TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, Midlothian, 18 Apr 2016 #47

[TristanP]

I see that Texas allows the use of genetic genealogy in criminal investigations. So, that’s good.

DNA, genealogy website lead to arrest in 26-year-old Texas murder case

I would hope that LE has already begun utilizing this technology if they have viable DNA from SP.

I don’t think they have any DNA that they can say for sure belongs to the killer. He/she was dressed the way he was in order to avoid leaving any traces. Literally covered head to toe, with an extra head covering to keep hair in place. Not one piece of his/her body was not covered.

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

I don’t think they have any DNA that they can say for sure belongs to the killer. He/she was dressed the way he was in order to avoid leaving any traces. Literally covered head to toe, with an extra head covering to keep hair in place. Not one piece of his/her body was not covered.

There was a partial mixed sample according to an article in the Waxahachie Daily Light a year or two after the murder.

https://www.waxahachietx.com/news/20180126/new-lead-investigator-in-murder-of-missy-bevers-putting-together-team-of-fresh-eyes

 

[TheGardener]

Is this FBI report accurate? The murder weapon was a handgun?

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

Is this FBI report accurate? The murder weapon was a handgun?
View attachment 300002

Yes.

ETA: We’ve discussed the murder data.org data here before, but we haven’t discussed what the other possible values are for “Weapon” as it might have related to Missy’s case. It’s interesting to think about these other categories that were NOT selected to be the weapon that caused her death:

Blunt object - hammer, club, etc
Knife or other cutting instrument
Personal weapons, including beating
Firearm - type not stated
Other gun
Other or type unknown
Rifle
Shotgun

Police selected “Handgun - pistol, revolver, etc”

 

[Itsapuzzle]

We only have a couple of minutes of the perp in the church. The timestamp here is 3.58 am, so they're still in the early exploratory stage, checking out the place, striding around seeing what's what, and it's still quite a while till Missy's arrival ..... their demeanour may have drastically changed after this period of exploration - lot of time to fill.

And the vest ... here's a better view of it, still wondering about it, h'mm, it looks like a poncho style/over the top navy blue vest, but the right and left side are very different. Is it a kind of sling top strap thing? Thanks if anyone can enlighten at some point after current topics maybe. Will try and read previous threads to find if it's there, probably is .... we're in the last two days of lockdown here, and it's bucketing down outside, so good day to catch up on some reading. Cheers

 

[moslym3]

There was a partial mixed sample according to an article in the Waxahachie Daily Light a year or two after the murder.

https://www.waxahachietx.com/news/20180126/new-lead-investigator-in-murder-of-missy-bevers-putting-together-team-of-fresh-eyes

Finding a DNA match would be incredible. But I think there are two other possible ways this could be solved:
1. SP is caught doing something in the future and evidence found is connected to this case somehow - or -

2. Geofence data is examined by using some hardcore AI pattern analysis (if that's even legal). If they can get geofence data from the weeks leading up to and after the murder, a computer can help identify phones that are "out of normal pattern". People have pretty set patterns, especially in the middle of the night on a sunday. All it takes is identifying a few phones that wouldn't normally be moving around in that range at that time to start a serious POI list.
Maybe i'm just dreaming... all my opinions.

 

[TheGardener]

Is this FBI report accurate? The murder weapon was a handgun?
View attachment 300002 Yes.

Holy moley. This character suited up, ready to kill someone...in an empty church, at the ungodly hour of 4.am.? What was SP expecting? Godzilla in the vestibule? A treasure chest in the padre's office? Whatever SP's mission, the decision to assure it's success at all costs was made looooong before they donned that cop costume. This is serious premeditation and no kind of garden variety burglar. SP brought a gun to a food fight. What...a few hundred bucks and SP is ready for the beaches of Normandy? In an all but empty church?

Well, there's my answer to SP's reason for not backing off. SP has serious mental problems. This goes way beyond smash and grab. Something HUGE motivated SP to get into the mental state required to add a gun to their cop costume. SP wanted whatever they thought was in that building awfully bad.

 

[Gumshoe Stories]

Holy moley. This character suited up, ready to kill someone...in an empty church, at the ungodly hour of 4.am.? What was SP expecting? Godzilla in the vestibule? A treasure chest in the padre's office? Whatever SP's mission, the decision to assure it's success at all costs was made looooong before they donned that cop costume. This is serious premeditation and no kind of garden variety burglar. SP brought a gun to a food fight. What...a few hundred bucks and SP is ready for the beaches of Normandy? In an all but empty church?

Well, there's my answer to SP's reason for not backing off. SP has serious mental problems. This goes way beyond smash and grab. Something HUGE motivated SP to get into the mental state required to add a gun to their cop costume. SP wanted whatever they thought was in that building awfully bad.

