TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers, 45, killed in church/suspect in SWAT gear, Midlothian, 18 Apr 2016 #47

[Gumshoe Stories]

TY! Can you comment on the source, or your opinion of the likelihood of the source having a genuine photo? Since it was so hard to find, and not well circulated, I have doubts.
Well, what does everyone think?
Is this a possible photo of SP, or is it fake?
Most posters here have been looking at video for a long time, longer than me, so how does this look as far as a possibility? I can't tell if it could represent the face close up as far as the Costuming/Gear might look.
Again, TY.

It was someone here on WS, I believe. But I don’t remember who. I do recall that the user BatBrat who was/is a professional technical illustrator weighed in on it and said she did not believe it could be relied on. And Scout, who I believe was a WS Admin, agreed. And there was an internet sleuth with initials TA who sent the pic to MPD and they basically dismissed it.

 

[Ann99]

It was someone here on WS, I believe. But I don’t remember who. I do recall that the user BatBrat who was/is a professional technical illustrator weighed in on it and said she did not believe it could be relied on. And Scout, who I believe was a WS Admin, agreed. And there was an internet sleuth with initials TA who sent the pic to MPD and they basically dismissed it.

Thank you. Seems as though it is not anything we should consider since others have weighed in as not reliable.
Please go ahead and ask for this to be deleted by mods.
I don't want to cause confusion. Thanks for finding it.

 

[TheGardener]

I looked up the FBI crime statistics for Midlothian (population 23,085) for the year 2016. Of the total numbers of crimes committed, the greater number by far are property crimes(287), larceny-theft(226), and burglary(43), motor vehicle theft(18). Only one murder. Missy's murder. Of the 618 crimes committed, 556 of them involve property damage or theft. Only 32 of the 618 are considered to be violent crimes (murder(1), rape(10), aggravated assault(18)). The property crime statistics are a little higher than the national average.
Make of it what you will.
It looks like the majority of the property crime perps didn't kill anyone on scene. Only one.

 

[SteveS]

1 Watch the video.
2 Then read the media reports stating that only one small item was taken.
3 Then, note that the police are not affirming burglary as a motive.

"Yet, this individual not only passes on numerous pawnable items, but also evidently makes no real effort to find cash."

Based on your points in this latest post, we can't really know there was "no real effort to find cash" by the perp. We can make our own assumptions about the facts, and make that guess, and it could be true, but it might be completely wrong as well.

1 "Watch the video. " .... Actually, in the video, we do see what looks to be a "real effort" to find cash, as the perp goes room to room in his search for cash. There seems to be thoroughness in his search.
2 "Then read the media reports stating that only one small item was taken. " ......
--- 2a I'm not sure we can trust that all the details in all the media reports were accurate.
--- 2B Even if they were, "real effort" never guarantees success. So failure to get cash doesn't mean the perp wasn't trying and trying.
--- 2c Those who see the perp as a burglar clearly view the events as an interruption to the perp of what he was trying to do. And in that scenario, we can't say what would have happened without the interruption.
3 "Then, note that the police are not affirming burglary as a motive" ......... Yes, the police do not know the motive. But how can they, without apprehending the killer and asking? The fact that they don't know certainly doesn't determine a lack of "real effort" by the perp, but rather to a lack of knowledge on the part of LE so far.

 

[Cryptic]

1 "Watch the video. " .... Actually, in the video, we do see what looks to be a "real effort" to find cash, as the perp goes room to room in his search for cash. There seems to be thoroughness in his search.

My sisters high end condo was once burglarized in a real effort to search for cash, financial info, and jewelry.

The entire house was tossed, every drawer pulled out, papers examined and flipped, every storage cabinet opened and contents removed, bookshelves were cleared, laundry room and kitchen drawers and pantry ransacked.

And......any likely and even some pretty unlikely "stash spots" or "stash containers" searched. Tables were upended to examine the bottoms. If the possible stash spot was a container, a box, or a jar, it was opened, examined and tossed.

The place looked like a hurricane had hit it- except that there was no pointless vandalism. They found her cash, financial info and jewelry. That aside, the police told her that the burglar(s) were probably in the home less than 15 minutes.

As I have said before, I cant "prove a negative" by proving that there was not a "real effort" to find cash.

 

[SteveS]

My sisters high end condo was once burglarized in a real effort to search for cash, financial info, and jewelry......

