GUILTY AR - Beverly Carter, 49, Little Rock, 25 Sep 2014 - #10

[ZooSleuth]

Oh, I don't think either one of them intended for her to die. But there's not a lot of brain power going on between those two, so they accidentally killed her. I've thought that all along. Note: I am in NO way defending the slimeball and he is as guilty as they come....her, too. That said, AL never struck me as a cold blooded killer just out to kill. He strikes me as nothing more than a two bit thief and a con artist who thinks he is much smarter than he actually is. I think he tried something out of his league (kidnapping for ransom) and poor Beverly paid the price. He somehow talked his less than stellar brain powered wife to go along with it...and here we are today.

I agree. I have no idea what happened, I was just commenting on the legal aspect that even if Crystal was in another country when Beverly died, if she was in the on the kidnapping then she is guilty of murder.

 

[jstkiddn]

I agree. I have no idea what happened, I was just commenting on the legal aspect that even if Crystal was in another country when Beverly died, if she was in the on the kidnapping then she is guilty of murder.

Oh, yes. Right!

 

[sammy32]

I'm catching up and have some thoughts. I do not feel the "celebration" vibe that was concerning to some, but I do think that for those of us that followed the pages of posts from the CL camp felt the frustration of VIs defending her and painting her as a victim, only to find that she is in fact a murderer. So we tried to buy this desperate mother, deceived wife, hard working student, etc. only to find that it was total bs. We had a picture of a psychologically sick AL from his history, so it is easy to understand that the sick *advertiser censored* would be capable. With CL, I feel the "rich broker" was actually her angle! She wanted to buy things for herself and for her kids, and she felt entitled. So I'm going with an evil biotch who was out for something free and had a psycho partner who could make it happen. IMO, the world, including her children, are better off with her black heart rotting in prison. She is evil and thankfully, she got caught. The system failed Beverly when they didn't keep AL in prison for his previous violations. CL appears to be just as much of a con as AL - we witnessed the VIs who fell for that load of crap. I know I will sleep better for the next 30 years knowing where she is.

 

[Coquette]

As to my thoughts, not that y'all care but...I gave CL the benefit of the doubt. My gut instinct never told me she was involved. The people closest to her that I have corresponded with, never dreamed she could be involved. I still am not clear on what role she played.

It's tough when you realize you just can't trust your gut instincts as they've entirely failed you. And I generally don't rely on the words of those closet to a suspect in a murder case as they are often the ones who overlook what others can objectively see. In this case, all in that camp who so aggressively advocated for Crystal here were wrong. So wrong. That's a tough pill to swallow, I know. There are lessons to be learned here.

 

[sunflowerchick]

It's tough when you realize you just can't trust your gut instincts as they've entirely failed you. And I generally don't rely on the words of those closet to a suspect in a murder case as they are often the ones who overlook what others can objectively see. In this case, all in that camp who so aggressively advocated for Crystal here were wrong. So wrong. That's a tough pill to swallow, I know. There are lessons to be learned here.

I disagree. Wrong is not the same as ignorant. Those who advocated for Crystal saw what she chose for them to see. That makes HER wrong for lying and manipulating but there is no blame for those who trusted her. And there is certainly no blame for those of us who chose to trust our gut, even though our gut turned out to be wrong.

I believe that one's life can change on a dime and I still think that Crystal probably would have lived out her life without ever committing this type of crime had she never met Arron Lewis. I am NOT defending her and I am NOT excusing her. She made her own choices but we still don't know what her involvement was exactly. Being part of the kidnapping would mean she is guilty of murder even if she wasn't part of the murder directly. Again NOT defending her but it is wrong to judge those who did.

 

[NWLady]

I pray for justice for Beverly Carter and her family.

 

[NWLady]

When is AL's next court date? October?

 

[NWLady]

AL's criminal past/history IMO speaks for itself. But oh, that's right, CL didn't know about his past criminal history. Allrighty then...:thinking:

 

[mpnola]

This case has already been judged and guilt has been admitted. That's that. If there was anything but an outright murder, I firmly believe it would have been fought and tried by jury. It could have been negotiated down to something else- second degree or negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter- I dont know all the differences. But, I do know that if she was part of the kidnapping and then never saw them again, she would not have said she was guilty or first degree murder. Its so weird how we are actually trying to make what someone admitted to sound better than it is!!! AT MINIMUM- first degree murder! That was the, "Sure, I will take a ticket for 60 in a 50 instead of the 75 in a 50 that I was really doing". First degree murder is better than what happened or there would be no reason to accept that bargain!