Hold up there, Pardner. I don’t know if you live in the U.S. - we have people from all over the world here - but guns are as plentiful as candy. Any petty thief is likely to have a handgun on them. It doesn’t matter if they’re smashing the windows of cars parked on the street or vandalizing a storefront or doing a home invasion. Criminals have guns. There is zero to be inferred here from SP having a gun in the church.

 

[TheGardener]

Hold up there, Pardner. I don’t know if you live in the U.S. - we have people from all over the world here - but guns are as plentiful as candy. Any petty thief is likely to have a handgun on them. It doesn’t matter if they’re smashing the windows of cars parked on the street or vandalizing a storefront or doing a home invasion. Criminals have guns. There is zero to be inferred here from SP having a gun in the church.

Pardner? LOL! We're becoming friends. I like it.
I know we're up to our hip waders in firepower, but its a leap from busting in, stealing some SONY's and running off, or rummaging around in someone's backyard shed. This is top tier stuff. Its a statement of the limit you've set for yourself...which is no limit. SP is an extremely dangerous person.

 

[TristanP]

There was a partial mixed sample according to an article in the Waxahachie Daily Light a year or two after the murder.

https://www.waxahachietx.com/news/20180126/new-lead-investigator-in-murder-of-missy-bevers-putting-together-team-of-fresh-eyes

Right, but they don’t know if that is actually the killer’s DNA. They’ll have to have someone to match it to in order to know.

That person should have been leaving DNA all over that place and all the have is a partial mixed sample?

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Ah, this one shows more detail of the jacket, hadn't seen this before, from video clip posted in thread 1 by Bootsctr #1100
Cops Investigating Murder of Mom in Church Ask If Anyone Recognizes Killer's Walk
- h'mm, things look a lot clearer in this Inside Edition clip, more detail - front and back views ..... still working my way through thread 1, only 43 left to work through then I'll be up-to-date

 

[SteveS]

That person should have been leaving DNA all over that place and all the have is a partial mixed sample?

That is correct, and it possibly explains (and results from) the perp wearing something that fully covers him.

Had perp been less covered, how easily could LE have found reliable and isolated DNA for this perp? It still may have been difficult to impossible, since it is a building with so many various people who used it, and undoubtedly DNA from many people everywhere.

 

[interestedincases]

That is correct, and it possibly explains (and results from) the perp wearing something that fully covers him.

Had perp been less covered, how easily could LE have found reliable and isolated DNA for this perp? It still may have been difficult to impossible, since it is a building with so many various people who used it, and undoubtedly DNA from many people everywhere.

This just brought a thought to my mind. My mom's cousin was murdered back in the 80's (or early 90's, can't remember) and they finally caught her killer 10+ years later from his JEAN JACKET. She had fibers under her nails from the jacket and eventually they caught him on something else and he still had that same jacket all those years later and they got a match. Maybe, just maybe, MB had fibers under her nails of SP's "clothing" and eventually they can match it up. I know there wasn't much DNA, but possibly another avenue to get a match.

Going on the assumption that MB and SP had a struggle from the broken glass.........if SP shot MB and that was it, then it wouldn't happen.

 

[TheGardener]

In the article: Police Impersonation: Pretenses and Predators - Callie Marie Rennison & Mary Dodge American Journal of Criminal Justice The Journal of the Southern Criminal Justice Association ISSN 1066-2316Volume 37Number 4Am J Crim Just (2012) 37:505-522DOI 10.1007/s12103-011-9153-z - I found a very interesting statement.

"The authoritarian persona of police officers establishes the ultimate power imbalance between offender and victim and provides an easy opportunity for motivated offenders."

You're alone in what you believe is a large, empty building. You're preoccupied with preparing for a scheduled gathering. You hear a noise or a door open. You're a woman alone, so your adrenaline pops. Your spidey senses go through the roof. You turn to look...and its a cop! Are you thinking, "Crap! This cop is gonna kill me!"? No. You think, "That's not an early camper. That's a cop! What the heck is going on?" You're not marshaling the forces of your tight, athletic body so that you can attack the cop. You're relinquishing an element of your own personal authority to the authority the uniform represents. The protection the uniform represents. This cop knows what's going on and you don't. He's got a gun...and your gun is still in your truck.

Whether SP and MB engaged in an extended conversation or not, we don't know. A minute? A minute is a long time, conversationally speaking. We do know that SP's choice of a police officer's uniform was a shrewd one. It gave SP the psychological edge and the advantage of evoking easy compliance. SP understands the dynamic. If they didn't, any costume might do. But would just any costume evoke compliance? No. Whether diabolical burglar or determined assassin, the cop charade was a powerful, effective psychological tool in SP's kit. It diminished the victim and it continues to confound anyone interested in solving this case.

