AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #3

[cherrymeg]

Regarding Headland, I took the Officer's statement to mean, he was in the turn lane (because he pulled into a parking space on the square) and JB was in the lane to go straight. I believe they would have left the BP station (now a Citgo) going west on E. Main Street then left onto Main St. to go past the Square. Then make a right on West King St. which turns into 134, to go west to Midland City. I would have to watch Bookie's video again to see if he is specific about the directions he gave them to get to 134.

MOO: My theory is, at some point on the way to 134 or on 134, they changed their minds and decided to go to the Skipperville party first. Also, on Route 134 there could have been directional signs to Skipperville, which made them think, let's go to that party in Skipperville first (a right on 83 gets you going towards Skipperville). Maybe they thought they had a better chance of meeting the boys later or that the boys weren't going to be available until later. As a few of us stated on thread, being young around that time with no cell phone, your nights would change course on a whim, deciding to go somewhere else entirely or re-arranging the order in which you went places.

I try not to get caught up in the specifics of their routes that night, because there are too many variables: we don't know what was discussed with the 2 Midland City boys about meeting up (what time, where, were there backup plans, how were they to communicate once leaving their respective houses with landlines?), we don't know how many stops/parties they had planned or knew about that night, and we don't really know how familiar or unfamiliar they were with direction and how to get places outside of Dothan. Maybe some places one of them knew and the other knew how to get around other places.

To me, it's what happened after leaving the Big/Little gas station, is the key. And unfortunately there may or may not be evidence of that. Do we know for sure that all the cameras in Ozark that the police looked at, gave them no further information? As we all know, some things are held back from public, so they know when they have the right people and for a possible trial.

I wonder if they stopped anywhere else to make phone calls. The boys Tracie said they were going to meet could have been a way to put her mom's mind at ease. You aren't going to say you are looking for a party to go to in another town. "Oh we got lost, we're going to stop by [add name of someone you know your parents like]'s house." That settles a parent's mind. Someone they maybe knew or were familiar with could have invited them to a party. It was supposed to be a celebration and if they didn't make it to a field party or they were driving around lost, made them want to do something fun. That's something I would do.

 

[killarney rose]

For the field to have been so muddy that it would bog your vehicles down it would've had to have rained several days in a row. But just a day of showers the day before would've left puddles and wet vegetation, then there's always dew falling after dark as well. It might've been just messy enough for the girls to get some mud on their clothes and shoes and they decided they'd had enough of the field party and left.

 

[SavageMarkIII]

I wonder if they stopped anywhere else to make phone calls. The boys Tracie said they were going to meet could have been a way to put her mom's mind at ease. You aren't going to say you are looking for a party to go to in another town. "Oh we got lost, we're going to stop by [add name of someone you know your parents like]'s house." That settles a parent's mind. Someone they maybe knew or were familiar with could have invited them to a party. It was supposed to be a celebration and if they didn't make it to a field party or they were driving around lost, made them want to do something fun. That's something I would do.

It is my belief that Tracie's Mom knew they were intending to go to the Haleburg field party, as it was partially in honor on JB's Birthday. And that is why JB and Tracie were getting together that night: JB's Birthday. Now what the Robert's and JB's guardian and Mom knew about the rest of that evening in advance, I'm not sure.

Did the Robert's or JB's guardian and Mom know about the 2 Midland City boys? I'm not sure who knew what when. In my opinion, Tracie's Mom might have known something about the 2 Midland City boys prior to this night, because it is my belief Tracie wouldn't spring it on her when she's already late for curfew, that hey, we are interested in these 2 boys and want to stop on the way home.

 

[cherrymeg]

It is my belief that Tracie's Mom knew they were intending to go to the Haleburg field party, as it was partially in honor on JB's Birthday. And that is why JB and Tracie were getting together that night: JB's Birthday. Now what the Robert's and JB's guardian and Mom new about the rest of that evening in advance, I'm not sure.

