TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers,45, murdered in church/person in SWAT gear,18 Apr 2016 #30

[Camerabug]

Sadly, it sure looks like we may be headed for the dreaded cold case file.

Although she hasn't posted in over a month I still give my vote to local Breck80 -- who works in the legal field -- for perhaps the most compelling piece of profiling/sleuthing so far...even if she has now changed her mind and I am not saying that she has.

Here is an excerpt from her excellent analysis in May.
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Motive: Personal & Professional Jealousy

IMO...You have a possible perp where LE is aware of the home bc of possible past domestic violence issues where police were called out; wife might have been the aggressor. Husband is former military & self-defense expert. Wife likely has above knowledge capabilities in self-defense & combat, too. Missy was fit & tough, but female perp was likely skilled enough to surprise attack and drop to the ground.

Background: Wife makes all the money working 9 years as a budget analyst at an aviation company. She's smart & successful with an MBA. She leaves her job one year ago & 3 months later becomes pregnant. So now you have a tsunami of things occurring: loss of major income and your 4th child on the way. She starts doing Mary Kay, another likely stressor, bc now two parents rely on unsteady income.

Right before pregnancy, daughter falls from the home stairwell balcony and suffers a broken jaw & brain injuries and is in ICU. She ultimately survives but requires longer hospital stay. More stressors.

Mom gets pregnant. During pregnancy, she posts selfies constantly and speaks about losing weight as soon as the baby arrives. She seems determined. She talks about getting in shape and going to the gym. When baby arrives, she's soon all about losing weight. But as the months move into February, she's not going to the gym as much nor losing the weight.

Soon her husband finds a great new job with a vibrant woman as a partner in the next town over. This woman is also a mom & wife and also runs her own business and seems to be loved by everyone. She's fit, bubbly and outgoing. Her husband and MB are working a lot and just all about helping other people with their goals! So mom and dad split time with the kids, but dad's new job requires him to do many classes early and late.

Missy is just like CT in her eyes. Missy's also a mom & runs her own business...And she's successful, healthy and fit. And everyone admires her. Even CT's husband. She can't take it anymore. The rage & jealousy builds. An emotional affair derives in her mind. Since she's smarter than all of us, in her eyes, perp thinks she can get away with it. She knows the ends and outs of that location, surveillance cams, when Missy will arrive, when campers will arrive & it won't be suspicious to be out early in the morning bc that's when she usually works out anyway.

April 16-17 Missy & AJ are heading to Austin for a work event.

One day before, April 15, a creepy message arrives to Missy on LinkedIn by unknown person.

April 18 - Missy is murdered with wounds to her head and chest, meaning the perp likely sat on top of her so she could see her eyes.

Husband never knows.

All of this JMO & my amateur profiling
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Yes! I don't remember this post! Thank you for re-posting. I think it's a real possibility.

 

[No it's not]

Agree Nin but where did the car go for 2+ hours if this was the SP. I know you didn't say that I just thought I'd ask lol

Thanks for all the work you do 

Drop off/ pick up car, possibly dropped off here and picked up here. JMO in case vehicle was involved. Thanks

Source:
Google Maps

 

[Tippy Lynn]

I believe that the cameras in that corner both had pretty significant blind spots. Based on how many tiles are visible from both directions, the overlapped/combined blind spot (illustrated in purple) could be as much at 10' x 8' in size in that corner of the hallway alone, not counting the vestibule area. Taking both LE's released statement and the blind spot calculations into account, it's very possible this is the location of the murder.

Edit to update my theory: Graphic warning! Perhaps MB only had the keys to the Main Entry on the west. She parked on the SW under the porte cochère, but had to walk around the outer walk to the main entry in order to use those keys, entering there. Camera Two captured her walking south toward the SW doorways to her parked vehicle - presumably to unload her equipment and maybe prop open the doors under the patio from the inside for her CGers to have access to the restrooms. The murder occurred in in that corner, beneath the camera's blind spots. Reports said there were signs of a struggle and broken glass. There is a glass table nearby, which could have been broken during the attack, accounting for both, even if the doors nearby were intact.

