TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, Midlothian, 18 Apr 2016 #46

[FromGermany1]

You assume that perp wanted to encounter MB. But maybe his target was CCOC (what he could find of value).

If so, he was expecting to be alone from the time he arrived, for several hours if he needed. In which case, his time was way shorter than planned, rather than luckily sufficient.

Why should SP have crashed the door panes at all, if he was scouring for something of value only? It makes then a bit of sense, IMO, if he had the elimination of Missy on his "plan for mission" and wanted to confuse all the investigators with his behavior on surveillance and with the results (broken glass here and there).
I'm only thinking about, if he was hired or not, because of the accompanying circumstances (BB away, seniors away).

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

Why should SP have crashed the door panes at all, if he was scouring for something of value only? It makes then a bit of sense, IMO, if he had the elimination of Missy on his "plan for mission" and wanted to confuse all the investigators with his behavior on surveillance and with the results (broken glass here and there).
I'm only thinking about, if he was hired or not, because of the accompanying circumstances (BB away, seniors away).

If you’re referring to the vertical window in the door to room 9, I think the obvious answer to the question is that they would smash the window in order to reach inside and unlock the door, so that they can access the darkened room and find out if there is something of value there.

if you’re referring to the broken doors at the NE entrance, the reason might be to test for an alarm. Or, maybe that’s just where they started to try to gain entry, then because the glass is thick there and there is another set of inner doors, maybe they then decided to look around for an easier entry point and found it in the kitchen service door.

 

[SteveS]

Why should SP have crashed the door panes at all, if he was scouring for something of value only?

To get inside locked doors. Or try to. He didn't have any keys.

 

[FromGermany1]

To get inside locked doors. Or try to. He didn't have any keys.

I thought, SP had crashed door panes while walking the hallways, without sense and without the need to do it. Afaik, also years ago there was never mention of the fact (??), that he needed to do it for entering the rooms. It seems, my memory isn't good enough.

 

[SteveS]

I thought, SP had crashed door panes while walking the hallways, without sense and without the need to do it. Afaik, also years ago there was never mention of the fact (??), that he needed to do it for entering the rooms. It seems, my memory isn't good enough.

There have been a lot of posts about all the "vandalism" and breaking glass and so on, but the video doesn't show anything like that. I don't recall LE using the word vandalism, either. Based on what we see, it looks like the breakage was instead about getting in to places, or perhaps a result of the final act in which MB was killed.

 

[Satchie]

Based on what we see, it looks like the breakage was instead about getting in to places, or perhaps a result of the final act in which MB was killed.

RSBM
But why did he need to get in to classrooms and other public spaces? The locked storage room, where there might be something valuable, gets a half-hearted tug with a pry bar and then SP ambles off.

 

[SteveS]

RSBM
But why did he need to get in to classrooms and other public spaces? The locked storage room, where there might be something valuable, gets a half-hearted tug with a pry bar and then SP ambles off.

Only the perp could give you accurate answers as to what he was thinking, but it's not hard to come up with logical possibilities.

How would he know what's in a room, unless he got in the room? It's a huge building, with a lot of possible places to find value. He went in lots of rooms, it appears.

Why didn't he bust down every door? I'm guessing he limited his effort to get into any particular place - if it's hard, go look for a room with easier access.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

More spontaneous plate thoughts. Have now looked at a fair bit of the youtube dashcam/walking cam from 4/5 years ago in Dallas and Austin specifically looking for handicap plates. It's interesting that every single disability plate I've seen, a fair few, have the letter H after a number, so that would probably mean the blob on the plate straight after the wheelchair is a digit and not a State, letter or other emblem - that is, if it is a Texas plate. MOO
End of spontaneous plate thoughts.

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

RSBM
But why did he need to get in to classrooms and other public spaces? The locked storage room, where there might be something valuable, gets a half-hearted tug with a pry bar and then SP ambles off.

My speculation is that SP’s primary goal may have been to find the offices. Not being familiar with the building, he would have no idea where they were. Not until he gets over toward the SW entrance is there a visible “Church Offices” sign with an arrow on the wall:



I think at that point, when we think he is staring at the camera, what he is really doing is noticing that sign. And then he makes a decision that this closet next to a classroom is not as important as what might be in the offices. So he heads in that direction. JMO.

 

[No it's not]

My speculation is that SP’s primary goal may have been to find the offices. Not being familiar with the building, he would have no idea where they were. Not until he gets over toward the SW entrance is there a visible “Church Offices” sign with an arrow on the wall:

View attachment 297176

I think at that point, when we think he is staring at the camera, what he is really doing is noticing that sign. And then he makes a decision that this closet next to a classroom is not as important as what might be in the offices. So he heads in that direction. JMO.

Hmm..if he was looking for the offices, why breaking in on the other end of where they are? Or why not trying to break into the SE entrance first instead of initially going for the NE entrance?

He clearly must have seen the outside directional sign on the N side, if the offices had been his primary focus. Just saying..



-Nin

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

Hmm..if he was looking for the offices, why breaking in on the other end of where they are? Or why not trying to break into the SE entrance first instead of initially going for the NE entrance?

