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

[dancemom]

I've just always been bothered by the lack of a clear motive in this case: No robbery. IMO, no clear evidence of sexual motive (although I know some disagree). Two young girls with no known connection to any serious criminal element (wild rumors aside). So, I've just been trying to understand what might possibly motivate someone to do this, and the racial issues seem like a possibility, even if it's hard for most of us to understand.

I still believe that this is a solvable case and wish that a little more of the official investigation findings were shared with the public at this point.

I also just realized that I misspelled Tracie's name in my previous post. I am very sorry.

 

[TooCurious]

I'm not sure if this is significant, and I don't know if I can state it well. Feel free to comment to make my points more clear / less offensive / etc.

I am from the Wiregrass but not Ozark specifically, although I'm familiar with the area. This is the deep, deep South, and there is a long history of racial inequality. We have come a long way since Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, but racism still exists. It is most often subtle but there are pockets of subculture in which it is more blatant and even vicious. There is a commenter on some of the old threads on other sites (V) who has been mentioned here. He claims to have known JB well. He also has some pretty bizarre ideas about race as it relates to his religious beliefs (google "Christian identity" to learn more). This suggests to me that JB was at least acquainted with someone, possibly multiple people, who held ardent beliefs about white supremacy / racial purity. (I've never seen any indication that either she or Tracy believed anything like that.)

We also know that:
1) JB and Tracy had black friends. One of the people who talked with them on the night of the murder was an African-American young man called Bookie. They were seen talking with him in a friendly way in a public place in Headland.
2) JB's legal guardian was her dance instructor (P), who is well-known (and loved) in this area. She would not have tolerated any racist nonsense in her home or her studio. I am somewhat familiar with her work (see my screen name), and I saw a piece that she choreographed to Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech which moved me to tears. In promotional materials for another stage production with which she was affiliated, she stated, "As a mother of white sons and black sons, I feel that this is a story that needs to be told." (This may not be a exact quote, as it's from my memory.)
3) The last people known to have seen the girls alive were the ladies at the gas station. Didn't Jacqui say in her interview that they were African-American?

This may not be related to the murders at all. But if JB had friends / acquaintances affiliated with this "Christian identity" way of thought, they may have been highly upset by these things, particularly her spending time in P's home. Didn't V live near the area where the car was found? (Or was it that he had friends who lived near there?) At any rate, if they ran into or even stopped to visit someone in this group of acquaintances on the night of the murder, couldn't this have led to an argument?

This seems a bit far-fetched, I know, but I was really struck by some of the racially charged things that I read on some older sites, and I haven't been able to get it off my mind. Thoughts?

You are in South Alabama, everything had racial overtones. I think this stuff has been put out there for a false narrative to confuse people. The reason this doesn't entice me is because for 1 person to know what she did they would have had to of followed her. (Dothan to Haleburg, Haleburg to Ozark) The Headland police officer that saw them says no one was following them. I think "V" is involved and I think he benefits from confusing the motive.

I had never heard that "V" was friends with Butch. Is Butch the one that cleared him from involvement? Things are looking a little more clear from that angle if so. "V" had a friend that was on the investigative team, said friend has been the subject of rumors that he was involved as well. Something about showing up at a waffle house or something being all scratched up and a waitress attending to him. How did "V" know Butch?

 

[TooCurious]

You are correct. Also, "Butch's brother" came on the Facebook page threatening to sue everyone after the H R story was published.

Who cleared "V" from involvement? How close was Butch to the case?

 

[CoolJ]

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but are there not two different Butch's with ties to LE in the area?

 

[TedMac]

Who cleared "V" from involvement? How close was Butch to the case?

We don't know that "V"was cleared or even investigated. All of the info concerning him being interrogated came directly from him.

 

[dancemom]

You are in South Alabama, everything had racial overtones. I think this stuff has been put out there for a false narrative to confuse people. The reason this doesn't entice me is because for 1 person to know what she did they would have had to of followed her. (Dothan to Haleburg, Haleburg to Ozark) The Headland police officer that saw them says no one was following them. I think "V" is involved and I think he benefits from confusing the motive.

I had never heard that "V" was friends with Butch. Is Butch the one that cleared him from involvement? Things are looking a little more clear from that angle if so. "V" had a friend that was on the investigative team, said friend has been the subject of rumors that he was involved as well. Something about showing up at a waffle house or something being all scratched up and a waitress attending to him. How did "V" know Butch?

I didn't mean to imply that one person needed to know all of those things - I think that any one of them could set someone off if they already had bizarre ideas and wanted to see JB as part of their circle (i.e. the kind of girl who didn't believe in "mixing races").

Yes, there's plenty of racial overtones here in AL, but I'm well acquainted with that context, and this still sticks out to me.

I guess what I'm picturing is something like... if JB and V were friends, maybe as they left the gas station, she said, "Oh I know where we are, this is not far from V's house - let's stop and say hello." or "This is the road that goes to V's friend's house, the one that we partied with that one weekend..." or whatever. And then she runs into V or friends of his (he doesn't exist in a vacuum and likely hung out with people with similar, even if less intense, ideas). And from there, some disagreement arose over what she was doing while staying with P, or who the girls had talked with that night, etc.

