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

[Irishrose70]

Irishrose70, I posted the above a few pages back and I still think this is still a viable route taken by the killer(s).

Not sure how I missed this .... I wrote something similar about a year ago. The thing is, I still live in the area, and use that vet. I probably wouldn't pick up on the 134. (Yes, technically, it is, somehow) Around here it's South Union. 134 is up 231 about half a mile on the right, lol. However there was a light back then in the vicinity of Ozark vet clinic now. Right lane went to 231. Left fork went on a road that no longer exists, where there were houses, etc that no longer exist. Ending on Mathews Avenue after a very short distance. My issue was why would they turn left on Ruby or Edna? I was thinking about it going to the vet and remembered the fork/houses/roads that used to be at almost that exact spot back in 99.

 

[aegis100]

My issue was why would they turn left on Ruby or Edna?

There is a pond/lake behind Holman Funeral Home where the girls could have encountered the water/grass/dirt that was reported to be on their pants. This area also appears to be isolated with trees surrounding it to muffle any noises and far enough away from South Union that any traffic would not have seen the murders. Then it is just a 1-2 minute drive to Herring to leave the car.

 

[killarney rose]

I still vaguely remember that fork. Before the vets office was built there. That is my vet and what brings me to ozark most of the time these days. I know where the pond is and it's possible...

 

[aegis100]

Sorry guys but I'm confused. Was the vet clinic where the funeral home is now? To me Edna Drive is a lot closer for the murderers to leave the bodies at Herring Avenue.

 

[killarney rose]

No the vet clinic used to be on a different road. They rebuilt a brand new clinic where it is now a few years ago. The best way I can tell you where it is, if you are on 231 going toward Dothan from ozark, when you get to the light at the intersection of 231 & 123, turn left and the vet will be on your immediate left. Then further up 123 isthe funeral home on the right with the pond behind it.

 

[Irishrose70]

To clear up some possible confusion, when talking about the vet clinic, it is a current landmark for a fork that was in the road of 134/s union. The clinic was not there in 1999. The fork is not there now. The reason I mentioned it was because I was trying to figure out how the girls missed reaching Hwy 231. If they took the left fork instead of keeping right, that could be how. It would have put them in the Mathews Road vicinity. That whole area was pretty desolate, particularly at night. And there are creeks and ponds on Edna, the end of Ruby, and other places. Another interesting fact for the police involvement group? It's also right there at the county/city maintenance buildings where the kept vehicles, and just down the road from a desolate police training site.

 

[aegis100]

Thank you for the clarifications. I appreciate both of you providing details of the landscape from the time period.

Let me also add to my friend's theory (page 14 of this thread) about the killer being a woman. She stated the killer would be 18-23 and single. That age range because she would be volatile, easily provoked and jealous. A married woman wouldn't be as insecure since she has already married. My friend related this to how she felt at that time of life. Just her opinion of course.

 

[jkloc420]

This is a good case to do the new dna technology they have

 

[somequestions]

To clear up some possible confusion, when talking about the vet clinic, it is a current landmark for a fork that was in the road of 134/s union. The clinic was not there in 1999. The fork is not there now. The reason I mentioned it was because I was trying to figure out how the girls missed reaching Hwy 231. If they took the left fork instead of keeping right, that could be how. It would have put them in the Mathews Road vicinity. That whole area was pretty desolate, particularly at night. And there are creeks and ponds on Edna, the end of Ruby, and other places. Another interesting fact for the police involvement group? It's also right there at the county/city maintenance buildings where the kept vehicles, and just down the road from a desolate police training site.

Was Union Street (123) always a 4 lane road and was it a 4 lane road at the "fork" in July 1999? When I did my drive on Google maps I could not understand how they could get lost going down 123(Union Street)? But now people say that the road configuration was different then in 1999 than it is now.