Exactly!!!

 

[No it's not]

I believe that the cameras in that corner both had pretty significant blind spots. Based on how many tiles are visible from both directions, the overlapped/combined blind spot (illustrated in purple) could be as much at 10' x 8' in size in that corner of the hallway alone, not counting the vestibule area. Taking both LE's released statement and the blind spot calculations into account, it's very possible this is the location of the murder.

Edit to update my theory: Graphic warning! Perhaps MB only had the keys to the Main Entry on the west. She parked on the SW under the porte cochère, but had to walk around the outer walk to the main entry in order to use those keys, entering there. Camera Two captured her walking south toward the SW doorways to her parked vehicle - presumably to unload her equipment and maybe prop open the doors under the patio from the inside for her CGers to have access to the restrooms. The murder occurred in in that corner, beneath the camera's blind spots. Reports said there were signs of a struggle and broken glass. There is a glass table nearby, which could have been broken during the attack, accounting for both, even if the doors nearby were intact.

That's how I understood it too the very first time it was reported. That she had to walk over to the main foyer/ welcome area entry doors (with awning) and then towards the SW entrance (porte cochere with awning). If that is indeed the case, there is no way the perp could explain, why he did not just flee away from MB, if he saw or heard MB' s vehicle approaching headlights, especially if he was in the porte cochere area. And if he did not see her arriving, then he would have possibly heard her unlocking those doors and enter, unless his hearing was impaired due to the head gear, which in itself bears the question, why he was wearing it to begin with, if it was not a hit but a burglary. -Nin

 

[No it's not]

How can the various snippets of info by LE about what was seen after MB entered be reconciled into a single story? Here's my thinking, in diagram form.

I'm guessing (and all of this fits with what we have been told)
* MB entered via the SW doors.
* She went up the main hallway (blue arrows), where she was moving away from the camera
* Lying in wait around one of the corners was perp in one of the locations marked "P."
* He attacked her out of sight of the cams, on one of the paths marked with the red arrows
* As a result she ended up in one of the places marked with a red "X."
* Then perp exited via one of the paths marked with black arrows which are essentially out of vision field of the cams we know, or cams are far enough away where might not have sensed motion and triggered, ultimately to the kitchen door exit, and he went out that door and away.

Nicely done with the illustration!

-Nin

 

[No it's not]

Okay so these are approximate, since they're pretty down and dirty. I believe the first three are pretty accurate - once again based on what I believe is an 84" door installation and accounting for some lens distortion - the last one I'm not as sure on:

Main tiled hallway: ~15'0" wide
Dutch Door hallway: ~8'0" wide
Kitchen hallway: ~8'0" wide
Last hallway (most difficult to measure) ~7'0" wide

Excellent, thank you, Bat. I was hoping to see different widths. Easier to identify now. Room # 12 seems to be indeed in the East part of the building. As I posted before, there may be storage area behind the stage in the sanctuary and at least 2 extra rooms on the NE and SE corners IMO.

Brilliant! -Nin

 

[No it's not]

In the bottom left picture (the one with SP on the west side of the building), are we looking north or south? I think that this picture is taken from one of the cameras in the SW corner, correct? In the picture on the bottom row (second from the right), are those the SW doors near the awning? Thank you.

ETA - In the bottom left picture, is the area across from SP the hall to the main entrance (the one on the west side)? If so, this picture must have been taken in the NW corner because SP would have had to turn left to be in his current location.

In the bottom left pic, where the perp is located in front of the bulletin board, we are looking N, meaning we are standing in the SW corner looking N. Yes, in the bottom second right pic we are seeing the doors to the porte chochere. The area across the perp is the sanctuary or middle part of the building. -Nin

 

[Seriously?]

Yes! I don't remember this post! Thank you for re-posting. I think it's a real possibility.

RE: child's reported fall from stairwell balcony
Does anyone know if there was an investigation by Child Protective Services at that time?
Does anyone now if Child Protective Services was called as a result of the domestic violence calls?
Does anyone know the extent of the head trauma?
Does anyone know how old the child was at the time of the fall?

