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

[SteveS]

Let me add that we have a sort of corroborating info to the FBI records.

Going back 6 years, in the discussions in the first few months after the murder, there was a lot of speculation about how MB was killed. We wondered if she had been shot. In the 1st PC, a media member asked "Did you say she had been shot?" - answer was "I did not say that" - it sounded like the media member had heard something, and LE had danced around the question. Then "Do we know how the victim was killed?" - answer "We're not releasing any information on her injuries right now." Another inexplicable dance. (And apparently "right now" has evolved into "ever.") Some time later we heard about the SW with the "puncture wounds" mentioned, and assumed it was a stabbing/beating. But then we had to make sense of why they had pursued guns and kept gun info out of the public view in records requests, because why would there be any LE interest in guns if (per our impression at the time) MB was not shot. It made no sense to us, back then.

We didn't question it at the time, but the tools we saw perp carrying were very minimal -- a crowbar, a hammer, a flashlight, and that's about it. While any of those could certainly be used to strike someone, none of those would be things we would readily associate with "puncture" wounds. We just assumed perp had something used to create such wounds, but not focusing on what exactly we thought it was, or how it all fit.

So, gotta mention, if we go back in and layer the FBI's info into the equation of everything else that occurred at the outset, some things make way better sense now. That's secondary evidence towards knowing the answer, but it's in a way corroborating what the FBI has.

 

[JnRyan]

The problem is that even though that is in an FBI set of records, it is not the supporting documentation. As an auditor I would trace it back to the supporting documentation for the entry. Unfortunately, we can't do that because that document is most likely the autopsy report and LE is not going to let us see that report.

I'm not entirely sure where MurderData gets their stats, but their numbers do not coincide with the FBI's UCR data. For example, lets look the murder data for the state of Texas in 2016.
Per FBI the number of murders with a handgun 630
Per MurderData 705

Per FBI the number of unspecified firearm 354
Per MurderData 372

Per FBI, total murders all weapons 1459
Per MurderData 1597

It appears that MurderData has another source besides the FBI's data. If so, the data that is supposedly Missy's case came from where? The FBI? Or this other source?

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Crime statistics posted the FBI, are based only on information that is given to them by LE. It is incorrect to use the words murder and homicide interchangeably. I don't know if Murderdata is getting its numbers from events where a murder charge has been filed or what. But they certainly could not predict which homicides will be charged as a murder, especially with the lag time between death and filing charges is sometimes decades.
Since LE supplied the FBI with the "handgun was used in a homicide" information, I would find that far more relevant than any other data source.

 

[SteveS]

The problem is that even though that is in an FBI set of records, it is not the supporting documentation. As an auditor I would trace it back to the supporting documentation for the entry. Unfortunately, we can't do that because that document is most likely the autopsy report and LE is not going to let us see that report.

I'm not entirely sure where MurderData gets their stats, but their numbers do not coincide with the FBI's UCR data. For example, lets look the murder data for the state of Texas in 2016.
Per FBI the number of murders with a handgun 630
Per MurderData 705

Per FBI the number of unspecified firearm 354
Per MurderData 372

Per FBI, total murders all weapons 1459
Per MurderData 1597

It appears that MurderData has another source besides the FBI's data. If so, the data that is supposedly Missy's case came from where? The FBI? Or this other source?

"I'm not entirely sure where MurderData gets their [overall] stats" .... I assume that their data comes from where they say, the FBI, but this is not anything important for our purposes, just a curiosity. All we care about is one case that clearly is the same both places.

"the data that is supposedly Missy's case came from where? The FBI? Or [an]other source?".... Such a silly question, since we KNOW that their data on this case is EXACTLY the same as FBI's. Take the time to wade through the FBI site to look it up, if you feel it's important, like I did as well as others, and you will see it's identical data on the MB case.

Yes the FBI got it from Midlothian. But we don't have access to anything from them. This is the best we have so far, no one in the know has given us reason to think this contains one of them, and this reasonably fits what else we have seen.

