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

[killarney rose]

Has anyone seen Dime Detective around or heard from him? He is so insightful about this case, and I need to talk to him.

 

[easongt]

Things that have occurred to me from reading this and being a member of the facebook page.

1) The assumption is that they removed their clothes, something was done to them (we don't know what), then they got dressed again. At some point they got dirty from the knees down presumably walking through a wet area. The original lead investigator stated on the FB page when people alluded to there not being a sexual motive that there were more things that happened to the girls (paraphrasing) that no one else knows. Anyways, he had to take them to a building of some kind in order for them to remove their clothes and their clothes nor their person to get dirty.

2) Everybody jokes about that JB had a ferocious appetite and was always eating. She had dinner the night she was murdered with a friend at Hooters. Was there food in the car? Drinks? She had dinner at 5-6ish and they began this ride at 10 ish. That's a long for her to go without anything. Could they have made other stops that no one knows about?

3) Many of the shows I've seen with cases like this get a profile of the killer and many times they leave/skip town or join the military right afterwards. Is it possible to find out if any men of a 20's age joined the military in the months following that weren't planning on it beforehand. Does this make sense? Can you get enlistment records or the time period following?

I never knew that she had eaten at Hooters just a few hours prior. Who was this friend? I am not hinting that this person is a person of interest at all... I'm more concerned with the topics of their possible conversations and the mood of JB. Did she talk about the party? Did she mention a possible love interest or a plan to go somewhere else? Interesting

 

[TedMac]

I never knew that she had eaten at Hooters just a few hours prior. Who was this friend? I am not hinting that this person is a person of interest at all... I'm more concerned with the topics of their possible conversations and the mood of JB. Did she talk about the party? Did she mention a possible love interest or a plan to go somewhere else? Interesting

According to the Facebook Page, J.B. and a girlfriend had diner earlier that evening at Hooters. The friend wrote a post on the page and even recalled what JB. ordered to eat. She said that J.b. Was in good spirits, but nothing was mentioned about the conversations.

 

[liz b.]

This case is unusual because I don't know of many killings of girls and women where money wasn't taken, rape wasn't committed, and her car wasn't stolen.

Respectfully, I read back in this thread that JB had semen on her skin ? Not a rape, but a definite sexual act...jmo So,if the semen was from the murderer, I wonder why he didn't rape her ? jmo

 

[liz b.]

According to the Facebook Page, J.B. and a girlfriend had diner earlier that evening at Hooters. The friend wrote a post on the page and even recalled what JB. ordered to eat. She said that J.b. Was in good spirits, but nothing was mentioned about the conversations.

TY for posting this. I wonder if she met and spoke to anyone while she was at Hooters.Would she pssibly have mentioned her plans for later that night ? jmo

 

[easongt]

I have received many personal messages on here regarding certain theories pertaining to local suspects. In regard to the alleged suicide letter... I have not read any portion of any suicide letter associated with the case. I do treat that with a tremendous (and I mean TREMENDOUS amount of skepticism). In case you are asking why I would?

1. Who would have access to the suicide letter? Family & LE... right? Wouldn't they be part of the cover-up? Therefore why post it?

2. In today's social media world... there are literally hundreds if not thousands of ways to put something on the web and not have it "detected" by the Judge and his evil empire. This could have been done anonymously at coffee shop or hotel lobby with no way to tie it back to the original uploader. So why take it down?

With that said, it doesn't mean that I'm not interested in potential suspects who they may have known.

 

[easongt]

To answer your question regarding the relevancy of the DNA... of course it IS related to the case, even if the DNA does not belong to the killer. A totally innocent person of murder, but close enough to victim(s) to be intimate... would most likely have VITAL information as to what was REALLY going on that night. I have had a nagging suspicion that the girls were not JUST going to the party. I don't say this because I knew the victims... because I DID NOT know them. But I do KNOW teenagers. I was a teenager once and I have the task of being a father to two teenagers currently.