He clearly must have seen the outside directional sign on the N side, if the offices had been his primary focus. Just saying..

View attachment 297182

-Nin

Good points, but I will counter with this. The offices could have been the primary focus once INSIDE the building. But I would think that when pulling into the property, the primary focus at that time is finding a point of entry that is shielded from the road and also from the driveway coming in. SP takes advantage of that big Creekside sign because it effectively prevents anyone from seeing a person back behind it, or the damage they’ve done.

I’m not even sure if SP drove around the outside of the building completely. Passing in front of the main entrance, or even being on the south side of the lot, would risk someone passing by and seeing a moving vehicle there at 3-something in the morning. So to me it seems most likely that SP drove straight in and parked somewhere at the NE where there are no lamp posts and the ground slopes down and mostly out of sight of the road.

So to summarize, concealment takes priority over parking near where the offices are. Once SP is inside without being detected, they believe they have the place all to themselves and can explore at will.

 

[No it's not]

Regarding the security cameras in the church. It bothered me, that the W Main entry does not seem to have a camera, even though the cub corner (kids) is located right there. There is no way they would not have secured that spot next to the exit doors. And they did:

If you recall the "squirrel" image of the church, it does show a possible camera mounted on the outside of one of the window panels. That image is from March 9th, 2015:


Click to enlarge

Cropped and enlarged:

Click to enlarge

However, in March 30th, 2016, that camera had been removed:


If you enlarge the image, you see they mounted another camera inside right over the cub corner entrance:


If this camera was functional, it may have caught MB's first entering the church's main driveway. It would also have excluded the possibility, that the killer exited via W Main Doors, if that had been considered.

ALL IMO

-Nin

 

[No it's not]

Good points, but I will counter with this. The offices could have been the primary focus once INSIDE the building. But I would think that when pulling into the property, the primary focus at that time is finding a point of entry that is shielded from the road and also from the driveway coming in. SP takes advantage of that big Creekside sign because it effectively prevents anyone from seeing a person back behind it, or the damage they’ve done.

I’m not even sure if SP drove around the outside of the building completely. Passing in front of the main entrance, or even being on the south side of the lot, would risk someone passing by and seeing a moving vehicle there at 3-something in the morning. So to me it seems most likely that SP drove straight in and parked somewhere at the NE where there are no lamp posts and the ground slopes down and mostly out of sight of the road.

So to summarize, concealment takes priority over parking near where the offices are. Once SP is inside without being detected, they believe they have the place all to themselves and can explore at will.

Sure, that's a possibility GS. Strange though, that they break and enter and then decide what they are breaking and entering for (offices). They seemed so prepared and well equipped, they do their outside/inside perimeter movements inside the church - as you pointed out- and yet I am missing the link between planning and execution.

The offices are located in the South part of the building. Where do you think SP parked his vehicle (if he had a vehicle)?

ALL IMO

-Nin

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

Sure, that's a possibility GS. Strange though, that they break and enter and then decide what they are breaking and entering for (offices). They seemed so prepared and well equipped, they do their outside/inside perimeter movements inside the church - as you pointed out- and yet I am missing the link between planning and execution.

The offices are located in the South part of the building. Where do you think SP parked his vehicle (if he had a vehicle)?

ALL IMO

-Nin

I didn’t say that they THEN “decided what they were breaking in for.” I said that their first priority would be to gain entry into the building without being seen. This is someone committing a crime and breaking into a building; it’s not like choosing a parking spot at the mall that will allow for the shortest distance to the Food Court, right?

You and I know exactly where the offices are because we have lived and breathed the layout of that building for five years. But if we go on the assumption that SP was not familiar with this building, does that sign at the driveway really help them locate where the offices are, if they even pause to read it? It’s a right arrow - “the offices are thataway.” But to a first-timer, what does that mean? Are they in front? Around to the south side? That sign really isn’t that helpful, if SP even bothered to look at it.

Again, once inside, the SP could feel that the pressure is off. They presumably tested for an alarm and nobody came. They completed entry into the kitchen, possibly dried off, and it’s still an all-clear. Now they can proceed systematically room by room without worrying about what is where.

Another possibility is that they didn’t specifically have “offices” on their mind when they broke in, but then saw the sign on the wall and began to then look for that specific target. Remember, what led us to this particular discussion was someone asking why SP gave up on room 1. I can’t be sure SP had offices as a specific thought the entire time, but it does seem to me that they honed in on it while at room 1. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they are looking in the direction of where that sign is.

 

[No it's not]

Regarding the security cameras in the church. It bothered me, that the W Main entry does not seem to have a camera, even though the cub corner (kids) is located right there. There is no way they would not have secured that spot next to the exit doors. And they did:

If you recall the "squirrel" image of the church, it does show a possible camera mounted on the outside of one of the window panels. That image is from March 9th, 2015:

View attachment 297184
Click to enlarge

Cropped and enlarged:
View attachment 297185
Click to enlarge

However, in March 30th, 2016, that camera had been removed:
View attachment 297186

If you enlarge the image, you see they mounted another camera inside right over the cub corner entrance:
View attachment 297187

If this camera was functional, it may have caught MB's first entering the church's main driveway. It would also have excluded the possibility, that the killer exited via W Main Doors, if that had been considered.

