TX - Terri 'Missy' Bevers,45, murdered in church/person in SWAT gear,18 April 2016 #3

[Gae]

About the burglary theory of someone looking for the donations from Sunday's service. For anyone outside the churches of Christ, they probably don't know this, but with this particular denomination, Sunday collections are often not as great as you'd see in another denomination that practices tithing. In the churches of Christ, they don't believe they're held to the practice of tithing and only give what they've "purposed in their own hearts" which is often less than a traditional tithe. I was a member of the church of Christ for decades, and always heard that we didn't draw in as much money on Sundays as other denominations because of our no-tithing beliefs.

 

[KaaBoom]

I don't think it was your typical lets rob a church event. Even though there was damage inside , Missy was the target. They could have committed the crime in her house but chose the church location because it was about her. Something made the perp angry.

I don’t get your point. Killing her in a church because it was about her? What does that mean? Was he trying to make some point? It would have been less about her if he killed her at home?

If someone wanted just to kill her, why didn’t they just shoot her in the parking lot?

 

[liz b.]

I agree with burglary gone wrong. Churches have a lot of cash in them on Sunday nights. The burglar seemed to know what he was doing. But who would expect a fitness trainer to suddenly show up at 4:20AM? He was probably planning to be out of there by 5:00.

I doubt that the suspect is from the local area. But he is probably from not too far away. Probably somewhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

I agree. A burglary interrupted. He had a slim jim on him, also looked like he had a pry bar. Probably looking for the Sunday offerings. picked that church based solely on its remote location. Poor Missy... jmo

 

[Bill Carson]

His tactical gear probably cost less then $100. The Lakewood Church burglar stole $600,000.

<modsnip> this is not the Lakewood Church. Typical contribution was around $10,000, of which you probably have about $2,000 in cash.

 

[Glammie]

I agree. A burglary interrupted. He had a slim jim on him, also looked like he had a pry bar. Probably looking for the Sunday offerings. picked that church based solely on its remote location. Poor Missy... jmo

I strongly disagree. I believe it was a targeted and very personal murder but that's JMO.

 

[4senthia]

I think the killer wore oversized boots so accurate measurements of his/her feet wouldn't be possible. The killer probably left footprints on the way in and out in the dirt/grass going to the waiting vehicle.
jmo

 

[Dushi]

I quite possibly could be wrong as i usually am, but..
With the little information out there, and watching the videos, I am leaning toward robbery.
I just can't see someone setting out to murder and carrying burglary tools.
I can't understand why he would walk through the church after breaking in if Missiy was the target.
I can't see him breaking into rooms if Missy was the reason he was there

A couple of things bother me
One is that her friend mentioned that she was different, quiet
the other is the conversation her husband had about her safety

It is also a very tight timeline

 

[JLSChook]

Exactly, women do not behave in this manner, and commit this type of crime. It’s that simple. Because 1. It was a violent crime. 85% of violent crimes are committed by men. 2. It was a heavy manual labor burglary. Females do not get involved in something like that. Because it takes a great deal of strength to bust open a door, even with tools. That’s not something that women can or want to do. If they did, there would be women construction workers everywhere. But they are not. Only 3% of construction workers are women.

Typical crimes that females commit are larceny-theft, fraud, forgery, and embezzlement. All crimes that are compatible with traditional female domestic roles. Those are the type of crimes that are in the comfort zone for women to commit. This crime fits in none of those categories. I’m 97% sure that this suspect is not a woman.

Gender and Crime - Differences Between Male And Female Offending Patterns

Thank God LE is looking at this case as it is and not by statistical data that doesn't belong here. This way of thinking is dangerous, IMO.

 

[Inthedetails]

I think the killer wore oversized boots so accurate measurements of his/her feet wouldn't be possible. The killer probably left footprints on the way in and out in the dirt/grass going to the waiting vehicle.
jmo

I agree about the oversized boots. I think the purpose was to make it look like a larger person did the crime.

And, perhaps the big boots were easy to slip off when changing out of the outfit and back into regular attire in a hurry.

jmo

 

[KaaBoom]

The Lakewood Church could also hold almost the entire population of Midlothian

Well, the burglars keep hitting churches. In Englewood Colorado one church burglar hit 19 times. Do you really think a guy would do it that many times, if he wasn&#8217;t getting quite a bit of money? Churches generally have more money then banks, and a lot less security.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

Texasgirl2 - re this in your post:

I go back and forth between thinking it's a man or a woman. I just can't decide. I don't see the black curly hair on the nape of the neck as some have mentioned. I can't really tell what I think the motive was with the little information we have. However, I believe very strongly that she was targeted. Part of me really believes this was premeditated and personal. I honestly have had no suspicion about her family or the campers. I feel for all of them.

Can you (or someone) please help me find post(s) about the curly hair at nape of neck? (I am about 45 pages behind in the reading this morning.) Much obliged!

Also, I am still on the fence about male/female because it seems with each surveillance video release I've seen something different to make me change my mind. I will say that I'm leaning towards younger male, currently. And I sense this murder was personal (targeted), premeditated in excruciating detail (per the timeline), and carried out by someone close to her or acquainted with someone in her immediate circle. Possibly by someone who was obsessive and over-thinking (per the SWAT outfit), maybe even to a mentally ill degree, who may have perceived something wrongly or blown a situation all out of proportion.

