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

[hexicon]

I've wondered if SP called Missy's name, if it was a familiar voice, it'd explain why Missy had no fear approaching SP. Just a thought.

If I were in Missy's shoes, entering a dark and presumably deserted building and with a gun out in my truck, the ONLY thing that would draw me further into the building would be hearing my name called. Any other noise would send me back to my truck to fetch my gun or get my phone and call police.

If someone called my name under those circumstances, I would likely assume it was a camper who'd arrived early and somehow gotten into the building.

Again, that doesn't prove anything either way. Until we know more, all we can do is speculate based on our own experiences.

 

[Ozoner]

If someone called my name under those circumstances, I would likely assume it was a camper who'd arrived early and somehow gotten into the building.

It stands to reason that the helmet-wearing burglar would not have heard Missy enter, and there's no reason to think the he knew her name.

It's impossible to know what she heard, but since other campers were arriving, it's possible that she thought that one of the campers had arrived before her and gotten into the building.

Otherwise, she would have had to be pretty bold to investigate a strange noise under those circumstances, but some people are that bold.

 

[Ozoner]

I have wondered if footage we have not seen reveals more, such as perp pulling out a device and clearly filming it after the fatal attack.

I doubt that very much; I think the loser perp most likely fled in a panic.

It's possible that he was filming his activities that night with a GoPro, but it's more likely he was just using a GoPro camera or something similar as a light source. I'm not sure how GoPros work. Maybe he had to be filming in order to make the light operate.

 

[lonewanderer]

If I were in Missy's shoes, entering a dark and presumably deserted building and with a gun out in my truck, the ONLY thing that would draw me further into the building would be hearing my name called. Any other noise would send me back to my truck to fetch my gun or get my phone and call police.

If someone called my name under those circumstances, I would likely assume it was a camper who'd arrived early and somehow gotten into the building.

Again, that doesn't prove anything either way. Until we know more, all we can do is speculate based on our own experiences.

You know, I was wondering.

Do we know if LE has audio too?

The Liz Barraza case had audio released later, albeit not THAT much.

I ask this because I wonder, if Missy turned without hearing something, did she see something that was off? Maybe she wasn’t scared of the noise because she saw something weird. For instance “hmm….I swear I’ve never seen that door opened before. Weird”

 

[SteveS]

You know, I was wondering.

Do we know if LE has audio too?

The Liz Barraza case had audio released later, albeit not THAT much.

I ask this because I wonder, if Missy turned without hearing something, did she see something that was off? Maybe she wasn’t scared of the noise because she saw something weird. For instance “hmm….I swear I’ve never seen that door opened before. Weird”

You are correct. There was no audio with the video, both per LE and VI. And the podiatrist's statement that MB "heard" something was entirely his idea based on how she moved in the video, but not an idea validated with any audio.

So as you note, we can't be sure that MB actually heard something. Maybe she was just reacting to something else -- like peripheral sense of movement, or a flash of a change in light (that could have been a car entering the drive, or could have been a flash of lightning, or could have been something else). Or maybe she observed something out of place, or unusual (as you say, like maybe a door open that was usually closed). And if she did hear a sound, we don't know if it was of the <modsnip - NO NAMECALLING>, or a sound caused by that loser, or something completely unrelated (big buildings have all kinds of weird noises when they are empty and supposed to be quiet).

 

[somequestions]

I watched the surveillance footage again and one thing I noticed was how good the posture was of the individual on the video. Other than the feet with the serious heel toe right foot drag, this person has very good posture.

I was curious so I looked up heel toe walking and a lot of the reference to it comes from rehab therapists teaching you the correct way to walk to alleviate pressure points on the rest of your body. I know police or the podiatrist probably already suggested this, but letting rehab doctors at these places see the surveillance video that everyone has seen might refresh someone's memory about a particular patient. I guess through the news though, that after nearly 7 years, someone probably would have remembered this person from how they walk. Maybe the burglar has a cast on their right leg?

Other than the right foot drag, the burglar has good body posture with their feet, back, and arms swinging. I thought maybe they have been trained to walk properly.

 

[moslym3]

It stands to reason that the helmet-wearing burglar would not have heard Missy enter, and there's no reason to think the he knew her name.

It's impossible to know what she heard, but since other campers were arriving, it's possible that she thought that one of the campers had arrived before her and gotten into the building.

Otherwise, she would have had to be pretty bold to investigate a strange noise under those circumstances, but some people are that bold.

When I imagine entering an empty building during a thunderstorm before the crack of dawn and I hear some something on another side of the building, my first thought would be that a door/window had blown open/broken during the storm or that an animal had gotten into the building and was somehow stuck. My absolute last thought would be that someone with a weapon was in the building. I would go in and investigate - see if i can help or if i should make a phone call to the building manager to report the problem. I think, knowing what we know about MB, this could be her state of mind in that moment.

My opinions and speculation only.