As I have said before, I cant "prove a negative" by proving that there was not a "real effort" to find cash.

It's not that we are faced here with the impossible mountain of being unable to prove a negative, but rather that we don't have objective information to support the idea that perp made no effort. "Lack of information" leaves us making guesses, and guesses are just guesses.

It's easy to point out things perp did that could speak of lots of effort. They put on a disguise, perhaps intending to be there for a long time and as a precaution in case someone came in. They seemed to attempt to enter every room. What you call "vandalism" looks to someone else like perp trying to break into some room, to see if there's cash in there. And maybe they had way more planned, figuring church staff didn't arrive until 8, but had to leave unexpectedly early.

And we don't actually know that perp didn't toss the rooms. Or, of course, whether perp was identifying where to come back to, and then forced into a change of plans. All we have is video taken in some of the hall areas. What happened in the rooms is fuzzy at best.

Your multiple assumptions that perp barely looked, didn't do much, and didn't plan to try, may all be accurate. But they might be completely wrong. We just don't know, and neither does LE. Your guess is as good as mine and others.

But we can't claim our guesses are known "facts" on which we can prove some conclusion. That's my point.

 

[Razz]

Before I left on "vacation" I was about 55% thinking this well could have been a burglar interrupted. But reading new "voices", I have come back to believing this was targeted. Too many coincidences in the church alone. The following are jmo only.

1). SP arrived at an ungodly hour and during a torrential downpour with heavy lightening but.... well before the appearance of MB.

2). I believe SP knew the building and what cameras were working and which ones weren't.

3). He tried the NE door as it was covered and would give him some protection from the rain and lightening. When that didn't work, he went to plan B

4) SP had to be well aware that there would not be any cleaning crews there. He also knew there were no silent alarms or loud ones.


5) If SP had been a burglar, why didn't he try to get into the louvered window at the coffee shop? Because he knew he was in complete view of the SW camera and didn't want to chance having his actions scrutinized close up? SP didn't care about that room as he was well aware there was nothing there anyway. So why fake it like he did the others?

6). I think SP knew when MB would arrive and when she would enter the church and where she would be headed. For water from the kitchen maybe? I mean, Why else would she walk down the hallway.? If she suspected someone was in the church, certainly she would have turned around and gotten her gun from her truck.

5). The area where she was killed was in a totally blind (from working cameras) area. Very convenient and imo, known by SP.

6) SP escaped in the nick of time.

TO BE CLEAR...In no way do I think SP was BB or RB. But I think it was someone very familiar with the church and MB's routine.

 

[Cryptic]

But we can't claim our guesses are known "facts" on which we can prove some conclusion. That's my point.

<modsnip>

In my posts, I used words like "apparently", "evidently", and "probably" when offering my opinion. I also used descriptive phrases like "real effort" and also stated that perhaps the burglar was simply incompetent.

<modsnip>

If you were cash motivated and in a building for the first time, how would YOU do it differently from SP?

Hmmm.....I would follow the "lead" given by those who burglarized my sister's condo:

- I would give myself 15 minutes to get in and out. This would mean walking with a purpose.
- I am fleeing if I hear someone.
- No stupid SWAT stuff. Just a ski mask, comfy clothes and tennis shoes.
- Hard to search fast while carrying a hammer in one hand. I would tuck it into my belt. I would also have a small pry bar (maybe not even take a hammer?) and also have..... a sack to put loot in.
- I would only use the hammer when needed to enter or open things. No pointless petty vandalism.

Starting with the offices:

- I would quickly walk from room to room (clock is ticking)
- Every office desk drawer would be opened and tossed for cash, a strong box, check books etc. Locked drawers would be forced open and emptied (locks are usually token-
- Bookshelves would be cleared (no telling what is behind the books).
- Office closets would be tossed out. Boxes, containers, organizers of any kind would be opened and emptied.

Then, I would move onto the less obvious places like filing rooms (not everyone keeps valuables in the obvious places):

- The above would be repeated as time allowed.

15 minutes, and I am gone. In short, I would leave no doubt that cash burglary was my motive.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I would also add Jeff Pelo, a Bloomington IL police sergeant who was a serial rapist. And in this Missy Bevers case there was Bobby Wayne Henry, the only real POI known to the public in the past five years. He was a cop who was accused of sexual assaults of several family members while in uniform, ended up having to resign as a police officer due to a plea deal, and has a similar walk to SP.

