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

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DimeDetective said:
To be clear, I believe the America's Most Wanted information is wrong.

At the same time, an annual plea for information is made, but without any specifics. What exactly is needed from the public to solve this case? A name? A face? An eyewitness?

How can we dispel rumors, myths and misconceptions in this case? Which pieces of information are we 100% sure of as fact?
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Snipped by me for space and BBM

For me, I am going to rely mostly on words directly out of the mouths of police/investigators and family. I am not blaming media or ridiculing media, free press is very important. And I'm not accusing America's Most Wanted of anything, but it is a TV show and they are going to make decisions on how the story is presented. Unfortunately, I think in the rush and zest for a "story", especially in a case like this, which was pretty sensational for the area at that time, things get misconstrued/confused or proper research is not done.

Here is what I consider as factual as possible, from police/investigators, eye-witnesses and family:

1) They intended to go to the field party in Haleburg; JB's dance school friend was one of the hosts; the party was partially in honor of JB's Birthday; they had a handwritten map to find it, but could not find it; gave up looking - I believe this to be confirmed both by JB's sister and Bookie
2) They ended up at the gas station in Headland; JB made a call to the Dance School friend's house and spoke to the sister; they speak to Bookie, he gives them directions to Midland City; the girls hand Bookie the Haleburg party map; they leave - I believe this to be confirmed by JB's sister, Bookie and a Police Officer on patrol driving by the gas station at this time. I also believe the police got the call record for this pay phone.
3) They attend the field party in Skipperville/Ozark - I believe this to be confirmed by JB's sister/producer-director of Shined Rabbit on a podcast (documentary was done with permission from family) and Ozark police/eye-witnesses.
4)They end up at the Big/Little gas station in Ozark around 11:30 pm; JB speaks to the Merrit's and Tracie makes a call to her Mother; JB gets direction to 231 from the Merrit's. Tracie asks her Mom if they can stop in Midland City to meet the "2 boys" at a gas station. Tracie's mom agrees to Midland City stop but not for long and no other stops - I believe this to be confirmed by the Merrit's, JB's sister and the Producer/Director of Shined Rabbit on a podcast (documentary was done with permission from family). I also believe police got the records of this pay phone as well.
5) The girls leave the Big/Little in the direction indicated by the Merrit's and were not followed - I believe this to be confirmed by the Merrit's and JB's sister

I'm going to leave the finding of JB's car, the scene where car is found, evidence collected, items missing from the car, the condition of the car, the different ballistics, shells vs. casings, type of gun suspected and other actual evidence, to someone more versed in that than I am.
 
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aegis100 said:
I have not heard the tire tread mentioned before either.

Does the article mean that the soil samples and piece of tire tread were taken from the area on 123 south or Herring Avenue or both? I know there was mention of soil samples taken from the car and the clothing if I recall correctly but results have never been made public.
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BBM

I took it to mean the police found tire tread at the barn off of 123 South. My inference only.

To me this information on the tread coupled with the information that JB's tires were possibly losing tread is very interesting. What the investigators are actually doing with this and the soil evidence is another question. I agree with Ted, it seems like there needs to be a more robust update and request for information from the investigating agencies.
 
killarney rose said:
So if the girls did attend a field party, how much of the debris and water on their pants and shoes can be attributed to that? It was July. There should've been almost mature crops in most fields.
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Well, I think that's one of the problems....not knowing the specific location of the Skipperville field party. Was it an actual field with crops? Was it just land, i.e. land used for hunting? If it was just land was there grass/hay or was it bare or were there trees/forest?

The few field parties I attended were not on fields with actual crops planted. It was land used used mostly for hunting. However there were crops planted on the farms surrounding this land.

I did a search on the weather for July 1999 and there was rain off and on in the week and days prior to the night in question, so most anywhere at that time was probably at least wet or moist, even if there was not an actual creek or pond nearby or on the land.
 
killarney rose said:
So if the girls did attend a field party, how much of the debris and water on their pants and shoes can be attributed to that? It was July. There should've been almost mature crops in most fields.
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MOO, but probably not much. Tracie was wearing week-old $100.00 New Balance shoes. I seriously doubt she would have done anything get mud on those shoes. They were described as "covered in mud". Also, she had briars in her clothes. I don't believe she would have gotten briars from crops or a field party. More than likely, at some point she ran through a creek and through the woods in a desperate attempt to escape.
 
SavageMarkIII said:
For me, I am going to rely mostly on words directly out of the mouths of police/investigators and family. I am not blaming media or ridiculing media, free press is very important. And I'm not accusing America's Most Wanted of anything, but it is a TV show and they are going to make decisions on how the story is presented. Unfortunately, I think in the rush and zest for a "story", especially in a case like this, which was pretty sensational for the area at that time, things get misconstrued/confused or proper research is not done.

