GUILTY AL - J.B. Beasley & Tracie Hawlett, both 17, murdered, Ozark, 31 July 1999 *ARREST in 2019* #5

[joni22]

Passed on sounds nice. He terrorized and murdered those girls. And he knows it.

I agree, and after he did that he just slipped through the woods back to his place. We know from the wet pants and muddy shoes that they were in some kind of distress. I just don't know if they ran at some point how he captured them back again.

 

[cherrymeg]

I read in an article that McCraney's wife said that over the years they have told them the story about the murders to remind their kids of what might happen being teenagers out and about. Does this sound strange to anyone or just me?

My mom told me about local murders and kidnappings when I was a kid. She was detailed, but I think that was more the stranger danger thing. No one gave me those talks once I was a preteen or a teen. It could be a parenting thing. Some parents worry more when they have young children that could get snatched while they turn their head. As a parent you are completely responsible for them when they are vulnerable little people. Teenagers have more freedom which comes with possible more danger. The murders of JB Beasley and Tracie Hawlett could be something that would stick with anyone that was around when it happened. Most people didn't have their DNA on or in either victim. I wonder if he told them how to stay safe.

 

[cherrymeg]

The car was ignored as a crime scene all morning after it was found. I'm up the road a ways from there so the story was local and BIG. Still is. Memory is a funny thing but I do recall mentioned that an officer was leaning against the car before the girls were discovered in the trunk. LE was taken by surprise, caught with their pants down so to speak. Distrust of their actions and investigation spread early. I am encouraged by the DNA evidence. People make mistakes all the time but science doesn't lie.

Even when or if human error messes up science it didn't happen here IMHO. No one was aware of McCraney until DNA was matched against a relatives, I believe, and then his. He also denied having sex or raping either woman and yet his semen was found inside JB. I hope he confesses.

 

[TedMac]

Even when or if human error messes up science it didn't happen here IMHO. No one was aware of McCraney until DNA was matched against a relatives, I believe, and then his. He also denied having sex or raping either woman and yet his semen was found inside JB. I hope he confesses.

BBM...In addition to semen being found inside her, it was found on her undergarments-top & bottom and on her chest. But remember, he didn't know either girl (according to him).

 

[joni22]

Even when or if human error messes up science it didn't happen here IMHO. No one was aware of McCraney until DNA was matched against a relatives, I believe, and then his. He also denied having sex or raping either woman and yet his semen was found inside JB. I hope he confesses.

The defense doesn't have a leg to stand on if he doesn't confess that he knew them. If that happens he will have to prove that it was consensual and he didn't kill them. In my opinion, I don't think he knew Tracie but he mightve known JB. JMO

 

[TedMac]

The defense doesn't have a leg to stand on if he doesn't confess that he knew them. If that happens he will have to prove that it was consensual and he didn't kill them. In my opinion, I don't think he knew Tracie but he mightve known JB. JMO

Interesting thoughts. Why do you believe he may have known JB and why do you believe he didn't know Tracie?

 

[joni22]

To me JB seemed more outgoing and may have been in more social circles than Tracie. A 25 year old out at parties with teenagers was not uncommon back then. I am not implying they had a relationship but maybe knew one another from being out and about in social circles. Tracie seemed more reserved and quite from what I read.

 

[killarney rose]

I don’t think they ran in the same circles. I could be wrong. But there is an odd chance he could’ve seen her at a party or in a group and that would be his claim that he knew her.

 

[joni22]

But it is coincidence that the girls would happen to run into him that night. So maybe they didnt know each other. I'm just throwing possibilities out there.

 

[joni22]

I don’t think they ran in the same circles. I could be wrong. But there is an odd chance he could’ve seen her at a party or in a group and that would be his claim that he knew her.

You're right. I thought about that too.

 

[killarney rose]

But it is coincidence that the girls would happen to run into him that night. So maybe they didnt know each other. I'm just throwing possibilities out there.

absolutely. It could be possible that JB recognized him from one of those chance encounters and thought he was okay to let in the car, give a ride, to, etc and then things went very wrong. I seriously doubt he ever confesses to what happened that night. I’m betting he goes to his grave proclaiming his innocence.

 

[joni22]

Yeah, I don't think he will confess either. Something horribly went wrong after they left the B/L.

 

[killarney rose]

I was just looking back on thread one. Just how does the encounter with McCraney, the license being out, the rape of JB all tie together? Why did he rape JB but not Tracie?

 

[joni22]

I was just looking back on thread one. Just how does the encounter with McCraney, the license being out, the rape of JB all tie together? Why did he rape JB but not Tracie?

The license being out was a rumor. JB's sister has stated that the police took the license later. And why did he shoot Tracie first? JB's wound seemed to me to be accidental like he was aiming for her head and she might have been fighting him and he got the shot off in her cheek. We already know that they had the gun stippling on their right hands like they had them in the front of their face to fend off the shot.

 

[joni22]

And McCraney out that late at night with a 9mm pistol walking the streets of Ozark.

 

[killarney rose]

I think you are right about the license. I had forgotten. If I remember correctly it might have been one of the officers that left the license on the dash when the car was first found.
I was looking through the first thread but have to leave now for a while. So much info in these previous threads. So much thought put into posts and digging for info within our limitations. Some of us went and took photos and posted as well.
Some of that info is still relevant, of course, now we know,a lot of it is not.

 

[joni22]

I'm thankful for all the info and pics and hard work that was put into this case.

 

[joni22]

Did the Dothan police call Ozark about the BOLO on the girls that morning of 8/1? Is that why the OPD found the car so quick? It looked like in the crime scene videos on the news that both the driver side and passenger window was down.

 

[TedMac]

Did the Dothan police call Ozark about the BOLO on the girls that morning of 8/1? Is that why the OPD found the car so quick? It looked like in the crime scene videos on the news that both the driver side and passenger window was down.

The Ozark PD Officer saw the vehicle parked perpendicular to the road and called it in to dispatch. The dispatch told the officer that they had just received a message from Dothan PD about two missing persons (JB & Tracie) and they were last seen in the vehicle.

JB's sister stated that the window on the driver's side was broken and JB had put the window down due to the heat. Not sure why the passenger's window was down, Maybe LE put it down.

 

[joni22]

The Ozark PD Officer saw the vehicle parked perpendicular to the road and called it in to dispatch. The dispatch told the officer that they had just received a message from Dothan PD about two missing persons (JB & Tracie) and they were last seen in the vehicle.

JB's sister stated that the window on the driver's side was broken and JB had put the window down due to the heat. Not sure why the passenger's window was down, Maybe LE put it down.

I dont think they could have let it down because the keys were gone unless it had manual windows.