 

[FromGermany1]

I watched the surveillance footage again and one thing I noticed was how good the posture was of the individual on the video. Other than the feet with the serious heel toe right foot drag, this person has very good posture.

I was curious so I looked up heel toe walking and a lot of the reference to it comes from rehab therapists teaching you the correct way to walk to alleviate pressure points on the rest of your body. I know police or the podiatrist probably already suggested this, but letting rehab doctors at these places see the surveillance video that everyone has seen might refresh someone's memory about a particular patient. I guess through the news though, that after nearly 7 years, someone probably would have remembered this person from how they walk. Maybe the burglar has a cast on their right leg?

Other than the right foot drag, the burglar has good body posture with their feet, back, and arms swinging. I thought maybe they have been trained to walk properly.

Maybe it was something like an elastic dressing, several layers, because of a sports accident 1 or 2 days before? Still flexible, but not healthy?

 

[girlhasnoname]

I watched the surveillance footage again and one thing I noticed was how good the posture was of the individual on the video. Other than the feet with the serious heel toe right foot drag, this person has very good posture.

I was curious so I looked up heel toe walking and a lot of the reference to it comes from rehab therapists teaching you the correct way to walk to alleviate pressure points on the rest of your body. I know police or the podiatrist probably already suggested this, but letting rehab doctors at these places see the surveillance video that everyone has seen might refresh someone's memory about a particular patient. I guess through the news though, that after nearly 7 years, someone probably would have remembered this person from how they walk. Maybe the burglar has a cast on their right leg?

Other than the right foot drag, the burglar has good body posture with their feet, back, and arms swinging. I thought maybe they have been trained to walk properly.

I think it might have been an act in an effort to throw LE off. JMO

 

[pseudo_hum]

I think it might have been an act in an effort to throw LE off. JMO

Well, it certainly threw me off, quite the burglary disguise. But if you wanted to conceal your identity the person succeeded. Most church burglaries that I am aware of were conducted by young adult males.

 

[somequestions]

One of the reasons behind thinking this was not a targeted crime was that the burglar came out of the kitchen room at 3:50 am. Missy's classes did not start until 5 am. The early bird campers started at 4:30am. If it was targeted why arrive so early? In addition, I think Missy Bevers probably entered the church whether it was raining or not since she needed to have restrooms for the camp participants.

After learning a little more about Missy Bevers you cannot come to any conclusions about the timing either. Most of the time Missy Bevers arrived at 4 am to set up for the fitness class. On this particular morning, April 18th, 2016, she was running late. Therefore, it would make sense if someone was expecting her at 4 am.

The other reason behind it not being targeted is that the killer was not lying in wait looking outside for Missy Bever's vehicle, which they would have to know in order to be sure it was her. Without knowing her vehicle, the only way to verify she was the one entering the church would be to wait until she actually entered the church. Again the problem is that when the burglar stops to look at the camera and put their tool away after trying to pry open the first door on the surveillance video, the timestamp is 3:58 am. In my opinion, they did look outside at 3:58 am or at least it appears that way.

The manner of death is also debatable. What if she was not only shot, but also assaulted with the tools the burglar suspect had with them? I would expect a panicked burlgar to only shoot the victim and leave as quickly as possible, especially if they have no relationship to the victim and have their identity covered.

Also, another point has to do with the embroidery on the tactical vest the burglar was wearing. Maybe this person did that themselves? This is a possibility if that that design has never been found anywhere.

This case is a great example of coming to conclusions without knowing what the police know. The more information released, the easier it will be to decide whether this was a targeted or non-targeted crime. Until more information is released about what happened that morning, everyone is left guessing.

 

[JnRyan]

I'm trying to think back - did LE ever state whether or not they believed Missy's murder was a targeted murder? We have a somewhat similar case a few years later in Tomball TX where Elizabeth Barraza was murdered. The killer may have even been wearing a disguise there as well. Of course the actual act of murder is on video which we don't have here. But LE has been very firm in stating that murder was a targeted murder. I don't believe we have that here from LE. I wonder if LE doesn't have enough information/evidence to tell or are they holding it back.

 

[lonewanderer]

One of the reasons behind thinking this was not a targeted crime was that the burglar came out of the kitchen room at 3:50 am. Missy's classes did not start until 5 am. The early bird campers started at 4:30am. If it was targeted why arrive so early? In addition, I think Missy Bevers probably entered the church whether it was raining or not since she needed to have restrooms for the camp participants.

After learning a little more about Missy Bevers you cannot come to any conclusions about the timing either. Most of the time Missy Bevers arrived at 4 am to set up for the fitness class. On this particular morning, April 18th, 2016, she was running late. Therefore, it would make sense if someone was expecting her at 4 am.

