TX TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, Midlothian, 18 Apr 2016 #48

[arielilane]

MB entered the building in the far SW corner. From what we have been told, she then strolled up the westside hallway, toward the main foyer and entrance and probably somewhere beyond. She was all the way up beyond camera view when she encountered the perp, far enough away from the cameras in the SW that they didn't record it.

LE has not been specific on exactly where her body was found, but campers were there, as well as EMTs, so it's not exactly unknown. Over the years it has been said with some degree of reliability that it would have been in the far NW corner of the church somewhere, maybe in vicinity of where you turn the corner to go down the N-side hall. Maybe there at that intersection, or maybe not that far, or maybe farther to the north towards the NW entrance doors, but somewhere in there.

But anywhere in that area, it's very clear that there had been no one waiting to pounce on MB as she walked in the building. While we can't be sure, it's possible the loser perp didn't even see her or become aware of her entrance into the building until she was in that area where she was found, an area which not only intersects to a long hallway, but also has lots of doors to rooms in which perp could have been searching for loot before opening a door into the outer hall and thinking in a panic, "Oh my, someone is here, right in front of me, now what do I do?!"

The point being, to get to that NW area, it was a fairly long stroll, as she went essentially the length of the building -- from where she parked and then through 2 sets of doors and up a long hallway to where she was found.

That makes me think it was way more likely than not that loser perp was NOT waiting for her. During all the time before she happened to get to that NW area, she might have just turned around and gone the other way, at any time and for any reason. He would have had no way of knowing where she would go. (And if we want to assume he knew she was coming, we have to also assume he knew others were likely to soon follow, thereby knowing he only had a small window of time between when she might enter and when others might be there). That means there wasn't the luxury of waiting to see where she might go at random. Yet he wasn't there to attack her as she entered, or block her retreat back out the way she entered.

I can't prove what was in his head, of course. But I can say that his ACTIONS that night do not point to him lying in wait, and anticipating her arrival, and being ready with an ambush when she walked in the door, in any way. But his actions DO look like a loser perp trying to go through a big building and find the best things to steal.

Thanks for your informative post, but I'll wait for a link. If this was a burglary ... I supposed the town doesn't need to worry about this perp striking again because perp and the tactical gear outfit have moved on to another town to rob?

 

[arielilane]

Whether MB killing was a target killing or a robbery gone wrong, I am hopeful that the killer will be found and justice served for her family.

 

[5W's]

Thanks for your informative post, but I'll wait for a link. If this was a burglary ... I supposed the town doesn't need to worry about this perp striking again because perp and the tactical gear outfit have moved on to another town to rob?

IDK its hard to say because this perp in that gear was on the CCTV footage. I would think if this perp were to strike again the perp would either not use this outfit or if were to use it would be discreet where this perp knows they won't get caught. IMO I think this perp will watch first to see if there is a cahnce of them being caught. Probably observe the victim beforehand. IDK maybe this individual knew some aspects of the church operations simply thru observation and checking out the church's website and wherever else info is posted about the church. Was this perp thinking the church was empty at the time of breakin? I wonder if the perp knew when the cleaners left the property for the night? I am assuming that since the church is a medium size there may have been more than one cleaner in the church at the time for cleaning. So the perp didn't bother breaking in during those hours. MOO.

 

[5W's]

MB entered the building in the far SW corner. From what we have been told, she then strolled up the westside hallway, toward the main foyer and entrance and probably somewhere beyond. She was all the way up beyond camera view when she encountered the perp, far enough away from the cameras in the SW that they didn't record it.

LE has not been specific on exactly where her body was found, but campers were there, as well as EMTs, so it's not exactly unknown. Over the years it has been said with some degree of reliability that it would have been in the far NW corner of the church somewhere, maybe in vicinity of where you turn the corner to go down the N-side hall. Maybe there at that intersection, or maybe not that far, or maybe farther to the north towards the NW entrance doors, but somewhere in there.

But anywhere in that area, it's very clear that there had been no one waiting to pounce on MB as she walked in the building. While we can't be sure, it's possible the loser perp didn't even see her or become aware of her entrance into the building until she was in that area where she was found, an area which not only intersects to a long hallway, but also has lots of doors to rooms in which perp could have been searching for loot before opening a door into the outer hall and thinking in a panic, "Oh my, someone is here, right in front of me, now what do I do?!"

The point being, to get to that NW area, it was a fairly long stroll, as she went essentially the length of the building -- from where she parked and then through 2 sets of doors and up a long hallway to where she was found.

