AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #1

[DimeDetective]

I believe Tracie's father had passed away before the murders.

Respectfully snipped.

This is correct, Robert H. "Bob" Hawlett died in 1987 when Tracie was 4 years old.

 

[Rommelain]

That's the most frustrating part - when the killer is likely known but the evidence isn't there. That's similar to the cold case I posted regarding the murder of Chanda Fehler. The police are almost certain about who did it, but that key evidence isn't there and the years are passing. I hope for closure on this for the friends, family and my fellow Alabamians.

 

[killarney rose]

Welcome Rommelain, I am in TN for the time being also.and welcome to Effect too.

 

[Sulamith]

Articles from The Dothan Eagle are pretty hard to come by online; most of them are only available temporarily before they are pulled. This is a rare online Dothan Eagle article and one I hadn't seen before today. In it, Tracie Hawlett's stepfather, Mike Roberts, has some interesting things to say about the lengths he's personally willing to go to in order to see this case solved:



http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110808/APN/1108080532

I'm constantly searching for an entry point, some open door that could possibly put us in contact with the girls' families and/or friends and, at the very least, alert them to the fact that there are people here who are very passionate about seeing this case solved. Maybe Mike Roberts is that entry point, that first person we need to contact.

I'm considering how to best go about this. One new idea is to write an open letter to the families to be published in the local newspaper(s).

Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks in advance.

BBM I think that Mike Roberts would be the entry point. I think I would write him a letter (maybe his address is in the phone book) letting him know that there are people he does not know that are concerned about having the case solved. Invite him to join WS? Or, see if a reporter at The Dothan Eagle would forward a letter to him. Maybe direct contact is in bad form. IDK. I feel that an open letter to the families in the paper might be a tad too public. They might feel as though they were being "called out" publicly, so to speak. :moo:

 

[killarney rose]

MOO os that trying to get any assistance from The Dothan Eagle would be useless. They are a pretty poor excuse for a newspaper. The extent of reporting there is pulling stories from the sister papers in central FL and running them as news here. Most of the reporters are so young that it's doubtful they remember the case. This paper is pretty much a foot in the door for new journalism graduates until they can get some experience and move on. It is not the paper it once was.

 

[DimeDetective]

Questions for LE, Part III​

• We’ve come across mention in local Internet forums of a second witness (now deceased) who heard gunfire that night. Can you confirm this for us? The information we have is that he lived near Depot Lane. Can you confirm this for us? If so, is this what brought investigators to the Depot Lane area? How many witnesses came forward with reports of hearing gunshots, screams, or other suspicious sounds that night?
  
  
• If the killer is local, doesn’t his choice of leaving the car on Herring Avenue point to his being a local, thus narrowing the field of potential suspects considerably? Do you believe this is a mistake made by the killer?
  
  
• As with the above questions, the killer leaving his DNA (if it is indeed his) on one of the victims seems quite a major mistake made by the killer. Was the state of DNA testing at the time such that the killer would not have worried much about being identified through the semen or other DNA left behind at the scene?
  
  
• Does the evidence tell you the perpetrator showed signs of intelligence, or a lack of intelligence, in his movements, decisions, and actions?
  
  
• Were you able to determine that the mud on the victims’ shoes came from Sandy Creek?
  
  
• We’ve read conflicting reports on time(s) of death. Though some media reports and law enforcement officers quoted approximate and varying times of death, Chief Spivey was quoted in the media as saying the heat from the morning and early afternoon of August 1st prevented officials from declaring a T.O.D. Can you set the record straight for us? Was a T.O.D. ever declared?
  
  
• Do you believe the killer moved the car/bodies to Herring Avenue because the location where the murders took place could have linked him to the crime?
  
  
• We’ve read of a possible sighting of J.B.’s car parked on Herring Avenue as early as 3:00 a.m. on August 1st. We subsequently read that this sighting was called into question. Was this sighting confirmed?
  
  
• Are there any rumors you can definitively eliminate for us? Or, perhaps a better question: Are there any rumors you haven’t quite been able to rule out?
  
  
• Have there been any instances of jailhouse confessions, or of prisoners naming the person(s) who committed the murders?
  
