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

[Mzkity62]

No Ohio River in Ozark. As I said, I lived there. This is a very small town. Very little crime, very little violence, not the kind of place this would happen. These kids went to a field party in another small town. If you take the back road, you will think that you are going to Dothan (where they are from) and actually end up in Ozark. Very easy to get turned around. It happened to me one time and I was grown. I almost fainted when I realized this was the same route these girls took. They were not bad girls, but they weren't saints either. They had gone to a drinking party in the field, but did they deserve to die? Heck no? My babies were little at this time and it still made my scared. This is a bunch of crap to know that someone did this and is getting away with it all these years later. I still think it has something to do with the police dept in Ozark.

 

[killarney rose]

Cute, but no trains run from this area. I am from there and this is all a cover up. The Chief of Police in Ozark, his son committed suicide not long after this and left a note regarding the murders.

Would you care to clarify this statement a bit?

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

I think the killer did force J.B. to give him oral sex. stripping her to her bra and panties would have made her feel humiliated, terrified and vulnerable. I'd say he's a sadist.

 

[TedMac]

I think the killer did force J.B. to give him oral sex. stripping her to her bra and panties would have made her feel humiliated, terrified and vulnerable. I'd say he's a sadist.

I have always thought he did that to J.B. and also may have done it to Tracie as well. Either he "finished" on J.B. or maybe LE didn't publicly announce if anything was found on Tracie. MOO

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

It was likely pitch black in the area he captured J.B. and Tracie so he must have had some kind of light in order to see what he was doing. Also it's hard to force someone to give you a *advertiser censored* if they can't see their hands for their face.

Also he stripped J.B. to her bra and panties... but why did he make her get dressed again?

He could have just left her corpse in bra and panties if he hated girls and wanted to humilate her in death... but he didn't.

 

[TedMac]

It was likely pitch black in the area he captured J.B. and Tracie so he must have had some kind of light in order to see what he was doing. Also it's hard to force someone to give you a *advertiser censored* if they can't see their hands for their face.

Also he stripped J.B. to her bra and panties... but why did he make her get dressed again?

He could have just left her corpse in bra and panties if he hated girls and wanted to humilate her in death... but he didn't.

BBM Possibly to disguise the sex act or acts he did to them and mislead LE? :moo:

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

The execution style killing points to someone other than your average Billy Bob, I think. It's too "professional" for an average yokel with a gun. That points to a policeman or soldier - or someone with knowledge of military styles and tactics. If it was a policeman, they would know about police forensics and not have left their DNA all over J.B. or left their palm print on the trunk.

 

[December]

No Ohio River in Ozark. As I said, I lived there. This is a very small town. Very little crime, very little violence, not the kind of place this would happen. These kids went to a field party in another small town. If you take the back road, you will think that you are going to Dothan (where they are from) and actually end up in Ozark. Very easy to get turned around. It happened to me one time and I was grown. I almost fainted when I realized this was the same route these girls took. They were not bad girls, but they weren't saints either. They had gone to a drinking party in the field, but did they deserve to die? Heck no? My babies were little at this time and it still made my scared. This is a bunch of crap to know that someone did this and is getting away with it all these years later. I still think it has something to do with the police dept in Ozark.

I know the Ohio River is not in Ozark. The person who said that is probably lying, but he now lives in Michigan. To get to Michigan from Alabama, you do cross the Ohio River.

ETA
Everywhere I've read says they never made it to the party, but OTOH... there were probably multiple parties taking places that night. Did you hear they went to another one?

 

[December]

The execution style killing points to someone other than your average Billy Bob, I think. It's too "professional" for an average yokel with a gun. That points to a policeman or soldier - or someone with knowledge of military styles and tactics. If it was a policeman, they would know about police forensics and not have left their DNA all over J.B. or left their palm print on the trunk.

A lot of people are into target shooting, so there are average people with higher than average skills. Also, there are people with military training who are no longer in the military.

 

[December]

Cute, but no trains run from this area. I am from there and this is all a cover up. The Chief of Police in Ozark, his son committed suicide not long after this and left a note regarding the murders.

Trains run THROUGH there, from what I understand. I know they are freight trains. People ride on freight trains whether they are supposed to or not.