That makes me think it was way more likely than not that loser perp was NOT waiting for her. During all the time before she happened to get to that NW area, she might have just turned around and gone the other way, at any time and for any reason. He would have had no way of knowing where she would go. (And if we want to assume he knew she was coming, we have to also assume he knew others were likely to soon follow, thereby knowing he only had a small window of time between when she might enter and when others might be there). That means there wasn't the luxury of waiting to see where she might go at random. Yet he wasn't there to attack her as she entered, or block her retreat back out the way she entered.

I can't prove what was in his head, of course. But I can say that his ACTIONS that night do not point to him lying in wait, and anticipating her arrival, and being ready with an ambush when she walked in the door, in any way. But his actions DO look like a loser perp trying to go through a big building and find the best things to steal.

Who are these campers? Inside the church? Or on the grounds of the church? On another property?

 

[steeltowngirl]

Who are these campers? Inside the church? Or on the grounds of the church? On another property?

Campers would be the boot camp fitness class participants: Camp Gladiator.

 

[5W's]

Campers would be the boot camp fitness class participants: Camp Gladiator.

They weren't there at the time though when she was killed. They came afterwards. Thanks.

 

[steeltowngirl]

They weren't there at the time though when she was killed. They came afterwards. Thanks.

The campers found her body, so the location where she was found in the building would be known to them.

Her body was discovered about 5 a.m. on Monday by students arriving to attend Bevers’ boot camp — a fitness class she regularly promoted on her social channels.

Police examining Texas fitness trainer Missy Bevers’ prolific social media presence in her unsolved slaying

By all accounts, Missy Bevers was a compassionate wife, a doting mother of three, and a highly motivated fitness coach and entrepreneur. It was a life the Texas woman often shared publicly on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Her tendency to live life online is one reason homicide...

news.yahoo.com

 

[FromGermany1]

The campers found her body, so the location where she was found in the building would be known to them.

Her body was discovered about 5 a.m. on Monday by students arriving to attend Bevers’ boot camp — a fitness class she regularly promoted on her social channels.

Police examining Texas fitness trainer Missy Bevers’ prolific social media presence in her unsolved slaying

By all accounts, Missy Bevers was a compassionate wife, a doting mother of three, and a highly motivated fitness coach and entrepreneur. It was a life the Texas woman often shared publicly on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Her tendency to live life online is one reason homicide...

news.yahoo.com

As far as I remember, they saw her through the glass door (which one??), and it looked like a bundle of clothing.

 

[somequestions]

MB entered the building in the far SW corner. From what we have been told, she then strolled up the westside hallway, toward the main foyer and entrance and probably somewhere beyond. She was all the way up beyond camera view when she encountered the perp, far enough away from the cameras in the SW that they didn't record it.

LE has not been specific on exactly where her body was found, but campers were there, as well as EMTs, so it's not exactly unknown. Over the years it has been said with some degree of reliability that it would have been in the far NW corner of the church somewhere, maybe in vicinity of where you turn the corner to go down the N-side hall. Maybe there at that intersection, or maybe not that far, or maybe farther to the north towards the NW entrance doors, but somewhere in there.

But anywhere in that area, it's very clear that there had been no one waiting to pounce on MB as she walked in the building. While we can't be sure, it's possible the loser perp didn't even see her or become aware of her entrance into the building until she was in that area where she was found, an area which not only intersects to a long hallway, but also has lots of doors to rooms in which perp could have been searching for loot before opening a door into the outer hall and thinking in a panic, "Oh my, someone is here, right in front of me, now what do I do?!"

The point being, to get to that NW area, it was a fairly long stroll, as she went essentially the length of the building -- from where she parked and then through 2 sets of doors and up a long hallway to where she was found.

That makes me think it was way more likely than not that loser perp was NOT waiting for her. During all the time before she happened to get to that NW area, she might have just turned around and gone the other way, at any time and for any reason. He would have had no way of knowing where she would go. (And if we want to assume he knew she was coming, we have to also assume he knew others were likely to soon follow, thereby knowing he only had a small window of time between when she might enter and when others might be there). That means there wasn't the luxury of waiting to see where she might go at random. Yet he wasn't there to attack her as she entered, or block her retreat back out the way she entered.

I can't prove what was in his head, of course. But I can say that his ACTIONS that night do not point to him lying in wait, and anticipating her arrival, and being ready with an ambush when she walked in the door, in any way. But his actions DO look like a loser perp trying to go through a big building and find the best things to steal.

But isn't that assuming the burglar did not know they were going to be on surveillance video? Isn't the assumption itself, the wearing of a full disguise, a good indication of the possibility?

 

[FromGermany1]

But isn't that assuming the burglar did not know they were going to be on surveillance video? Isn't the assumption itself, the wearing of a full disguise, a good indication of the possibility?