 

[gliving]

From the Midlothian Police Department's warrant which seems straight from the source to me. Warrant is seen in total in the article. There's probably a dozen photos of the claw hammer here in her thread. Here's the part describing her wounds:

Warrant details how Texas church murder victim died

Terri "Missy" Bevers, a mother of three, was found dead inside the Texas church where she was to teach a fitness class last month

www.cbsnews.com

"Terri Bevers had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building,"

 

[JnRyan]

"the data that is supposedly Missy's case came from where? The FBI? Or [an]other source?".... Such a silly question, since we KNOW that their data on this case is EXACTLY the same as FBI's. Take the time to wade through the FBI site to look it up, if you feel it's important, like I did as well as others, and you will see it's identical data on the MB case.

Then if MurderData's information is from the FBI, why the discrepancies? And if they got this wrong, how reliable is the rest of the data that we can't readily verify?

 

[JnRyan]

From the Midlothian Police Department's warrant which seems straight from the source to me. Warrant is seen in total in the article. There's probably a dozen photos of the claw hammer here in her thread. Here's the part describing her wounds:

Warrant details how Texas church murder victim died

Terri "Missy" Bevers, a mother of three, was found dead inside the Texas church where she was to teach a fitness class last month

www.cbsnews.com

"Terri Bevers had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building,"

Well that seems to muddy the waters a bit. The tools that we see - and we may have not seen all of the video - seems to be a hammer and a pry bar. But one can also argue that a gun is a tool so it doesn't rule out a gun.

I'm still curious as to the real purpose in bringing the ATF. It most certainly had nothing to do with alcohol or tobacco. It makes me wonder what expertise they are bringing. We don't know for sure. When Alexis Murphy went missing here in VA I remember seeing that VA department of corrections was called into the search. At the time I thought that was strange. Turns out corrections has dogs trained to sniff out cell phones and LE was looking around the suspect's place for Alexis' cell phone. The Secret Service has been brought in some past cases for their expertise in enhancing photos and videos. So the dog ATF brought in could be looking for a firearm OR something entirely unrelated to alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives.

 

[squareandrabbet]

From the Midlothian Police Department's warrant which seems straight from the source to me. Warrant is seen in total in the article. There's probably a dozen photos of the claw hammer here in her thread. Here's the part describing her wounds:

Warrant details how Texas church murder victim died

Terri "Missy" Bevers, a mother of three, was found dead inside the Texas church where she was to teach a fitness class last month

www.cbsnews.com

"Terri Bevers had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building,"

Plus, the claw of a claw hammer can definitely puncture a skull.

it (large piece of edged thick metal wielded like club) may in fact be one of the few commonly found items which is not a gun, that can do so.

 

[gliving]

Well that seems to muddy the waters a bit. The tools that we see - and we may have not seen all of the video - seems to be a hammer and a pry bar. But one can also argue that a gun is a tool so it doesn't rule out a gun.

I'm still curious as to the real purpose in bringing the ATF. It most certainly had nothing to do with alcohol or tobacco. It makes me wonder what expertise they are bringing. We don't know for sure. When Alexis Murphy went missing here in VA I remember seeing that VA department of corrections was called into the search. At the time I thought that was strange. Turns out corrections has dogs trained to sniff out cell phones and LE was looking around the suspect's place for Alexis' cell phone. The Secret Service has been brought in some past cases for their expertise in enhancing photos and videos. So the dog ATF brought in could be looking for a firearm OR something entirely unrelated to alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives.

I think it was probably for the ATF's excellent search dog Titan. Even after Titan's search LE didn't issue a different scenario.

A member had a good explanation as to why the ATF assisted: (sorry about the formatting error)

• Apr 20, 2016
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Excuse my British ignorance, I've never heard of the ATF in all the cases I've followed here. Google tells me it's the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, is it unusual for them to be involved?

The ATF is U.S govern and has a broader policy to allow search warrants or whatever for whomever they like.

So they have reach like the fbi. But they can also be allowed to get a warrant to search your home; Even if the only proof is that you buy loose / single cigarettes that are not being taxed.

Lol. This means that the ATF can pretty much investigate or guarantee warrants for a big crime by simply getting a broad warrant for a smaller crime committed.

Catch 22. Jmo

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

There's probably a dozen photos of the claw hammer here in her thread.