Did the Robert's or JB's guardian and Mom know about the 2 Midland City boys? I'm not sure who knew what when. In my opinion, Tracie's Mom might have known something about the 2 Midland City boys prior to this night, because it is my belief Tracie wouldn't spring it on her when she's already late for curfew, that hey, we are interested in these 2 boys and want to stop on the way home.

Tracie got off pretty late from work. One comment made it sound like her mom just wanted to know what she was doing so she could go to bed at night. So a confirmation that she was okay and might be home later would be the polite thing to do.

 

[SavageMarkIII]

Is that related to the Michigan Man (and if so did I totally miss that)?

I think this is another case being used as an example, but is not related to JB and Tracie. I do not believe whoever "Danielle" is, is related to this topic and is not related to Michigan Man in this topic.

 

[jkloc420]

Like I said jkloc420, in my opinion, I didn't say it was fact. Just like your statements are your opinion, not fact. We all have different theories and that's the advantage of sites like WebSleuths so different viewpoints can be expressed.

The point being if the person is comfortable in that area he will park the car anywhere. Plus whomever did it, gots to have an out. Either a ride, a home of some kind in the area within walking distance, a friend or their car parked near by. The person as to feel safe in some way to drive around with two bodies in the trunk.

 

[SavageMarkIII]

Tinala, Killarney Rose and I and others from the area have offered information on field parties and other locals know info.

As someone who lived in Dothan (but not from there) and graduated from Northview about a decade prior to JB and Tracie, here is some other information, which you may or may not find useful:

1) As with many teenagers, in many towns, there just was not a lot to do; there was a bowling alley, skating rink and 2 movie theatres. A big mall with well known department stores didn't come about until after I had already left for college in the late 80's, Wiregrass Commons Mall.

2) Graduating Classes from Northview were in the 300 - 350 students range, when I graduated. I don't imagine it was dramatically larger, even a decade later in JB and Tracie's time.

3) Because of the relatively small class size and the size of Dothan, you may not be personal friends with everyone, but you knew who most everybody was. And if you had older and/or younger siblings, you were familiar with a lot of people older and younger than you, as well. Also, through church and any non-school sports, dancing etc. other activities, you knew even more people than just who you went to school with in your same class.

4) JB had been a cheerleader in Middle School and was very involved in her dance school in high school. Tracie was a Majorette with the NHS band and had participated in beauty pageants. So as stated above, both would have been known by a lot of people and been friends with a lot of people. Popularity is a subjective judgement, but yes both in my opinion would have been popular.

5) Tracie would have traveled with the NHS Band to away football games, typically to places like Montgomery, Enterprise, Eufaula and Birmingham.

6) In general, field parties were not a "formal invitation"; maps were handed out at school; people passed it on by word of mouth. If someone in your circle of friends had a map, you went, whether you were personally given a map or not. Now some were on the downlow due to parents or other reasons, and could be considered invitation only, as people were specifically told to keep it quiet. But for the most part, as Dancemom stated, it was an open invitation to just about anybody who knew about it.

7) In a previous thread and I can't remember their handle/screen name, who was from this region, described a typical weekend night out for teenagers in this time before social media and cell phones. It was pretty spot on, from my same recollection of being a teenager in Dothan. You may have had specific parties or plans to start the evening, but that could change based on who you saw out and who was at different parties - both field and house parties. She said you typically ended up doing a lot of driving around and just missing people, who were doing the same, driving and hopping to different places and parties. In my opinion, this would have been accurate and relateable to JB and Tracie.

 

[aegis100]

Looking at the attached photo again I noticed that the driver's window is almost completely down. The reports we have heard over the years was that the window was only partially down or less than half way down. I know originally it was thought that J.B. had rolled it down for LE because her license was found on the dash but then later it was revealed that LE placed the license there after retrieving it from her purse.

If a stranger approaches my vehicle I will only crack the window if I let it down at all. However, if someone I know approaches my car I roll the window down completely. Of course, we don't know if J.B. is the one who let the window down but I don't think LE could have let it down as the car appears to have electric windows and the keys were missing. Does the window position suggest familiarity?

