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

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SteveS said:
Except, she was. That fact was essentially buried early on, but has been discovered in a report filed by LE, and outlined earlier in this thread. So all conclusions and implications based on it 'not being by gunshot' don't really work anymore.

You're right in noting that if someone with a gun was determined to kill Missy (ie, she was targeted), there was no need to do it in such a complex manner. Knowing it was by gun also removes the implication that it was an emotion-driven vicious beating that happened. Much of our thinking has to change - facts are a hassle!
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Missy walked into a trap. Missy was targeted. Missy was shot. Missy was punctured with tools the suspect is seen carrying while inside the church.

This was an emotion-driven murder, imho. I think the killer knew Missy. The affairs would not stop.

The planning may have taken months, after all, the weather-proof police attire disguise could not be traced back to her killer. Studying the layout of the property and its interior, much in the same methods that we have, knowing where to locate necessary tools, preparing for entry and exit points, establish alibis, bypass early campers, avoid cameras during final assault, etal all requires time and determination to coordinate.

This murder was intentional. jmho

A question of the day seems to be that because the murder by firearm was conducted, then why not just shoot her when she exited her vehicle.
What is the value of the black SWAP get-up coupled with the shock and awe witnessed on CCTV during the mysterious, malevolent activities inside the church?
 
SteveS said:
"anyway
what if someone was hit by a handgun not shot ? would you get the same category"

I see where you're going with that, but that really makes even less sense to think the perp had a gun and took it out, but used it as a club rather than to fire a bullet.

I understand all the skepticism in light of what we THOUGHT we knew. But facts is facts, whether known all along or newly discovered.

The puncture wound would technically be true, but so misleading. LE mostly danced around this topic of exactly how she was killed, and perhaps now we know why -- it seems they were playing those cards close to the vest for whatever reason.

One more thing to consider. I recall at some point (long ago) there were WS discussions of some FOIA info or warrant info that didn't fit in regards to LE trying to figure out something about a gun. That made no sense when we thought she was killed by being physically attacked and bludgeoned to death. But in light of the newly discovered report, now it adds up neatly.
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keep in mind there are 2 guns. The one the killer used and took with them. And Missy’s gun stored unused in her truck. Some of the early requests for information were objected to because of boilerplate language about a gun and a serial number and the potential for that info to be used illegally. But that applied to Missy’s gun because that was the only gun police had a serial number for.
 
"...why not just shoot her when she exited her vehicle. What is the value of the black SWAP get-up ..."

Yeah, that points the other direction - that the perp had no idea Missy was coming, and wasn't there waiting for her after all - doesn't it?
 
iamnotagolem said:
I watched the video once and thought female. Then asked my husband to watch without saying my opinion and he said female too. It really seems like the killer is a woman.
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When I watch the video it reminds me of when I used to attend pro wrestling in my teens and there were always these big, athletic guys who had extra weight who walked with that whatever it is, a strut? Where the arms are a bit wide or flared. I just want to say this suspect is male.
Quiet Time said:
I'm a little puzzled as to why this was done while it was raining outside?

Is that a good time to commit a crime? Does the water wash away evidence?

Just curious if it even matters....jmo
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I would imagine a rainy morning would dull sound and possibly less witnesses? I remember a case in Nashville TN once where a rapist would time the attacks on rainy nights.
 
I don't remember if this was already discussed, but do we know if LE went back and watched the footage from that store across the highway from previous mornings she taught a class at the church? Just curious if the person had staked out the situation previously to see what time she arrived, when the class members arrived, etc.

Even though she did get there early to set up, there was always the risk that she was running late one morning or a class member showed up especially early and walked in with her. Then, if this was a targeted murder, the murderer would have had a second person to contend with.
 
SteveS said:
"anyway
what if someone was hit by a handgun not shot ? would you get the same category"

I see where you're going with that, but that really makes even less sense to think the perp had a gun and took it out, but used it as a club rather than to fire a bullet.

I understand all the skepticism in light of what we THOUGHT we knew. But facts is facts, whether known all along or newly discovered.

The puncture wound would technically be true, but so misleading. LE mostly danced around this topic of exactly how she was killed, and perhaps now we know why -- it seems they were playing those cards close to the vest for whatever reason.