The photos of SP's hammer are not clear enough to see if it is capable of making a "puncture" wound. If the hammer's "claw" is for pulling nails, I especially don't see it making a puncture. I doubt that my most pointed claw hammer or even my sharp, very pointed ice pick-ax (some look like a hammer), used for climbing, could make a wound that would be called a "puncture". I can't picture how such a tool can strike, enter, and be pulled back out to create only a puncture wound. There would be so much tissue and/or bone damage, that there is no way a distinct hole would be the result of a hammer attack. Maybe the person that used that language (in the warrant) wasn't being precise, wasn't familiar with wound descriptions, or made a purposeful omission.

 

[ashhouston]

The local police department needs to have a profiler come in hand them the case file leave that profiler alone till finished and see what they can come up with might help having fresh eyes take a look

 

[Ozoner]

We also have the somewhat-corroborating info shared by a verfied insider that the family considered having an open casket funeral, and that they didn't because of the emotional issues, and the damage to her body (particularly head and chest) was not an issue in the decision.

Snipped.

I'm not sure that the family's considering an open-casket funeral is corroborating evidence. I'd say it argues against a gunshot. A gunshot wound would typically have a small entry wound but a large exit wound and would render a body unsuitable for an open-casket funeral. (I suppose a small-caliber bullet like a 22 might not have enough velocity to exit the head.)

The photos of SP's hammer are not clear enough to see if it is capable of making a "puncture" wound. If the hammer's "claw" is for pulling nails, I especially don't see it making a puncture.

Snipped.

A claw hammer is certainly capable of making a puncture wound. Most crowbars are, too. I think that any wound that breaks the surface could be called a puncture wound. I don't think that additional damage to bone or tissue would preclude it from being called a puncture wound. What else would one call it?

It doesn't take much to puncture the thinner parts of a skull. Here in Michigan (in Kalamazoo back in '93 or '94, I think) a fairly small fourteen-year-old boy was caught stealing a car and murdered the owner of the car, a full-grown man, by stabbing him in the side of the head with a screwdriver.

 

[Pitsleuth]

I have read most of the threads on this case, but it's a lot to get through so I apologize if this theory has already been discussed. Is it possible that the perp broke into the church, then drove to SWFA to watch and see if the initial break-in would trigger an alarm so they were watching to see if police showed up, then when they didn't returned to the church to continue with the break in/murder?

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

A claw hammer is certainly capable of making a puncture wound. Most crowbars are, too. I think that any wound that breaks the surface could be called a puncture wound. I don't think that additional damage to bone or tissue would preclude it from being called a puncture wound. What else would one call it?

It doesn't take much to puncture the thinner parts of a skull. Here in Michigan (in Kalamazoo back in '93 or '94, I think) a fairly small fourteen-year-old boy was caught stealing a car and murdered the owner of the car, a full-grown man, by stabbing him in the side of the head with a screwdriver.

This would be called penetrating trauma, but only a medical person would be giving precise injury labels in an autopsy.
I believe there was a prybar, not a crowbar at the scene and I disagree that it could cause a puncture wound. Breaking of the skin and a tool entering into soft tissue does not mean it can be described as a puncture wound.
Wound classification has to be more precise than that.
I agree that stabbing with screwdrivers creates puncture wounds. A hammer blow to the skull, even with a pointed claw, will tear and cut the scalp and fracture the skull, and not leave a definable single hole. There is no clear photo of the hammer. The issue here is the wording used in the SW, I believe the wording was most likely technically correct and the punctures referred to gunshot wounds.

Cuts and puncture wounds: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia​

https://medlineplus.gov › Medical Encyclopedia



Nov 13, 2021 — A puncture is a wound made by a pointed object such as a nail, knife, or sharp tooth. Puncture wounds often appear to be on the surface, ..

 

[Ozoner]

I have read most of the threads on this case, but it's a lot to get through so I apologize if this theory has already been discussed. Is it possible that the perp broke into the church, then drove to SWFA to watch and see if the initial break-in would trigger an alarm so they were watching to see if police showed up, then when they didn't returned to the church to continue with the break in/murder?