Here is what I consider as factual as possible, from police/investigators, eye-witnesses and family:

1) They intended to go to the field party in Haleburg; JB's dance school friend was one of the hosts; the party was partially in honor of JB's Birthday; they had a handwritten map to find it, but could not find it; gave up looking - I believe this to be confirmed both by JB's sister and Bookie
2) They ended up at the gas station in Headland; JB made a call to the Dance School friend's house and spoke to the sister; they speak to Bookie, he gives them directions to Midland City; the girls hand Bookie the Haleburg party map; they leave - I believe this to be confirmed by JB's sister, Bookie and a Police Officer on patrol driving by the gas station at this time. I also believe the police got the call record for this pay phone.
3) They attend the field party in Skipperville/Ozark - I believe this to be confirmed by JB's sister/producer-director of Shined Rabbit on a podcast (documentary was done with permission from family) and Ozark police/eye-witnesses.
4)They end up at the Big/Little gas station in Ozark around 11:30 pm; JB speaks to the Merrit's and Tracie makes a call to her Mother; JB gets direction to 231 from the Merrit's. Tracie asks her Mom if they can stop in Midland City to meet the "2 boys" at a gas station. Tracie's mom agrees to Midland City stop but not for long and no other stops - I believe this to be confirmed by the Merrit's, JB's sister and the Producer/Director of Shined Rabbit on a podcast (documentary was done with permission from family). I also believe police got the records of this pay phone as well.
5) The girls leave the Big/Little in the direction indicated by the Merrit's and were not followed - I believe this to be confirmed by the Merrit's and JB's sister

I'm going to leave the finding of JB's car, the scene where car is found, evidence collected, items missing from the car, the condition of the car, the different ballistics, shells vs. casings, type of gun suspected and other actual evidence, to someone more versed in that than I am.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this post, SavageMarkIII. A fresh timeline constructed from corroborating statements by multiple sources with direct knowledge would, I believe, be quite a valuable document. And this is a great start. What does everyone think of working together to expand on this?

I would add, in reference to Item #2 above (BBM), the following information from my post of June 15, 2014:

Today I was contacted by Officer Tony Smith of the Headland Police Department. Officer Smith was on patrol the night of July 31, 1999; he is the officer who saw J.B. Beasley's car twice in Headland that night. He wanted to clear up an important discrepancy in our information, and he was also willing to tell me about the two Headland sightings:

"The witness [Marilyn Merritt] that stated the car was spotless in Ozark, that was not true. The car was dirty, that's one thing that stuck out with me. I thought to myself, that's a nice car to be dirty. I turned beside them at a red light on the square in Headland. Just wanted to clear that part, the car was dirty just like police photo shows, was not spotless.

I saw them twice, once at BP talking with someone in a tan truck, side by side, and when I turned beside them at red light.

When I saw them it was just them two [in the car], they appeared to be headed out of Headland. The car looked exactly the same as it did from police photo. No one was following them because I turned into the parking lot right behind their car to speak with kids on the square.

I remember all this because it hit me hard knowing I had just saw them."
 
TedMac said:
BBM...What is needed from the public? Good question. MOO, but it would almost require someone with knowledge of the crime or knowledge of the killer and his whereabouts of that evening and his demeanor around that time. I was contacted last winter by someone who was highly suspicious of a certain individual that acted very suspiciously the next day after the killings. I can't go into detail of what I was told, but I immediately passed the info on to the FBI and Ozark PD. who seemed very interested in the information. This sort of thing is what I feeel will take to solve the case.

How can we dispel rumors, myths and misconceptions in this case? I would really like to see LE (the FBI, Ozark PD and the Attorney General's cold case investigator) hold a preannounced joint press conference and describe to the general public what the state of the investigation actually is. During the press conference, they could state what is fact and also quash any untrue rumors they are aware of. This type of press conference would generate a lot of publicity and maybe solicit some new info. Also, it would go a long way towards differentiating fact from fiction.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this post, TedMac. I agree with all your points here.

I'm afraid you may be right regarding the nature of the information that may be needed to solve this case. I worked on investigating another cold case double homicide immediately after being hired as a reporter. Though I was able to bring some new information to light, it was not the type of case where just a name would've sufficed: local law enforcement felt confident that they knew the identity of the killer, but without someone with direct knowledge coming forward and telling what they knew, there was not enough evidence to convict.
 
TedMac said:
BBM...What is needed from the public? Good question. MOO, but it would almost require someone with knowledge of the crime or knowledge of the killer and his whereabouts of that evening and his demeanor around that time. I was contacted last winter by someone who was highly suspicious of a certain individual that acted very suspiciously the next day after the killings. I can't go into detail of what I was told, but I immediately passed the info on to the FBI and Ozark PD. who seemed very interested in the information. This sort of thing is what I feeel will take to solve the case.

