In this April 2, 2019, photo, Coley McCraney shakes hands with his attorney David Harrison as he enters the Dale County Courthouse before a preliminary hearing. Their bodies were discovered about 20 miles from Dothan in Ozark, a small town in the southeastern part of the . Kirke Adams: He confessed in a way that matches the evidence I don't know how many times that happens -- when you get a confession from the real killer technically 17-18 hours before trial. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Crime Tips HOTline 334-774-2335 or Submit Via Email. Platinum Motors LLCU-Haul Neighborhood Dealer. he was not good to Tracey He asked me about fights I'd seen and I made a statement. For people to come out and care this much, its a miracle. Coley McCraney is an Alabama native. DAVID HARRISON [to reporters]: I think it's negligence. According to Al.com, investigators conducted more than 500 interviews, examined forensics and tested the DNA of 70 potential suspects. Two other people are named on the Secretary of State records. They found the name "Beasley" spray-painted in big letters. They had both been shot once in the head. View Full Report Card. . "Everybody thought I killed her. Those things just add up. Jeff Beasley's name, until they spoke to Dawn, was unfamiliar. 1 suspect had not changed. Market data provided by Factset. He was buried in a $25 suit and a cheap wooden box. Dawn Beasley: I think that she appreciated having someone, you know. Tracey won't be home. Dawn Beasley: The only thing I was ever afraid of was how they were going to respond, and they responded with support and love and understanding. Selina Dodson and Tracey were about 11 years old when baptized. August 21, 2021 / 11:02 PM Cheryl Burgoon, Beasleys mother, told the newspaper at the vigil, Once you lose a child, it takes you to places you could never expect. But some things in Beasley's story were not adding up. Please subscribe to keep reading. McCraney has also been involved in local churches in the Dothan and Ozark area. I know a bad one from a good one, and they never had a shot with this case. Maureen Maher: So, Jordan, for you This wasn't an invitation. McCraney was 26 at the time of the killings. Dawn Beasley: I told Jordan, I have given you completely honest reasons why I don't want to testify, but the most important reason I can't testify is because you have an innocent man on trial. Maureen Maher: What was the cost going to be, if you went to the police? Maureen Maher: What did you see going on between Carl and Tracey? NewsBreak provides latest and breaking Ozark, AL local news, weather forecast, crime and safety reports, traffic updates, event notices, sports, entertainment, local life and other items of interest in the community and nearby towns. Why? Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Kirke Adams: I knew we couldn't have a trial Monday because we had to figure out what's going on here. Carl was real controlling and, you know he didn't want her to have a lot of friends. Everything Everywhere All at Once won the top prize at the 2023 PGA Awards. Marlos Walker was dismissed as chief in July. He served from 1993 to 1997. But Now, sitting here I think that maybe he hit on her, maybe she rebuffed his advances, maybe she said, "I'm going to tell her." "Tracey." Richard Barber, Ken Blum and Michelle Harris are the editors. He's going to deny it. JEFF BEASLEY: She said she was leaving Carl and wanted me to leave Dawn and I wouldn't. The Alabama Attorney General's Cold Case Unit is assisting the Walker County Sheriff's Office in investigating the death of Eric Cates, whose body along with the body of his pet dog Gypsy were found in his burned truck behind an old school in the Empire community on the morning of Saturday, March 21st, 2015. The remaining potential jurors were questioned individually about their knowledge of the case and their death penalty beliefs. Even after Jeff was arrested again, in 1991 for burglary, and spent 5 years in prison, Dawn kept the secret, wanting her family life to be normal when he got out. Northview High School yearbook photos of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley from 1999. