and a man who were out walking and were kidnapped by some guy who happened to be randomly driving around and simply saw them. He shot both of them in the cheek or lower jaw area and put their bodies in the river thinking they were dead. Both of them survived. This is one of the main reasons I wonder whether the gunshot wound that J.B. Beasley had would have killed her right away or whether she was still alive for a while in the trunk?

2. If it was by chance- This is what I tend to think because the crime happened at night and it is my opinion. Even if it was a police officer, most tend to test their ability beforehand. So if a police officer is a suspect, one thing you might expect is that other woman would come forward saying they had been stopped previously and felt uncomfortable. The crime has the feel of a young person who just wants to get away from it and hope because he does not know the victims that no one will ever connect him to the crime. After all, if both girls had lived, what would have connected him to the crime other than their eyewitness statement(and possible DNA). So it has the feel to me of someone who felt they knew either the kidnapper vehicle or the property of where the crime took place and could easily lead police back there.

Probably the best thing to do would be to look at old high school yearbooks for Ozark and see whether anyone looks like they are militaristic or camouflage oriented in terms of clothing. The only evidence is that the killer does not care about their clothes or shoes and likes to keep a gun close by. I know that is a very loose solution and does not prove anything, but people tend to act or do what they are.The killer might be able to hide the future but not the past. And I always try to remember too that they might have a computer.

This is what I would have done, but whether or not I would have come any closer to finding the killer is anyone's guess.

 

[lciaccia]

I'm really not sure I agree at all that the key to this is figuring out the girls' plans, and why they were where they were.

There's so much speculation trying to understand their route, who they were planning to meet, and whether they were lost. I would posit there's a very good chance that they were "just driving." I'm a few years older than they were, but it was incredibly common as a teenager to just get out and drive. The key was to get out of the house. Where you ended up, if you ended up anywhere at all, was secondary. In the days before social media put you in constant contact with all your friends, just being in the car talking was an activity of its own.

And even "plans" weren't plans the way you think of them today. Often the plan for the night was nothing more than a whiff of a rumor.

I heard So and So was having a party.
Was that tonight or tomorrow night.
Not sure, thought it was tonight.
He lives out near Smith Elementary, right?
No, I think that's Some Other Guy. I think So and So is over by The Mill.
Ok, we'll try that first...do you know where he lives?
I was there once, I'm pretty sure...I might recognize it.
Ok, we'll drive there and see if we see cars.

I mean, that was our evening a LOT of nights. Many times you never found it, and didn't really care. Often you decided on the way to do something else, or that you didn't feel like going. It was such a different world when there wasn't any way to just reach out and find out what and where and when. And gas was cheap.

The point is...obviously knowing their exact route would be helpful in finding out where they might have been picked up. However, this assumption that there was logic around their travels, or they wouldn't have gone out of the way for no good reason...I don't buy it. They were just kids, out in a car, killing time and enjoying each others' company. The alternative being stuck at home.

That's not to say that people shouldn't try to nail down every move. But I just think that there's a common assumption that if we could just figure out who they were going out to see or what they drove out there to do, we'd have the killer. I think it's highly likely that isn't the case.

If I had to take a guess, I would now speculate they were killed by a predator and it was a total crime of opportunity. I think they were seen out and around on pretty deserted roads, and someone pulled them over imitating a cop. I'm not sure what the killer might have had in mind, but it might have gotten out of control. There are many people with cop fetishes that get caught over and over pulling women over.

I think it's possible that this was their first crime of this nature...this feels like something to me that just didn't go according to plan. It doesn't see like a well executed crime. I think it's possible that he imitated a cop, pulled them over, with Penthouse letter fantasies about what they might be willing to do to avoid a ticket. It didn't go the way he expected, maybe there was panic, and things escalated.

I would look at everyone who's been arrested for imitating a cop in all the years since and try to find if there are any with ties back to the area. I think there's a chance it's someone not settled in the area. That's a pretty deserted place for to be just "passing through", but there are any number of reasons why someone could have been in the area and crossed paths with them.

 

[CoolJ]

I'm really not sure I agree at all that the key to this is figuring out the girls' plans, and why they were where they were.

There's so much speculation trying to understand their route, who they were planning to meet, and whether they were lost. I would posit there's a very good chance that they were "just driving." I'm a few years older than they were, but it was incredibly common as a teenager to just get out and drive. The key was to get out of the house. Where you ended up, if you ended up anywhere at all, was secondary. In the days before social media put you in constant contact with all your friends, just being in the car talking was an activity of its own.

And even "plans" weren't plans the way you think of them today. Often the plan for the night was nothing more than a whiff of a rumor.

I heard So and So was having a party.
Was that tonight or tomorrow night.
Not sure, thought it was tonight.
He lives out near Smith Elementary, right?
No, I think that's Some Other Guy. I think So and So is over by The Mill.
Ok, we'll try that first...do you know where he lives?
I was there once, I'm pretty sure...I might recognize it.
Ok, we'll drive there and see if we see cars.

I mean, that was our evening a LOT of nights. Many times you never found it, and didn't really care. Often you decided on the way to do something else, or that you didn't feel like going. It was such a different world when there wasn't any way to just reach out and find out what and where and when. And gas was cheap.

The point is...obviously knowing their exact route would be helpful in finding out where they might have been picked up. However, this assumption that there was logic around their travels, or they wouldn't have gone out of the way for no good reason...I don't buy it. They were just kids, out in a car, killing time and enjoying each others' company. The alternative being stuck at home.

That's not to say that people shouldn't try to nail down every move. But I just think that there's a common assumption that if we could just figure out who they were going out to see or what they drove out there to do, we'd have the killer. I think it's highly likely that isn't the case.

If I had to take a guess, I would now speculate they were killed by a predator and it was a total crime of opportunity. I think they were seen out and around on pretty deserted roads, and someone pulled them over imitating a cop. I'm not sure what the killer might have had in mind, but it might have gotten out of control. There are many people with cop fetishes that get caught over and over pulling women over.

I think it's possible that this was their first crime of this nature...this feels like something to me that just didn't go according to plan. It doesn't see like a well executed crime. I think it's possible that he imitated a cop, pulled them over, with Penthouse letter fantasies about what they might be willing to do to avoid a ticket. It didn't go the way he expected, maybe there was panic, and things escalated.

I would look at everyone who's been arrested for imitating a cop in all the years since and try to find if there are any with ties back to the area. I think there's a chance it's someone not settled in the area. That's a pretty deserted place for to be just "passing through", but there are any number of reasons why someone could have been in the area and crossed paths with them.

I agree with most of the first few paragraphs of your post.
I think the reason I became interested in this case is that I would have been in the same age range as the girls back in the summer of '99. In those days you didn't really have "plans" on a Saturday night. Every night was an adventure. Never knew where you might end up. I think it is likely it was the same for them on that night and then some drama from one of their lives got out of hand somehow and things went way wrong.