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

[lonewanderer]

I did a little write-up on the case a month ago. This is one of the most confusing cases I've come across and I really hope the DNA Doe Project can shed some more light on what actually happened here. Is there any way to check aviation records for private helicopters at the time? The helicopter described seems incredibly unique and I wonder if they could find records of who owned it to try and rule it in or out as being involved in this case.

An interrupted burglar who had just committed an unplanned murder would have to be pretty stupid to take the one thing that would be guaranteed to connect him to murder and send him straight to death row.

At one point in the video he has something white in his hand—as if he had found one thing worth stealing. Whatever that was, I'm guessing that he abandoned it at the scene. The risk of something from the church connecting him to the murder would have far outweighed the monetary value of anything (except for cash, perhaps, but I don't think that he ever found the Sunday offerings—if he had, he would have been out of there already, IMO).

According to Stephen Pacheco's Trace Evidence Podcast, there was an object the authorities have in their possession and are not releasing what it is, but plan to use it to confront the murderer.

What that is? I have not clue. Trace Evidence is a mighty reliable podcast, but it is the only time I have ever heard of that.

 

[arielilane]

I can answer this at least - no, her ring wasn't taken.

Missy Bevers' Murder, Still Unsolved Nearly Two Years Later, Gets a New Detective

Dressed in what looked like SWAT gear and armed with a hammer, the killer came upon fitness instructor Terri "Missy" Bevers in the early morning hours of April 18, 2016. The 45-year-old Red Oak mother of three was setting up a Camp Gladiator exercise class at the Creekside Church of...

www.dallasobserver.com

I’m going to agree with BB on quote from article. moo

"I think it was a woman," Brandon Bevers, then 42, told the magazine. "There's no reason why an individual would break into a church, dressed in that type of clothing and stage a robbery, or what would appear to be a robbery — going through the building, breaking glass and opening doors. If that person was really there to commit a robbery, why did they kill my wife and leave her wedding ring on her finger?"

 

[lonewanderer]

I’m going to agree with BB on quote from article. moo

"I think it was a woman," Brandon Bevers, then 42, told the magazine. "There's no reason why an individual would break into a church, dressed in that type of clothing and stage a robbery, or what would appear to be a robbery — going through the building, breaking glass and opening doors. If that person was really there to commit a robbery, why did they kill my wife and leave her wedding ring on her finger?"

I lean towards the idea that the suspect was either female or acting under the instructions of a female. Males rarely use such exaggerate disguises and women are much more likely to cleverly alter their appearances to throw everyone off. A male is likely to use sunglasses, a hat, maybe a bandana and gloves.

As for the ring, not sure how to feel about this one, the ring being of high value.

I have always thought that saying someones ring was still on their finger was quite insignificant.

I am no genius, but there is no way in hell I would take a ring. You have to sell it somehow, its recognizable, and would be lead right back to you.

But, criminals tend to do extremely dumb things so I understand why this is a things people say, its not the first case I've heard where someone said it couldn't be a robbery because their wife's ring was still on their finger.

 

[lonewanderer]

I find it interesting that the general belief on this case discussion has turned from one of targeted (generally, not every poster!) in the year after Missy's murder to generally not targeted now. Imo.

It seems to be an opinion strongly held by a few posters on the thread. Again, in my opinion. Long time members who feel it was targeted seem to drop off this discussion as the years go on and the non-targeted group remains seemingly invested in debating their position and many of the targeted group don't remain to squabble about it. I find this fascinating. Why this case, of all case, is there a chasm about a detail regarding point of view for the direction of the investigation? Interesting thoughts to ponder.

Has LE's viewpoint on targeted versus non-targeted also changed? All signs (and it's not been many) we've seen from them seem to indicate that they have been investigating it as targeted. But surely tips of many kinds have come in over the years. I hope one day Missy and her family will get justice.

