TX TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, Midlothian, 18 Apr 2016 #49

[AnonymousSeesYOU]

So they go WAY out of their way to get THAT decked out in a uniform in a limited amount of time at 4am in the morning?

Let’s not allow our relatively conventional schedules and robust mental health to intrude upon the allowance of the possibility of deviance from norms.

 

[LadyL]

Maybe it’s our mental health that holds us back from reacting violently in startling, unexpected situations. And for good reason. Thank goodness. But not everyone enjoys, adopts the same behaviors, reactions under stress. We should probably allow for deviations from the norm particularly with respect to this case. Not all LARPers are alike. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not an insanity defense so much as it is a deeply disordered personality response. And some disordered personalities are prone to LARP as authority figures.

what is LARP??

 

[AnonymousSeesYOU]

How about a teen? Not from the area. Like a grandson, visiting, grandparents never aware, never expecting.

Just a thought.

Jmo

I suspect it’s a visitor.

 

[lonewanderer]

what is LARP??

Live Action Role Play

You may have seen this before in something like the movie Role Models.

A person dresses like a character and pretends to be them, sometimes into depth that there is factions and re-enactments.

This is usually done with groups of people, pretending to be something in particular such as Lord Of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, Star Trek.

They typically ARE NOT dressed in SWAT gear from head to toe, dressed like no one in particular, alone, in a church at 4am and just happen to stumble across a woman and murder her.

 

[AnonymousSeesYOU]

what is LARP??

Live Action Role Play, though in this case I suspect it’s less so an admitted conscious “role player” than a delusional fantasist who donned the gear and went out on a deluded criminal mission.

 

[LadyL]

Live Action Role Play

You may have seen this before in something like the movie Role Models.

A person dresses like a character and pretends to be them, sometimes into depth that there is factions and re-enactments.

This is usually done with groups of people, pretending to be something in particular such as Lord Of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, Star Trek.

They typically ARE NOT dressed in SWAT gear from head to toe, dressed like no one in particular, alone, in a church at 4am and just happen to stumble across a woman and murder her.

Live Action Role Play, though in this case I suspect it’s less so an admitted conscious “role player” than a delusional fantasist who donned the gear and went out on a deluded criminal mission.

Thanks. I agree with both of you.

 

[AnonymousSeesYOU]

I suspect it’s a visitor.

I suspect it’s a niece, nephew, cousin, grandchild. It takes a clan to preserve this silence.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

So they go WAY out of their way to get THAT decked out in a uniform in a limited amount of time at 4am in the morning?

Why would it be way out of their way? What limited amount of time? They could have been dressed like that for hours, we have no idea where they drove from or when they got dressed. For a potential LARPER, this outfit is not complicated, it doesn't even include any make-up or fake body modifications.

 

[lonewanderer]

Why would it be way out of their way? What limited amount of time? They could have been dressed like that for hours, we have no idea where they drove from or when they got dressed. For a potential LARPER, this outfit is not complicated, it doesn't even include any make-up or fake body modifications.

But why all that and not carry SWAT related things?

What LARPer would walk around lazily swinging a hammer with a SWAT outfit?

Why aren’t they emulating a particular movie, vide game, tv show?

Why didn’t they have something so standard for a SWAT outfit as an assault rifle or any type of gun out and at the ready? Why did they not have something as simple as a baton?

This theory just makes no sense to me. LARPers and cosplayers typically want to be seen, or want to emulate certain people and their actions.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

But why all that and not carry SWAT related things?

What LARPer would walk around lazily swinging a hammer with a SWAT outfit?

Why aren’t they emulating a particular movie, vide game, tv show?

This theory just makes no sense to me. LARPers and cosplayers typically want to be seen, or want to emulate certain people and their actions.

Aw, larp doesn't strictly mean a specific known definable role, calling someone a larp is like calling them an imposter/faker, pretending to be something they are not, especially if they are fantasizing and pretending to be something they never could be in real life, like a police office.

What person preparing for murder would walk around lazily swinging a hammer with a SWAT outfit? Smacking doors and making noise. Leaving broken glass and damaged doors that could give away that someone broke in.
An outfit that you can't run or be agile in. Walking off balance in ill-fitting clothes. A helmet that limits their sight.