ALL IMO

-Nin

Additional view plus another unknown object marked in blue:


Click to enlarge

-Nin

 

[No it's not]

I didn’t say that they THEN “decided what they were breaking in for.” I said that their first priority would be to gain entry into the building without being seen. This is someone committing a crime and breaking into a building; it’s not like choosing a parking spot at the mall that will allow for the shortest distance to the Food Court, right?

You and I know exactly where the offices are because we have lived and breathed the layout of that building for five years. But if we go on the assumption that SP was not familiar with this building, does that sign at the driveway really help them locate where the offices are, if they even pause to read it? It’s a right arrow - “the offices are thataway.” But to a first-timer, what does that mean? Are they in front? Around to the south side? That sign really isn’t that helpful, if SP even bothered to look at it.

Again, once inside, the SP could feel that the pressure is off. They presumably tested for an alarm and nobody came. They completed entry into the kitchen, possibly dried off, and it’s still an all-clear. Now they can proceed systematically room by room without worrying about what is where.

Another possibility is that they didn’t specifically have “offices” on their mind when they broke in, but then saw the sign on the wall and began to then look for that specific target. Remember, what led us to this particular discussion was someone asking why SP gave up on room 1. I can’t be sure SP had offices as a specific thought the entire time, but it does seem to me that they honed in on it while at room 1. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they are looking in the direction of where that sign is.

View attachment 297197

We know now - you pointed that out as well - that he spent more time in one of the office rooms, than in the other rooms, or we can say at least that room seemed to be more disturbed than the other rooms and therefore we can conclude he spent some time there. He may have looked for that or those rooms to begin with. Okay.
We also know, that MPD did not mention anything else about the perp's possible vehicle other than it was caught on cam on the far end ( something like that). If that was indeed the perp's vehicle, where would he have parked it? Would he have picked up some things and then carried them eventually to his vehicle? Do you think his point of entry would have been identical with his point of exit, if everything had gone right? Just hypothetical, what is your opinion?

-Nin

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

We know now - you pointed that out as well - that he spent more time in one of the office rooms, than in the other rooms, or we can say at least that room seemed to be more disturbed than the other rooms and therefore we can conclude he spent some time there. He may have looked for that or those rooms to begin with. Okay.
We also know, that MPD did not mention anything else about the perp's possible vehicle other than it was caught on cam on the far end ( something like that). If that was indeed the perp's vehicle, where would he have parked it? Would he have picked up some things and then carried them eventually to his vehicle? Do you think his point of entry would have been identical with his point of exit, if everything had gone right? Just hypothetical, what is your opinion?

-Nin

First, MPD said they were not referring to seeing a vehicle in a corner of a frame at the church. It was SWFA. I believe it was Arkansasmimi who asked them to clarify via FB message and their response was “SWFA”. Now were they being honest? Who knows. I think it’s very much an open question as to whether there was any footage of a vehicle at the church, taken from church cameras.

Yes, room 17 might have been a target all along. That’s possible. But it’s also possible that his target all along was cash, which he hoped to find in the offices (which are mostly in 19 and 18). So perhaps by the time he got down to 17 he was frustrated and began to take it out on property.

As for where the killer might have parked, my best guess would be down at the NE corner. If SP was after cash, he doesn’t have to park super close. If the Altima is indeed connected, there isn’t a lot of room for “stuff” in a small sedan anyway. But SP has plenty of pockets for cash or can just carry a deposit bag in his hands. So I see him parking where the car won’t be visible, which is probably not right in front of that service door but further east and maybe around the corner on the east side.

One other parking option is that huge overflow parking area that is further North from the building. There are trees and shrubs and no light posts. SP could park a car there and no one would know it was there unless they drove directly up to it. If he parked at the SE corner of that overflow parking area, it’s still pretty close for his getaway and is well concealed.

 

[SteveS]

We know now - you pointed that out as well - that he spent more time in one of the office rooms, than in the other rooms, or we can say at least that room seemed to be more disturbed than the other rooms and therefore we can conclude he spent some time there.

On what basis is it believed that the perp "spent more time in one of the office rooms, than in the other rooms"? Or that "that room seemed to be more disturbed than the other rooms"?

It's certainly not in the video. Nor am I remembering LE saying such a thing - but based on where the cams were located, how would they be able to know the timing in those rooms anyhow?

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

On what basis is it believed that the perp "spent more time in one of the office rooms, than in the other rooms"? Or that "that room seemed to be more disturbed than the other rooms"?

It's certainly not in the video. Nor am I remembering LE saying such a thing - but based on where the cams were located, how would they be able to know the timing in those rooms anyhow?

@SteveS that is information that I provided, which came from my sources. However, I didn’t say that more time was spent. I did say that one room (17) was more disturbed.

 

[moslym3]

@SteveS that is information that I provided, which came from my sources. However, I didn’t say that more time was spent. I did say that one room (17) was more disturbed.

Do you know, were there items of value in the office in plain view that were not disturbed - like a laptop, ipad/tablet or camera?