How can we dispel rumors, myths and misconceptions in this case? I would really like to see LE (the FBI, Ozark PD and the Attorney General's cold case investigator) hold a preannounced joint press conference and describe to the general public what the state of the investigation actually is. During the press conference, they could state what is fact and also quash any untrue rumors they are aware of. This type of press conference would generate a lot of publicity and maybe solicit some new info. Also, it would go a long way towards differentiating fact from fiction.
Click to expand...

A press conference or other official update is a great idea. There has been so much misinformation in this case. Not to rehash issues from the now unavailable previous thread, but those who were reading there saw some of the confusion. I think that a new statement by LE might also help to answer the concerns about whether officials are still working on the case versus covering for someone. I don't believe in a police cover-up so much as a small town PD that was in over its head, but those rumors persist.

I still believe that this case can be solved. I feel that someone knows information that could lead to a break. There was info posted on the FB page a few months ago that mentioned a new (to me) suspect. I have no idea if that was credible, but it was said to have been passed on to LE, and it reinforced for me that someone may really have secrets that they have kept about this case for so long. An official update, along with the Shined Rabbit documentary, might refresh memories or move consciences. I would like to see the film and hope that a screening in the local area will occur at some point.
 
DimeDetective said:
Thank you for this post, SavageMarkIII. A fresh timeline constructed from corroborating statements by multiple sources with direct knowledge would, I believe, be quite a valuable document. And this is a great start. What does everyone think of working together to expand on this?

I would add, in reference to Item #2 above (BBM), the following information from my post of June 15, 2014:

Today I was contacted by Officer Tony Smith of the Headland Police Department. Officer Smith was on patrol the night of July 31, 1999; he is the officer who saw J.B. Beasley's car twice in Headland that night. He wanted to clear up an important discrepancy in our information, and he was also willing to tell me about the two Headland sightings:

"The witness [Marilyn Merritt] that stated the car was spotless in Ozark, that was not true. The car was dirty, that's one thing that stuck out with me. I thought to myself, that's a nice car to be dirty. I turned beside them at a red light on the square in Headland. Just wanted to clear that part, the car was dirty just like police photo shows, was not spotless.

I saw them twice, once at BP talking with someone in a tan truck, side by side, and when I turned beside them at red light.

When I saw them it was just them two [in the car], they appeared to be headed out of Headland. The car looked exactly the same as it did from police photo. No one was following them because I turned into the parking lot right behind their car to speak with kids on the square.

I remember all this because it hit me hard knowing I had just saw them."
Click to expand...

I theorized that maybe where J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett went wrong in their directions to Midland City that night was at the southwest corner of the Headland town square. I thought they may have taken a right instead of a left and this led them out of town north.

So there actually was a witness police officer from Headland who saw what direction they turned at the square? So which way, assuming it was from the southwest corner of the square, did they turn? Did their car make a right or a left?

I am just curious to know how good my directional detective skills are or whether I am off in what I theorized. None of this probably matters because no matter how J.B. Beasley or Tracie Hawlett ended up at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL on July 31, 1999, what really matters is where they went after leaving that gas station. That is the mystery.
 
dancemom said:
A press conference or other official update is a great idea. There has been so much misinformation in this case. Not to rehash issues from the now unavailable previous thread, but those who were reading there saw some of the confusion. I think that a new statement by LE might also help to answer the concerns about whether officials are still working on the case versus covering for someone. I don't believe in a police cover-up so much as a small town PD that was in over its head, but those rumors persist.

I still believe that this case can be solved. I feel that someone knows information that could lead to a break. There was info posted on the FB page a few months ago that mentioned a new (to me) suspect. I have no idea if that was credible, but it was said to have been passed on to LE, and it reinforced for me that someone may really have secrets that they have kept about this case for so long. An official update, along with the Shined Rabbit documentary, might refresh memories or move consciences. I would like to see the film and hope that a screening in the local area will occur at some point.
Click to expand...

Excellent post, dancemom. The release of Shined Rabbit will hopefully provide a big boost in awareness and get a new conversation going. And with next summer marking 20 years since the murders, perhaps LE will see it as an opportunity to issue a new statement.

Does anyone happen to have email addresses for Veronica Silver and Jacqui Burgoon? Thanks.
 
TedMac said:
He was the one that was riding around with friends the week following the murders and made the statement something to the effect of "Would you be surprised if I killed the two girls!" He left for Michigan soon after that and his friends reported him to LE who proceded to go to Michigan 3 times to interview him. Don't know if he told them anything or not. But for investigators to go that far on three different times to interview him, makes me think they had more than a passing interest in him.
Click to expand...

(Snipped and BBM.)

