GUILTY AL - J.B. Beasley & Tracie Hawlett, both 17, murdered, Ozark, 31 July 1999 *ARREST in 2019* #5

[shark315]

McCraney’s nerves hurt his murder trial credibility: Attorney

His attorneys claim that Coley McCraney’s testimony would have been more convincing had it not been for jitters.

www.wtvy.com

 

[William N]

https://www.wtvy.com/2023/04/28/mccraney-attorneys-allege-possible-juror-miscondu

http://

McCraney’s nerves hurt his murder trial credibility: Attorney

His attorneys claim that Coley McCraney’s testimony would have been more convincing had it not been for jitters.

www.wtvy.com

His testimony might have been more convincing if the bodies of the victims in the trunk of their car hadn't been found a half mile from McCraney's house.

 

[Andreee]

I think this is alright to post as it is a utuber I think has been posted on WS before, John Lordan

 

[Andreee]

Yes I know - but that was the jury's decision - and usually the Judge ponders about it - and sets a sentencing date.

So - you are telling me he DID get sentenced yesterday? TIA!

I believe so, at least that's my take!

 

[Andreee]

McCraney’s nerves hurt his murder trial credibility: Attorney

His attorneys claim that Coley McCraney’s testimony would have been more convincing had it not been for jitters.

www.wtvy.com

lol I don't agree with that assessment by his attorneys. Many witnesses IMO look somewhat nervous on the stand, it is the version he gave that was so repulsively unbelievable re. those two young upstanding teen girls! I'm glad his attorneys were foolish enough to allow their client to take the stand and show what an evil man he truly is.

 

[Tinala]

He had 20 freaking years of freedom. I for one am glad to give that tax money so he now sits like the caged animal he is. That crap testimony about her being consensual!? Seriously he thought anyone would believe that. While I of course have sympathy for his children, I happen to have a lot more for the families of JB and Tracy who never get to see their precious children again alive because of what this man did. I pray he is miserable in prison. There are other things I wish for his prison stay but it wouldn’t be proper for me to say.

 

[Blacklist]

Yes I know - but that was the jury's decision - and usually the Judge ponders about it - and sets a sentencing date.

So - you are telling me he DID get sentenced yesterday? TIA!

His official sentencing is now set. June 15th, 2023.
I did not post earlier in order to prevent confusion. This is standard court procedure.

At that time he will cease being a Country prisoner and become a State prisoner and be transferred to a State incarceration facility at the earliest opportunity.

Niner, you are a very dedicated and attentive person. I appreciate your focus on this case. You are wonderfully tenacious and I have admiration for you. I am glad you are on our side fighting the good fight.

Justice On!!!!

 

[Niner]

His official sentencing is now set. June 15th, 2023.
I did not post earlier in order to prevent confusion. This is standard court procedure.

At that time he will cease being a Country prisoner and become a State prisoner and be transferred to a State incarceration facility at the earliest opportunity.

Niner, you are a very dedicated and attentive person. I appreciate your focus on this case. You are wonderfully tenacious and I have admiration for you. I am glad you are on our side fighting the good fight.

Thank you! I am so glad the verdict was guilty - was worried there a few days ago. And thanks for the sentencing date.

 

[Andreee]

Thank you! I am so glad the verdict was guilty - was worried there a few days ago. And thanks for the sentencing date.

I was worried too! And thanks for all your info re. court dates, etc. on so many WS threads here!

 

[somequestions]

There is something I do not understand about this case. I always thought one of the undisputable facts of this case was that at the Big Little gas station, while Tracie Hawlett was calling her mother, J.B. Beasley was talking to Ms. Merrit and her daughter who gave the girls directions.

Then Ms. Merrit said she saw their car turn right out of the gas station parking lot. This would make sense as going right out of the Big Little parking lot would lead back to 231.

But according to the trial testimony, McCraney ran into the girls at the Big Little gas station.

Does this mean that the entire time the story about Ms. Merrit seeing J.B. Beasley's car turn right out of the gas station was wrong? Ms. Merrit and her daughter left first while the girls remained at the gas station? Wouldn't Ms. Merrit and her daughter have said something if they had seen Coley McCraney show up at the gas station?

This is another example how when coming to conclusions you have to have good information. This whole time I thought J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were abducted after they left the Big Little gas station in J.B. Beasley's car.

 

[Andreee]

There is something I do not understand about this case. I always thought one of the undisputable facts of this case was that at the Big Little gas station, while Tracie Hawlett was calling her mother, J.B. Beasley was talking to Ms. Merrit and her daughter who gave the girls directions.

Then Ms. Merrit said she saw their car turn right out of the gas station parking lot. This would make sense as going right out of the Big Little parking lot would lead back to 231.

But according to the trial testimony, McCraney ran into the girls at the Big Little gas station.