The reason I ask about whether 123 was always 4 lanes is because spatially J.B. Beasley or Tracie Hawlett probably would realize rather quick they made a wrong turn if they went from a 4 lane road to a 2 lane and did not see anything they recognized. Or maybe one of them said to the other that it was a shortcut so they took the fork in the road?

And then there is that last question that I think is so important: Where did they stop and why? Unless this case played out like on the Haunting Evidence program where someone was standing in the middle of the road or at an intersection waiting to carjack them, I think you have to try and answer that question. I do not think a person would be able to recognize two females in a black car on a dark road at night until the car was right up on them. So the police officer or someone posing as one remains a possibility.

And if it was someone's place they knew and they were not lost, then why did Tracie not ask her mom if they could stop at that person's place before coming home instead of the boys in Midland City? If they are lost, then why did at least one of them(in my opinion) get out of the car?

So many questions in this strange mystery.

 

[killarney rose]

As far back as i remember...the 80s....that road has been four lanes.

 

[ALMurderMystery]

Just a couple thoughts and questions...

1. We know that the girls car was low on gas. They stopped at the gas station which was closed so they weren't able to fill up. Logic would say that their next stop be to stop at an open gas station. If they did find a gas station that was open they could have been abducted there. Was video footage from any other gas stations in the area checked? Was the car on empty when the police found it? If so, could they have walked up to a house in that area to ask to use a phone or to ask for gas?

2. I've been listening to another case where they used cadaver dogs. In this case a Cadaver dog expert said that the cadaver dogs can actually smell and point out soil where a person was killed. I know that the bodies were found in the trunk but were any dogs ever used to try to pinpoint the possible location of the murder (if they weren't killed in the trunk.) For example, they were wet and muddy from the knees down which could mean they were killed kneeling down near a body of water and then placed in the trunk. A cadaver dog could have helped to pinpoint that location. I know that wouldn't necessarily point to the killer but it would help to identify where they were in between when they stopped at the gas station and when they were killed.

3. The field party they were headed to was supposedly for J.B.'s birthday. I know they were "lost" but why would you not go to a party that was in honor of you? If someone is throwing you a party then you are pretty close with them. Would you not be familiar with the party location or at least make sure that you have exact directions written down? What are your theories on this? Did they have no intention of going? Were they truly lost? Were they out doing something they weren't supposed to be?

 

[SavageMarkIII]

Just a couple thoughts and questions...


3. The field party they were headed to was supposedly for J.B.'s birthday. I know they were "lost" but why would you not go to a party that was in honor of you? If someone is throwing you a party then you are pretty close with them. Would you not be familiar with the party location or at least make sure that you have exact directions written down? What are your theories on this? Did they have no intention of going? Were they truly lost? Were they out doing something they weren't supposed to be?

JB and Tracie had a short window of opportunity that night. They left Tracie's house in Dothan around 10:00 pm. Tracie's curfew was 11:30 pm and JB was spending the night, so they were supposed to be back at Tracie's house in Dothan no later than 11:30.

Knowing the information we have now, I believe they had more than just the field party on their list of things to do that night. It seems now, they definitely wanted to meet up with the 2 boys in Midland City and I think they knew about the field party in Skipperville, but weren't sure if they would make it or not.

The way field parties worked, if you were a City kid (meaning Dothan) your parents or relatives might own land outside of Dothan in the County or neighboring counties for hunting or a farming share. If you decided to have a party on the land either Friday or Saturday night, you would draw a map, get if photo copied and hand it out at school on Thursday or Friday. Typically the land would be way off any beaten path on dirt roads. I went to one in Geneva County (county to the west of Houston) when I was in HS, where the kid's father and Uncle owned the land, but the dirt road to get to it was owned by someone else. It was hard to find, because you thought you were driving on someone's driveway or farm. If you lived outside the city limits and lived on a big piece of land, you would have parties on your land. My experience was, most of us were not familiar with the locations of the field parties in my day in the '80's, especially if you lived in Dothan and the party was out in the county or another county. You had to rely on handwritten maps or word of mouth.