 

[Nehemiah]

This keeps bugging me because I can't remember or find where it was discussed. The truck--did AL have a truck? Did NJ say that he did not, and that he only had a car? Just trying to reconcile what we now know with what we either did or didn't know earlier.

 

[mpnola]

This keeps bugging me because I can't remember or find where it was discussed. The truck--did AL have a truck? Did NJ say that he did not, and that he only had a car? Just trying to reconcile what we now know with what we either did or didn't know earlier.

Everything "official" that I find references a car being there, Arron being in a car when he wrecked, they knew the car that was at the house was traced to Arron early on.... its all car stuff! The only "truck" stuff I have ever seen were unofficial "someone said" type of reports. I know that doesnt completely answer, but I have looked into the truck, too, the past couple of days and I am just not certain it exists.

 

[blefuscu]

I can understand people who knew Crystal feel hurt/upset by all this. I recently found out that a man I knew very well was a paedophile who had arranged to meet what he thought was a child, but turned out to be a scam, and he had been caught on video. He killed himself two days later. The shock of knowing this man who I had spent plenty of time with as a friend, but who would go as far as seducing what he thought was a teenage girl to meet up for sex completely floored me. I couldn't have predicted he was like that.

To know someone you know has done something so bad is awful. You go back through your memories trying to see if you missed anything that would lead you to think they were capable of that.

Crystal has ruined many lives by getting involved with AL. But he's not totally responsible. She could have refused to be part of this. She is an intelligent woman, she knows kidnapping and robbery are wrong. She knows she's in it up to her neck, and that's why she has pleaded guilty. I don't think she was suckered into this, I think she and AL knew that they were going to commit a crime, planned it out, then did what it took to commit it. She may have been in school while the kidnapping took place but she helped plan it in my opinion and therefore is as guilty as he is.

 

[sunflowerchick]

This case has already been judged and guilt has been admitted. That's that. If there was anything but an outright murder, I firmly believe it would have been fought and tried by jury. It could have been negotiated down to something else- second degree or negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter- I dont know all the differences. But, I do know that if she was part of the kidnapping and then never saw them again, she would not have said she was guilty or first degree murder. Its so weird how we are actually trying to make what someone admitted to sound better than it is!!! AT MINIMUM- first degree murder! That was the, "Sure, I will take a ticket for 60 in a 50 instead of the 75 in a 50 that I was really doing". First degree murder is better than what happened or there would be no reason to accept that bargain!

I guess I agree with you, sort of. But for me the problem is this: After all of the speculation, following this thing from the beginning, seeing that Arron was clearly the perpetrator from the start, knowing his criminal record, knowing that Crystal had none, having friends and family defending her, Crystal seeming like a mostly loving and responsible parent (except for a few things, like her decision to be with Arron), etc. etc., it seemed that no one who knew her saw this coming. And if that is true, then that means that killers walk among us all the time undetected. In my mind that also leads to dark thoughts that any of us could be capable of the same thing given the right (wrong?) circumstances and that is just too much for me to fathom. So again, NOT defending Crystal but I really want to believe that there is SOMETHING else besides what actually appears to have occurred.

 

[jstkiddn]

I know we can't really get into discussing this, but I think Crystal was into a lot of stuff that those who knew her didn't know about. I even wonder if AL's accusation of prostitution on CL wasn't too far off base. Know what I mean?

She wasn't all Miss Innocence and Light that she apparently represented herself to be.

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

I guess I agree with you, sort of. But for me the problem is this: After all of the speculation, following this thing from the beginning, seeing that Arron was clearly the perpetrator from the start, knowing his criminal record, knowing that Crystal had none, having friends and family defending her, Crystal seeming like a mostly loving and responsible parent (except for a few things, like her decision to be with Arron), etc. etc., it seemed that no one who knew her saw this coming. And if that is true, then that means that killers walk among us all the time undetected. In my mind that also leads to dark thoughts that any of us could be capable of the same thing given the right (wrong?) circumstances and that is just too much for me to fathom. So again, NOT defending Crystal but I really want to believe that there is SOMETHING else besides what actually appears to have occurred.

That is the reason why I never act as a character witness for anyone.
I only take "ownership" of my own actions, words, & deeds and no one else's.
No exceptions.

 

[mpnola]

I know we can't really get into discussing this, but I think Crystal was into a lot of stuff that those who knew her didn't know about. I even wonder if AL's accusation of prostitution on CL wasn't too far off base. Know what I mean?

She wasn't all Miss Innocence and Light that she apparently represented herself to be.

