TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, 18 Apr 2016 #44

[PoirotryInMotion]

Titan! I've been curious about why he was brought in two days after the crime. Maybe it's a protocol thing, maybe they had reason to look for gunshot residue, maybe they just wanted to cover all their bases. I initially thought that they brought him in to try to nail down SP's movements in and around the church, but a seemingly knowledgeable member argued that they wouldn't use a dog like Titan for that kind of work. I don't know one way or another, and I haven't looked in to it.

Titan, the gunshot-residue sniffing dog, was brought in right after the completion of the autopsy, which was when I first wondered if gunshot wounds were involved (along with the ECSO dirty cops/stolen guns issue going on around that time). I don't remember seeing copies of the coroner's report so am not sure how the coroner himself actually described cause of death on the death certificate. I only remember reading and hearing LE describe the cause of death post-autopsy as being from a lethal "puncture wound" to the head (though she apparently had more than one puncture wound). And that her wounds were "consistent with" the tool(s) found near her body. LE were noticeably and consistently evasive, however, when asked by reporters if the murder weapon had been recovered.

Answering another poster's question--I don't have a problem with SP not wearing a gun in a visible holster, since I also believe this was a planned kill, and he was aware of the cameras and intent on confusing things for investigators. He could have and probably would have had the gun concealed while carrying the breaching tool. He could also have first attacked and stunned her with the breaching tool (which was not an ordinary hammer IMO), and then drawn out his gun to deliver a shot to the head (or even head and chest).

My thought is that IF a gun were used to cause any of those puncture wounds, and if LE had any reason to wonder (especially at that time) if the gun used was one of the several unrecovered, stolen and illegally sold guns associated with the ongoing ECSO dirty cop case, they would have very good reason to be evasive about whether or not those puncture wounds were of the gunshot variety, and if the murder weapon had been recovered. They wouldn't want to compromise either case's investigation by admitting that.

Timeline review for context:

Mar 28, 2016 - one stolen-gun suspect (PGS) abruptly resigns from ECSO:

"[He] was employed with ECSO from Oct. 21, 2001 to March 28 when he abruptly resigned as the criminal investigations division lieutenant. He was the supervisor in charge of the sheriff’s office evidence room."
http://www.waxahachietx.com/news/20160504/2nd-deputy-arrested-in-gun-theft-case

April 15, 2016 - 1st ECSO officer (PGS) arrested

April 18, 2016 - Missy Bevers slain

May 5, 2016 - 2nd ECSO officer (TS) arrest reported:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nb...wned-Stolen-Guns-Warrant-378226161.html?amp=y

July 12,2017 - The 2 officers plead guilty in plea deal:
https://www.google.com/amp/cw33.com...ar-in-federal-court-on-gun-theft-charges/amp/

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

Another thought. The fact that "the attack" was not seen on camera (and the tight timeline) makes me wonder if this might have been a very quick kill. (Several threads ago there was an in-depth discussion about how movement-activated cameras work.) Consider if the breaching tool *wasn't* the murder weapon--a gunshot delivered by a gunman just out of camera range could (depending on gun and ammo) do a similarly devastating amount of damage in split seconds, without any struggle being seen on camera that you would expect in the hand-to-hand combat scenario with a breaching tool. 'Signs of struggle' and broken glass could be caused by a ricocheting bullet. Killer hurls the breaching tool into the crime scene, and leaves a scene where the wounds would "be consistent with" what one might find in an assault with a breaching tool.

ETA: A year later (2017), LE still mum about the murder weapon and SP is described as wearing a "bullet-proof helmet"--

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/...-one-year-after-missy-bevers-murder/431968162

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

A person who would be vandalizing a church in the middle of the night would obviously have to be mentally unstable. It would not be at all remarkable for an incident like that to evolve into assault and murder. Likewise burglary also can and does evolve into murder.

As for the SWAT or LE uniform, there is no precedent for that, so it's impossible to find any pattern in that.

Yes.....I’ve thought about the mentally unstable crazy vandal committing this crime BUT ruled it out after reviewing the fact that there was no DNA, no eye witness account of any significance, and the fact that the “costume” prevents any real identification regardless of surveillance cameras. That plus the arsenal of weaponry SP pulled out from various places on “costume” and wearing a headlamp.