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Maureen Maher: What did people tell you about him? EX- GIRLFRIEND: I was a young, naive teenager. Dawn Beasley: Every time I would have a police officer get behind me I would wonder is this where we're all of a sudden they know what's happening. Jeff Beasley had not only agreed to talk to investigators, but also, to take a lie detector test: INVESTIGATOR: Are you the person that caused the death of Tracey Harris that night? It is not clear what happened with the ministry. Her grandmother provided a loving a home and, Carolyn says, that was more than enough. Heart of Goal as a bishop and co-founder. Several years after Tracey's murder, Carl Harris had left Ozark, feeling like the cloud of suspicion had destroyed his life. Maybe I make an anonymous phone call. Carolyn Aznavour: Yeah, I've always wanted to ask questions, but the way that everybody portrayed him to be, I didn't think that he would tell me the truth. Tracey's mother, was taking care of Carolyn You know young parents, you could tell, you know, that her and Carl, you know, struggled some. Alleging that police fabricated information, like that investigator's report describing how Carl killed Tracey, Carl filed notice that he plans to sue the City of Ozark for $6 million for damages including false imprisonment, and pain and suffering. "So, all those people were lying?" I talked to Tracey. And I broke. The girls, both from Dothan, had traveled from. An Alabama preacher has been arrested for the 1999 cold case murders of two 17-year-old girls thanks to DNA testing, officials said Monday. Aug 3, 2008 Updated Mar 29, 2016. When determining if Ozark, Alabama is a safe place to live, we analyze factors including air quality, water quality, crime rates, natural disaster frequency, substance abuse rates, cancer . Kirke Adams: I think the major thing was getting these witnesses together, which is what we did for the grand jury presentation And once you heard those people It was very clear that Carl was violent. Unsolved Wiregrass murders still a mystery. J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, of Dothan, were on the way home from Beasleys birthday party in Headland, on July 31, 1999, when they got lost in Ozark, according to Al.com. According to reports by WTVY, only 75 of the 250 potential jurors summoned actually showed up at the Dale County Courthouse on Monday. Was that a concern for you as you were preparing a defense? Jordan Davis: They had a statement from Dawn and that was things that they had witnessed while living in the home together. McCraney remains in custody without bail at the Dale County Jail. And that's kind of nauseating, to be honest, that we were that close. Kat Teurfs is the associate producer. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, In March of 2021, the Dothan Police. INVESTIGATOR: Did you hurt Tracey in any way? Maureen Maher: Was there any relief for you after all this time? Carl Harris: No, ma'am, I never said that. (The case will be featured on 48 hours, a CBS news program, Saturday, August 21, 2021, at 9 pm Central time. When Carolyn was about 21, she says Carl did reach out and they met, but did not talk about Tracey. The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Ozark is 172 to 1. Melissa Velsquez Loaiza (CNN) La edicin nmero 29 de los Premios del Sindicato de Actores de la Pantalla SAG Awards se llev a cabo el domingo en el Fairmont Century Plaza de Los . Maureen Maher: Did you want to ask him about her? And I think we definitely learned a lesson with this case. In 1999, two teenage girls, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were found dead with a single shot to the head in their vehicle. Selina Dodson: A lot of people, you know, just assumed Carl would be arrested -- assumed he did it and were waiting for him to be arrested. On June 18, 2011, McCraney and his wife renewed their wedding vows, 10 years after they were married, according to a social media post. Prosecutors do not know why or who spray-painted the name under the bridge. Barrentine later told police he made up stories to get reward money. 101.79% higher than the Alabama violent crime rate of 510.8 per 100,000 people. Dawn Beasley [crying]: I should have been sorry for Carolyn and I was sorry for me. OZARK, Ala. - The wife of an Alabama man charged with capital murder in the slaying of two teenage girls nearly 20 years ago said Wednesday that he's innocent of the killings that terrified. Dawn Beasley: Tracey and I were a lot alike. To prepare for trial, investigators went back to the scene where Tracey Harris' body was found. Kirke Adams: It was certainly one of the first places that investigators were looking for Tracey. DOTHAN, Ala. -- Alabama police have linked a. JEFF BEASLEY [Interrogation]: I'm being accused of, of, of murder, of, of taking someone's life -- I couldn't. "Who?" Finally, more than three years after Carl's arrest, the trial was scheduled for January 13, 2020. Carolyn Aznavour: I've