I'm not sure of the specifics of the Haleburg party. I know JB's Dance School Friend was a host and was throwing it partially for JB's birthday, but I don't know if the location of the party was where the Dance School Friend lived, or who's land it was that the party was on.

Someone on Thread #3 posted the hand drawn map/directions to the Haleburg field party, and I had a hard time pin pointing exactly where the party was and how to get there. It was very hard to follow the directions and didn't match up to roads and intersections (which might have changed by now) on Google. The party was indeed off a dirt road.

So yes, JB and Tracie did get lost trying to find this party and gave up and ended up at the gas station in Headland. And given how much time they had that night, I think they didn't want to waste any more time looking for it, because they wanted to try to meet up with the Midland City boys.

 

[TedMac]

Just a couple thoughts and questions...

1. We know that the girls car was low on gas. They stopped at the gas station which was closed so they weren't able to fill up. Logic would say that their next stop be to stop at an open gas station. If they did find a gas station that was open they could have been abducted there. Was video footage from any other gas stations in the area checked? Was the car on empty when the police found it? If so, could they have walked up to a house in that area to ask to use a phone or to ask for gas?

2. I've been listening to another case where they used cadaver dogs. In this case a Cadaver dog expert said that the cadaver dogs can actually smell and point out soil where a person was killed. I know that the bodies were found in the trunk but were any dogs ever used to try to pinpoint the possible location of the murder (if they weren't killed in the trunk.) For example, they were wet and muddy from the knees down which could mean they were killed kneeling down near a body of water and then placed in the trunk. A cadaver dog could have helped to pinpoint that location. I know that wouldn't necessarily point to the killer but it would help to identify where they were in between when they stopped at the gas station and when they were killed.

3. The field party they were headed to was supposedly for J.B.'s birthday. I know they were "lost" but why would you not go to a party that was in honor of you? If someone is throwing you a party then you are pretty close with them. Would you not be familiar with the party location or at least make sure that you have exact directions written down? What are your theories on this? Did they have no intention of going? Were they truly lost? Were they out doing something they weren't supposed to be?

1. They stopped at the Big/Little Store to use the phone for Tracie to call her mom. I don't think (according to Ms. Merritt's statement) they ever approached the gas pumps. They were not out of gas and had enough in the tank to get back to Dothan. LE stated that when the car was found on Herring Ave it was low on gas, but not empty. We don't know where they were abducted and yes, it could have been at a gas station, a rest area, a stop light or even a private residence they MAY have stopped at. I would certainly hope that LE would have checked video footage of other gas stations or video footage of any business along their projected route if any were available. This was 1999 and video footage, security cameras and technology in general wasn't nearly advanced as it is today.

2. According to LE, they were killed in the trunk. There was a spent bullett cartridge found on JB's leg which supports they were shot in the trunk. In addition to the muddy shoes and wet pants, Tracie had a scratch on her arm and their clothes had briars in them. I believe they probably made a desperate attempt to run for freedom running through a creek in the process. LE took some soil samples of some areas and attempted to match it with the soil and mud on their clothes. They have never disclosed if they found any matches.

3. The field party has been the subject of much debate. Some have said the party was for JB and others have said that it wasn't specifically for her and just coincided with her birthday. Evidently, field parties were very poplar in that date and time. They had a hand-drawn map of the location of the party. That leads me to think that they did not know exactly where the party was. We know that Tracie worked at JC Penny that night until 9 pm and was picked up there by JB and driven to Tracie's house where she changed clothes before they set out to go wherever they were going. MOO, but I believe they were looking for the boys the entire time and MAY have intended to have them (the boys) follow them back to party. But, that is something we will probably never know. Again, MOO. As far as being "truly lost"...I think they may have very well gotten "turned around" a time or two, but I think the "lost" part was them not being able to find the boys or the location the boys were supposed to be. I am not aware of them "doing something" they were not not supposed to be doing. They had no alcohol or drugs in their system. Neither were known to be trouble makers or had any criminal record. But, there a re a lot of unknowns about this case.