I am in the targeted camp, and its just not worth arguing over. It distracts away from the real reason we are all contributing, to determine what happened to Missy Bevers and aid in bring justice to her and her family.

I think that if we had the footage of minutes before the attack, it may help us determine that. It could just cause us to disagree more, who knows!

 

[lonewanderer]

I don't understand why if it was a targeted murder, why Missy wasn't ambushed by the entrance. The perp would be able to get it done quickly and leave before others arrived.

If it was a targeted KNOWN killer, that would explain the disguise. We can't even decide if that's a man or woman. I would imagine that if someone in the local community murdered her, it would be easier to identify them if the disguise was poor. Hence the SWAT kit.

Again, if it was targeted, why do a tour of the building? As I said before Missy could be ambushed and murdered without her going through the building. Would most locals know the layout of the building?.

The tour by the murdered indicates to me its not a professional killer. This person is unable to simply lie in wait. Instead he/she wanders through the building nonchalantly peering into rooms and trying doors. He's in no hurry.

If it was a thief, I'd imagine he'd be faster. Yes, it's very early morning, but thieves tend not to take their time. In the video provided the perp hasn't a bag to carry stuff, nor do they start making a pile of stuff to take. Wouldn't a thief want to be able to run for it if disturbed? This person couldn't do a fast walk let alone run and for a thief, the outfit is over the top too.

I keep returning to the disguise. I think it's used because the perp would otherwise be very quickly identified. Meaning they're local, family/friend, a well known person in the area or someone with a criminal record.

Why this was done is the biggest question. Someone went to a lot of effort. Why?

I have always wondered if the door was unlocked for Missy or if she had a key for it, also, if the killer was targeting her, did he/she know which door Missy would be using?

As for peering into rooms, I have speculated that the perp is looking in rooms and trying doors to identify which room Missy would be setting her class up in.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

As for peering into rooms, I have speculated that the perp is looking in rooms and trying doors to identify which room Missy would be setting her class up in.

That's a really good speculation, a way to kill a bit of time before she got there.

 

[somequestions]

The SP burglar at Creekside church seems to act differently than the burglar at the Philadelphia church. I have not read or seen any video that the Philadelphia burglar has been caught. He or she is still at large as far as I know. The Philadelphia burglary only happened a few months ago.

When you watch the Creekside church burglary video, there is a difference. The way the SP burglar opens the door at Creekside with the crowbar and hammer is different from the way the Philadelphia church burglar uses the crowbar and hammer to open the church safe. At Creekside the burglar uses their non-dominant hand to hit the crowbar. This may have been why it was so difficult to pry open that door on video. At the Philadelphia church the burglar uses their dominant hand(right) to hit the crowbar.

Or the SP burglar at Creekside Church is left-handed or wants it to appear that way.

 

[Cedars]

I am in the targeted camp, and its just not worth arguing over. It distracts away from the real reason we are all contributing, to determine what happened to Missy Bevers and aid in bring justice to her and her family.

I think that if we had the footage of minutes before the attack, it may help us determine that. It could just cause us to disagree more, who knows!

I can see both points of view. It's just such bizarre, inexplicable behaviour, I want to understand their motive for being there, and why they would kill Missy when she encountered them.

I can understand how an experienced burglar - who makes a living that way, who knows they're likely to face prison, especially when they've been incarcerated before - would kill someone who interrupted them. But I can't connect that kind of person with the fairly pointless behaviour of SP.

If SP was so fearful of being caught, that they would react in a hair-trigger attack to kill a woman, why were they there to begin with? Why was it so essential to them, to break glass in order to get into an empty church classroom? Wander into the sanctuary?

It's mainly a psychological question, I think. IMO, petty criminals who get caught, face petty charges...unless they kill someone. And most petty criminals get away because police don't have the resources to catch them.

I wonder what life will be like when everyone who robs a gas station, or breaks into a home, will kill anyone who encounters them.

BTW, I googled 'burglar kills homeowner' and got pages full of stories headed 'Homeowner kills burglar". People are, clearly, terrified that every burglar is a SP.