One more thing to consider. I recall at some point (long ago) there were WS discussions of some FOIA info or warrant info that didn't fit in regards to LE trying to figure out something about a gun. That made no sense when we thought she was killed by being physically attacked and bludgeoned to death. But in light of the newly discovered report, now it adds up neatly.
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if we can skip ( a puncture wound ) how do you deal with ( compatible with tools the suspect was seen with ) .. cause rationally this is what ties this suspect to the crime ? he wasnt seen with a gun
 
sandy_80 said:
if we can skip ( a puncture wound ) how do you deal with ( compatible with tools the suspect was seen with ) .. cause rationally this is what ties this suspect to the crime ? he wasnt seen with a gun
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You're right about that: perp wasn't seen with a gun.

So ...If we want to unravel it further, then we have to look closer. What was the EXACT wording in question? And where EXACTLY did it appear? It's possible it didn't actually say what we thought it did ...or it could have been given in a place where they weren't obligated to be truthful, so they weren't. Or -- we may have more facts to fit into the mix (for example, on some of the video we haven't seen, maybe the perp is seen with a gun, allowing them to call it a "tool" they had with them).

Where we go can land in any of several directions. Depending.
 
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MntnHiker said:
I don't remember if this was already discussed, but do we know if LE went back and watched the footage from that store across the highway from previous mornings she taught a class at the church? Just curious if the person had staked out the situation previously to see what time she arrived, when the class members arrived, etc.

Even though she did get there early to set up, there was always the risk that she was running late one morning or a class member showed up especially early and walked in with her. Then, if this was a targeted murder, the murderer would have had a second person to contend with.
Click to expand...

No idea the answer to your question as to looking through prior weeks. But you'd think they would have.

A couple of general points about the gun store being an observation site ...
1 The gun store isn't a great vantage point at ground level for observing the church - it's about 1/2 mile away, on the other side of the highway, with trees that obscure the view, and with visibility (that's tree obscured) of only one side of the church.
2 As to the time when we know the Altima WAS there, the Altima didn't observe anything about Missy coming to the church on the morning of the murder, or who else might have been there. Wasn't even a possible part of the equation, because the time gap was so sizable. HOURS apart.
 
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All Dallas Morning News articles IN ORDER
Warning: This newspaper does require a subscription and won't let you view more than 2 articles without one!

APril 19, 2020: First Report of Missy Bevers' death
April 20, 2016
April 23, 2016
April 27, 2016: Suspicion of father-in-law
May 3, 2016: Cause of death
May 4, 2016: Husband speaks out
May 5, 2016: Missy received strange messages before murder
May 7, 2016
May 10, 2016: Flirtatious messages
May 13, 2016: what the police may know
May 20, 2016
May 26, 2016
June 3, 2016
June 6, 2016: Father in law again
July 5, 2016
October 18, 2016
October 27, 2016: $50,000 reward

November 6, 2016: 5k memorial
April 17, 2017: one year later
April 18, 2019: Most recent article, 3 years later
 
tiktaalik said:
All Dallas Morning News articles IN ORDER
Warning: This newspaper does require a subscription and won't let you view more than 2 articles without one!

APril 19, 2020: First Report of Missy Bevers' death
April 20, 2016
April 23, 2016
April 27, 2016: Suspicion of father-in-law
May 3, 2016: Cause of death
May 4, 2016: Husband speaks out
May 5, 2016: Missy received strange messages before murder
May 7, 2016
May 10, 2016: Flirtatious messages
May 13, 2016: what the police may know
May 20, 2016
May 26, 2016
June 3, 2016
June 6, 2016: Father in law again
July 5, 2016
October 18, 2016
October 27, 2016: $50,000 reward

November 6, 2016: 5k memorial
April 17, 2017: one year later
April 18, 2019: Most recent article, 3 years later
Click to expand...
Thanks for compiling this!