 

[4senthia]

Churches of Christ do not normally have a lot of money on hand. They do not normally have objects such as chalices. This would not be a good place to rob unless you were a rather stupid robber. The only thing worth taking would be computers and such, IMO. The real money can be found in robbing funeral homes, and they have serious safes.
jmo

 

[robthomaseyes]

I quite possibly could be wrong as i usually am, but..
With the little information out there, and watching the videos, I am leaning toward robbery.
I just can't see someone setting out to murder and carrying burglary tools.
I can't understand why he would walk through the church after breaking in if Missiy was the target.
I can't see him breaking into rooms if Missy was the reason he was there

A couple of things bother me
One is that her friend mentioned that she was different, quiet
the other is the conversation her husband had about her safety

It is also a very tight timeline

You make a good point about carrying burglary tools. Someone else made a very good point (my apologies, I can't remember who it was or where I saw it or I would quote and link). Their point was that the theory that the perp was staging a robbery makes no sense if you ALSO think that he wore that get-up b/c he was camera-aware. If he knew cameras were on him, he'd realize that the camera would catch him "staging" a robbery.

While I have my own theories about who is behind this IF Missy was targeted, I also am reminded of Occam's Razor, which is a theory that the most simple explanation is usually the right one. Real life crime is very seldom like the movies or detective novels. Most criminals do not stage elaborate hoaxes. For example, in my opinion, I don't think this person would be wearing boots that were too big to try to fool detectives into thinking the person was bigger. First of all, there are short people with very large feet, and vice versa. Second of all, they can clearly SEE how tall the person is; they can easily calculate the height from where the perp comes up to on the door.

 

[Spellbound]

I strongly disagree. I believe it was a targeted and very personal murder but that's JMO.

I agree with it being targeted. A burglar isn't likely (IMO) to dress up in such a cumbersome outfit, would want to be able to make a fast getaway if that became necessary. In that case, he would be more likely to wear light weight black garb as opposed to full body protections as this one did. The body protection was in anticipation of a struggle with an opponent, IMO.

 

[4senthia]

I just have the feeling that Missy was targeted by a psycho. They are unpredictable. It didn't seem in the video stills that the killer was doing anything other than vandalizing and testing out what was probably the murder weapon.
I would venture a guess that this is a very unstable person that will be caught very soon.
jmo

 

[KaaBoom]

<modsnip> this is not the Lakewood Church. Typical contribution was around $10,000, of which you probably have about $2,000 in cash.

OK, most church burglars get more then $2,000, but we will assume there was $2,000 there. For a $2,000 job the burglar can probably afford a $100 in gear.

 

[Gae]

I agree with it being targeted. A burglar isn't likely (IMO) to dress up in such a cumbersome outfit, would want to be able to make a fast getaway if that became necessary. In that case, he would be more likely to wear light weight black garb as opposed to full body protections as this one did. The body protection was in anticipation of a struggle with an opponent, IMO.

IMO, that may have been part of the motive - the thrill of taking down a woman who appeared to be unstoppable. A very competitive gladiator type who wanted to prove she was superior. This is just my opinion.

 

[PoirotryInMotion]

I agree about the oversized boots. I think the purpose was to make it look like a larger person did the crime.

And, perhaps the big boots were easy to slip off when changing out of the outfit and back into regular attire in a hurry.

jmo

I think the boots look bigger in some the earlier video shots. But in the most recent video (Apr 20), at the end of that the perp is coming out of Rm 12 (ladies' Bible study meets there according to website :-/ )...and he is standing in the hallway holding something that some have said looks like a Saran box in his left hand and chipping at glass with his right hand (he's fairly consistently right-handed in these). And if you look down at his feet, his boots do not look large or floppy. They look like normal black shoes or boots.

So I'm thinking it may be the movement of his feet on camera that's giving the appearance of floppy or large shoes in grainy video feed. (I also think it's probably important to burglars or murderers that their shoes are adequately fitted for running.)

BTW, in looking at several freeze-frames, that 'Saran box' resembles a white document loosely folded up in thirds, to me.

 

[gliving]

OK, most church burglars get more then $2,000, but we will assume there was $2,000 there. For a $2,000 job the burglar can probably afford a $100 in gear.

How much of that $2000 was in checks - which would be worthless to a burglar?

 

[KaaBoom]

Texasgirl2 - re this in your post:



Can you (or someone) please help me find post(s) about the curly hair at nape of neck? (I am about 45 pages behind in the reading this morning.) Much obliged!

Also, I am still on the fence about male/female because it seems with each surveillance video release I've seen something different to make me change my mind. I will say that I'm leaning towards younger male, currently. And I sense this murder was personal (targeted), premeditated in excruciating detail (per the timeline), and carried out by someone close to her or acquainted with someone in her immediate circle. Possibly by someone who was obsessive and over-thinking (per the SWAT outfit), who may have perceived something wrongly or blown a situation all out of proportion.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?305894-TX-Terri-Missy-Bevers-45-murdered-in-church-person-in-SWAT-gear-18-April-2016-3&p=12491216#post12491216