Why did the killer look directly into the surveillance camera at one certain point (when he was fumbling with his tools at a door)? I think, he knew very well and wasn't worried at all. IMO

 

[Andreee]

Why did the killer look directly into the surveillance camera at one certain point (when he was fumbling with his tools at a door)? I think, he knew very well and wasn't worried at all. IMO

or she

 

[SteveS]

But isn't that assuming the burglar did not know they were going to be on surveillance video? Isn't the assumption itself, the wearing of a full disguise, a good indication of the possibility?

1 The fact that the perp wore the extensive disguise tells us the perp didn't want to be seen and known. It doesn't tell us either way whether he had any particular knowledge of the church's camera setup, but only that he was prepared for the POSSIBILITY that he might be seen in some way or another, and hoped to prevent it.
2 What I wrote, about MB's actions, afaik perp's disguise was irrelevant. She did what she did, until she encountered him at some location. It was apparently a longish stroll, all the way across the building, before they happened to meet up, so imo it's very farfetched he planned to be there for her, just to attack her (since he was not waiting to pounce as she entered the door, and in fact was apparently all the way on the other side of the building, where she just happened to go -- and she might have not gone there at all, or before the campers began entering). In all of that randomness, I don't see a particular plan.
3 Nor do I see where the disguise guides the way we would see how it unfolded. The crossed paths. He felt compelled to kill her when it happened. Why did he feel compelled? There's no way to answer that -- we don't know the perp or the immediate details of the encounter, or most importantly what went through his mind in that moment.

 

[somequestions]

1 The fact that the perp wore the extensive disguise tells us the perp didn't want to be seen and known. It doesn't tell us either way whether he had any particular knowledge of the church's camera setup, but only that he was prepared for the POSSIBILITY that he might be seen in some way or another, and hoped to prevent it.
2 What I wrote, about MB's actions, afaik perp's disguise was irrelevant. She did what she did, until she encountered him at some location. It was apparently a longish stroll, all the way across the building, before they happened to meet up, so imo it's very farfetched he planned to be there for her, just to attack her (since he was not waiting to pounce as she entered the door, and in fact was apparently all the way on the other side of the building, where she just happened to go -- and she might have not gone there at all, or before the campers began entering). In all of that randomness, I don't see a particular plan.
3 Nor do I see where the disguise guides the way we would see how it unfolded. The crossed paths. He felt compelled to kill her when it happened. Why did he feel compelled? There's no way to answer that -- we don't know the perp or the immediate details of the encounter, or most importantly what went through his mind in that moment.

I think it is difficult to assume what someone is thinking looking at a video. Without the actual crime on camera, I think it is hard to come to conclusions about the murder. The burglar was in the perfect part of the building to see a truck entering the parking lot from the road if indeed they were watching out the window in the Men's Bible study. They did not have to be near the entrance on surveillance camera.

In my opinion if this is a staged burglary, the burglar cannot be seen on surveillance video standing near the entrance door looking to see if Missy Bever's arrives or else police are also going to see that when they look at the surveillance video. Then everyone is going to figure out it was a targeted murder and not a staged burglary. This is again only a theory.

If you look at the surveillance video at face value, it is a burglar walking around a church looking for something to steal.

I have a lot of questions about this case. Was Missy Bevers shot once or multiple times? Did the burglar/murderer stay around and use other weapons to harm her as well?

I know the theory is the burglar was frightened by Missy Bevers and that is why the murder happened, but the northwest doors were right there to leave the building. It all depends on how each of us views the surveillance video when coming to a conclusion about what we think about this case.

 

[SteveS]

Yes SQ, imo all of that is exactly correct. We have no way to know ...
1 what loser perp was thinking
2 quite where loser perp was when not on cam -- especially in the 5 minutes prior to MB being killed
3 (because LE doesn't tell us) how many times MB was shot, or whether there were wounds in addition to gunshot wounds
4 exactly how the murder happened (it's not on cam, and the only eyewitnesses are not talking)

In some areas, we can observe what is seen (and not seen) on the video, and draw reasonable inferences from what that MIGHT typically indicate. We can never observe thoughts, however.

So all our theories -- based on a combo of "possibility" (rather than certainty) and "best guess" in areas that matter -- are far less than certain.

"I know the theory is the burglar was frightened by Missy Bevers and that is why the murder happened..." ....Yes, that is something I see as a possibility based on the info we have, but it's only my idea to pique the thinking. I am well aware we don't have enough to say it HAD TO have happened that way.

"... but the northwest doors were right there to leave the building." .... LE's shared thinking said loser perp likely went out the kitchen door he came in (which was in the same vicinity). They never shared why they thought that, but that was what they said. So I defer what LE said. Because I know another church that has a similar security system for its doors, it's possible that the security system in CC church would log the doors being opened when the locks were set, which would have allowed LE to narrow down the possibilities.