As always my opinion only.

 

[somequestions]

Looking at the attached photo again I noticed that the driver's window is almost completely down. The reports we have heard over the years was that the window was only partially down or less than half way down. I know originally it was thought that J.B. had rolled it down for LE because her license was found on the dash but then later it was revealed that LE placed the license there after retrieving it from her purse.

If a stranger approaches my vehicle I will only crack the window if I let it down at all. However, if someone I know approaches my car I roll the window down completely. Of course, we don't know if J.B. is the one who let the window down but I don't think LE could have let it down as the car appears to have electric windows and the keys were missing. Does the window position suggest familiarity?

As always my opinion only.

The window position may or may not suggest familiarity. Or maybe J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett wanting to have the window down to get air? Or maybe the killer wanted to put the window down for air? After all, the killer did drive the car at some point.

It is kind of like the Boston Red Sox baseball cap that the killer took from J.B. Beasley's car. If the killer lives close by, why would he take the cap? For a trophy maybe? Or maybe he knew he was in for a long walk? Can I come to a solid conclusion about the Boston Red Sox baseball cap? No.

Whether it is a car window's position, the placement of the vehicle on Herring Ave, or a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, all we really have are guesses. Nobody knows where J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett went after leaving the Big Little gas station. Nobody knows whether they knew their killer or not. Nobody knows if someone stopped them or they stopped somewhere else or if they were carjacked at a red light by someone on foot. All the mapping ideas in the world cannot help me come to any solid conclusions about whether they were even lost or not. I still do not know. And still after over 19 years nobody knows the answers to the questions.

 

[cherrymeg]

The window position may or may not suggest familiarity. Or maybe J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett wanting to have the window down to get air? Or maybe the killer wanted to put the window down for air? After all, the killer did drive the car at some point.

It is kind of like the Boston Red Sox baseball cap that the killer took from J.B. Beasley's car. If the killer lives close by, why would he take the cap? For a trophy maybe? Or maybe he knew he was in for a long walk? Can I come to a solid conclusion about the Boston Red Sox baseball cap? No.

Whether it is a car window's position, the placement of the vehicle on Herring Ave, or a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, all we really have are guesses. Nobody knows where J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett went after leaving the Big Little gas station. Nobody knows whether they knew their killer or not. Nobody knows if someone stopped them or they stopped somewhere else or if they were carjacked at a red light by someone on foot. All the mapping ideas in the world cannot help me come to any solid conclusions about whether they were even lost or not. I still do not know. And still after over 19 years nobody knows the answers to the questions.

Someone knows what happened they didn't shoot themselves.

 

[TedMac]

Looking at the attached photo again I noticed that the driver's window is almost completely down. The reports we have heard over the years was that the window was only partially down or less than half way down. I know originally it was thought that J.B. had rolled it down for LE because her license was found on the dash but then later it was revealed that LE placed the license there after retrieving it from her purse.

If a stranger approaches my vehicle I will only crack the window if I let it down at all. However, if someone I know approaches my car I roll the window down completely. Of course, we don't know if J.B. is the one who let the window down but I don't think LE could have let it down as the car appears to have electric windows and the keys were missing. Does the window position suggest familiarity?

As always my opinion only.

The window position may or may not suggest familiarity. Or maybe J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett wanting to have the window down to get air? Or maybe the killer wanted to put the window down for air? After all, the killer did drive the car at some point.

It is kind of like the Boston Red Sox baseball cap that the killer took from J.B. Beasley's car. If the killer lives close by, why would he take the cap? For a trophy maybe? Or maybe he knew he was in for a long walk? Can I come to a solid conclusion about the Boston Red Sox baseball cap? No.