I'm not completely convinced that it's related to the motive; just throwing the idea out there to see what you guys think.

 

[TooCurious]

We don't know that "V"was cleared or even investigated. All of the info concerning him being interrogated came directly from him.

That is correct, he has proclaimed everything and proven nothing. Did he ever mention which officer supposedly cleared him?

 

[TooCurious]

I didn't mean to imply that one person needed to know all of those things - I think that any one of them could set someone off if they already had bizarre ideas and wanted to see JB as part of their circle (i.e. the kind of girl who didn't believe in "mixing races").

Yes, there's plenty of racial overtones here in AL, but I'm well acquainted with that context, and this still sticks out to me.

I guess what I'm picturing is something like... if JB and V were friends, maybe as they left the gas station, she said, "Oh I know where we are, this is not far from V's house - let's stop and say hello." or "This is the road that goes to V's friend's house, the one that we partied with that one weekend..." or whatever. And then she runs into V or friends of his (he doesn't exist in a vacuum and likely hung out with people with similar, even if less intense, ideas). And from there, some disagreement arose over what she was doing while staying with P, or who the girls had talked with that night, etc.

I'm not completely convinced that it's related to the motive; just throwing the idea out there to see what you guys think.

Yes I could absolutely see a teenage girl saying let's just stop by so and so for a second. They were practically in the middle of town but my suspicion is as they were driving to 231 they accidentally turned on business 231. That would put them in the general area of Herring. I also think it puts them in the area of the suspected murder site. (Still waiting on forensics for..... how many years?)

 

[TooCurious]

If it was "V", I think he will make a death bed confession just to show us how much smarter he was than everyone else.

 

[CoolJ]

That is correct, he has proclaimed everything and proven nothing. Did he ever mention which officer supposedly cleared him?

He said FBI cleared him IIRC.

 

[somequestions]

There is a major point that gets lost in the murder case of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. They were not just lost. They were not even headed in the right direction if the party was in Halesburg, AL.

My own theory about the directions does not make a lot of sense since they would have used 431 to get to the gas station in Headland in the first place. Why they stopped there is kind of a mystery since they were on a main road they probably took from Dothan. Maybe they planned to get directions on the run as long as they thought they were in a general area they knew?

The only thing I can think of is that when they turned into the Headland gas station parking lot from 431 they made a left, but when they exited the parking lot they did so from a different entrance making another left. This left them disoriented making directional decisions because in their mind they were heading in one direction when the reality was they were heading in a different one.

I came up with this idea because I got lost the other day and pulled into a gas station on a corner. I left from a different entrance and ended up on a different street.

Of course none of this helps solve the murder, just that they seem to follow their sense of direction instead of signs which goes against my very first post on this case in which I suggested they followed signs literally.

 

[Bulldog23]

You are correct. One "Butch" was a Ozark Police Officer who was mentioned in the HCR articles. The other "Butch" was a narcotics investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office. A poster on wiregrass (not V himself) stated that V and his girlfriend were friends the the Butch that worked for DCSO. This Butch died around 2004 if memory serves me. One of V's theories was that his girlfriend and her daughter hired Butch to accost or kill JB and Tracie. I don't know whether or not to believe a LE officer was involved in any way. In one way, it could explain a lot, but remember V is a prolific talker who has been muddying the waters around this case a long time. Cool J, just wondering, what documents/ reports released by HCR lead you to believe that there is some truth in the article?

 

[TooCurious]

There is a major point that gets lost in the murder case of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. They were not just lost. They were not even headed in the right direction if the party was in Halesburg, AL.

My own theory about the directions does not make a lot of sense since they would have used 431 to get to the gas station in Headland in the first place. Why they stopped there is kind of a mystery since they were on a main road they probably took from Dothan. Maybe they planned to get directions on the run as long as they thought they were in a general area they knew?

The only thing I can think of is that when they turned into the Headland gas station parking lot from 431 they made a left, but when they exited the parking lot they did so from a different entrance making another left. This left them disoriented making directional decisions because in their mind they were heading in one direction when the reality was they were heading in a different one.

I came up with this idea because I got lost the other day and pulled into a gas station on a corner. I left from a different entrance and ended up on a different street.

Of course none of this helps solve the murder, just that they seem to follow their sense of direction instead of signs which goes against my very first post on this case in which I suggested they followed signs literally.

They gave up on the party in Haleburg, then they pulled into the store. There one of them called some boys in Midland City and they were supposed to meet them in Midland City area. Bookie gave them directions on how to short cut to Midland City without going back to Dothan. (This is how I understand it) If they missed their turnoff to Midland City that road would have led them to Ozark and put them where they stopped to make the phone call. They two boys have never been identified by LE but they were questioned. I don't think it is a mystery at all on how they ended up in Ozark.