 

[pepper 34]

Doors most likely have the kick stops like most large doors have. You just push them in down position with your foot so the door stays open until you flip them back up so the door will close.

Sent from my HTCD100LVWPP using Tapatalk

Yes, and hate those kick stops because sometimes where they are bolted on to the door has worked loose over time and they fall down to the floor rather than having to be pushed down purposely with your foot. When they are loose, they can leave a door propped open when you walk through them. You have to notice that in order to go back and hold them up with your foot while you shut the door.... a minor yet aggravating pain in the neck. That's why I question if anyone connected to the murder actually opened that door. It could have been left open much earlier as the church was closing up and someone left to go home... leaving the door ajar unknowingly and innocently.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

WOW if this crime is solved and it turns out to be some ticked off kid mad he couldnt get his dream girl due to the mom not allowing it or whatever I will feel really bad for all my thoughts and posts to the contrary

It was an angle I've been interested in to a degree, though I think this case hints at being much more tangled than just that aspect, with the search warrants stating that others in the community might be at risk. (It was an odd coincidence, though, to discover that April 15 was not only the date that bad cop Slaughter got arrested but also the deadline for purchasing high school prom tickets.)

 

[GA_Peach]

I don't understand - which camera do you think filmed MB if not the SW camera that faces down the main hall to the NW BatBrat's Camera Two? Whichever door she entered the building (main-west to turn right into main hallway would capture her face OR porte cochere to walk straight down main hallway would capture her back) - that same camera should be the one that filmed her. She was filmed in the same area as SP. (JMO and assuming LE meant to say main hallway and not Dutch door hallway.)

I don't really know, and I will attempt to explain my thinking as a reply to the next few posts. It doesn't make much sense to say that MB got "out of range" if she was walking toward the camera that was filming her. I can understand a blind spot, but that one sentence doesn't really make sense in the context of what we know.

JMO, but I think the SW camera is the one that captured her, as she walked from main entrance back to the SW entrance. So she 'got out of range' when she entered the blind spot and/or vestibule area. (Does that make sense?)

Batbrat, love your latest diagram and your blind spot idea is something to consider...though I still think it's cutting things a bit close for a perp who may have preferred to attack her off camera (and I get the sense he was purposefully avoiding the cams for the attack). Seems SP couldn't be sure Missy wouldn't struggle or fall back into range of one of the 2 hall cameras at that end of the hall if he attacked her in that corner blind spot...nor would he have the element of surprise in his favor waiting for an ambush there rather than hiding in the vestibule. I'm thinking she would likely see him as she approached the vestibule unless he was hiding IN the vestibule. The other advantage of a vestibule attack would be that the attack would more likely stay contained in that camera-free zone, even if she attempted to put up a fight at first.

Idk, just some musings...

Re the glass hall table - I keep reading about the theory of that breaking, but from pictures I've seen, it seems if that had been broken in the struggle, wouldn't it (and the struggle involving it) have been in the camera range?

This makes perfect sense, and it is how I have imagined things from the beginning. It would be odd to classify a relatively small blind spot as out of range, I think.

That's how I understood it too the very first time it was reported. That she had to walk over to the main foyer/ welcome area entry doors (with awning) and then towards the SW entrance (porte cochere with awning). If that is indeed the case, there is no way the perp could explain, why he did not just flee away from MB, if he saw or heard MB' s vehicle approaching headlights, especially if he was in the porte cochere area. And if he did not see her arriving, then he would have possibly heard her unlocking those doors and enter, unless his hearing was impaired due to the head gear, which in itself bears the question, why he was wearing it to begin with, if it was not a hit but a burglary. -Nin

Exactly.

In the bottom left pic, where the perp is located in front of the bulletin board, we are looking N, meaning we are standing in the SW corner looking N. Yes, in the bottom second right pic we are seeing the doors to the porte chochere. The area across the perp is the sanctuary or middle part of the building. -Nin

Please correct me if I am wrong. If that area across from SP is, in fact, the hallway leading to the main doors, this picture is the NW corner.... looking south (west would be to the right).