 

[lonewanderer]

Aw, larp doesn't strictly mean a specific known definable role, calling someone a larp is like calling them an imposter/faker, pretending to be something they are not, especially if they are fantasizing and pretending to be something they never could be in real life, like a police office.

What person preparing for murder would walk around lazily swinging a hammer with a SWAT outfit? Smacking doors and making noise. Leaving broken glass and damaged doors that could give away that someone broke in.
An outfit that you can't run or be agile in. Walking off balance in ill-fitting clothes. A helmet that limits their sight.

Why didn’t they have any police officer things like a baton? Weapon holstered in site?

To answer the second part, it’s pretty believable that this person was (very poorly) attempting to make their break-in look like a robbery. There is no loot bag, they are in no rush, they are dressed in clothing that IS bulky, hard to move in, doesn’t fit, and isn’t agile. Not exactly something you would want if you were trying to take things and leave. It’s much more likely to me that the getup is to add a layer of protection against physical attacks, keep forensics off and most importantly, conceal identity.

There is also very little (if anything) obstructing their site. You can very clearly see that portion of their face in the video, with a cloth baklava covering the nose down and a helmet that appears to be military style (though some angles really look like a baseball helmet of motorcycle cop helmet) that is not in their eyes.

 

[FromGermany1]

My personal opinion - LE was deliberately trying to mislead the public, so they called the gun a tool (ie, a tool used to shoot someone) and spoke of the bullet wounds as "puncture" wounds (ie, wounds that had punctured the skin).

To fit the description, there would have been as few as 2 shots (but no less) that were consistent with the said "tool(s)," as the description said "multiple," "wounds" (plural), and said they were in head AND chest (which would take more than one shot).

Our known info is that she was killed by gunshot, so the wounds that killed her were bullet wounds. And we have to line up the fact that they wrote "tool(s)" and "puncture" at a point when they knew those facts (the autopsy was already done).

My impression they were trying to mislead us is not only based on that misleading description (which technically is true, but leads us to think something different) but also on the fact that that was the one and only time the local LE ever said anything to the public about any details of her death.

Because of the broken glass desk or similar quite near to Missy (so I remember) I could imagine at the time, that the SP with something like a crowbar had beaten her and damaged the furniture during this.
When I saw the statistics about homicide and there was only one murder in April 2016, done by weapon, I thought, SP did the shooting after the beating to entirely end MB's life.
I'm only explaining my ideas. Don't know now in 2023, how the murder was carried out exactly.

 

[FromGermany1]

Perhaps this is where he starts - a low risk environment where he can knock around looking like a cop, with few consequences or risks, and wait to see the break-in footage on the evening news the following night to get his first thrills.

bbm
My thought since years is it, that it was an ordered hitman, who did it for money, and he likes to do his "work" in a sensational way. He likes to see Breaking News about himself and likes to have all Social Media to himself for years to come. He likes to participate in Crime forums as well.

You are right: there is no basis to think especially this way. But sometimes there are reasons.

 

[lonewanderer]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
This person seemed to do a very good job of not being seen entering the church and leaving without being noticed too.

It seems like a major stretch to think a teen would have planned that all out (especially if he/she was there not intending to hurt someone) and would have had the foresight of covering their tracks.

The person in the SWAT attire, while a bit awkward, does not seem sloppy enough to be a teen on thrill-seeking dress up adventure. They don't appear to have any adrenaline pumping, are moving slowly around, and seem to be wasting time (I suspect the SWAT wearing is wasting time and checking rooms to best plan how to attack Missy)

 

[lonewanderer]

bbm
My thought since years is it, that it was an ordered hitman, who did it for money, and he likes to do his "work" in a sensational way. He likes to see Breaking News about himself and likes to have all Social Media to himself for years to come. He likes to participate in Crime forums as well.

You are right: there is no basis to think especially this way. But sometimes there are reasons.

Typically, hitmen are not like what you see in the movies. More often than not, it is a total doofus carrying out a hit for a very low sum of money. There is reasons for this. Less of a paper trail for the person ordering the hit, and can easily blame the hitman due to lack of intelligence and ability to mentally defend themselves.