So in regards to the DNA...
Option 1: Either LE did a half *advertiser censored* investigation and didn't do much with the DNA evidence.
Option 2: LE got a match and "cleared" the person or is awaiting more evidence.
Option 3: The DNA evidence was handled properly, investigated thoroughly and no match found. This means suspect unknown.

Now before you bombard me with "wow... that's not really any revelation there Einstein", please understand my take on this. I believe LE has a lot and I mean A LOT of information they are holding back. Does this mean cover-up? No... it's typical for LE to refrain certain facts about cases. But I do think in this case, it has backfired. Enough time has passed that they should release almost everything. Sometimes LE doesn't release details to media in order to help with the investigation... and sometimes they don't release it to keep from causing pain to the families of the victims.

Regardless, the person that is the owner of the DNA has VITAL information to the case. The emotional state of mind of victims, their actual plans for the night of the crime, or potential drug use or the possibility of buying drugs. Not to mention the whole love triangle aspect.

Bottom line... family should hire independent review of DNA and seek facts.

 

[easongt]

I also want to add something that has crossed my mind several times.

IF someone knew one of them and wanted to harm/kill her... why not wait until they were alone? Why take the chance on trying to control two potentially hysterical teenage girls? I believe this was a crime of opportunity. I also believe the killer lives or lived in the immediate area of vehicle location (within 1 to 2 miles). I've always stated this. I have driven the area several times... and gotten turned around and depended on GPS to bail me out. It is pretty populated... even though that very small stretch of road is somewhat isolated. If I were not from that area... I would have never known about that small small isolated stretch of road in a heavily populated area.

I welcome feedback on this.

 

[CoolJ]

I still think the original suspect that was arrested is the key to solvin this case. He knows what happened or at least has a pretty good idea. IMO

 

[TedMac]

I also want to add something that has crossed my mind several times.

IF someone knew one of them and wanted to harm/kill her... why not wait until they were alone? Why take the chance on trying to control two potentially hysterical teenage girls? I believe this was a crime of opportunity. I also believe the killer lives or lived in the immediate area of vehicle location (within 1 to 2 miles). I've always stated this. I have driven the area several times... and gotten turned around and depended on GPS to bail me out. It is pretty populated... even though that very small stretch of road is somewhat isolated. If I were not from that area... I would have never known about that small small isolated stretch of road in a heavily populated area.

I welcome feedback on this.

BBM Easongt: I think you and I are thinking alike on this case and both of us have put a lot of time and thought into these two murders. I am in agreement with about everything you posted here.

The suicide & note? There are different stories floating around on this and I haven't been able to determine which one is correct. One involves the son of a high ranking police allegedly committing suicide and leaving a note mentioning J.B. & Tracie's murder. According to the rumor, the Police Officer removed the note and did not give it to investigators. I tend to not believe this. If it did happen, how would anyone other than the Police Officer know of the note if he confiscated it and didn't turn it in? The other story involved an accidental overdose of the Police Officer's son and no note was left.

DNA on J.B.'s Undergarments This seems to be the sticking point in the case. I've often wondered if maybe Tracie didn't have some on her as well and it was never made public. Perhaps the killer molested her as well as J.B. I think that this is a real possibility. Some have theorized that J.B. may have had some type of sex with another individual earlier in the day and the semen was leftover from then. I tend to discount this I believe her boyfriend was tested and it was found not to be his DNA. I can't help but feel that the DNA on J.B. was from the killer or at least someone with the killer. Some have also suggested that it may have come from sex she had before the day of her murder. I tend to doubt this, too. While it is true that DNA will stay on clothing for period of time, what are the odds (if this did happen) that she would have on the same bra and panties combination the day she was killed?

Planned crime or crime of opportunity? I can't see any way the killer could have planned this. Even if he had known where they were planning to go that night and followed them, he still would have had to tail them through the different roads while they were lost. I don't see it. I believe that they somehow at some place that night crossed paths with the killer and he was able to take control of them. They may have stopped and asked for additional directions from someone and were overpowered, stopped at a business to use the bathroom and the killer pulled up on their parked vehicle or maybe even decided not to go to the party and go somewhere else and met up with the killer there. I am less inclined to believe the latter as they probably didn't know a lot, if any people in the town they were in.