  
• Do you believe it likely that J.B.’s keys were taken because they were used as a weapon to fight back against the perpetrator(s), and thus they had evidence (blood, skin, etc.) on them?
  
  
• Other than the surveillance camera inside the Big/Little Store, were the victims or their car spotted on any other surveillance video that night?
  
  
• Is it known whether the victims went inside the BP where they made that evening’s earlier phone call to friends?
  
  
• What were the directions given to the girls by Marilyn Merritt? Did she advise Highway 123 to U.S. 231, or SR 27 to 231? Does evidence exist that tells us which route the girls took, or were looking to take?
  
  
• Has a possible connection with the case of missing person Kemberly Lorin Ramer been investigated? (See TIPS — Connections: Kemberly Lorin Ramer.)
  
  
• Has a possible connection with The Daytona Beach Serial Killer been investigated? (See TIPS — Connections: The Daytona Beach Serial Killer.)
  
  
• Has a possible connection with The I-70 Killer been investigated? (See TIPS — Connections: The I-70 Killer.)
  
  
• Has a possible connection with Matthew L. Vaca been investigated? (See TIPS — Connections: Matthew L. Vaca.)
  
  
• Has a possible connection with Russell Williams been investigated? (See TIPS — Connections: Russell Williams.)
  
  
• Was serial killer Robert Lee Yates investigated as a possible suspect in the murders? (See TIPS — Connections: Robert Lee Yates.)
  
  
• We understand the unknown (at the time?) driver of the white truck figured largely into the America’s Most Wanted segment on the case back in 2000. If you have since identified and cleared the occupant(s) of the white truck, have you attempted to get a revised case summary aired on AMW or other shows?
  
  
• Did J.B. Beasley smoke?
  
  
• Was the now-abandoned train depot active in 1999? Were the tracks running behind the Big/Little Store active in 1999? Do you believe these may figure into the events of that night somehow?
  
  
• If the occupant(s) of the white truck seen on the Big/Little Store surveillance video were not identified until 2004 as we have read, why did this identification take so long?
  
  
• Were you able to determine, based on the mud/dirt found on the girls’ clothing and shoes, whether the girls were running, or whether they were made to sit, kneel, or lie down?
  
  
• Do you believe the sexual assault on J.B. may have been committed post-mortem? If so, what does this tell us about the killer?
  
  
• Would you agree that death was not the main purpose of this crime?
  
  
• What does the fact that the killer made no attempt to make this appear to be a robbery tell us about the killer and this crime?
  
  
• In your opinion, does the fact that the killer made no attempt to make this appear to be a robbery help to rule out the possibility that the primary crime scene (car) was staged in any way?
  
  
• If the victims had been left locked inside the trunk alive, would they have died of suffocation? Would this have been clear or unclear to the killer?
  
  
• Do you believe this was a random (and possibly botched) sex crime with murder as a natural extension of the sexual assault, a step seen by the killer as necessary to eliminate witnesses?
  
  
• Is there any evidence that suggests this crime was personal?
  
  
• Were any properties belonging to suspects or persons of interest searched as possible murder sites?
  
  
• Do you believe the car was left on Herring Avenue in an attempt to muddy the waters of the investigation?
  
  
• Was the sighting of the girls at the BP in Headland around 10:30 made firsthand by a police officer?
  
  
• Did the friend who spoke with the victims when they called from the BP in Headland around 10:30 note anything unusual about the call? What was the friend’s perception of the girls’ moods based on that telephone call?
  
  
• Was J.B. Beasley known to have kept the interior of her car clean?
  
  
• Did the Big/Little Store have soda vending machines outside the store?
  
  
• How much money was found in the girls’ purses? Is it possible robbery was not committed because the girls had nothing of any real value among their possessions?
  
  
• Did the occupant(s) of the white truck have a criminal record?
  
  
• Did the shell casing found at the possible murder site just south of town match the one found in the trunk?
  
  
• The shell casing found in the trunk was described by the media as “balancing precariously” on Tracie Hawlett’s leg. This, like the driver’s license on the dashboard, seems troubling in light of LE’s confidence that the car was driven to Herring after the shootings. Can you help us understand how the license and the shell casing stayed put in spite of the evidence that the car was moved after the murders?
  