If a person is heading east (walking from the main doors toward the western hallway) and turns left, that person would then be north. What I am wondering is, "Is the camera covering the western/main hallway actually mounted in the NW corner (and not the SW corner as previously thought)?" That would explain MB getting "out of range" as she walked toward the SW doors. It might also provide a much larger blind spot for MB's attack than we previously thought.

ETA - Look at Camera Two's coverage. If you look at where the green stops, quite a bit of hallway at the far end is not picked up because it is "out of range". Are we 100% positive about camera placement? I think that the camera we are seeing in the bottom left of NIN's picture is mounted in the NW corner looking south.

 

[Seriously?]

It was an angle I've been interested in to a degree, though I think this case hints at being much more tangled than just that aspect, with the search warrants stating that others in the community might be at risk. (It was an odd coincidence, though, to discover that April 15 was not only the date that bad cop Slaughter got arrested but also the deadline for purchasing high school prom tickets.)

I question an adolescent's ability to plan and commit the murder in this way. Executive function of their brain isn't close to maturity, and the casual demeanor of this killer just looks like someone older and more mature. Looks that way to me, anyway. No shuffling around, checking a watch, startled by any possible sounds in that vacant building, no nervous hand movements. It also looks like the killer was familiar with her routine at the church - not sure how an adolescent would know that.

 

[GA_Peach]

I question an adolescent's ability to plan and commit the murder in this way. Executive function of their brain isn't close to maturity, and the casual demeanor of this killer just looks like someone older and more mature. Looks that way to me, anyway. No shuffling around, checking a watch, startled by any possible sounds in that vacant building, no nervous hand movements. It also looks like the killer was familiar with her routine at the church - not sure how an adolescent would know that.

I agree.

 

[GA_Peach]

Any idea what this oval "object" is in the above screen capture? It looks like a person to me. :gaah:

 

[interestedincases]

Any idea what this oval "object" is in the above screen capture? It looks like a person to me. :gaah:

Someone familiar with the church said it's a coat rack with a hanging coat (in one of the many threads back :/ Don't know which one). I do remember watching the video quite a bit and the "object" never moved. Then they came on and explained the coat rack.

 

[GA_Peach]

Someone familiar with the church said it's a coat rack with a hanging coat (in one of the many threads back :/ Don't know which one). I do remember watching the video quite a bit and the "object" never moved. Then they came on and explained the coat rack.

I figured it was not a person, but it jumped out at me for the first time.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

On the shards of glass, I'm in agreement with what you said. I'll just add that the past convo about glass (at least on my part) wasn't necessarily just about whether the glass could have been lethal, but whether some of her visible injuries and puncture wounds could have been from (non-safety) glass. Or if, in fact, it's possible that she might have fallen during the struggle and cracked her head on a glass table as she went down. This is all speculative, of course, with no basis so far in the evidence we know about (which isn't much, regarding the crime scene). Sure would like to see that autopsy report!

Now, back to the ambush part. I always take it with a healthy grain of salt when the local news stations indirectly quote police. They take such unprofessional liberties when doing so, it leaves me smh. For example, remember this one? "Police spent most of the night at the church measuring and performing video reconstruction, and now say they have a much better description of the suspect." That's a paraphrase, but the latter part of it is nearly verbatim. And once we heard from LE directly, what did we get? A height range that didn't get better; it got worse. And nothing more definitive regarding gender or body type. So that makes me wonder if the stations misrepresented whatever LE actually told them.

So when a local news station says, "Police say she was ambushed." I disregard that unless I hear something from LE directly that supports it. And in fact, what we've heard from LE as recently as the 5/20 presser is that they are not committed to any one theory. Remember also that in those early affidavits/SWs, LE stated that they believed the killer and MB had been in contact before the murder. Yet we have heard absolutely nothing from LE in later press conferences which would indicate that they still believe that to be the case.