JMO

 

[WingsOverTX]

The SP burglar at Creekside church seems to act differently than the burglar at the Philadelphia church. I have not read or seen any video that the Philadelphia burglar has been caught. He or she is still at large as far as I know. The Philadelphia burglary only happened a few months ago.

When you watch the Creekside church burglary video, there is a difference. The way the SP burglar opens the door at Creekside with the crowbar and hammer is different from the way the Philadelphia church burglar uses the crowbar and hammer to open the church safe. At Creekside the burglar uses their non-dominant hand to hit the crowbar. This may have been why it was so difficult to pry open that door on video. At the Philadelphia church the burglar uses their dominant hand(right) to hit the crowbar.

Or the SP burglar at Creekside Church is left-handed or wants it to appear that way.

Is there a left-handed woman associated with this case?

I just read here off & on so not that familiar with the case.

 

[Cedars]

The way the SP burglar opens the door at Creekside with the crowbar and hammer is different from the way the Philadelphia church burglar uses the crowbar and hammer to open the church safe. At Creekside the burglar uses their non-dominant hand to hit the crowbar. This may have been why it was so difficult to pry open that door on video. At the Philadelphia church the burglar uses their dominant hand(right) to hit the crowbar.

Or the SP burglar at Creekside Church is left-handed or wants it to appear that way.

That's a great observation about why the attempt to jimmy the door looks so feeble, like they've never used those tools before.

Later on, they use their right hand to break the glass in the classroom door, so that is their dominant hand.

But there, their left side is completely inert, not even lightly touching the wall at shoulder height. Even if I'm holding something in my left hand, I put both arms up to lightly brace or engage my major muscles for more efficient hammering.

JMO

 

[lonewanderer]

That's a great observation about why the attempt to jimmy the door looks so feeble, like they've never used those tools before.

Later on, they use their right hand to break the glass in the classroom door, so that is their dominant hand.

But there, their left side is completely inert, not even lightly touching the wall at shoulder height. Even if I'm holding something in my left hand, I put both arms up to lightly brace or engage my major muscles for more efficient hammering.

JMO

I have speculated that this person so lazily busted the glass as to not have shards fly into their face.

This thought came to me as I was hammering ice away at a job I had few years ago. I took one big swing and was hit with shards and noticed myself hitting the ice much slower and lazily, and doing so reminded me of seeing this person hitting the glass the way they did.

 

[lonewanderer]

That's a really good speculation, a way to kill a bit of time before she got there.

In addition to wasting time and pumping themselves up, I think they may have been identifying what room she was setting up in and what way to attack her in that room would be most effective.

This may also explain an earlier question; "why didnt the suspect attack her at the entrance?". I have the feeling this person had to sneak attack Missy in order to overpower or gain the upper hand on her.

I have always wondered if she had workout items prestaged, or if she was carrying a bunch of things inside, or both. Having her hands full would have put her at a disadvantage, as well as the fact that there was almost no chance she had her gun on her at 4AM in her workout attire setting up for her class, and the off chance that she did have her gun, it would be much harder to pull out with her hands full.

 

[SteveS]

I have the feeling this person had to sneak attack Missy in order to overpower or gain the upper hand on her.

It seems like that's overthinking things, because shooting MB in the head and chest did not require loser perp to overpower or gain the upper hand on MB. If we assume LP was there with the intent to kill MB, the obvious plan would be to be ready and waiting, as she comes in the door with her hands full, perhaps, and just gun her down, before she gets some clue that LP is there posing a threat and walks back out the door. Or gun her down outside, and not even have to be in the building at all.

Not that I really think perp was there intending to kill MB, or even had any clue MB would walk in the door.

In part I am led to that because MB was apparently found on the far side of the building, iow that must be where the encounter occurred. No way to plan that they would meet, way over there. Looks like MB wandered into a place where he happened to be, while he was trying to rob the place, wrong place wrong time. (I never heard WHY she would have been headed to or through that area, but in any event she was.)