Nope.....this was an organized killer — not some crazy vandal. And no repeat of such event similar since.....

All moo

 

[GA_Peach]

Titan, the gunshot-residue sniffing dog, was brought in right after the completion of the autopsy, which was when I first wondered if gunshot wounds were involved (along with the ECSO dirty cops/stolen guns issue going on around that time). I don't remember seeing copies of the coroner's report so am not sure how the coroner himself actually described cause of death on the death certificate. I only remember reading and hearing LE describe the cause of death post-autopsy as being from a lethal "puncture wound" to the head (though she apparently had more than one puncture wound). And that her wounds were "consistent with" the tool(s) found near her body. LE were noticeably and consistently evasive, however, when asked by reporters if the murder weapon had been recovered.

Bold and snipped by me

You mention an extremely important point. MB's puncture wounds were consistent with the tool(s) found near her body. In other words, the tool(s) that likely caused her death was left behind at the scene. Fast forward to December 2016. When LE executed the SW on BWH, they were still looking for the hammer and breaching tools. Think about it.

 

[whoanellie]

ETA: A year later (2017), LE still mum about the murder weapon and SP is described as wearing a "bullet-proof helmet"--

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/...-one-year-after-missy-bevers-murder/431968162

How could they possibly know the helmet was bulletproof?

 

[whoanellie]

Bold and snipped by me

You mention an extremely important point. MB's puncture wounds were consistent with the tool(s) found near her body. In other words, the tool(s) that likely caused her death was left behind at the scene. Fast forward to December 2016. When LE executed the SW on BWH, they were still looking for the hammer and breaching tools. Think about it.

Link for the bolded part?

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

Bold and snipped by me

You mention an extremely important point. MB's puncture wounds were consistent with the tool(s) found near her body. In other words, the tool(s) that likely caused her death was left behind at the scene. Fast forward to December 2016. When LE executed the SW on BWH, they were still looking for the hammer and breaching tools. Think about it.

JMO, I don't believe the murder weapon has been recovered. (Whether gun or breaching tool.) Also think SP carried multiple tools and potential murder weapons on himself (visible and not visible). If LE are trying to keep the weapon involved in her death a secret for case integrity (and I believe it's obvious they are), they're not goIng to mention searching for a gun in their SW. (Not unless it's a sealed warrant.)

I've been going through my earliest screenshots just now. A few things I've seen (again) to ponder:

1. In the nbcdfw.com articles posted immediately after her death (my screenshot 19 Apr 2016), Midlothian police said that the autopsy was completed Tuesday afternoon, but that results were "being withheld pending the ongoing investigation their department, county officials, and the Texas Rangers." (bbm)

Texas Rangers are notable for their work concerning investigating internal affairs as well as crime involving firearms:

https://www.dps.texas.gov/TexasRangers/index.htm

Why would they be involved the day after her murder, especially if she'd been killed with a hammer or breaching tool?

2. The main W entrance foyer has extremely high ceilings with a soaring entrance and no cameras posted near the doors pointing inward OR outward (none that I can see in a website photo I saved, at least). It also has a few spots where a gunman could hide - the Cubby Corner culvert/recessed entry, and, (closer to the north/south hallway leading to the SW entrance or Common Grounds/Kitchen areas), 2 floor-to-ceiling (24"?) columns in recesses behind which someone could have hidden.

The foyer wall opposite the main west entrance also has no cameras pointing toward the main entrance that I can see, and it has glass windows or doors as well (leading into the sanctuary?). The north/south hallway running perpendicular to that main W entrance foyer also has several glass tables along the walls. Any of this glass may have been shattered in the event of gunfire aimed at Missy as she walked down the hall.

Missy's gear and stuff was deposited at the SW entrance near her car and by the door. Presumably, after unloading it from her vehicle, she circled around to the main W entrance using a special card key or code to enter. If she were ambushed as she rounded the corner to head to that SW entrance to open those exterior doors, she'd have died in that north/south corridor that some of us have seen described in FOIA docs as being the general location of where she was found. After the ambush, SP could've then made a fast exit out the main W entrance door (now unlocked) without damage or evidence of having used it. And also without camera detection, since the exterior cams were not working, either.