Does this mean that the entire time the story about Ms. Merrit seeing J.B. Beasley's car turn right out of the gas station was wrong? Ms. Merrit and her daughter left first while the girls remained at the gas station? Wouldn't Ms. Merrit and her daughter have said something if they had seen Coley McCraney show up at the gas station?

This is another example how when coming to conclusions you have to have good information. This whole time I thought J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were abducted after they left the Big Little gas station in J.B. Beasley's car.

That's what I was wondering also, but what with the guilty verdict and being glad about that, I forgot about this question. Can someone please explain. I also didn't know the girls went to the gas stn. twice, if that is the case?

 

[killarney rose]

Apparently we have been wrong the entire time about the Merrits and the girls leaving at the same time. If I’m correct, according to trial testimony, they left when they saw Tracey reach her mother on the phone. Thus leaving the girls alone at the Big/Little.

 

[somequestions]

That's what I was wondering also, but what with the guilty verdict and being glad about that, I forgot about this question. Can someone please explain. I also didn't know the girls went to the gas stn. twice, if that is the case?

I can understand you probably have not followed this case for a long time so i will try to clarify. Even I am now trying to understand the correct details of this case. The first thing you need to understand is that there is a whole "night" associated with this case. These are the details as how I remember them(although maybe NOW after the trial some of them are wrong too?). But this is my recollection of the details. There is also an episode about this case on the show Haunting Evidence that goes through the details of the case (if you can forget listening to the psychics).

J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett left Hawlett's home in Dothan, AL to go to a party in the area outside Headland, AL. On the way to Headland, they stopped at the first gas station in Headland(a BP if I remember correctly). They were already having problems finding this field party they were supposed to go to. At the Headland gas station they may have ran into some friends who gave them better directions by writing the directions on a napkin. Unfortunately, once the girls left the Headland, AL gas station, they got lost again.

How they ended up going north when it looks like they should have gone east is anyone's guess and I am not going to try to speculate anymore about how they ended up in Ozark, AL. But the next part of the story is the second gas station they stopped at was the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL. It was here that they encountered what I always considered the last witnesses in the case, Ms. Merrit and her daughter. Tracie made a phone call to her mother from the payphone at 11:38pm letting her know they were not going to be home by curfew, and now, according to the trial testimony asking for more time for curfew. J.B. got directions from Ms. Merrit to get back to the main road, 231, which takes you directly back to Dothan. There was a shortcut that I always wondered about that went south through town that would be more direct to get back to US 231. This is probably the shortcut talked about at trial by McCraney. Supposedly McCraney was already a truck driver at that time in his life and it would make sense he knew the streets and directions.

The new plan by J.B. and Tracie was that on the way home after leaving the Big Little gas station they would stop at a third gas station along 231 in Midland City, AL where some boys they knew were waiting for them. They never showed up.

Up until the trial, I thought the statement given by Ms. Merrit was that J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were safe up until leaving the Big Little gas station. I know I read somewhere that Ms. Merrit said that she saw the car turn right out of the Big Little gas station heading towards 231. This was obviously wrong.

If the trial statements are correct, Ms. Merrit and her daughter left the gas station first while J.B. and Tracie remained behind. At some point after Ms. Merrit and her daughter left, the girls encountered Coley McCraney. As for why McCraney had come to the Big Little gas station that night, according to what I have read, he had a car that had the alternator go out and either left it at or very near the Big Little gas station. He lived nearby. Going back to the car that night, he saw J.B. and Tracie.

This would also make sense because how do you abduct 2 people into their own car without leaving yours behind? McCraney may have walked to the Big Little gas station that night.(although I cannot confirm that)

According to the trial, the abduction happened at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL.

 

[Andreee]

I can understand you probably have not followed this case for a long time so i will try to clarify. Even I am now trying to understand the correct details of this case. The first thing you need to understand is that there is a whole "night" associated with this case. These are the details as how I remember them(although maybe NOW after the trial some of them are wrong too?). But this is my recollection of the details. There is also an episode about this case on the show Haunting Evidence that goes through the details of the case (if you can forget listening to the psychics).

J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett left Hawlett's home in Dothan, AL to go to a party in the area outside Headland, AL. On the way to Headland, they stopped at the first gas station in Headland(a BP if I remember correctly). They were already having problems finding this field party they were supposed to go to. At the Headland gas station they may have ran into some friends who gave them better directions by writing the directions on a napkin. Unfortunately, once the girls left the Headland, AL gas station, they got lost again.

How they ended up going north when it looks like they should have gone east is anyone's guess and I am not going to try to speculate anymore about how they ended up in Ozark, AL. But the next part of the story is the second gas station they stopped at was the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL. It was here that they encountered what I always considered the last witnesses in the case, Ms. Merrit and her daughter. Tracie made a phone call to her mother from the payphone at 11:38pm letting her know they were not going to be home by curfew, and now, according to the trial testimony asking for more time for curfew. J.B. got directions from Ms. Merrit to get back to the main road, 231, which takes you directly back to Dothan. There was a shortcut that I always wondered about that went south through town that would be more direct to get back to US 231. This is probably the shortcut talked about at trial by McCraney. Supposedly McCraney was already a truck driver at that time in his life and it would make sense he knew the streets and directions.