About the question of why perp was opening doors, the obvious answer is "looking for loot." But also should mention loser perp would not have had a need to find MB's workout room, because it's been reported in the past that MB's class (when held indoors) was held in the lobby/hallway and not in any room at all.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Looks like MB wandered into a place where he happened to be, while he was trying to rob the place, wrong place wrong

In the video of the forensic podiatrist, who was allowed to see the unreleased video of MB entering the church, he describes that MB turns her head as if she just heard a noise, then she walks off down the hallway (to her death). If she hadn't heard the noise, there would have been no reason for her to go down the hallway, the class was to be at the entry area.

 

[lonetraveler]

I don't understand why if it was a targeted murder, why Missy wasn't ambushed by the entrance. The perp would be able to get it done quickly and leave before others arrived.

If it was a targeted KNOWN killer, that would explain the disguise. We can't even decide if that's a man or woman. I would imagine that if someone in the local community murdered her, it would be easier to identify them if the disguise was poor. Hence the SWAT kit.

Again, if it was targeted, why do a tour of the building? As I said before Missy could be ambushed and murdered without her going through the building. Would most locals know the layout of the building?.

The tour by the murdered indicates to me its not a professional killer. This person is unable to simply lie in wait. Instead he/she wanders through the building nonchalantly peering into rooms and trying doors. He's in no hurry.

If it was a thief, I'd imagine he'd be faster. Yes, it's very early morning, but thieves tend not to take their time. In the video provided the perp hasn't a bag to carry stuff, nor do they start making a pile of stuff to take. Wouldn't a thief want to be able to run for it if disturbed? This person couldn't do a fast walk let alone run and for a thief, the outfit is over the top too.

I keep returning to the disguise. I think it's used because the perp would otherwise be very quickly identified. Meaning they're local, family/friend, a well known person in the area or someone with a criminal record.

Why this was done is the biggest question. Someone went to a lot of effort. Why?

JMO but I've always thought that the killer is known to the family and no, he/she is not a professional killer.

 

[lonetraveler]

I can entertain two theories at this time.

1. This was a targeted hit.
2. This was a LARPer playing out a fantasy who got scared when they encountered Missy.

However, I just can't see the burglary scenario. There appears to be no sense of urgency or desire to find valuable items.

IMO, you're right, it isn't a burglary, but I do believe that the killer wanted it to look like it was.

 

[lonetraveler]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed> I admit I haven't visited this site in a while but as I understand it, she was killed by puncture wounds, not shot.

 

[Laughing]

I admit I haven't visited this site in a while but as I understand it, she was killed by puncture wounds, not shot.

Missy Bevers Died From Multiple Puncture Wounds to Head and Chest: Police

Midlothian police released the search warrant for the hours after Missy Bevers was killed last month.

www.nbcdfw.com

Not looking for the link, but posted upthread is a link to the FBI's annual crime statistics.

According to the FBI, there was one murder in Midlothian, Texas on April 18, 2016 and the victim died of a gunshot wound.

Fits the definition of a puncture wound, of course.

 

[lonetraveler]

Not looking for the link, but posted upthread is a link to the FBI's annual crime statistics.

According to the FBI, there was one murder in Midlothian, Texas on April 18, 2016 and the victim died of a gunshot wound.

Fits the definition of a puncture wound, of course.

Missy Bevers Died From Multiple Puncture Wounds to Head and Chest: Police

Midlothian police released the search warrant for the hours after Missy Bevers was killed last month.

www.nbcdfw.com

 

[TTF14]

Not looking for the link, but posted upthread is a link to the FBI's annual crime statistics.

According to the FBI, there was one murder in Midlothian, Texas on April 18, 2016 and the victim died of a gunshot wound.

Fits the definition of a puncture wound, of course.

How far upthread? I don't see it.