Does this boastfulness strike anyone else as matching up with the leaving of the car on Herring Avenue? I've long believed that the car's placement on Herring Avenue was:
  • absolutely intentional
  • intended to communicate something to someone
  • the key to solving the case
It's the closest thing we have to a signature. If the person who spoke those words to friends is indeed the killer, isn't his boast an extension of his leaving the car on Herring? It's as if he can't contain himself. He wanted people to see, to know, what he had done. Seems he would've told even more people about it.

Looking at this quote and the car on Herring side by side, a personality almost begins to emerge. And possibly even a motive.
 
DimeDetective said:
Does anyone happen to have email addresses for Veronica Silver and Jacqui Burgoon? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Snipped by me

No email addresses, but they are both members here and posted on the previous thread. I'll see if I can find usernames.

ETA: Jacqui has posted as "jburgoon" and Veronica as "SHINED rabbit" if you wanted to try to send them PMs through the forum.
 
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DimeDetective said:
(Snipped and BBM.)

Does this boastfulness strike anyone else as matching up with the leaving of the car on Herring Avenue? I've long believed that the car's placement on Herring Avenue was:
  • absolutely intentional
  • intended to communicate something to someone
  • the key to solving the case
It's the closest thing we have to a signature. If the person who spoke those words to friends is indeed the killer, isn't his boast an extension of his leaving the car on Herring? It's as if he can't contain himself. He wanted people to see, to know, what he had done. Seems he would've told even more people about it.

Looking at this quote and the car on Herring side by side, a personality almost begins to emerge. And possibly even a motive.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, I do not think the car being left on Herring Avenue has any significance other than it was left on Herring Avenue. From a mapping perspective, when you look at where the car was left in relation to where the Big Little gas station was located, it lacks a significant feature(that I look for) in directional routes: No straight line. You cannot say with absolute certainty but I think it is just circumstance the car ended up there. Herring Avenue looks like it is a dark road at night and not very well lit during the day. What is interesting is that the car ended up on Herring Avenue when they were supposedly headed home to Dothan, AL. It has to be thought that police probably gave serious consideration to the theory that maybe the killer lives nearby, with no success.

If there is one thing I have learned from looking at cases over time it is that you should try not to overthink things. This crime is very simple in my opinion. I do not think the killer thought much about anything. The one suspect, Barrentine, inserted himself into the case early on for reward money. People today will insert themselves into criminal investigations or claim to be witnesses to things or people they think they have seen when they did not.

When I look at the case of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett all I see is an individual who shot two innocent people in the trunk of their car, drove the car to the closest road that looked deserted, and then walked away. The closest thing to a motive appears to be a type of sexual crime. This also makes me think he drove the car into town from the east or south, Herring Avenue being closest to those directional parts of town. That is all I get out of the evidence presented online, other than J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett's car was spotted earlier as being muddy and it appears they got lost before they ended up at the Big Little gas station in Ozark, AL. What happened after they turned right out of the gas station to go home that night remains a mystery.
 
dancemom said:
No email addresses, but they are both members here and posted on the previous thread. I'll see if I can find usernames.

ETA: Jacqui has posted as "jburgoon" and Veronica as "SHINED rabbit" if you wanted to try to send them PMs through the forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much, dancemom. I appreciate it.
 
DimeDetective said:
(Snipped and BBM.)

Does this boastfulness strike anyone else as matching up with the leaving of the car on Herring Avenue? I've long believed that the car's placement on Herring Avenue was:
  • absolutely intentional
  • intended to communicate something to someone
  • the key to solving the case
It's the closest thing we have to a signature. If the person who spoke those words to friends is indeed the killer, isn't his boast an extension of his leaving the car on Herring? It's as if he can't contain himself. He wanted people to see, to know, what he had done. Seems he would've told even more people about it.

Looking at this quote and the car on Herring side by side, a personality almost begins to emerge. And possibly even a motive.
Click to expand...

Very good post DD. I never really thought to link his boastfulness of Michigan Man to the car being left on Herring Ave. Good possibility. But, what was the motive and how did he capture them? They mave have gone by someone's residence and the killer was there or he mave been able to commondeer their car somehow.

I totally agree the car's placement on Herring Ave was intentional. I've worked off the idea that it was left there for one of three reasons: The killer lived near there, the killer was staying the night with someone near there or he had a car parked near there. But, as you stated, it could have been a message to someone.
 
Clarification questions: Michigan Man is not Roger Coots correct? Do we know who Michigan Man is? Were Barrentine and Coots associated together?
 
On the 16th anniversary of the murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett an article was written about their families. I think the article was called Bittersweet 16 or something like that. The article mostly talked about the J.B. Beasley's family. She has a lot of sisters and I think many if not all of them are models. It made me think of something when you consider how the crime could possibly have taken place according to the Haunting Evidence episode. Models have their pictures taken. So maybe this killer likes to take pictures? It is a strange idea especially since the crime happened at night.

It is another idea to add to the speculation surrounding the case.
 
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