 

[ezrah]

Another thought. The fact that "the attack" was not seen on camera (and the tight timeline) makes me wonder if this might have been a very quick kill. (Several threads ago there was an in-depth discussion about how movement-activated cameras work.) Consider if the breaching tool *wasn't* the murder weapon--a gunshot delivered by a gunman just out of camera range could (depending on gun and ammo) do a similarly devastating amount of damage in split seconds, without any struggle being seen on camera that you would expect in the hand-to-hand combat scenario with a breaching tool. 'Signs of struggle' and broken glass could be caused by a ricocheting bullet. Killer hurls the breaching tool into the crime scene, and leaves a scene where the wounds would "be consistent with" what one might find in an assault with a breaching tool.

ETA: A year later (2017), LE still mum about the murder weapon and SP is described as wearing a "bullet-proof helmet"--

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/...-one-year-after-missy-bevers-murder/431968162

The wording in the link seems to describe the vest as being bullet proof.
“The person was wearing a bulletproof vest with the word “POLICE” on both sides, as well as a helmet concealing their face.”


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[PoirotryInMotion]

The wording in the link seems to describe the vest as being bullet proof.
“The person was wearing a bulletproof vest with the word “POLICE” on both sides, as well as a helmet concealing their face.”

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Second sentence:

"The killer roamed around Midlothian's Creekside Church of Christ for a half hour dressed all in black in police tactical gear and a bulletproof helmet."

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/n...rder/431968162

 

[Razz]

I've been thinking about that SWAT outfit. Even though SP was fully covered, his outfit was not. Meaning, could there have been DNA from SP's home or car on the SWAT outfit?

Say they found a cat hair at the murder scene. Missy doesn't own cats but
so and so does. SP did enough imo to dislodge any DNA he may have inadvertently carried on his SWAT outfit and into the crime scene.

I'm hoping they vacuumed the area and kept what was sucked up.

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[ezrah]

Second sentence:

"The killer roamed around Midlothian's Creekside Church of Christ for a half hour dressed all in black in police tactical gear and a bulletproof helmet."

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/n...rder/431968162

Missed it, thanks


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[cady]

Poirotry........are you saying that the SW entrance was locked and never unlocked by Missy because she went in via the W (main) entrance, was assaulted, and never made it to the SW entrance to open the door?.......meaning that the campers who found her, went around the building and entered the W(main) entrance, where they found Missy? This is all news to me. ????? JMO

 

[moslym3]

the arsenal of weaponry SP pulled out from various places on “costume” and wearing a headlamp.

All moo

"arsenal of weaponry" are your words.

All we see on the video are several B&E tools that turned into murder weapons.

 

[Jethro4WS]

To those of you who think there is a firearm present and used as the murder weapon, how do you explain that with a fully costumed LE-looking guy we don't see the gun where a gun would actually go in such a costume? There is no gun on the hip, none under the arm, none on thigh, and no gun visible anywhere. Do you think someone would put a LE costume on but put a pistol in a fanny pack and leave it at the door? makes no sense that we don't see a holster of some kind if a firearm was indeed present.

MANY threads back I think we discovered the name of the actual ATF dog that was brought to the scene and it was a firearm detection dog. I can't source that, sorry. Maybe someone remembers and they can correct me.

I've read a few coroner's reports over the years and i've never seen a gunshot victim's injuries described as "puncture wounds". A coroner would look at the actual wound and determine if it was caused by a projectile or not. If so, it would be labeled a gunshot wound, not a puncture wound. MOO

The coroner's report has never been released nor has a cause of death every been released. MPD in their first three warrants - for Missy's truck, for forensics on her iPhone and iPad, and the third escapes me at the moment (ArkansasMimi would know) - all mention some form of wounds, wounds consistent with tools found, puncture wounds to head and chest. All three of these warrants were applied for and issued PRIOR to the autopsy being performed. All warrants applied for and issued AFTER the autopsy make no mention whatsoever to any wounds let alone to the head and chest, consistent with tools found/seen etc.