LE possibly bumbled the investigation? Haven't seen anything to suggest this. The local PD, the Alabama State Police and the FBI were all involved in the investigation. So, the "Dream Team" worked on the case together. If one Agency had made a mistake, the other would have been there to correct it.

Was the killer local or not? I don't think he was a local. If he was, he is really good at keeping secrets. I think the killer may have ties to the area where the bodies were found and may have been there visiting relatives, partying with friends or maybe even there on business. Seeing how the girls were captured and killed late at night, I think it was probably one of the 1st two. Maybe they saw a party and stopped to ask directions or again may have stopped at a store to ask directions or use the bathroom and the killer was in the parking lot. I don't have the link at hand, but I believe the strongest suspect was from Michigan and he was in Dothan that night and was not able to account for all of his time. He also made "strange" comments to others concerning the murders.

Motive? Thrill kill or sexual assault or a combination of the two.

Location of the actual murder? Good question and another key to solving the case

Why leave the vehicle where it was found? I think the killer had a vehicle somewhere near where J.B.'s car was found. He simply exited her vehicle and walked to his or walked to where he was staying that night.

Why leave the bodies in the trunk? Why not try to hide them? Another good question, but the killer was probably anxious to get away from the bodies. Who knows? He may have seen several vehicles on the road and was afraid of being seen with the car. Also, if this was a crime of opportunity as we have suggested, he didn't have time to plan how to dispose of the bodies. He may very well have not decided to kill them until he ordered them into the trunk or slightly before.

Where did the girls and the killer go that night? Yet, another good question. J.B.'s mother indicated that the car was filled with gasoline the day before the killings, yet the vehicle was almost empty when it was found with the bodies in the trunk.

Why was J.B.'s license found on the dash of her car? One more good question. Her friends have related that she always kept her license in her purse which was found in the car. Some have suggested that an actual LE Officer was involved in the killings, even though this theory has pretty much been dismissed by the investigators. Others have theorized that a LE impersonator may have been involved. It is possible and that would explain the location of the license and also how he was able to get control of the girls. Or perhaps the killer put it there to lead the investigators to believe that this was perpetrated by LE or an LE imposter. Then finally, maybe J.B. simply went out of her ordinary routine and put it there herself.

All of the above is just my opinion based on a lot of research. Certainly feel free to disagree.

 

[easongt]

BBM Easongt: I think you and I are thinking alike on this case and both of us have put a lot of time and thought into these two murders. I am in agreement with about everything you posted here.

The suicide & note? There are different stories floating around on this and I haven't been able to determine which one is correct. One involves the son of a high ranking police allegedly committing suicide and leaving a note mentioning J.B. & Tracie's murder. According to the rumor, the Police Officer removed the note and did not give it to investigators. I tend to not believe this. If it did happen, how would anyone other than the Police Officer know of the note if he confiscated it and didn't turn it in? The other story involved an accidental overdose of the Police Officer's son and no note was left.

DNA on J.B.'s Undergarments This seems to be the sticking point in the case. I've often wondered if maybe Tracie didn't have some on her as well and it was never made public. Perhaps the killer molested her as well as J.B. I think that this is a real possibility. Some have theorized that J.B. may have had some type of sex with another individual earlier in the day and the semen was leftover from then. I tend to discount this I believe her boyfriend was tested and it was found not to be his DNA. I can't help but feel that the DNA on J.B. was from the killer or at least someone with the killer. Some have also suggested that it may have come from sex she had before the day of her murder. I tend to doubt this, too. While it is true that DNA will stay on clothing for period of time, what are the odds (if this did happen) that she would have on the same bra and panties combination the day she was killed?

Planned crime or crime of opportunity? I can't see any way the killer could have planned this. Even if he had known where they were planning to go that night and followed them, he still would have had to tail them through the different roads while they were lost. I don't see it. I believe that they somehow at some place that night crossed paths with the killer and he was able to take control of them. They may have stopped and asked for additional directions from someone and were overpowered, stopped at a business to use the bathroom and the killer pulled up on their parked vehicle or maybe even decided not to go to the party and go somewhere else and met up with the killer there. I am less inclined to believe the latter as they probably didn't know a lot, if any people in the town they were in.