 

[somequestions]

Yes SQ, imo all of that is exactly correct. We have no way to know ...
1 what loser perp was thinking
2 quite where loser perp was when not on cam -- especially in the 5 minutes prior to MB being killed
3 (because LE doesn't tell us) how many times MB was shot, or whether there were wounds in addition to gunshot wounds
4 exactly how the murder happened (it's not on cam, and the only eyewitnesses are not talking)

In some areas, we can observe what is seen (and not seen) on the video, and draw reasonable inferences from what that MIGHT typically indicate. We can never observe thoughts, however.

So all our theories -- based on a combo of "possibility" (rather than certainty) and "best guess" in areas that matter -- are far less than certain.

"I know the theory is the burglar was frightened by Missy Bevers and that is why the murder happened..." ....Yes, that is something I see as a possibility based on the info we have, but it's only my idea to pique the thinking. I am well aware we don't have enough to say it HAD TO have happened that way.

"... but the northwest doors were right there to leave the building." .... LE's shared thinking said loser perp likely went out the kitchen door he came in (which was in the same vicinity). They never shared why they thought that, but that was what they said. So I defer what LE said. Because I know another church that has a similar security system for its doors, it's possible that the security system in CC church would log the doors being opened when the locks were set, which would have allowed LE to narrow down the possibilities.

This is the type of case where the more information you know, the more it helps shape your opinion about what might have happened.

If LE made a map of each room and labeled it with the amount of time the killer spent in each room and there was no major difference, then that would make me think it is less likely the burglar was waiting for Missy Bever's. But if the surveillance tape shows the killer off surveillance and in the Men's Bible study room for a longer period of time then the other rooms in the building, then I would think there exists the possibility that when the burglar killer thought it was closer to the time Missy Bevers should arrive, they moved into the Men's Bible study to wait and possibly get their weapon ready off camera.

Again we do not know the timestamps associated with the video right before and after the crime occurred. I would agree that, at some point, the killer would probably want to stop to check if Missy Bevers was pulling into the church parking lot.

This is why the murder being off camera is so difficult in understanding the crime. If the murder had been caught on video, we may have been able to tell whether Missy Bevers actually surprised the burglar. The only conclusion is that this very amateur burglar got lucky the murder was not caught on camera. In this instance it is not just knowing that there may be surveillance cameras in the church. It is also knowing where to be at in the church so you are not captured by the surveillance camera committing the murder. And taking that into regard, I can understand the theory behind this possibly being a church burglary gone wrong. There is not enough information released to the public to come to a good conclusion about what happened in this case.

 

[jetsfanjohn]

Looking at the video, I tend to go with the 'cosplay'cop theory, ie local clown decides to dress up as a cop, break into public building and prowl around. Gets surprised by victim, panics and kills her.

It would be interesting to know if other buildings in the area had recent break-ins where nothing was stolen.

 

[Lonicera]

Looking at the video, I tend to go with the 'cosplay'cop theory, ie local clown decides to dress up as a cop, break into public building and prowl around. Gets surprised by victim, panics and kills her.

It would be interesting to know if other buildings in the area had recent break-ins where nothing was stolen.

I’ve asked this question before and I still don’t have an answer. So I guess no, there hasn’t been a break-in where nothing was stolen in the vicinity.

 

[somequestions]

If the surveillance video from SWFA store is the burglar's car driving around looking for a place to burglarize, then this burglar is either very smart or very dumb. If they were using their own vehicle, they almost got caught.

If this was a targeted crime and someone did want to establish the idea that they were out looking for other places to burglarize in the same early morning hours that Missy Bevers was killed, then what they did is very clever. Turning the headlights of the car on and off was certainly going to raise suspicion about any vehicle slowing driving around the building. Why the person parked after they saw there were cars in the back of the SWFA building is anyone's guess? Were they really considering a burglary of SWFA after seeing there were probably at least some people in the building?

SWFA is not even on the same side of highway as the Creekside Church. It is understandable that this case looks like a burglary gone wrong. At face value, that is what it is. The person behind the crime appears smart, but it could all just be luck. There is no proof the car driving around the SWFA building is the same burglar who went to Creekside Church later.

Whether it was luck or intentional, this person has left people guessing about what actually happened in this case for years.

 

[Taffy550]

I think this crime is very personal. I think it is someone who is very familiar with her, her habits and schedule. The crime was planned out and I believe the shirt at the drycleaners was a red herring. JMO I have been watching and waiting for this case to burst wide open. JMOO

 

[Hexe]

I think this crime is very personal. I think it is someone who is very familiar with her, her habits and schedule. The crime was planned out and I believe the shirt at the drycleaners was a red herring. JMO I have been watching and waiting for this case to burst wide open. JMOO

Red herring? What do you mean?