Is there anywhere I can read about this police chief and his son? What were their names?

 

[December]

It was likely pitch black in the area he captured J.B. and Tracie so he must have had some kind of light in order to see what he was doing. Also it's hard to force someone to give you a *advertiser censored* if they can't see their hands for their face.

Also he stripped J.B. to her bra and panties... but why did he make her get dressed again?

He could have just left her corpse in bra and panties if he hated girls and wanted to humilate her in death... but he didn't.

I think the girls had to walk a ways before they got into the trunk. He gave them back their clothes (or just J.B. if she's the only undressed one, but I think it was both of them.. but jmo) so they would think it was all over and go quietly back to the car with him rather than running off in two opposite directions in the dark. Which might've meant one or both of them could get away. He probably acted like he would let them go right up until the second that he shot the first girl.

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

Just an observation - neither girl had standard names - "J.B." is initials, not a name and Tracy/Tracie was originally a person's surname.

 

[easongt]

I am tired of small town BS rumors clouding this case up. IF someone has PROOF of a suicide letter... then by God show it! If there is a cover up that can remotely be proven... then state specifics. BUT if you just heard from a guy who heard from a girl who knows someone who once heard someone left a suicide note claiming responsibility... please refrain. I'm okay with educated theories... but don't make a blanket statement then hide behind your rock. I welcome ANY theory or ideas that are well thought out. Sorry... I took a break from this case and only returned to the small town beauty salon rumor mill stuff. I would NEVER make a claim about a letter/confession unless I knew for a FACT it existed. Please... someone produce a photograph of it or tell me the ORIGINAL source of this information. If you can't... then please drop it. I'm sure This will bring a firestorm of criticism directed at me. It's just how I feel. I wonder how much of this stuff impeded the investigation over the immediate months or years following this terrible crime.

 

[HeatherD81]

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.

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

Someone said earlier that one died instantly but the other took some time to die. being shot in the temple would be instant, I think, so Tracie must have died instantly. I think J.B.'s shot in the cheek wasn't instantly fatal.

 

[CoolJ]

After all this time, one of the things that keeps bothering me about this case is the fact that they went to this party so late with such an early curfew. It has been reported several times that this party was a birthday party for JB (or was it Tracy, have to look that up). The point being, I question whether or not they were really planning on coming home in time for the curfew. I just don't see a 17 yr old girl driving out to the middle of nowhere to her own party for what, like 30 minutes?

 

[easongt]

I have never read anything that indicates they made it to the designated party or any other party. They may have had an alternate destination other than the parties... but I feel confident they never arrived at any significant field party. If they had, it would have come out by now. It's difficult enough for one or two people to keep a secret... but a whole party crowd... not gonna happen. The police need to release ALL the information in this case. If they were holding something back for some reason... it apparently hasn't worked.

 

[Natasha (Tash) Simp]

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.

 

[StitchingMama]

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?

 

[TedMac]

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?

BBM I've read a lot on this case from various sources and I couldn't agree with you more. I've said this before, but at the sake of being redundant...I too believe "sexual things" were done to them and the evidence was left on J.B.'s bra and panties. I also thought that the same thing or things was probably done to Tracie and (1) the DNA wasn't left on her or (2) DNA was left on Tracie and LE did not make it public. I also agree that a lot of people have read too much into the fact that they weren't raped in the traditional sense and said this was not a sexual attack.

I've really thought long and hard about this and case and can't help but think that this was a "thrill-kill" with a sex act as part of the final drama. Random and stranger killings are the most difficult for LE as the motive and perp. are very hard to pinpoint.

I've wondered if they didn't make a stop somewhere along their route to maybe use the bathroom or stop and ask for additional directions and that is how the killer managed to get control of them.

Additionally, you have to wonder where the killer forced them to go that night? J.B.s mother said that she had filled the car with gas the day before their deaths and it was almost empty when it was discovered with the bodies in it.

I feel that the girls were marched through a creek that night on their way to being abused or they possibly tried to escape and ran through a creek in their efforts. We don't know where the car was parked when they were killed. There has been a lot of speculation about where that might have been, but no one really knows for sure except the killer.

I'm very happy a Cold Case Investigator is looking into this slaying and I'm confident that it can still be solved.