  
• Can you confirm for us that the grease found on the back seat was behind the driver’s seat? Can you provide a description of the grease: the amount, the color, etc.?
  
  
• How long was Johnny Barrentine out that night? We’ve seen reports of 15 minutes and 2 hours.
  
  
• Did Barrentine go to LE himself or were you led to him through his wife? We’ve seen reports of both.
  
  
• Was Barrentine’s wife antagonistic toward her husband at any point during questioning, his arrest, etc.? Was she supportive? Was she consistently one or the other throughout?
  
  
• Did Barrentine really come forward with accurate information that only someone involved would have known — what the girls were wearing that night, for example?
  
  
• We understand Marilyn Merritt and her daughter 1) left the Big/Little Store before J.B. and Tracie, 2) stated that J.B. and Tracie turned right and headed west toward 231 leaving the Big/Little Store, and 3) did not see what happened to the girls after this point. We also understand that 4) the white truck captured on the Big/Little Store surveillance camera left after the Merritts but before the victims. Using or paraphrasing the statements given by Marilyn Merritt and her daughter, can you clarify for us how all four can possibly be true?
  
  
• When did Marilyn Merritt and her daughter come forward with information about what they had seen that night?
  
  
• Did Marilyn Merritt or her daughter mention anything at all about the white truck parked at the Big/Little Store gas pump?

 

[DimeDetective]

From ABC News, "One in Nine Americans Knows the Victim of an Unsolved Murder":

Cheryl Burgoon, mother of one of the girls, J.B. Beasley, has regular contact with the police. More than a decade later they are still investigating the case, and she is confident they are doing all they can to find the killer(s).

"It is a solvable case, it's just not solved," she said. When it is, "It's going to be a whole new world again."

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/crime/one-in-nine-americans-knows-the-victim-of-an-unsolved-murder

 

[effect]

The last list of questions are excellent and are the best in my book. Especially, "We understand Marilyn Merritt and her daughter 1) left the Big/Little Store before J.B. and Tracie, 2) stated that J.B. and Tracie turned right and headed west toward 231 leaving the Big/Little Store, and 3) did not see what happened to the girls after this point. We also understand that 4) the white truck captured on the Big/Little Store surveillance camera left after the Merritts but before the victims. Using or paraphrasing the statements given by Marilyn Merritt and her daughter, can you clarify for us how all four can possibly be true?"

I've always thought maybe she got a pass because she said she had a child with her. But who has a child out at a gas station that's been closed for 30 minutes at past bedtime. Also there were no soda machines outside. And how old was this daughter,was she old enough to even remember?

I think we can all agree that no matter how they got to the Big Little store that is where things went bad.Even though i have always been perplexed at the reports i heard on the radio at the time that no one at this party even knew them. I remember hearing this on the radio several times when this happened,i think on WKMX. Maybe we could contact them for archived news broadcasts. But i digress,it all went bad at the point of the mom phone call. and the people we know at that location was Marilyn Merritt and the white truck that didn't come forward till 2004.

I cannot see them stopping after they left Big Little,i think the murderer entered the car at that point. I think the store cam failed to show anyone enter the car because maybe the murderer was around the phone area at the time and the in store camera would not have that field of view. And maybe Marilyn Merritt knew them. I too wonder if after the white truck came forward if there were any ties to Merritt,or if not to the owner but maybe a passenger in the white truck.

11:30 at night,i should go out with my daughter to the Big Little that's closed.That bothers the crap out of me. This may have been a woman of outstanding morels,but i kinda doubt it.

 

[killarney rose]

Effect, IIRC, Marilyn was an older woman who had her grown daughter with her. They had gone to the store to buy soft drinks. Marilyn has since passed away. Somewhere back in the thread, is a link to her obituary.


Also,there is discussion further back that the girls actually called friends that were at the party from the Headland BP to get better directions. But they still ended up in Ozark.

 

[effect]

The post on here of Marilyn Merritt's obituary makes no mention of a daughter or having been a mother.That aint her.

 

[effect]

I know of the Headland phone call.Has nothing to do with me hearing a report several times on the radio back then that no one at that party knew either of them. I've been very curious if not disturbed about these murders from the beginning. I know i heard that report,if it was true i cannot say.But it was reported on the radio.