Yes, the website that shall not be mentioned, as well as trying to extort money from an ex who had been nothing but good to her and her kids were the biggest indicators that she was not as nice as people were suggesting. Add to that a mother who allowed a convicted felon into her home around her young girl and many videos of his that were inappropriate that you can hear Crystal cracking up like a child sealed the deal that she was not someone who only made "a" bad decision. It said to me this is a person who has been able to hide some really bad things and has gotten away with bad behavior for a long time, many times explained away by good people who didn't want to believe what could be. Even after being part of a kidnapping and a murder, she took a photo of herself with a knife to her neck and thought it was funny. Just go back and relive the events, knowing that she was part of this kidnapping and murder. It changes minds real quick to realize what her demeanor was after that. I would be a big crying ball of mess and terrified out of my mind that someone would find out or I would lose my child. Instead, she's going on with life with a hilarious knife to her throat. Arron was not her only bad decision. He was the safe one that allowed her ugliness to shine right through her soul.

 

[mpnola]

And killers definitely do walk among us and don't look like the boogie man. Its why we teach kids that you dont go with ANYONE- even if they have a puppy or own an ice cream truck. Evil hides behind lots of masks, including religion!

 

[111addict]

And killers definitely do walk among us and don't look like the boogie man. Its why we teach kids that you dont go with ANYONE- even if they have a puppy or own an ice cream truck. Evil hides behind lots of masks, including religion!

Exactly.

There is a picture of Crystal, after her arrest, in which her eyes give me nightmares still. They are evil looking, and not the last eyes I would want to look into. I would imagine sweet Beverly prayed for these two animals. They are so evil that it wouldn't have phased them enough to stop what they were doing. They wanted what she had, but they wanted it all the easy way. What Beverly had was a beautiful smile, a kind heart, and a desire to succeed in order to provide a better life for her family. She was surrounded by family and friends that respected and loved her (notice neither of the murderers had one person that thought enough of them to be there for any of their court appearances). Beverly Carter earned everything she had, and that includes the legacy she created.

I will NOT refrain from calling Arron Lewis and Crystal Lowery exactly what they are. They are monsters. They are losers. They are evil. "They" are murderers. They coveted what they would never have. Why wouldn't they ever have it? They didn't deserve it! But they wanted it. Being the narcissists they are, they thought they were smart enough to take it from her, and get sway with it. I think Crystal saw Beverly at cheer with her beautiful Granddaughter. She saw the admiration and respect other parents had for Beverly. She saw things that signified wealth. Arron had already spent the only $ he would ever have to blow on her, and she realized she had been fooled. She didn't feel like a princess anymore. She was back to being the trashy, broke girl she had always been. Arron had a little taste of what he considered the good life, while blowing the $60,000 he conned from the state. He knew it was the reason Crystal was with him. It hurt his ego that she wanted things he could no longer give her. Not that she was a prize. He just couldn't stand her knowing the reality that he was a low life nobody. She knew he was a felon, despite what she stated in her divorce petition. Now he was a broke felon, though....

I have had so many scenarios play through my mind about what the morons were trying to gain from kidnapping Beverly. Did they think they could make Beverly sign that house over to them, like Arron did with the trailer for which he paid cash? Did they think they could request ransom, for her safe return? Who is stupid enough to think they could get away with any of that, with the technology available today? I then wonder if she was targeted. If so, they would have had to have planned to murder her. She would have recognized Crystal.

Regarding the truck. Do I remember correctly, that the first night Beverly was missing the neighbor said he saw a tall, skinny male, with a pointy beard, that drove a slate colored, Tacoma type, beat up truck?

I know this is lengthy, but I am hoping while I express my views, others can post their thoughts about a few issues.....

Do any other sleuthers (hopefully Platespinner has an opinion on this) feel that Beverly passed away immediately upon leaving the house (by suffocation from duct tape, or fumes in a trunk)? I initially thought so, but am not so sure now. I have hoped so, as I hate the thought of every second she had to spend in fear, and in their presence.

 

[machiado]

I know we can't really get into discussing this, but I think Crystal was into a lot of stuff that those who knew her didn't know about. I even wonder if AL's accusation of prostitution on CL wasn't too far off base. Know what I mean?

She wasn't all Miss Innocence and Light that she apparently represented herself to be.

She also seemed to want adrenaline rushes - such as filming Arron doing his dangerous superman motorcycle stunt. I believe this was much of her attraction to him in the beginning - he fed her need for thrills.

 

[Metry504]

And killers definitely do walk among us and don't look like the boogie man. Its why we teach kids that you dont go with ANYONE- even if they have a puppy or own an ice cream truck. Evil hides behind lots of masks, including religion!

Reminds me of scooby doo... All the villians were some the knew and trusted.