MS feared a life or death situation might arise at that church. She weighed the possibilities. She thought she was prepared. A slight shift in her usual behavior left her vulnerable inside the building and her gun outside in the truck. A sad and enigmatic irony.

 

[TheGardener]

Something else I've been thinking about...
Does the definition of SP's selected costume suit the crime? Is it correct?

SP had a wide variety of cop personas to chose from: security guard, beat cop, patrolman, detective, chief of police, undercover cop, motorcycle cop, SWAT cop. If their objective is burglary, security guard, beat cop or patrolman was be more apropos. But, the identity thing...a ski mask? Nah. It makes the rest of the outfit incongruous and foolish. So, you have to make a choice, an effective cop ruse or complete anonymity. You're going to be either a cop or a ski-mask guy. Cops don't wear ski masks. Besides, security guard is just about the lowest rung law officer in the food chain.

Gotta cover your face, but still maintain that presence of authority. Hmmmm. Only two kinds of cop are left. Motorcycle cop and SWAT. Motorcycle cop outfit: helmet, goggles, t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, pants, gaiters or boots, vest or a leather jacket that has "POLICE" emblazoned on the back. I don't see "SWAT" on the back of that vest. SWAT cops are part of a team. MOTORCYCLE COPS are lone wolves. One cop per motorcycle. What in the living hell would a SWAT cop be doing alone in an empty building in the a.m.? Nothing. He wouldn't be there in the first place unless all hell had broken out outside or inside, there were armored vehicles outside and five other guys willing to help him clear the building. It doesn't make sense. Besides, if a patrolman saw a SWAT cop anywhere near a building, parking lot, or church, he might just follow you to see what was up.

Let's see what impersonating a MOTORCYCLE COP has to offer. First of all, your costume is readily available through any Harley Davidson dealer: helmets, gaiters, gloves, goggles, vests and those ultra protective leather jackets that help prevent road rash if you manage to slide out on a curve. Paint police on the back of that vest or jacket and your costume is good to go. Its hard to conceal the family van or compact 4 door if you're poking around with malfeasance on your mind, but a motorcycle? You kill the headlamp, park it in the woods, scope out security, figure a way past it, and break in. You pull off your burglary or assassination and leave the way you came. A motorcycle cop with "POLICE" printed on their vest/jacket could pass a lot of disinterested cops to and from the crime in the dead of night. Your butt is covered INSIDE and OUTSIDE, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the crime. While the cops are eyeballing suspicious vehicles, you're back at your lair, tuning up the plugs on your cycle, sipping a beer and smiling.

Any young guy who's into motocross, or anyone who owns a cycle may well have 95% of this outfit in their garage. All they had to do was paint "Police" on their leathers.

I'm not suggesting this is "THE" helmet, but its readily available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/1Storm-Sport...ocphy=9012130&hvtargid=pla-668912890234&psc=1

So, could SP really be impersonating an MCP (motorcycle cop perp)? Could or would a woman try to pull this off?
What do you think?

 

[acehard]

When SP broke the glass, was it to enter a locked room?

 

[SteveS]

When SP broke the glass, was it to enter a locked room?

In the instances we know, each time the perp's glass breaking was to try to bypass a lock. If he did it elsewhere, it's not something we saw or have been told.

 

[johnnyringo]

Something else I've been thinking about...
Does the definition of SP's selected costume suit the crime? Is it correct?

SP had a wide variety of cop personas to chose from: security guard, beat cop, patrolman, detective, chief of police, undercover cop, motorcycle cop, SWAT cop. If their objective is burglary, security guard, beat cop or patrolman was be more apropos. But, the identity thing...a ski mask? Nah. It makes the rest of the outfit incongruous and foolish. So, you have to make a choice, an effective cop ruse or complete anonymity. You're going to be either a cop or a ski-mask guy. Cops don't wear ski masks. Besides, security guard is just about the lowest rung law officer in the food chain.

Gotta cover your face, but still maintain that presence of authority. Hmmmm. Only two kinds of cop are left. Motorcycle cop and SWAT. Motorcycle cop outfit: helmet, goggles, t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, pants, gaiters or boots, and a leather jacket that has "POLICE" emblazoned on the back. I don't see "SWAT" on the back of that jacket. SWAT cops are part of a team. MOTORCYCLE COPS are lone wolves. One cop per motorcycle. What in the living hell would a SWAT cop be doing alone in an empty building in the a.m.? Nothing. He wouldn't be there in the first place unless all hell had broken out outside or inside, there were armored vehicles outside and five other guys willing to help him clear the building. It doesn't make sense. Besides, if a patrolman saw a SWAT cop anywhere near a building, parking lot, or church, he might just follow you to see what was up.