Still i think it doesn't matter how they ended up in Ozark unless that was there original destination and the phone call was merely a check in on a mother that they knew would be fast asleep no matter the time they got home. Because that was the case, except they never got home.

The facts are the last people to see them alive were Marilyn Merritt and her daughter.And i have never seen a obituary that doesn't mention being a mother even if the child is dead.

The Ozarks and Ozark Alabama are not the same place.I wonder if she aint still kicking.Maybe im missing something,but the Obit on here for her doesn't work.And read the Obit it says she was the daughter of Clifford,not the wife of.

I found a Marilyn Merritt that lives on Anne street,very close to the big little. Not dead,phone 334-445-1742 Also found one living on Andrews ave Ozark Al.

 

[killarney rose]

The post on here of Marilyn Merritt's obituary makes no mention of a daughter or having been a mother.That aint her.

Would you please post the page that obit is on? I have looked thru pg 9, its after midnight here and its all blurring together, thx.

 

[iron_angel]

This is the link that Jenstar provided (on page 12) regarding Marilyn Merritt but I doubt this is the same woman as this obituary is of Marilyn Merritt Wilson!

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/di...ilyn-Wilson&lc=2230&pid=160468575&mid=5272399

I agree with effect, usually an obituary always mention the kids/parents name.

 

[killarney rose]

Maybe i'm losing it after this past week, all that has been going on, but I thought for sure I read a local obit. I'll look around some as soon as I get time, but the next couple days will be hectic for me. Of course, I'm probably wrong, but I want to check it out again. If Marilyn is still alive, we need to check out her story!

 

[EmKD]

Another little tidbit about a newspaper, If you were trying to be more local you could contact "The Southern Star." It is a paper out of Ozark, and it has been run by the same family for a long time. I don't think it has young reporters, and it will print stories sent in to it sometimes, but it doesn't reach as wide of an audience as "The Dothan Eagle".

 

[DimeDetective]

Another little tidbit about a newspaper, If you were trying to be more local you could contact "The Southern Star." It is a paper out of Ozark, and it has been run by the same family for a long time. I don't think it has young reporters, and it will print stories sent in to it sometimes, but it doesn't reach as wide of an audience as "The Dothan Eagle".

EmKD, thanks very much for this post. The Southern Star doesn't appear to have a website; you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the paper that provides an e-mail address or contact information for the paper, would you? Thanks in advance.

 

[EmKD]

EmKD, thanks very much for this post. The Southern Star doesn't appear to have a website; you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the paper that provides an e-mail address or contact information for the paper, would you? Thanks in advance.

If you Google "The Southern Star" and click on the second link it should take you to their Facebook page and the address and phone number will be on it. I don't have a copy of the paper handy, so I'm not sure if they have an email address.

 

[LR1]

Any locals remember the case of the murder of Lurlene Bouyer Dean age 73 on Logan Rd. in Ozark back in Oct 2000? I've only found this one article about her and was wondering if it was ever solved. It seems no valuables were taken only her car was missing. I looked around quite a bit with no luck, only this single article.

http://www.southeastsun.com/newscrime/article_61654781-2d49-539b-943b-d4a0dfd0761c.html

 

[DimeDetective]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-JB-Beasley-Tracie-Hawlett/160028577517802

 

[DimeDetective]

Something just occurred to me. Every time I was ever in a car (either as driver or passenger) with a friend when we were both minors and we were pulled over by a police officer, the officer asked to see both of our licenses.

Does anyone know if this is universal protocol? Have you had the same experience?

If so, why wasn't Tracie's driver's license out too? How far does this go in your book toward ruling out an actual LE officer as the killer?

Maybe there's an easy answer to this one — if the girls were pulled over by someone posing as LE, perhaps the ruse only lasted to the point where the perpetrator approached J.B.'s window and the perp then pulled a gun — but I'm interested in hearing others' thoughts on this.

I'm also curious as to why there was no mention of J.B.'s registration or proof of insurance being left out, or of the glove compartment being open. Again, an easy answer would be that if J.B. had never been pulled over before, she may not have known what to do.

Does the license alone being left out in the car suggest strongly enough to you that this was a LE/LE impostor killer?