 

[Irishrose70]

Was Union Street (123) always a 4 lane road and was it a 4 lane road at the "fork" in July 1999? When I did my drive on Google maps I could not understand how they could get lost going down 123(Union Street)? But now people say that the road configuration was different then in 1999 than it is now.

The reason I ask about whether 123 was always 4 lanes is because spatially J.B. Beasley or Tracie Hawlett probably would realize rather quick they made a wrong turn if they went from a 4 lane road to a 2 lane and did not see anything they recognized. Or maybe one of them said to the other that it was a shortcut so they took the fork in the road?

And then there is that last question that I think is so important: Where did they stop and why? Unless this case played out like on the Haunting Evidence program where someone was standing in the middle of the road or at an intersection waiting to carjack them, I think you have to try and answer that question. I do not think a person would be able to recognize two females in a black car on a dark road at night until the car was right up on them. So the police officer or someone posing as one remains a possibility.

And if it was someone's place they knew and they were not lost, then why did Tracie not ask her mom if they could stop at that person's place before coming home instead of the boys in Midland City? If they are lost, then why did at least one of them(in my opinion) get out of the car?

So many questions in this strange mystery.

Yes, it has been 4 lane. The fork would have put them on a two lane. It would have been a very short distance in that road before they hit Mathews. Like a block or so. They would have had to find somewhere to turn around or turn and try other roads to get back on route. Pull in a driveway, talk to person standing in a yard.... I think a lot of the houses were already being moved out of for demolition at that time. I can't remember the exact time frame. All I remember is roughly 2000 the entire area was leveled.

 

[ALMurderMystery]

Does anyone know anything about Roger Coots or T.J. Warren? Someone mentioned them on another thread as possible suspects. Just curious how they fit into the puzzle.

 

[Bulldog23]

Does anyone know anything about Roger Coots or T.J. Warren? Someone mentioned them on another thread as possible suspects. Just curious how they fit into the puzzle.

I have only heard their names mentioned by one poster- who posted in several places. The poster accuses them of killing (her?) dogs and says they were narcs who drove the car to Herring. Some of her posts make me think she may have had a fued with these guys.

 

[CoolJ]

I have only heard their names mentioned by one poster- who posted in several places. The poster accuses them of killing (her?) dogs and says they were narcs who drove the car to Herring. Some of her posts make me think she may have had a fued with these guys.

I believe one of these guys is the "michigan man".
Am i right about that TedMac?

 

[TedMac]

I believe one of these guys is the "michigan man".
Am i right about that TedMac?

It may be, but I am not certain. I have never heard either LE or any of the victim's family members say his name. For some reason, neither of them want to disclose it. One of the two (either Coots or Warren) left the state right after the murders.

For those reading here that are not familiar with the "Michigan Man", he according to Chief Spivey, made "suspicious statements" about the murders not long after the girls were killed and took off for Michigan very soon thereafter. Reportedly, he was riding with a couple of friends the week following the murders and made a statement something to the effect "Would you be surprised if I told you I killed the girls?" Even though they were his friends, they were shocked by what he said and reported it to authorities. LE went to Michigan 3 times to interview him. I can't help but believe they had more than a passing interest in him. It is unknown if either of the girls knew either Coots or Warren and FWIW, his DNA did not match that found on Beasley's body and clothes.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Wasn't their mention of him throwing her keys off a bridge... believe it was the guy from MI. Please forgive me its been a while since I have been immersed in the case.

 

[TedMac]

Wasn't their mention of him throwing her keys off a bridge... believe it was the guy from MI. Please forgive me its been a while since I have been immersed in the case.

There was a post on another board that stated he threw the keys into the Ohio River. It was a rumor which may or may not be true. That same Board also stated that he went to Ohio and not Michigan. Again, I believe all of this was a rumor that was not substantiated.