 

[TooCurious]

What is interesting to me is that a 9th grade boy from Northview knew the back road to get from Headland to Midland City. Not that it isn't possible but I don't think I knew the ins and outs of towns until I was a licensed driver and made those trips myself. Why as a freshman was Bookie so knowledgeable about a back road leading from one town to the other when he didn't live in either town? This has bothered me for a while but I never brought it up because I don't think he is involved at all. Still that question lingers for me. I would say that knowledge is above the general knowledge of most seniors in high school. I would like to know how he knew that at such a young age. Granted, Headland kids would know that, Ozark/Midland City kids would know that but a Northview kid?

 

[somequestions]

They gave up on the party in Haleburg, then they pulled into the store. There one of them called some boys in Midland City and they were supposed to meet them in Midland City area. Bookie gave them directions on how to short cut to Midland City without going back to Dothan. (This is how I understand it) If they missed their turnoff to Midland City that road would have led them to Ozark and put them where they stopped to make the phone call. They two boys have never been identified by LE but they were questioned. I don't think it is a mystery at all on how they ended up in Ozark.

I think you are correct because if you look at the Haunting Evidence episode they have the party location a little off 231 which would be Midland City. I feel foolish because it really helps if you know where they were heading when they left the gas station in Headland, AL. I thought tv show was wrong. I still think though that if they followed their sense of direction they would have ended up on Bingham St. south of James in that area of Ozark, AL.

When I recently got lost I followed my sense of direction but once I saw the NO OUTLET sign I turned off or I would have followed an SUV to his driveway probably. But I am not J.B. Beasley so I do not know what she would have done.

 

[killarney rose]

I don't think it's u usual at all. As the mother of four who were raised in the country back in the 80s and 90s my kids knew all the backroads as well as the main roads. This was not an era of hand held video games..well they were starting....and dvd players in cars. A lot of kids paid attention to where they were going.

 

[TooCurious]

I don't think it's u usual at all. As the mother of four who were raised in the country back in the 80s and 90s my kids knew all the backroads as well as the main roads. This was not an era of hand held video games..well they were starting....and dvd players in cars. A lot of kids paid attention to where they were going.

And I don't disagree with "country" kids knowing that, but Bookie went to the Northview and depending what side of town he grew up on he would have stayed in city limits a lot. The city kids, (not that it was a big city) most generally stayed in the city. The kids from the county schools really are the ones that got out and about and learned the back roads and side roads. Although they may not could have navigated too well from south side to north side without using the circle and converse Bookie would have known more about the city than the country. Another thing that peeked my curiosity was why would two popular (soon to be seniors) ask a freshman for directions? Did they know he knew how to get there or was he the only familiar person at the station so they just asked him? Checkout the road again, why would Bookie know that road? Did he have business in Ozark a lot? Or Midland City? There is nothing on that road. It is just odd to me.

 

[killarney rose]

Sometimes simple is best and most logical. It's easy to start chasing rabbits. I know I have more than once on this case. Maybe Bookie had family or friends out that way. As far as the age difference, When I was a senior I had friends all the way down to the ninth grade. We were a diverse group. I can't speak for my kids because I don't know about school. But I know that in their youth group that there were kids in grades 7-12 that went to several different schools, lived in several different towns and they were white and black. And, Once kids get mobile they seem to develop a wider circle of friends.

 

[CoolJ]

You are correct. One "Butch" was a Ozark Police Officer who was mentioned in the HCR articles. The other "Butch" was a narcotics investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office. A poster on wiregrass (not V himself) stated that V and his girlfriend were friends the the Butch that worked for DCSO. This Butch died around 2004 if memory serves me. One of V's theories was that his girlfriend and her daughter hired Butch to accost or kill JB and Tracie. I don't know whether or not to believe a LE officer was involved in any way. In one way, it could explain a lot, but remember V is a prolific talker who has been muddying the waters around this case a long time. Cool J, just wondering, what documents/ reports released by HCR lead you to believe that there is some truth in the article?

Well, for me it is just the totality of the information and how specific some aspects of it are. Especially those investigative notes. See, the HCR articles and videos were not one mans theory. They were interviews and documents. The documents came from somewhere and the whistleblowers were speaking out for a reason. It would be odd if it was all just made up out of thin air. Even if it all were a total fabrication, we have to look at the motives behind it because that would tell us something too.

Its the same with V. Whether he was telling us the truth or not we still have to look at everything he has said in its totality. Because, truth or fiction, it tells us something.
JMO

 

[TooCurious]

Sometimes simple is best and most logical. It's easy to start chasing rabbits. I know I have more than once on this case. Maybe Bookie had family or friends out that way. As far as the age difference, When I was a senior I had friends all the way down to the ninth grade. We were a diverse group. I can't speak for my kids because I don't know about school. But I know that in their youth group that there were kids in grades 7-12 that went to several different schools, lived in several different towns and they were white and black. And, Once kids get mobile they seem to develop a wider circle of friends.

Now you are getting my drift.... "Maybe Bookie had family or friends out that way." Yes, maybe he did.

As far as the age of friends or color is concerned, doesn't matter. The other point I was trying to make is why would you ask someone younger and inexperienced directions to get from one place to another? The store attendant or any other person driving that was in that parking lot was probably more knowledgeable about the surroundings than the freshman that doesn't drive. Why not ask whoever Bookie was with? Did they know he had ties to Midland City/Ozark area? Does he?