In the only two press conferences AFTER the autopsy - the Friday after the murder (day before Missy's funeral) and the one in May where MPD brought up the Altima among other things - MPD declined to talk about cause of death.

To me that says that it is very likely that the cause of death was not as stated in the earliest of search warrant affidavits PRIOR to the autopsy. A search warrant affidavit requires that LE not knowingly include information known to be false. The absence of any mention of cause of death in warrants suggests including it would be including knowingly false information.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[ATasteOfHoney]

Another thought. The fact that "the attack" was not seen on camera (and the tight timeline) makes me wonder if this might have been a very quick kill. (Several threads ago there was an in-depth discussion about how movement-activated cameras work.) Consider if the breaching tool *wasn't* the murder weapon--a gunshot delivered by a gunman just out of camera range could (depending on gun and ammo) do a similarly devastating amount of damage in split seconds, without any struggle being seen on camera that you would expect in the hand-to-hand combat scenario with a breaching tool. 'Signs of struggle' and broken glass could be caused by a ricocheting bullet. Killer hurls the breaching tool into the crime scene, and leaves a scene where the wounds would "be consistent with" what one might find in an assault with a breaching tool.

ETA: A year later (2017), LE still mum about the murder weapon and SP is described as wearing a "bullet-proof helmet"--

http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/...-one-year-after-missy-bevers-murder/431968162

"arsenal of weaponry" are your words.

All we see on the video are several B&E tools that turned into murder weapons.

Yep.....they are my words. The killer came prepared.

 

[MittenScarpetta]

I don’t have the SW in front of me but I don’t believe they had a gun as one of the item to seize during the raid. Which tips me to thinking there wasn’t a gun. They wouldn’t wanted to have lost that finding one in the raid but no one had asked for it.

I have to respectfully disagree. I understand your reasoning however we don’t know that what they recovered at the scene wasn’t a gun. JMO.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Bold and snipped by me

You mention an extremely important point. MB's puncture wounds were consistent with the tool(s) found near her body. In other words, the tool(s) that likely caused her death was left behind at the scene. Fast forward to December 2016. When LE executed the SW on BWH, they were still looking for the hammer and breaching tools. Think about it.

ABSOLUTELY!!! Bullseye!!!

 

[rosesfromangels]

Just popped back in to see how the thread is evolving, and see that there are still two distinct theories; planned hit, and random vandal who got surprised and lashed out. After watching the video for the nth time, I still see this as some individual of limited intellectual capacity, playing commando. This looks like a video game scenario being played out. Unfortunately, it is my speculation, as stated before, that Missy came upon, and startled the Perp.

I see nothing in this video that suggests a pro hit, or an amateur hit for that matter.

Speculation and opinion only from an armchair amateur.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

Poirotry........are you saying that the SW entrance was locked and never unlocked by Missy because she went in via the W (main) entrance, was assaulted, and never made it to the SW entrance to open the door?.......meaning that the campers who found her, went around the building and entered the W(main) entrance, where they found Missy? This is all news to me. ????? JMO

I don't know if the exterior SW (porte cochere) doors were unlocked--can't remember. (Though the interior set of those is seen propped open in the SP viveo. My guess those were propped by maintenance Sunday evening after the people left a fathering there. It had been wet and puddly Sunday, and that would allow the entry carpeting seen in the video frames in that SW entry to dry.)

Missy's equipment can be seen ourside piled next to those exterior SW doors. My opinion is that she may have unloaded the stuff there where it wouldn't ger wet but then walked around to the church's main W entrance in order to gain access to the building. However, even if that SW door had been accessible to code or key and unlocked and entered, I still believe she may have been ambushed by someone hiding in the main foyer.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

As someone who has played a ton of video games, including first person shooters like Call of Duty, I believe that the SW is not acting at all like they're in an video game. Those that LARP (live action roleplay) tactical scenarios would not just meander around the corridors, idly touching the walls, randomly opening closets and half-heartedly breeching doors. It looks more like killing time than action with a purpose (also why I don't think this is intended vandalism or burglary either). Watch a paintball event, that's closer to what it would be like. They'd move between cover, they'd hug corners, they'd open doors quickly and systematically scope out the rooms etc. JMO, of course.