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

[KooshBall]

I don't know how I have never heard if this crime until tonight. After reading this thread, I never want to be alone in an empty building again. A couple thoughts..

I watched the video of the suspect before reading any comments. I assumed I was looking at a woman, possibly pregnant, by the walk. After reading the details of the crime I am leaning more towards it being a man. I think when interrupted by the victim, a woman would have ran away or hid, a man I can see fighting and killing.

I don't think I could ever be convinced that this was a targeted attack because of the way the suspect was so casual about walking around beforehand. No way would someone planning a murder risk walking around that much. Too much potential for being on camera, leaving evidence, and not catching the victim alone, or by surprise. A murder is a big risk, the adrenaline and nerves that one would feel while waiting for the victim would not lead to someone taking their time, snooping around casually like in the video. If it were a planned attack there would be a trail of evidence to follow, conversations, planning, in 7 years I believe all of that would have been unraveled by now.

In my town we have a lot of alcohol and addiction issues. Businesses are often broken into and the videos are usually very similar, other than the outfit. Just a drunk or high person, casually snooping around, taking food from the school kitchen, breaking a few things, just to be destructive, and then leave with at most a laptop, or something not even worth the trouble. Sometimes they wear a Halloween mask, because I think part of it is just entertainment for people not in their right minds. So my theory is this person could have been having a drink or getting high while parked in the gun store parking lot and then headed over to goof around in the church. Maybe they thought it would be funny that the videos were going to show a "law enforcement" person broke in and that was why that outfit.

I think this person is very inexperienced, either young, mentally off, or intoxicated. They just happened to get very lucky with the way the cameras worked and didn't work, I don't think any of it was skills or experience. They could be so freaked out by what ended up happening that it scared them straight and they have stayed out of any trouble since then.

 

[Sillybilly]

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[DeDee]

The short answer to your question is, "Yes, MB was killed by gunshot."

FBI UCR records exist showing that to be the case, and were discovered and brought to the forum when it reopened with Thread 45. We first heard this in Thread 45 Post 104. In the files referencing MB case's cause of death, it says:

Weapon
Handgun - pistol, revolver, etc

The records are online but hard to access, because it requires a search with just the right parameters in a massive database, that is part of a website. Two websites, in fact. So there's no way to link directly to the page, but when told about it, many of us here looked it up for ourselves. I did it multiple times, both places, but have no desire to do it again because it's so frustrating to do. If you want to delve into it further, you only have to read the posts since then, as there are MANY MANY explanations and discussions of those records since then.

Some more things to know:
1 LE has NEVER answered the question of MB's cause of death. In PCs they danced around the question, and basically said they will tell us later, and we're 7 years later and still not a word.
2 In a SW on Day 1, LE said that Missy had “deceased from a head wound”. They also said that "an unknown male used an unknown instrument to cause the death..." Nothing about puncture wounds and nothing about the chest (wording that came only in a single later SW). After that, LE stopped describing her injuries at all.
3 In a SW from Day 2, LE said this (which they have never explained further), which was what led us to the idea early on that she was not killed by gun: "Terri Bevers’ had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest are consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building."
4 In retrospect, that wording in that SW is incredibly unclear, almost weird. It tells us of wounds, but not whether they caused death. It speaks of "tools" the suspect was carrying, but doesn't say they are seen in the video.
5 What tools are actually seen - flashlight, prybar? But then where does that take us? A blow on or upside the head by a flashlight or prybar wouldn't cause a puncture, as puncture wounds are those that would have made a hole in the skin. And there were "puncture wounds" made in both head and chest.
6 From day one, LE brought ATF to the case, and there were early whispers around the case about dogs on the scene to sniff out things and about gun investigations (and about FOIA requests to reveal gun-related things, that were turned down on legal grounds rather than being told no such things exist, keeping things private). When we thought it was a stabbing death, those didn't fit at all, and caused much debate in this forum. Now, of course, it all fits after all.
7 We were also told by VI that the damage was minimal enough that the family almost had an open casket funeral, and kept it closed for emotional reasons but not because there was too much damage to MB. That perhaps hints of damage only by bullets that left a smaller footprint in the head and chest.

The idea that MB was injured by multiple things, and killed by gunshot, as you suggest, is certainly possible.