Sometimes, it isn't exactly money handed to them. I read a murder plot about a woman who wanted a rival dead, so she had her boyfriend cut a deal with one of the tenants he was a landlord for, where the tenant would not have to pay rent anymore if he carried the act out. This made it SUPER hard to prove on the "she" in this story, and her bf and the hitman are now in jail for it.

 

[moslym3]

Because of the broken glass desk or similar quite near to Missy (so I remember) I could imagine at the time, that the SP with something like a crowbar had beaten her and damaged the furniture during this.
When I saw the statistics about homicide and there was only one murder in April 2016, done by weapon, I thought, SP did the shooting after the beating to entirely end MB's life.
I'm only explaining my ideas. Don't know now in 2023, how the murder was carried out exactly.

We know that MB was shot and un-attended for over 20 mins. So we can't be sure that she was even dead when SP left the building.

 

[somequestions]

I had a theory regarding why the car drove around SWFA turning their headlights on and off in the hours before the murder of Missy Bevers at the Creekside Church of Christ.

One aspect of the case that has always been unique is that the actual murder itself was not caught on the surveillance cameras. What if the person drove around SWFA to make it appear they were afraid of surveillance cameras? But the reality is they know exactly where the surveillance cameras are within the church, even to the point of making sure the murder was not caught on camera?

I know it is sort of out there to think this since it appears to just be a burglary gone wrong and most crimes are simple. But the reason I think a person would go to all this trouble to dress up as a SWAT person is because they are hoping police will look at the crime for what it is, a random stranger burglary. Maybe this person also worried police might wonder if the murder not being caught on camera was not a coincidence so they stage this drive around SWFA to make it appear they are very concerned about surveillance cameras when the reality is they are not concerned at all.

It is the same reason why not checking the southwest awning doors at the church to see if they were open is strange to me. If a door had been open, and if the burglar had seen Missy Bevers or anyone else coming into the church, and managed to be able to walk out without being seen or come up with a story for why they are there and then leave, who could ever prove someone had trespassed and was looking for things to steal(other than the surveillance cameras)? The only reason this is even considered a burglary in addition to the murder is because of the damage to the exterior of the church where the burglar got in.

 

[JnRyan]

How about a teen? Not from the area. Like a grandson, visiting, grandparents never aware, never expecting.

Just a thought.

Jmo

One of my thoughts, too.

 

[glassheater]

My understanding, and correct me if I’m wrong, is Missy was startled shortly after entering the church building. There’s been times I’ve been startled entering my own house hearing a noise and my instinct is to run back outside. I wonder why Missy went towards the noise versus going away from it until she was sure who it was. My only theory is perhaps the person did know Missy and called out for her and she went towards the perp out of voice familiarity.

 

[SteveS]

It is the same reason why not checking the southwest awning doors at the church to see if they were open is strange to me.

There are quite a few reasons why the Loser perp would have picked the door they did, that are way more likely than the idea they were trying to be tricky in their choice.
1 There's nothing odd about not going on the outside door to door, in heavy drenching rain, around a very large building with many doors.
2 No one has said any doors were actually unlocked, have they? So perp not wasting his time, maybe it's because he rightly didn't see the point.
3 Both the awning and the W-side doors could be seen from the highway, and someone trying to break in perhaps attract police attention. The kitchen and back-side doors could not. That makes a huge difference in choices.
4 Other than the kitchen door, the other doors actually had TWO layers of locked doors, which were electronically locked (which means they would be always be AUTOMATICALLY set to lock or unlock). The likelihood that any one of them would have been unlocked, while the others were locked, was essentially zero.
5 The various double doors also had cams to avoid. The kitchen door did not.
6 Loser perp did try one of the double doors first, but gave up. I am guessing they became deterred by two layers of locks, and then bailed when they saw it would be followed by cams.
...I'm wondering if he would have at first been wearing that clear mask while trying to break in - that seems like it would have been smothery, rain-smeared, hard to see, wet or foggy, and something that likely would be ditched quickly as he tried to gain access, making cams extra-problematic.