I would describe that as possible but improbable. There was quite a difference in time between when the car was seen at SWFA and when the church was burglarized, and any initial break-in attempt at a doorway should have been captured on one of the video cameras. It's possible that the perp broke a window ahead of time—if I remember correctly, a window was broken—but it would not have made much sense to cruise around the perimeter of SWFA in order to watch for police activity at the church. It sure seemed like the perp was casing SWFA, if anything. Moreover, it wouldn't have made sense to wait several hours to continue with the break-in.

 

[Ozoner]

This would be called penetrating trauma, but only a medical person would be giving precise injury labels in an autopsy.
I believe there was a prybar, not a crowbar at the scene and I disagree that it could cause a puncture wound. Breaking of the skin and a tool entering into soft tissue does not mean it can be described as a puncture wound.
Wound classification has to be more precise than that.
I agree that there are cases of people being murdered by stabbing with screwdrivers. A screwdriver plunged or stabbed into the side of the head, or anywhere else would make a puncture wound. A hammer blow to the skull, will tear and cut the scalp, but the skull fracture will not just be a single hole. These terms are not used interchangeably in autopsy reports. The issue here is that the wording used in the SW is most probably technically correct, which would lead me to believe the punctures were caused by gunshots, since no other, in my opinion, no other tool present would cause that type of injury.

Cuts and puncture wounds: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia​

https://medlineplus.gov › Medical Encyclopedia



Nov 13, 2021 — A puncture is a wound made by a pointed object such as a nail, knife, or sharp tooth. Puncture wounds often appear to be on the surface, ..

So your argument is that it doesn't make sense to describe a penetrating blow form a metal object as a puncture wound because such wounds are not usually described that way, but it makes sense to describe gunshot wounds as puncture wounds? To me that is trying to stretch the evidence to fit a theory because gunshots wounds are not normally described as puncture wounds, either. That would be at least as imprecise as describing a penetrating blow from a claw hammer as a puncture wound, IMHO.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

From the Midlothian Police Department's warrant which seems straight from the source to me. Warrant is seen in total in the article. There's probably a dozen photos of the claw hammer here in her thread. Here's the part describing her wounds:

Warrant details how Texas church murder victim died

Terri "Missy" Bevers, a mother of three, was found dead inside the Texas church where she was to teach a fitness class last month

www.cbsnews.com

"Terri Bevers had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with the tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building,"

The search warrant stating she suffered multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with tools the suspect was carrying thought the building was issued the day after MB was killed. They didn't know a gun was involved until the autopsy was performed.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

So your argument is that it doesn't make sense to describe a penetrating blow form a metal object as a puncture wound because such wounds are not usually described that way, but it makes sense to describe gunshot wounds as puncture wounds? To me that is trying to stretch the evidence to fit a theory because gunshots wounds are not normally described as puncture wounds, either. That would be at least as imprecise as describing a penetrating blow from a claw hammer as a puncture wound, IMHO.

I should change this to: LE is still using the most technically correct language, not the most common description, to protect the details of the death. It is the MOST precise definition of a gunshot wound, a wound is not usually given a label that tells what tool or weapon caused the injury. Calling a stab wound a puncture so as not to indicate a knife or screwdriver was used would be a similar situation. We are talking about medical definitions, not what is commonly thought of by the general public.

 

[Ozoner]

The search warrant stating she suffered multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with tools the suspect was carrying thought the building was issued the day after MB was killed. They didn't know a gun was involved until the autopsy was performed.

What you say is possible, but it is speculation nonetheless.

 

[gliving]

The search warrant stating she suffered multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest consistent with tools the suspect was carrying thought the building was issued the day after MB was killed. They didn't know a gun was involved until the autopsy was performed.

The autopsy was performed Tuesday morning. The warrant was signed late that afternoon.

Warrant details how Texas church murder victim died

Terri "Missy" Bevers, a mother of three, was found dead inside the Texas church where she was to teach a fitness class last month

www.cbsnews.com

A new view of Midlothian murder suspect

Police have released new footage showing the suspected killer of Terri "Missy" Bevers at a Midlothian church on Monday morning.

www.khou.com