As far as your list goes, though, and saying that SP’s chosen persona is “not unique” - seems like you are lumping together a lot of different things. Someone who is a cop and commits crimes in plainclothes (like Pelo or the Golden State Killer Deangelo)) is a different animal from the police impersonator - someone who is not a cop and decides to disguise himself as one, like SP.

I would think the majority of police impersonators fall under the category of those who pull over vehicles on public roads under the false pretense of being law enforcement. We hear about those situations quite a bit.

But if we take away the “public” police impersonation I have described, what is left? Are there really many examples of someone impersonating an officer in secret - breaking into a business or a residence in full gear? I would think that is pretty rare. I am not familiar with every single name on your list, but I know the closest Dennis Rader came to being a cop was when he was a dogcatcher. He never posed as LE.

On the topic of the now cleared BWH, I finally found some footage of him at the time and he didn't have a beard, just appears to have a light moustache maybe. H'mm, I can see the similarities with the SP, but I think the gait is different. However, the shoes are pretty interesting, they look quite similar to the image of the right foot of SP when he's in the corner smashing the glass. If BWH's shoes are work issue ones and they match the SP's that'd be interesting, someone in the same line of business?
The video clip is the one that begins after this quote, if anyone wants to view.
"For a few hours Saturday the focus wasn't about her death, but rather the life she lived-- and the young girls and husband she's left behind."
Mother murdered in Midlothian laid to rest | kagstv.com

 

[Itsapuzzle]

Thank you, Ann. Here is a link to Part 1:

When you first asked about that close-up photo, I went looking for it. For some reason I’ve had trouble finding it although I have run across it many times before. I can tell you, with all respect to whoever created it, that police don’t put any stock in that image. My own personal opinion is that there is no way the original footage could have been cleaned up enough to produce an image that is that clear. But I could be wrong. Maybe @No it's not can weigh in with a more expert opinion.

Thanks for the update on the Rhodens. It had been awhile since I bothered to check the current status.

It's pretty interesting that that image appears to have the white bandana picked up by @noitsnot and others in the car-park, that could be a big clue that
it's Nissan Altima guy.

 

[acehard]

2). I believe SP knew the building and what cameras were working and which ones weren't.

Why appear on any camera at all? It's a huge risk if your intention was to just kill. You can still fake a burglary without appearing on camera.

 

[acehard]

So why ransack just to ransack the place? You open drawers of desks. If there is a deposit bag, it’s going to be apparent.

Obvious question, did the church officers ever leave money in that office in the past?

 

[TheGardener]

I saw an extended interview with BB today. As a person who has worked with the mental health community, I easily recognize the journey he's taken from day one of this family tragedy to where he is today. He wisely saw a grief therapist and a well known PTSD specialist. He's been to hell and gone dealing with media people, the police and looky loos wanting to either get close to the family for info, or who are just off their chain. He has a new relationship with someone he considers compassionate and caring. She brings 3 children to the relationship and was familiar with the family pre-murder. He's angry as hell at SP. He's also come to terms with the PD and suffers information not forthcoming from them. All said, he seems a man who is putting his mind, his family and his future back together incrementally. Speaking out about the tsunami of horror he's suffered and the effort its taken to re-establish a normal, productive life is valuable encouragement for similarly bereaved people. Bravo Brandon.

 

[DeepCover]

My sisters high end condo was once burglarized in a real effort to search for cash, financial info, and jewelry.

The entire house was tossed, every drawer pulled out, papers examined and flipped, every storage cabinet opened and contents removed, bookshelves were cleared, laundry room and kitchen drawers and pantry ransacked.

And......any likely and even some pretty unlikely "stash spots" or "stash containers" searched. Tables were upended to examine the bottoms. If the possible stash spot was a container, a box, or a jar, it was opened, examined and tossed.

The place looked like a hurricane had hit it- except that there was no pointless vandalism. They found her cash, financial info and jewelry. That aside, the police told her that the burglar(s) were probably in the home less than 15 minutes.

As I have said before, I cant "prove a negative" by proving that there was not a "real effort" to find cash.

IMO you can’t compare a dwelling, where small things of value could be stashed all over the place, to a church that will likely only have cash and electronics as things of value that would appeal to a burglar. Like there are not going to be small items like earrings, rings, etc. in a church, so there’s no need to turn the entire place upside down.