Whether it is a car window's position, the placement of the vehicle on Herring Ave, or a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, all we really have are guesses. Nobody knows where J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett went after leaving the Big Little gas station. Nobody knows whether they knew their killer or not. Nobody knows if someone stopped them or they stopped somewhere else or if they were carjacked at a red light by someone on foot. All the mapping ideas in the world cannot help me come to any solid conclusions about whether they were even lost or not. I still do not know. And still after over 19 years nobody knows the answers to the questions.

JB's sister posted here several months ago that the car's air conditioner was not working and that was likely the reason the window was down.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

The key chain was also missing, trophy or not is the question. Sometimes I feel more at a lost than the day before on who done it

 

[Littlediegito]

Hello,

I just signed up for this forum to ask this, but I have been reading all 3 of these threads for a very long time now.

Something I have wondered all this time but never seemed to come up is were Ms. Merritt and her daughter ever considered suspects? Since the first I read of this I have wondered that.

They were the last people to see the girls alive. They were at the gas station to get sodas but the gas station had closed half an hour before. My memory is that they were on foot so they lived near by, which suggests they should have known the gas station was closed. They were there when the girls drove up it sounds like, and were there not only long enough to give the girls directions, for the phone call to end, and to watch the girls leave. Why were they hanging around there so long?

There is a lot of speculation about where and when the girls may have stopped after that, but what if they didn't at all. What if the nice woman who gave them directions asked them for a ride, had them drive out to the murder scene thinking they were taking her home, killed them, drove their car back and abandoned it within walking distance of the gas station and home?

Folks from the area have mentioned that drugs and organized crime were pretty common in the area at the time. Could the Merritts have been there to meet up with the white truck person and the girls interrupted them?

Obviously that is all speculation but I am curious why there has not been any discussion about the Merritts, whether they were ever suspects, and why/when they were cleared.

 

[TedMac]

Hello,

I just signed up for this forum to ask this, but I have been reading all 3 of these threads for a very long time now.

Something I have wondered all this time but never seemed to come up is were Ms. Merritt and her daughter ever considered suspects? Since the first I read of this I have wondered that.

They were the last people to see the girls alive. They were at the gas station to get sodas but the gas station had closed half an hour before. My memory is that they were on foot so they lived near by, which suggests they should have known the gas station was closed. They were there when the girls drove up it sounds like, and were there not only long enough to give the girls directions, for the phone call to end, and to watch the girls leave. Why were they hanging around there so long?

There is a lot of speculation about where and when the girls may have stopped after that, but what if they didn't at all. What if the nice woman who gave them directions asked them for a ride, had them drive out to the murder scene thinking they were taking her home, killed them, drove their car back and abandoned it within walking distance of the gas station and home?

Folks from the area have mentioned that drugs and organized crime were pretty common in the area at the time. Could the Merritts have been there to meet up with the white truck person and the girls interrupted them?

Obviously that is all speculation but I am curious why there has not been any discussion about the Merritts, whether they were ever suspects, and why/when they were cleared.

Welcome to Websleuths! To the best of my knowledge, Ms Merritt has never been considered a suspect. I'm not sure why they were there, but perhaps the store had coin-operated soda machines outside?

 

[killarney rose]

I had always assumed the Merrits were in a vehicle. Were they walking?

 

[Bulldog23]

Good point Littlediegito... My gut tells me that the Merritts probably were not involved, but it did give me pause when JB's sister Jacqui said in a video that Mrs. Merritt and JB's mom were now best friends.

Combined with some of the accusations about abuse in JB's home life, it is at least interesting that the last person to see them alive was "best friends" with a family member who may or may not have a motive. (Not an accusation- just an interesting connection)

Again, my gut tells me that the Merritts were not involved, but if I were investigating, I would at least want to eliminate them as suspects if possible.

One fairly new development is that consensus seems to be they (at least briefly) attended the Skipperville field party before ending up at the store in Ozark. I don't think that has been confirmed by LE, but Silver said eye witness accounts put the girls at the Skipperville party. I wonder if they were running out of time and didn't have a cell phone, went to Ozark to call mom to buy a little time (the closest phone around), then headed back to the Skipperville party, but ran into someone they knew or someone who stopped them on the back roads to the party.