LE possibly bumbled the investigation? Haven't seen anything to suggest this. The local PD, the Alabama State Police and the FBI were all involved in the investigation. So, the "Dream Team" worked on the case together. If one Agency had made a mistake, the other would have been there to correct it.

Was the killer local or not? I don't think he was a local. If he was, he is really good at keeping secrets. I think the killer may have ties to the area where the bodies were found and may have been there visiting relatives, partying with friends or maybe even there on business. Seeing how the girls were captured and killed late at night, I think it was probably one of the 1st two. Maybe they saw a party and stopped to ask directions or again may have stopped at a store to ask directions or use the bathroom and the killer was in the parking lot. I don't have the link at hand, but I believe the strongest suspect was from Michigan and he was in Dothan that night and was not able to account for all of his time. He also made "strange" comments to others concerning the murders.

Motive? Thrill kill or sexual assault or a combination of the two.

Location of the actual murder? Good question and another key to solving the case

Why leave the vehicle where it was found? I think the killer had a vehicle somewhere near where J.B.'s car was found. He simply exited her vehicle and walked to his or walked to where he was staying that night.

Why leave the bodies in the trunk? Why not try to hide them? Another good question, but the killer was probably anxious to get away from the bodies. Who knows? He may have seen several vehicles on the road and was afraid of being seen with the car. Also, if this was a crime of opportunity as we have suggested, he didn't have time to plan how to dispose of the bodies. He may very well have not decided to kill them until he ordered them into the trunk or slightly before.

Where did the girls and the killer go that night? Yet, another good question. J.B.'s mother indicated that the car was filled with gasoline the day before the killings, yet the vehicle was almost empty when it was found with the bodies in the trunk.

Why was J.B.'s license found on the dash of her car? One more good question. Her friends have related that she always kept her license in her purse which was found in the car. Some have suggested that an actual LE Officer was involved in the killings, even though this theory has pretty much been dismissed by the investigators. Others have theorized that a LE impersonator may have been involved. It is possible and that would explain the location of the license and also how he was able to get control of the girls. Or perhaps the killer put it there to lead the investigators to believe that this was perpetrated by LE or an LE imposter. Then finally, maybe J.B. simply went out of her ordinary routine and put it there herself.

All of the above is just my opinion based on a lot of research. Certainly feel free to disagree.

Agree with most everything except I believe killer was local or knew the area almost as well as a local. The underwear combination could go either way. I know how women are about their favorite undergarments... so wearing the same combo is a possibility, especially for someone who may not have tons of undergarments.
The license on the dash always bothered me because it was obviously placed there for a reason. I believe it was placed there intentionally by J.B. as a "clue". I think they were told to get out of the car and she placed it there like a bread crumb. Just my opinion.

 

[December]

I have not been here in a while but I came back to clarifiy a couple of things. Trains do in fact run through Ozark. There is a train track that runs not far from where the car was found. Like someone said, they are freight trains, but, people do hitch rides on them.

As far as the suicide rumor, it's just that, a rumor. No one has ever produced a note, in fact most say it wasn't a suicide but an accidental overdose. But, that is not fully certain either. Rumors run rampant in this case.

Also, according to JB's friend, the one that threw the party they were going to, they never made it to the party.

Also, JB WAS shot in the cheek.

So, there are train tracks right behind the last place they were seen alive and near where there car was left?

This gives the murderer the chance to sneak into their car at the gas station. or he could've flagged them down, but I am a little doubtful they'd stop. But, in either case, it does away with him needing to stash his own car somewhere and just hope no one noticed or remembered it.

This also might explain why no robbery. He might have planned on robbing them after they were dead in order to allow him to keep up the pretense that if they obeyed him then he'd let them live. But, he forgot to do it immediately, then when he drove the car back to the drop off point, he heard the train whistle and realized he was out of time.

He might not have expected them to have all that much cash anyway. And maybe he didn't have a good way to sell their jewelry and did not want to get caught with it.

