AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #4 *ARREST*

[bessie]

Alabama news links: 11 years later, possible new developments in murder of Wiregrass teens; Elba man dies in wreck

[video=youtube;xinS0wn_Ca4]

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[killarney rose]

I think the only businesses open at that time would've been fast food places, Walmart, the truck stop,and the rest area. I think the reason they stopped would've been for the bathroom or possibly to buy a soft drink. That is judging from my past days as a young person out riding around at that time of the night.

The killer if alone could've been someone they were acquainted with, maybe through those parties at Veritas place or somewhere else, but didn't know well. Perhaps he was on foot and asked for a ride thus gaining entrance to their car and subsequent control over the girls.

 

[Catmommy]

That he was on foot occurred to me as well. The girls wouldn't have picked up just anybody like that unless he was young like themselves and "cute"or coerced them with a gun when they stopped for him.

 

[killarney rose]

I shudder when I think of the chances I took at that age just because a guy was "cute".

 

[morf13]

The monkey wrench in my opinion, is if the girls misled anyone at any point, it could steer the investigation in the wrong direction. We were all teenagers, and we all(or most of us)were not always honest with our parents. For example, I might have told them I was going to a birthday party, I never would have told them I was going to a keg party in a field. Also, I'd sometimes tell my parents I was an hour away when I was really 10 minutes away just to buy more time to do what I wanted. That's not being negative on the girls, just pointing out that they were teens like the rest of us, so a fib here and there might not be unusual

 

[somequestions]

From a mapping perspective, there is a bit of irony in where the killer left J.B. Beasley's car on Herring Avenue. If you assume for a second that Tracie Hawlett was telling her mother the truth about going home to Dothan and stopping in Midland City, AL to see these two boys and if you also assume the girls did not change their plans after the Big Little gas station phone call in Ozark, AL, a pattern emerges.

The girls would have taken either Broad St to 123 to 231 route or Broad St. to 231 route back to Dothan, AL. And if you pick any business or place along either of those routes where you think the girls were stopped or stopped and were kidnapped and then draw a straight line on a map back to where the car was found on Herring Ave you will come to the following conclusion:

The farther J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett get from the Big Little gas station before they are kidnapped, the longer the walk the killer has back to his vehicle. That is why I always thought the killer in this case does not mind walking.

But since none of us knows what happened or where the girls went after leaving the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL on the night of July 31, 1999, I have to admit my conclusion is one big guess.

 

[somequestions]

I shudder when I think of the chances I took at that age just because a guy was "cute".

When you wrote about owning that Nissan sports car in an earlier post, I thought you were a guy.

 

[killarney rose]

Lol, no just a girl that loves sports cars.

 

[somequestions]

Lol, no just a girl that loves sports cars.

Goes to show why you shouldn't make assumptions.

 

[Blacklist]

Good question about the cap. I have never heard anything about it except it was a Boston Red Sox cap, it is missing and am not aware of anything unique about such as the things you mentioned.

I am just getting up to speed on this thread although I have known salient facts of this case for years now.
Because item(s) are missing it is not necessarily a fact that they were taken as souvenirs. But always a strong possibility.

The Red Sox cap and a set of car keys. If they were souvenirs what an odd pair that is. Any connection between the two? That would be odd, but interesting gaff.

Speaking of gaffs and car keys; do any of the Websleuths on here know who her car was registered to? Can a minor hold title to a vehicle in Alabama?

Caps & Car Keys ..... hmmmm

 

[TedMac]

I am just getting up to speed on this thread although I have known salient facts of this case for years now.
Because item(s) are missing it is not necessarily a fact that they were taken as souvenirs. But always a strong possibility.

The Red Sox cap and a set of car keys. If they were souvenirs what an odd pair that is. Any connection between the two? That would be odd, but interesting gaff.

Speaking of gaffs and car keys; do any of the Websleuths on here know who her car was registered to? Can a minor hold title to a vehicle in Alabama?

Caps & Car Keys ..... hmmmm

JB’s biological father (Lanier Beasley) bought the car for her. I do not know who the car was actually titled to.

The killer may have simply took the car keys out of force of habit. I do not see any connection between the cap and the keys other than they are both missing.

 

[Blacklist]

JB’s biological father (Lanier Beasley) bought the car for her. I do not know who the car was actually titled to.

The killer may have simply took the car keys out of force of habit. I do not see any connection between the cap and the keys other than they are both missing.

Ok. Thanks. I wouldn’t think there was a connection except both items provided by father/ step-father’s.

Just sifting through possibilities

 

[Blacklist]

I would be very surprised if this crime was not committed by someone random to the girls.

I look at the case from the perspective of the phone call Tracie Hawlett made to her mom at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL on the night of July 31, 1999 at 11:38pm. Knowing that the girls wanted the quickest directions to 231 and knowing that Tracie may have asked her mom if they could stop by and visit two boys from Midland City, AL at a gas station on the way home makes me think either one of two things:

1. Tracie Hawlett intentionally deceived her mother to buy time for her and J.B. Beasley to do whatever they needed to do after the phone call at 11:38 pm.

2. If you consider where J.B. Beasley's car was found on Herring Avenue rather close to the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL where Tracie Hawlett placed that call and you measure how long in terms of time it takes to drive from the Big Little parking lot to for example, 123 intersection, something else can be concluded somewhat. And that is if Tracie Hawlett was truthful to her mother when she placed the phone call and then J.B. and Tracie decided to change their plans and go to someone's house that decision had to be made rather quickly after leaving the gas station. I think many people including myself have thought since the car was found on Herring Avenue and the killer had to leave it on foot then the assumption is the killer lives somewhere in the general vicinity of where the car was located. Or the killer had an accomplice who drove behind him in a different vehicle and that is how the killer left the scene so quickly after leaving J.B. Beasley's car parked on Herring Avenue. Where the killer went and how after leaving J.B. Beasley's vehicle on Herring Avenue is one of the biggest questions in this case.