The other reason behind it not being targeted is that the killer was not lying in wait looking outside for Missy Bever's vehicle, which they would have to know in order to be sure it was her. Without knowing her vehicle, the only way to verify she was the one entering the church would be to wait until she actually entered the church. Again the problem is that when the burglar stops to look at the camera and put their tool away after trying to pry open the first door on the surveillance video, the timestamp is 3:58 am. In my opinion, they did look outside at 3:58 am or at least it appears that way.

The manner of death is also debatable. What if she was not only shot, but also assaulted with the tools the burglar suspect had with them? I would expect a panicked burlgar to only shoot the victim and leave as quickly as possible, especially if they have no relationship to the victim and have their identity covered.

Also, another point has to do with the embroidery on the tactical vest the burglar was wearing. Maybe this person did that themselves? This is a possibility if that that design has never been found anywhere.

This case is a great example of coming to conclusions without knowing what the police know. The more information released, the easier it will be to decide whether this was a targeted or non-targeted crime. Until more information is released about what happened that morning, everyone is left guessing.

I think (if it was targeted) the killer entered the kitchen strategically. They may have not been sure what door Missy was entering, and the kitchen is the most logical place to assume she was not entering in.

If Missy usually set up at 4, the early arrival time of the suspect makes sense.

As for Missy running late (if this was a targeted attack) the killer appears to be walking around trying to stay calm, killing some time, and (I believe) peering into rooms to find where Missy was setting up, and also decide what the best avenue of approach was to attack her based on that location.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

If Missy usually set up at 4, the early arrival time of the suspect makes sense.

I don't believe that I've ever seen 4 AM as the start time or setup time. Set-up was putting paperwork on a small table inside because of the weather. They were still to have the bootcamp outside. I think 5 AM was the start time but 4:30 AM was the start time for the Early Bird Bootcamp. The "students" that found her were Early Birds.

"Johnson said the suspect was first seen on surveillance after breaking into the church at 3:50 a.m. Bevers, a mother of three, entered the building at 4:20 a.m., to prepare for the 5 a.m. fitness class she planned to lead, Johnson said. Bevers died from a head wound, according to a search warrant for her pickup truck released Thursday."

New video, timeline released in woman's death at Texas church

The suspect was first seen on surveillance at 3:50 a.m., half an hour before Terri "Missy" Bevers arrived

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Trebor5591]

I've wondered if SP called Missy's name, if it was a familiar voice, it'd explain why Missy had no fear approaching SP. Just a thought.

Who is SP?

 

[Laughing]

Who is SP?

If we only knew....

SP stands for Swat Perp, since the burglar/murderer/perpetrator is wearing a quasi-SWAT Team outfit.

<modsnip - NO NAMECALLING> I suppose that sounds a tad judgemental, but we did not want to dishonor/besmirch actual SWAT Teams with association of this looks like LARPing individual.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[EyeCandy]

police should look for someone who recently had knee or femur surgery. I am currently walking JUST like that ... had distal femur break in Oct and am still learning how to walk again ... I know that walk

 

[Trebor5591]

No one is talking about a "collection plate." That is a mischaracterization of the opposing view.

Joel Osteen's church in Houston was robbed of $600,000 in 2014. Would you call that a "collection plate?"

That theft was highly publicized throughout Texas and likely raised would-be burglars' expectations about the size of a potential score from a church.

Yes, but Missy was murdered in the Creekside Church of Christ. Churches of Christ are not rich churches by any means--not a single one of them are rich.

 

[Laughing]

police should look for someone who recently had knee or femur surgery. I am currently walking JUST like that ... had distal femur break in Oct and am still learning how to walk again ... I know that walk

Since the threads started in 2016, several posters including me have discussed their gait faults.

A physical therapist (at least one) & a couple podiatrists have posted as well.

Apparently a few different skeletal/muscular peculiarities can cause a similar gait.

ymmv (when you have scoliosis, severe spinal arthritis, leg length discrepancy, etc)

 

[SteveS]

I think the kitchen door entrance was the answer to "where can I get in" rather than anything strategic.

The issues were rain, visibility from the highway, and ease of access by the <modsnip - NO NAMECALLING> perp. There were 6 choices - NE, SE, N (kitchen), NW, W (main), and SW (breezeway).

IIRC there was extensive damage at the NE door, which was both sheltered from the storm and fully hidden. <modsnip - NO NAMECALLING> perp TRIED to enter there. However, like every entrance except the N (kitchen) one, the NE was secured by a double layer of doors that were locked, and the evidence was that <modsnip - NO NAMECALLING> perp was unsuccessful in getting past the double layer.

So what happened? IMO <modsnip - NO NAMECALLING>perp tried the NE, couldn't get past it, so opted for the kitchen door which was single layer. It had no rain protection, and it was somewhat visible from the highway - but it was only one layer. My conclusion has been that when it became apparent that breaching the double-entry door(s) wouldn't be easy, he went looking and found the kitchen door was a ONE layer barrier, and decided on gaining access by breaching that one instead.