But some (myself included) have concluded that LE was being intentionally misleading in the SW, without actually lying, for the purpose of keeping COD info behind closed doors and away from the public. For us, LP was carrying a gun (but not seen) and killed MB with it, and then ran away (in panic and fear, I'm wagering).

In the SW wording, it doesn't say how many wounds there are, other than "multiple," and it offers 2 places that were punctured (head, chest), so it's possible the entire attack consisted of her being shot in the head and the chest, 2 shots total, and that was it. It would be informative to know more of what all happened if we had the coroner's report, but we don't.

Nice summation but you <modsnip - personalizing> omitting the all-important hammer. SP is seen throughout carrying that dang hammer that was conveniently left near Missy. I believe SP obtained it from the first closet SP opens in the W hallway.

Midlothian police released a longer clip showing the person walking through different parts of the church and swinging what appears to be a large hammer. Police indicated it was found near her body along with other tools from the church. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/missy-bevers-died-from-multiple-puncture-wounds-to-head-and-chest-police/132143/

Looks similar to

Punctures usually occur when a pointed object, such as a nail, pierces the skin.
A gunshot wound is a puncture wound. Puncture wounds do not bleed much unless a blood vessel has been injured. What is a puncture wound? | Injuries, Wound and Trauma

Photo credit: Estwing E3/28S Straight Claw Hammer 784g (28oz)

The hammer is seen at 02:02 in my personal favorite version of the cctv video

 

[Snoopster]

As I was reviewing some of the previous threads, I found this post to be incredibly helpful, regarding the size (i.e. how heavy/wide) of the perp, based on insight by a technical illustrator. It discussed how the high placement and angle of the cameras (exacerbated by the loose clothing and bulky accessories) makes the perp look fatter than they are.

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

Here are a couple of images from that post:

And one showing the same model from two different angles, including top-down, which added considerable bulk:



I, like many, had presumed that the perp was overweight, but now I don't think that's the case. I looked for a longer-angle view of the perp to best illustrate the point. Here's a screen capture from the video where the perp doesn't look so fat and the vest looks very thick and boxy. Notice the huge indentation immediately under the vest.



As well, the perp has shin guards on and the straps above and below cause the loose pant legs to blouse out.
(Screen capture image from this video link @ 1:25)
Video

 

[Ozoner]

I, like many, had presumed that the perp was overweight, but now I don't think that's the case. I looked for a longer-angle view of the perp to best illustrate the point. Here's a screen capture from the video where the perp doesn't look so fat and the vest looks very thick and boxy. Notice the huge indentation immediately under the vest.

Your post is definitely enlightening, but not because I ever thought that the perp was overweight.

I always thought that it was fairly obvious that the perp was someone with a slender or average build underneath bulky swat gear.

I've now seen a few people refer to the perp as overweight, so maybe that's a more common error in this case than I had realized. If members of the general public are making the same mistake, it could be preventing people from calling in tips on viable suspects who are not overweight.

 

[neesaki]

Nice summation but you might want to kick rocks for omitting the all-important hammer. SP is seen throughout carrying that dang hammer that was conveniently left near Missy. I believe SP obtained it from the first closet SP opens in the W hallway.

Midlothian police released a longer clip showing the person walking through different parts of the church and swinging what appears to be a large hammer. Police indicated it was found near her body along with other tools from the church. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/missy-bevers-died-from-multiple-puncture-wounds-to-head-and-chest-police/132143/

Looks similar to View attachment 411804




Photo credit: Estwing E3/28S Straight Claw Hammer 784g (28oz)

The hammer is seen at 02:02 in my personal favorite version of the cctv video

If it wasn’t a targeted attack, I‘m thinking SP may have gone into a rage.… Considering that there were multiple wounds. Otherwise he / she could have just knocked her once in the head and ran.
Or did MB start fighting them / try to prevent SP from fleeing ?

It seems it’s still not clear if the hammer was actually used in the attack, then the gun afterwards.… or just the gun alone.
I’m rusty on this case, I guess you can tell.

 

[KooshBall]

Last night I was convinced this was random but after doing some googling to read the rumors attached to this case, I can sort of understand the targeted theory.

It is just so hard for me to accept that both the suspect, and possible related car, were caught on video and still the case has gone nowhere.