There is an interesting post on the Justice for JB and Tracie Facebook page about a possible suspect who was friends with the well-known judge's grandson. Probably nothing, but who knows?

 

[SavageMarkIII]

Agree with Ted, don't believe they were ever considered suspects. My recollection was Mrs Merritt and her daughter stopped looking for something to drink and didn't realize this station closed at 11:00. The Ozark police had the video footage from the Big/Little. This footage contains the "white pickup truck" which the OPD later found and talked to the driver. The footage also showed JB and Tracie leave in the Mazda and the Merritt's left in their car. I am going to assume the OPD questioned the Merritt's enough to where it did not register on their hinky meter.

I believe the connection between JB's Mom and Mrs. Merritt was that they both had attended Carroll High School, the Ozark HS and became re-aquainted after this incident.

MOO, I don't find it odd that JB's mother may have found something, whether it be comfort talking to the last person who saw and spoke with her daughter or friendship, with Mrs Merritt. But I can see how one might see a coincidence

 

[jkloc420]

Hello,

I just signed up for this forum to ask this, but I have been reading all 3 of these threads for a very long time now.

Something I have wondered all this time but never seemed to come up is were Ms. Merritt and her daughter ever considered suspects? Since the first I read of this I have wondered that.

They were the last people to see the girls alive. They were at the gas station to get sodas but the gas station had closed half an hour before. My memory is that they were on foot so they lived near by, which suggests they should have known the gas station was closed. They were there when the girls drove up it sounds like, and were there not only long enough to give the girls directions, for the phone call to end, and to watch the girls leave. Why were they hanging around there so long?

There is a lot of speculation about where and when the girls may have stopped after that, but what if they didn't at all. What if the nice woman who gave them directions asked them for a ride, had them drive out to the murder scene thinking they were taking her home, killed them, drove their car back and abandoned it within walking distance of the gas station and home?

Folks from the area have mentioned that drugs and organized crime were pretty common in the area at the time. Could the Merritts have been there to meet up with the white truck person and the girls interrupted them?

Obviously that is all speculation but I am curious why there has not been any discussion about the Merritts, whether they were ever suspects, and why/when they were cleared.

Could of gave them wrong directions to

 

[Littlediegito]

I just signed up for the website yesterday, but I have been reading the threads since about midway through the first one, so a few years. From the beginning I had thought the Merritts were on foot but it sounds like they had a car now. Maybe I misunderstood, or as the last few pages have suggested, some of the early info may have been inaccurate.

I have always just felt it was weird they were there for so long. Assuming there was a coin operated machine (rare at gas stations and convenience stores because they compete with the larger profit margin bottles in the building), that's a handful of seconds activity, not a mill around for 10 minutes activity.

In any case, thank you all for answering my question! I don't have anything else to contribute so I will likely go back to just reading. Keep up the good work!

 

[SavageMarkIII]

I have always just felt it was weird they were there for so long. Assuming there was a coin operated machine (rare at gas stations and convenience stores because they compete with the larger profit margin bottles in the building), that's a handful of seconds activity, not a mill around for 10 minutes activity.

I'm not sure they "were there for so long". IIRC, they saw lights on because someone was cleaning inside the store, however the door was locked. So the person cleaning indicated to the Merritt's they were closed. As the Merritt's turn to leave, then JB and Tracie pull up. Not knowing the girls' intentions, Mrs Merritt explains the store is closed. That's when Tracie goes to the pay phone to call her mom and JB and Mrs Merritt begin the discussion on how to get to Highway 231. In MOO opinion, this is not an inordinate amount of time.

I'm not good at finding archived web articles, ones from 1999 to 2000 which would have Mrs Merritt's statement on what happened that evening, but I believe this to be what happened from articles which were posted on Thread's 1 and 2. I remember Mrs Merritt being concerned for JB and Tracie, because it was late at night, so that is why she waited for them to get in their car and leave, before she and her daughter left.