You might want to also post it in the "Media & Timeline" thread where it can be used as a future reference item.
TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, Dallas 18 Apr 2016 Media & Timeline *NO DISCUSSION*
 
DeDee said:
A question of the day seems to be that because the murder by firearm was conducted, then why not just shoot her when she exited her vehicle.
What is the value of the black SWAP get-up coupled with the shock and awe witnessed on CCTV during the mysterious, malevolent activities inside the church?
Click to expand...
Every time I try to look at this as a targeted event, I have that same question. The more elaborate you make this - the disguise, walking around the church on camera, etc. - the more chances you create to leave behind evidence. I would think if it were deliberate and she was targeted, the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle applies. Between the rain, time, darkness and relative remoteness of the location a gun shot from a small caliber gun would very likely not be noted by anyone. But criminals don't always do the smart things.
 
JnRyan said:
One of the articles @tiktaalik posted above:
Slain fitness instructor died of head wound at Midlothian church, warrant says

Missy died of a head wound from an "unknown instrument". I suppose one could say a gun is an instrument. But I'm guessing it is from a hammer or prybar that the killer had in his hand at the time he confronted her.
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I don't see a warrant that uses the words "unknown instrument" - do you have a link? I wonder if maybe that's just the reporter's thinking rather than the warrant's wording.

The warrant wording that has led us to the idea it was something other than a gun is probably this, in the very first warrant: "Terri Bevers’ had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest are consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building." We see the words "puncture wounds" and think of a knife or a crowbar; whereas technically she could have been "punctured" by multiple bullets, which would satisfy the language in the warrant.

Anyhow, the FBI said the weapon was "Handgun -pistol, revolver, etc". That's definitive.

Only LE knows what's what. And they do know the answer. But for us, there are lots of ways we can try to justify this to make sense, if we want to know. For example ....

*The warrant doesn't actually say that the perp is 'seen on video' with "tools" that caused her death, only that he/she had them.
*Or, if we want to align the video with the warrant wording, here's one guess: perhaps somewhere in the security video (which we have only been given part of) a handgun was seen, but we either haven't recognized it, or the public hasn't been given that section of the video.
*There's another explanation, of course, which is that that perhaps there were knife or crowbar injuries too.
*Important point - The warrant doesn't say the puncture wounds are the COD.
*Or, perhaps at the time of the early warrants they thought some puncture wounds were the COD, and then the autopsy found there were gun wounds as the real COD.
*But perhaps no such crowbar/knife type wounds even exist - it could just be speaking of bullet holes..
 
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SteveS said:
I don't see a warrant that uses the words "unknown instrument" - do you have a link? I wonder if maybe that's just the reporter's thinking rather than the warrant's wording.
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Have I seen ALL of the UNREDACTED warrants? No, I haven't someone else may have, but I haven't. This is mainstream media so it is allowed. (Of course, the The Daily Mail and People magazine are allowed as well and I've found some items there to be questionable.)
 
I think he/she didn't kill her outside when she arrived because they wanted to terrorize her. This almost seems like something from a horror movie where the killer is sort of toying with the victim. I think this was extremely personal to this person and just shooting her wouldn't satisfy them. This would explain the complex disguise and unconventional murder weapon. When I first watched the video, I was instantly reminded of the killer from the movie 'The Prowler'. It's just extremely creepy. I really believe this person had a dark and sinister intention of doing more than just a one and done murder.
 
The more I read, the less I feel this was targeted or meant to be a murder at all, until it happened. Especially if he was carrying tools that are more common to thieves/housebreakers and used one of those as a weapon. But am still undecided overall...
 
JnRyan said:
Have I seen ALL of the UNREDACTED warrants? No, I haven't someone else may have, but I haven't. This is mainstream media so it is allowed. (Of course, the The Daily Mail and People magazine are allowed as well and I've found some items there to be questionable.)
Click to expand...
I wasn't saying that media didn't use "unknown instruments." It's in their article. Instead, I was inquiring if you had looked to see if that wording was actually in a warrant, but apparently the answer is no. That's fine, just asking.

THE POINT IS - just from reading the article, we can't know whether "unknown instruments" was something taken from the warrant wording, as there were no quotation marks, and it could have merely been the reporter's personal wording or thinking.

Also: Unknown to whom - to the warrant writer, or to the reporter? Unknown in what way - as to what TYPE of weapon, or what exact weapon?
 
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