This case has managed to scare me in a way I have never felt before. My son opened my bedroom door as I was watching the car video and I about passed out, I got so terrified. I hope someday justice is served for Missy.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Did the video have audio? How does the physician know that she heard a noise?

The way she jerked her head to the direction of the hallway and then walked that way. The way she walked. Watch the video linked further up the thread.

 

[jellybeanz]

RIP Missy.

 

[neesaki]

Did the video have audio? How does the physician know that she heard a noise?

I wanted to see the interview with the physician myself, so re-posting the link.

Forensic Podiatrist Called By FBI To Study Missy Bevers' Killer's Gait, Explains Investigative Process

 

[Tower]

I wanted to see the interview with the physician myself, so re-posting the link.

Forensic Podiatrist Called By FBI To Study Missy Bevers' Killer's Gait, Explains Investigative Process

Thank you for re-posting. I hadn’t read that interview in years. The podiatrist very responsibly points out that the gait we see on video is common and it is only one small part of evidence in a case. There has been so much focus on gait, yet Missy’s murder is still unsolved.
Moo

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Curious about the headlamp SP uses. It either isn't present or is not turned on until the last parts of the released video. I can't tell if it's a Petzl style headlamp worn under, or maybe integrated in some way, with the helmet. Does anyone have any insights about this?

Also SP seems pretty clueless about jimmying locked doors open and gives up easily on one door. That doesn't seem like the mark of an experienced burglar.

 

[Ozoner]

Thank you for re-posting. I hadn’t read that interview in years. The podiatrist very responsibly points out that the gait we see on video is common and it is only one small part of evidence in a case. There has been so much focus on gait, yet Missy’s murder is still unsolved.
Moo

Yes. It amazes me how so many people over on YouTube use the gait to point towards particular suspects with no other evidence. You can't fix stupid—at least not yet. (I hope that the medical community is working on it.)

 

[JnRyan]

I have my concern about focusing on the gait. If the killer is wearing someone else's boots or they had a recent injury that subsequently healed. In such instances those who know him/her may not make the connection by the gait alone.

 

[Detective Willy]

Interesting article.

‘Far from justice’: why are nearly half of US murders going unsolved?

Homicide ‘clearance rates’ have plummeted over the past four decades, compounding relatives’ trauma

www.theguardian.com

You would think that technology improvements would help murder cases get solved but it's apparently going the other way in the US.

Maybe Missy's case will never be solved?

 

[Ozoner]

Interesting article.

‘Far from justice’: why are nearly half of US murders going unsolved?

Homicide ‘clearance rates’ have plummeted over the past four decades, compounding relatives’ trauma

www.theguardian.com

You would think that technology improvements would help murder cases get solved but it's apparently going the other way in the US.

Maybe Missy's case will never be solved?

Juries today don't understand the concept of reasonable doubt and don't understand how to connect the dots with circumstantial evidence. They expect high-resolution video footage of the crime occurring, DNA from the victim on the perp, and DNA from the perp on the victim. Even then they'll still acquit. Look at the Casey Anthony verdict.

Prosecutors are afraid to bring charges unless the case is a slam dunk.

 

[neesaki]

I have my concern about focusing on the gait. If the killer is wearing someone else's boots or they had a recent injury that subsequently healed. In such instances those who know him/her may not make the connection by the gait alone.

Watching the video again the other day, I was reminded of someone walking while wearing ski boots. Has anyone else noticed that?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Why not take the wedding rings if it were someone trying to make it look like a burglary? Something that small could be disposed of easily.

The fact that nothing was taken gives the lie to the theory that someone wanted to make a planned killing look like a burglary gone wrong. Someone doing that would be certain to take something of value. An actual interrupted burglar might not; an actual interrupted burglar would just want to get the hell out of there.

Then why would they bother to take the time to murder someone?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I am curious what a burglar would steal from a church? Sundays collection? What else?

Electronics (A/V), food/supplies, auto parts (from church van or bus), gasoline, musical instruments, hymnals (incredibly expensive)...

 

[GoBuckeyes]

How would they get in the building? Wouldn't their car be parked outside?

She may not have been the only one with a key. Another camper could have had one. Or perhaps it was usual for one or more church staff to arrive early.