The new plan by J.B. and Tracie was that on the way home after leaving the Big Little gas station they would stop at a third gas station along 231 in Midland City, AL where some boys they knew were waiting for them. They never showed up.

Up until the trial, I thought the statement given by Ms. Merrit was that J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were safe up until leaving the Big Little gas station. I know I read somewhere that Ms. Merrit said that she saw the car turn right out of the Big Little gas station heading towards 231. This was obviously wrong.

If the trial statements are correct, Ms. Merrit and her daughter left the gas station first while J.B. and Tracie remained behind. At some point after Ms. Merrit and her daughter left, the girls encountered Coley McCraney. As for why McCraney had come to the Big Little gas station that night, according to what I have read, he had a car that had the alternator go out and either left it at or very near the Big Little gas station. He lived nearby. Going back to the car that night, he saw J.B. and Tracie.

This would also make sense because how do you abduct 2 people into their own car without leaving yours behind? McCraney may have walked to the Big Little gas station that night.(although I cannot confirm that)

According to the trial, the abduction happened at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL.

Thanks for this! Actually, I have been following the case since the arrest but I did not follow the trial itself much as it was just too horrific. The detail re. the murderer abducting the teens at the gas stn. makes sense. I had never really thought of that even, in going with the version about Ms. Merritt seeing them drive away. So odd how that version was mistaken.

 

[killarney rose]

Through the years as we’ve discussed the case here our biggest question seems to have been, how did the killer meet and gain control of the girls?
now we know, it was Occam’s Razor all along. They never left the Big/Little safely.

 

[Andreee]

Through the years as we’ve discussed the case here our biggest question seems to have been, how did the killer meet and gain control of the girls?
now we know, it was Occam’s Razor all along. They never left the Big/Little safely.

And talk about the obvious being right in our faces! I assumed that witness DID see the girls leaving the store in their vehicle, and not once did I think to myself he could've abducted them there! It was so bewildering otherwise.

 

[Irishrose70]

How they ended up going north when it looks like they should have gone east is anyone's guess and I am not going to try to speculate anymore about how they ended up in Ozark, AL.

I live in the area ... it takes about 15 minutes to get to city associated with my mailing address, lol. All it would take is being on a back road on West side of Headland (field party) and making a wrong turn or losing sense of direction with the many twist and forks in the roads. Eventually many will hit a highway and be able to get their bearings. If this was the case it's unfortunate it was Hwy 27. They had better odds of it being 231 or 134 and being able to recognize where they were. The Big Little was where Hwy 27 ends in Ozark (kind of.. it really reroutes)

But the next part of the story is the second gas station they stopped at was the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL. Tracie made a phone call to her mother from the payphone at 11:38pm

They may have been at the gas station twice from how I understood the reported testimony. The clerk said they had been inside and asked for directions around 10:30? I can't remember time, but before she closed and left. The store was closed and no staff there when the women gave directions at 11:38.

There was a shortcut that I always wondered about that went south through town that would be more direct to get back to US 231. This is probably the shortcut talked about at trial by McCraney. Supposedly McCraney was already a truck driver at that time in his life and it would make sense he knew the streets and directions.

For simplicity and failsafe landmarks, I would have said go right out of Big Little, turn left at the courthouse, keep going until you hit the highway. My thoughts were he was speaking of allegedly taking them down 27, past Johntown (where his parents lived, and his property was) to CR 20. It comes to CR 18 in view of the truck stop his truck was at and Highway 231, and according to MapQuest is faster and shorter from the gas station in Ozark. It's likely the route he took to and from the truck stop since he lived nearby. (It's less than 5 minutes from there to the gas station they were meeting boys at on 231 in Midland City)

As for why McCraney had come to the Big Little gas station that night, according to what I have read, he had a car that had the alternator go out and either left it at or very near the Big Little gas station.

There is a small area where you can park directly off of the road to the side of the store that isn't viewable from most of the front parking spaces, or the phone if I recall correctly. It might not have had camera coverage. It was very visible from the road though, so he likely wasn't there when Merritts were. Breaking down or turning off car and coasting in wouldn't be very noticeable with lights off, particularly if distracted (on phone).

 

[Irishrose70]

The property he owned and was working on, and where his parents lived, was Johntown, about 5 minutes from the Big Little.

 

[Irishrose70]

This is Big Little, A. Johntown address where his parents lived and he owned adjoining property (look at all that water...), B. Site car was found, C and his residence in 1999, D

 

[killarney rose]

I liked seeing the rumors addressed.

End teen murder rumors, McCraney did it: AG

This case has been surrounded by rumors, by innuendo, and allegations that are absolutely false,” Marshall said after the jury sentenced McCraney to life without parole.

www.wtvy.com