I would be careful about "feelings" in any type of murder case. Unlike a case like Molly Bish, where it is hard to come to any solid conclusions even based on feelings, in this case I feel rather confident that the murderer is someone unknown to them. We all having feelings about murder cases, and I have used that word many times to describe what I think. It is remembering that feelings are just that without any sort of proof.

But this is a discussion forum, we are not real investigators, and all we really have to discuss are "feelings." And those feelings change based on the more information we know. My feelings about J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett's murder case are as stated above.

I agree with you. Random feelings are just that. Mine were based on the factual information available in numerous venues over the years vs. the speculations brought out and knowledge of people that are or could be involved in this crime.

I appreciate your input. Clarity is a blessing

 

[somequestions]

I agree with you. Random feelings are just that. Mine were based on the factual information available in numerous venues over the years vs. the speculations brought out and knowledge of people that are or could be involved in this crime.

I appreciate your input. Clarity is a blessing

I think it is ok to discuss theories and ideas behind a murder case. I do not think there is anything wrong with that and people are free to come to whatever conclusions they want, even if those conclusions are about other people. But I prefer to stick to discussing the possible evidence and ideas around the where, what, when, why, and how of what may have happened to J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett the night of July 31, 1999. The fact of the matter is that we do not know if J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett knew the killer or not. But there is nothing wrong with having an opinion. I think they did not know their killer and have posted various loose arguments to explain why(mostly around Tracie Hawlett's last phone call to her mother that the killer, in my opinion, probably did not know about).

I prefer to skip speculating about the who. This is very difficult sometimes because theories often revolve around a particular person or subject so I always try to describe them by their occupation or by some phrase like "the killer." I think coming to assumptions about people without anything to back it up is the wrong thing to do if all you have is a feeling. That is like saying the guy who works at the grocery store looked at you weird so he did it. I think talking about particular people who may have commented in other forums or may have known J.B. Beasley or Tracie Hawlett in real life does nothing to actually help solve their case except to possibly cast suspicion on someone who probably had nothing to do with it.

Nobody knows who killed J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. That is not an assumption. That is a fact.

In all the unsolved cases that is the one thing I try to remember.

 

[Catmommy]

Welcome, Blacklist, I see that you're listed as a new member.

 

[Blacklist]

When speaking of venues I was not referring to online groups, forums or public media just to clarify. I should have used a different word as I did not infer any these.

Your viewpoint is quite valid as is everyone interested in this case. We all have different vantage points, and thus our perspectives vary.

My perspective is different. Somebody (s) does know who killed these girls. Unless of course it was taken to the grave with them. Let’s hope this isn’t or won’t be the case.

I do appreciate your and everyone’s input. It’s good to see things are being looked at with fresh eyes.

 

[Blacklist]

Welcome, Blacklist, I see that you're listed as a new member.

Hi!! I appreciate it. I don’t delve into social media or online groups often. I just discovered this one.
Great site!!!

 

[somequestions]

When speaking of venues I was not referring to online groups, forums or public media just to clarify. I should have used a different word as I did not infer any these.

Your viewpoint is quite valid as is everyone interested in this case. We all have different vantage points, and thus our perspectives vary.

My perspective is different. Somebody (s) does know who killed these girls. Unless of course it was taken to the grave with them. Let’s hope this isn’t or won’t be the case.

I do appreciate your and everyone’s input. It’s good to see things are being looked at with fresh eyes.

I think my perspective is more of answering the questions of when, where, how, what, and why before who. The who takes care of itself if you can support it with evidence or else all you have is who.

The thought that always occurred to me in this case regarding the early suspect Johnny Barrentine(now deceased) was what if DNA had NOT been found on J.B. Beasley's skin and clothing?

 

[TedMac]

I think my perspective is more of answering the questions of when, where, how, what, and why before who. The who takes care of itself if you can support it with evidence or else all you have is who.

The thought that always occurred to me in this case regarding the early suspect Johnny Barrentine(now deceased) was what if DNA had NOT been found on J.B. Beasley's skin and clothing?

BBM...MOO, but I don't think it had any effect on his not being bound over to the grand jury. Simply put, they had no case against him. Nothing, except his clumsy attempt to collect the reward money tied him to the case. He did have some knowledge of the case, but nothing put him at the crime scene, tied him to a gun or anything else. It simply was a rush to judgement on the part of the DA that made the decison to charge him. I don't think a jury would have ever convicted him even if they were to get a grand jury to indict him.

 

[Blacklist]

I think my perspective is more of answering the questions of when, where, how, what, and why before who. The who takes care of itself if you can support it with evidence or else all you have is who.

The thought that always occurred to me in this case regarding the early suspect Johnny Barrentine(now deceased) was what if DNA had NOT been found on J.B. Beasley's skin and clothing?

I did’t know of Barrentine’s passing. But my sympathies to the family.
I agree with TedMac though. I think the outcome would have been the same.

Also, I agree with you. We have the what, how and when; we just do not have the why. The “why” would separate the random/ non-random theories completely. Unfortunately, we will probably never have the why until The Who is known. A true catch 22.

The nuances of the dynamics (facts)of the situation and the time leading up to it affects our view of the crime. Unfortunately the solidly known facts of the situation are not the total timeline. So many gaps, and speculation is never a good option.

Good thinking everyone...