 

[December]

Agree with most everything except I believe killer was local or knew the area almost as well as a local. The underwear combination could go either way. I know how women are about their favorite undergarments... so wearing the same combo is a possibility, especially for someone who may not have tons of undergarments.
The license on the dash always bothered me because it was obviously placed there for a reason. I believe it was placed there intentionally by J.B. as a "clue". I think they were told to get out of the car and she placed it there like a bread crumb. Just my opinion.

Good idea about the license bread crumb. it's important for us to remember that when the girls were told to leave the car, they did not realize their abductor was going to have them walk back to it.

I could see her wearing the same bra more than one day in a row. I thought the bra was what transferred the DNA to her skin anyway.

 

[killarney rose]

So, there are train tracks right behind the last place they were seen alive and near where there car was left?

This gives the murderer the chance to sneak into their car at the gas station. or he could've flagged them down, but I am a little doubtful they'd stop. But, in either case, it does away with him needing to stash his own car somewhere and just hope no one noticed or remembered it.

This also might explain why no robbery. He might have planned on robbing them after they were dead in order to allow him to keep up the pretense that if they obeyed him then he'd let them live. But, he forgot to do it immediately, then when he drove the car back to the drop off point, he heard the train whistle and realized he was out of time.

He might not have expected them to have all that much cash anyway. And maybe he didn't have a good way to sell their jewelry and did not want to get caught with it.

I'm pretty positive the train was not used for a getaway. Trains only pass through these small towns here during the day, not at night.

 

[CoolJ]

I also think the license on the dash tells us something. Could it be that JB was leaving a bread crumb? Possibly. But I am more inclined to think that it was placed there purposely by the killer. Maybe as a way to cast suspicion on LE or even one LEO in particular? My thought process behind this is the fact that the license seemed to have been placed in a spot on the dash that if the vehicle was being operated down these roads (used quite a bit of gas apparently) that the license would have fallen off of the dash. Therefore it seems to me that the license was placed there after the car had been abandoned on Herring Rd. JMO

 

[easongt]

I also think the license on the dash tells us something. Could it be that JB was leaving a bread crumb? Possibly. But I am more inclined to think that it was placed there purposely by the killer. Maybe as a way to cast suspicion on LE or even one LEO in particular? My thought process behind this is the fact that the license seemed to have been placed in a spot on the dash that if the vehicle was being operated down these roads (used quite a bit of gas apparently) that the license would have fallen off of the dash. Therefore it seems to me that the license was placed there after the car had been abandoned on Herring Rd. JMO

I have pointed this coincidence out before... but oddly enough... the famous railroad killer, Ángel Maturino Reséndiz was caught literally just weeks before the Ozark murders. In the Wiki description of his crimes it reads "After each murder he would linger in the homes for a while, mainly to eat; he took sentimental things and laid out the victims' driver's licenses to learn a bit about the lives he had taken."

 

[December]

I'm pretty positive the train was not used for a getaway. Trains only pass through these small towns here during the day, not at night.

Where I am from we have trains at night, too. I wish there was some way to get them going only through the day... These are freight trains. So, I figured they ran all the time everywhere...

 

[killarney rose]

Train service has really slowed down here. I know in bigger cities they run at night, but here there is one train a day.till you get to Dothan. There might be more there.

 

[easongt]

Ok who knows something more about the person of interest who went to Michigan or lives in Michigan? What facts do we know Do we know his name? Are we allowed to use his name on forum? I know very little about this potential suspect. I know more about the original suspect who was arrested and confessed but then recanted and was not indicted by Grand Jury. Just trying to get something going...

 

[easongt]

Ok who knows something more about the person of interest who went to Michigan or lives in Michigan? What facts do we know Do we know his name? Are we allowed to use his name on forum? I know very little about this potential suspect. I know more about the original suspect who was arrested and confessed but then recanted and was not indicted by Grand Jury. Just trying to get something going...

Furthermore... if he is in Michigan, I wonder if any similar crimes remain unsolved in his area. It has been more than a dozen years.