Everyone is welcome to draw their own conclusions of course, but for me the jury is still out on whether the perp went to the church targeting MB, or even whether the perp knew MB was even in the church until the moment they encountered one another. And the jury is also still out on the true nature of the crime itself - whether it was particularly brutal or done with great rage and hate as many have suggested, or whether death occurred as perhaps an unintended consequence after a couple of swings of the tool the perp had in hand. I mean, we don't even know how many wounds she had, only that there were wounds to head and chest. We also don't know for sure that the wounds noted were definitely caused by a tool, only that the wounds appear to be "consistent with" items the perp is seen carrying in the video.

Yes, I know you're still in the B & E camp, and the way I see it, variety of opinion in here keeps the discussion lively. I do think that the fact that LE have also stated they think Missy was 'targeted' works against that theory, though...unless you think the news stations got that wrong, too. I think in this particular crime, at this point of time, it comes down to juggling what little facts we know and forming opinions about what we believe largely based on observation, perception, and hopefully a fair amount of logic.

And yes, wish we knew the manner of death...though hopefully the fact that that's secret (for now) means LE has a valuable edge they're pursuing concerning that.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

I question an adolescent's ability to plan and commit the murder in this way. Executive function of their brain isn't close to maturity, and the casual demeanor of this killer just looks like someone older and more mature. Looks that way to me, anyway. No shuffling around, checking a watch, startled by any possible sounds in that vacant building, no nervous hand movements. It also looks like the killer was familiar with her routine at the church - not sure how an adolescent would know that.

I've been in the camp that if SP is an adolescent, he is not in this crime alone (though in the building alone) - which explains lack of apparent nervousness, to me at least. To me, the size, walk, and especially demeanor strikes me far more akin to a young male than a mature female adult, for example (the vandalism behaviors, the wall tapping as he walks, the attitude at the double dutch doors). JMO...

 

[GA_Peach]

I've been in the camp that if SP is an adolescent, he is not in this crime alone (though in the building alone) - which explains lack of apparent nervousness, to me at least. To me, the size, walk, and especially demeanor strikes me far more akin to a young male than a mature female adult, for example (the vandalism behaviors, the wall tapping as he walks, the attitude at the double dutch doors). JMO...

If SP is an adolescent, who helped him with this crime? [Asked in an inquisitive tone. I have really enjoyed the discussion over the past few days.]

 

[ZVEDZA]

Legal disclaimer: The following is just my opinion and for entertainment purposes:
I know there's a lot of imaginative, creative, intelligent people on this forum and I know that I'm in the minority here, but in my 17 years if LE experience I still believe this to be a burglary gone wrong. I've been to the church and have seen the exterior cameras. One is located in the front of the church pointing to the entrance from the highway and the other is in back.
I'll only go with facts from LE and not topics covered by the media or the internet.
MPD has stated that the suspect's vehicle is seen on camera and parked too far away for license plate identification and they aren't comfortable releasing details of the vehicle. However, they don't say how long the vehicle was in that specific spot.
The suspect was in the church for approximately 15-20 mins before victim arrives. We know that it was raining that night. However, when I look at the video there are no signs of precipitation on the suspect or even where that person has walked.
In my experience and opinion, the suspect parked under the awning where suspect won't get wet and the suspect can easily load something of value into the vehicle. There were no cameras under the awning.
Speculation, again based on experience, the victim arrives and the suspect notices the headlights of victims truck. The suspect goes back to where he/she is parked. The victim also parks under the awning in order to unload the truck with items needed for her fitness class. The victim sees the suspects car (maybe thinks it's an early camper) and proceeds to unload truck. Meanwhile the suspect is possibly "freaking out" thinking that he/she has a witness to the burglary they are committing. Victim enters the church and an altercation occurs which resulted in the murder of the victim.
I know people are hung up on the fact that nothing was reported stolen. When I look at the video I see a church burglary taking place and the suspect casing out the establishment to see what he/she can load into their car and that eventually the suspect was interrupted.
In burglaries of churches and schools I've, on numerous occasions, seen suspects 'casing' the place for sometimes hours (even stopping to eat something from a fridge and use the microwave).
However, I can say that this forum in particular has been very interesting to read through.