SP was likely trying to gain access to an office that had the cash or electronics. Once in that room(s) they may have ransacked the place, but they had no reason to ransack a Sunday school classroom, for example.

 

[Gwyndolyn]

Why appear on any camera at all? It's a huge risk if your intention was to just kill. You can still fake a burglary without appearing on camera.

Unless you have it planned out to avoid detection and want to confuse the investigation by adding in odd variables like costuming and burglary/vandalism, want to move it to a location away from other people but still be witnessed for parts of the event, and take the scrutiny off the people most often blamed- the spouse or family by having your height etc. on the record for reasonable doubt. JMO

 

[No it's not]

Thank you, Ann. Here is a link to Part 1:

When you first asked about that close-up photo, I went looking for it. For some reason I’ve had trouble finding it although I have run across it many times before. I can tell you, with all respect to whoever created it, that police don’t put any stock in that image. My own personal opinion is that there is no way the original footage could have been cleaned up enough to produce an image that is that clear. But I could be wrong. Maybe @No it's not can weigh in with a more expert opinion.

Thanks for the update on the Rhodens. It had been awhile since I bothered to check the current status.

I was never able to duplicate the result. No pupils/eyebrows /eyelashes (or parts of the nose) are visible IMO. I like to also mention, that any images showing SP's facial profile including the nose and chin area are incorrect, as that part of the face is covered by a chin guard/protection:


Click to enlarge

ALL IMO

-Nin

 

[TheGardener]

I think its important not to become too frustrated with the MPD's not being forthcoming with new information, or believing they have no viable leads or suspects. This is a very prominent case with a lot of eyes on it. Oftentimes, PD's have the gut belief a suspect is likely responsible, but they don't have enough evidence to assure their district attorney a strong, winable case. As cases are being investigated, PD's can change their investigative direction. Where they might emphasize investigating the assault aspect of a crime in the beginning, switching to a more burglary/vandalism direction may become more fruitful. Each effort requires time, a new strategy and a lot of sweat. Progress or the lack thereof is unlikely to be shared with anyone outside selected members of law enforcement.

The British Night Stalker, Delroy Grant, eluded capture for years. He was a prolific rapist specializing in assaulting elderly women living alone. He even raped a 93 year old woman, such was his cruelty. He scoped out the scene beforehand, broke in, robbed and raped the victim...sometimes leaving them with a little kiss or a thank you. The PD wore out every source of information on predatory sexual assault and criminals with records of such. The investigation was a non--stop wave of investigation with sexual assault their impetus. It took one detective willing to bring the investigation to a screeching halt and take it in a new direction for the case to be solved. He reluctantly excised the sexual assault aspect from the process and threw all resources into investigating the cases solely as burglaries - crime outside the purview of the major crimes division. In the end, they captured Delroy Grant using burglary oriented investigative techniques. According to the detective who cracked the case, a screwdriver's tool marks were as good or better than a fingerprint.

So, as difficult as it is to maintain, patience is a friend to this case. Anyone intimating they know the MPD's mindset, that they're nowhere near identifying the suspect, or where their investigation has led them to this point - assumes too much.

 

[gliving]

I looked up the FBI crime statistics for Midlothian (population 23,085) for the year 2016. Of the total numbers of crimes committed, the greater number by far are property crimes(287), larceny-theft(226), and burglary(43), motor vehicle theft(18). Only one murder. Missy's murder. Of the 618 crimes committed, 556 of them involve property damage or theft. Only 32 of the 618 are considered to be violent crimes (murder(1), rape(10), aggravated assault(18)). The property crime statistics are a little higher than the national average.
Make of it what you will.
It looks like the majority of the property crime perps didn't kill anyone on scene. Only one.

Agree that Missy's murder was a one-off event. Nothing like had/has happened before or after. Targeted or a weird happenstance? ??

I'd like to know more about the helmet. Seems it would be easy enough to identify the make and model.

 

[Lhughessk]

Anyone intimating they know the MPD's mindset, that they're nowhere near identifying the suspect, or where their investigation has led them to this point - assumes too much.

There are some pretty good insiders here who have been on the case since 2016. If they said they know where MPD is in the investigation, I personally wouldn’t dismiss it. Just MOO

 

[TheGardener]

I think this is a perfect case for The Vidocq Society. Look them up. They must be invited into a case by law enforcement involved in the investigation.