Let's see what impersonating a MOTORCYCLE COP has to offer. First of all, your costume is readily available through any Harley Davidson dealer: helmets, gaiters, gloves, goggles, and those ultra protective leather jackets that help prevent road rash if you manage to slide out on a curve. Paint police on the back of that jacket and your costume is good to go. Its hard to conceal the family van or compact 4 door if you're poking around with malfeasance on your mind, but a motorcycle? You kill the headlamp, park it in the woods, scope out security, figure a way past it, and break in. You pull off your burglary or assassination and leave the way you came. A motorcycle cop with "POLICE" printed on their jacket could pass a lot of disinterested cops to and from the crime in the dead of night. Your butt is covered INSIDE and OUTSIDE, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the crime. While the cops are eyeballing suspicious vehicles, you're back at your lair, tuning up the plugs on your cycle, sipping a beer and smiling.

Any young guy who's into motorcross, or anyone who owns a cycle may well have 95% of this outfit in their garage. All they had to do was paint "Police" on their leathers.

So, could SP really be an MCP (motorcycle cop perp)? Could or would a woman try to pull this off?
What do you think?

I believe I saw or heard, possibly in a podcast, a former cop describe the outfit as "older style riot gear".

 

[TheGardener]

I believe I saw or heard, possibly in a podcast, a former cop describe the outfit as "older style riot gear".

About 40 years ago, I owned a custom motorcycle painting business. I painted custom motorcycles for shows. A lot of the guys I dealt with had helmet collections. Everything from WWII German helmets to the latest in fiberglass. Its a culture that goes by its own rules, has members ranging from young kids to retired guys. You would be surprised at what a motorcycle enthusiast might choose for head gear.

 

[Jenna84]

Something else I've been thinking about...
Does the definition of SP's selected costume suit the crime? Is it correct?

SP had a wide variety of cop personas to chose from: security guard, beat cop, patrolman, detective, chief of police, undercover cop, motorcycle cop, SWAT cop. If their objective is burglary, security guard, beat cop or patrolman was be more apropos. But, the identity thing...a ski mask? Nah. It makes the rest of the outfit incongruous and foolish. So, you have to make a choice, an effective cop ruse or complete anonymity. You're going to be either a cop or a ski-mask guy. Cops don't wear ski masks. Besides, security guard is just about the lowest rung law officer in the food chain.

Gotta cover your face, but still maintain that presence of authority. Hmmmm. Only two kinds of cop are left. Motorcycle cop and SWAT. Motorcycle cop outfit: helmet, goggles, t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, pants, gaiters or boots, vest or a leather jacket that has "POLICE" emblazoned on the back. I don't see "SWAT" on the back of that vest. SWAT cops are part of a team. MOTORCYCLE COPS are lone wolves. One cop per motorcycle. What in the living hell would a SWAT cop be doing alone in an empty building in the a.m.? Nothing. He wouldn't be there in the first place unless all hell had broken out outside or inside, there were armored vehicles outside and five other guys willing to help him clear the building. It doesn't make sense. Besides, if a patrolman saw a SWAT cop anywhere near a building, parking lot, or church, he might just follow you to see what was up.

Let's see what impersonating a MOTORCYCLE COP has to offer. First of all, your costume is readily available through any Harley Davidson dealer: helmets, gaiters, gloves, goggles, vests and those ultra protective leather jackets that help prevent road rash if you manage to slide out on a curve. Paint police on the back of that vest or jacket and your costume is good to go. Its hard to conceal the family van or compact 4 door if you're poking around with malfeasance on your mind, but a motorcycle? You kill the headlamp, park it in the woods, scope out security, figure a way past it, and break in. You pull off your burglary or assassination and leave the way you came. A motorcycle cop with "POLICE" printed on their vest/jacket could pass a lot of disinterested cops to and from the crime in the dead of night. Your butt is covered INSIDE and OUTSIDE, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the crime. While the cops are eyeballing suspicious vehicles, you're back at your lair, tuning up the plugs on your cycle, sipping a beer and smiling.

Any young guy who's into motocross, or anyone who owns a cycle may well have 95% of this outfit in their garage. All they had to do was paint "Police" on their leathers.

I'm not suggesting this is "THE" helmet, but its readily available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/1Storm-Sport...ocphy=9012130&hvtargid=pla-668912890234&psc=1

So, could SP really be impersonating an MCP (motorcycle cop perp)? Could or would a woman try to pull this off?
What do you think?

Interesting stuff. I've always felt it was a woman who grabbed some of her husbands or sons gear to make her self up to look like a male. Another reason I think this was targeted. What do you think?