always wondered what happened to my mom since I can remember. He's got her bent over backwards with his hands around her throat. And so, Dawn made her decision. Maureen Maher: You didn't tell anybody that she wasn't coming back? That's 181.10% higher than the national rate of 366.7 per 100,000 people. Kirke Adams| Dale County District Attorney [by the river]: Tracey was alive when she came to this location and traveled down this access road to the beachy area. I'm sure they thought that Jeff's statement would be very similar to Dawn's. Selina Dodson: Tracey and Carl started dating when we were probably 16, 17 years old. Engineer Richard Hawes, his wife, and two children were brutally murdered in an event that baffled people for years. Carolyn Aznavour: Jordan called me to come to the police station, that they had to tell me something. Were you abusive to Tracey? The couple had recently divorced at the time of her murder, Carl had a girlfriend and. The most famous murder in Alabama history is the 1988 Hawes murders, which took place in the city of Birmingham. More recently, McCraney was listed on the Facebook page of H.O.G. With regards to property crime, you have a 1 in 24 chance of becoming a victim. "The evidence was circumstantially strong," said Adams. We have a little bit of everything. Dawn Beasley: They asked me we need you to testify. Cops investigating the deaths of high school seniors Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley in Ozark, Ala., got a break when DNA and a search of apublic genealogy website linked Coley McCraney, 45, to the crime, local media reported. Around the river was a sandy beach area where Tracey would get together with her friends, but friends say she would never get in the water because she didn't know how to swim. OZARK, Ala. (AP) A truck-driving preacher accused of killing two teenage girls from Alabama nearly 20 years ago was found with the same genealogy database techniques used to apprehend the suspected "Golden State Killer" last year. And in big, huge spray paint letters was the last name Beasley. McCraney was indicted in June 2019. You go to sleep crying, Carol Roberts said. Still, Carolyn wondered about her mother wanting to know what really happened. "She was a very sweet friend a very shy person," said friend Selina Dodson. According to our research of Alabama and other state lists, there were 86 registered sex offenders living in Ozark, Alabama as of February 21, 2023. Dwellics analytics team assigned the score 76.8 to Ozark, Alabama (with 100 being the best). While attorney David Harrison praises Davis pursuit of justice, he claims shoddy police work created the messy situation, though a grand jury indicted Harris. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. He has been charged with multiple counts of capital murder and one count of first-degree rape, according to Dale County Jail records. didn't have a problem with each other or nothing like that. It didn't even say Beasley. DOTHAN, Ala. ( WDHN) A Dothan man has been arrested for the alleged murder of his daughter after her skeletal remains were found near Ozark in February. And I said," well, I know he's a rat bastard." We was in the river. Carolyn Aznavour: I have tried to piece it together that's what I do -- I try to piece everything together and make it all make sense. An arrest has been made of 54-year-old Jeff Beasley of Ozark with the murder of Tracey Harris. Jordan Davis: The one in particular that we found that they hadn't talked to in 2016 was this Dawn Hulbert now Beasley. It wasn't just stories about abuse that made law enforcement take a hard look at Carl there was that young girlfriend. Dawn Beasley: We all saw it. Jordan Davis: And so, they went back through all the witnesses that had given statements in 1990. McCraney has worked for several trucking companies in Alabama over the past 20 years, according to the Dothan Eagle. They married in her senior year in 1986. Less than a week before it was set to begin, the trial for the suspect in the 1999 killings of two Dothan teenagers has been continued due to the lack of available jurors. Maureen Maher: Did you feel badly at all that he was under such scrutiny and suspicion? The capital murder trial of a trucker charged with killing two Alabama teens in 1999 has been delayed until next year. Carolyn Aznavour [in tears]: Everybody I've talked to said that she was so quiet. Complementing the city's inviting business climate and tax structure is a workforce equipped with career training from Ozark's educational institutions and those within commuting . Ozark Alabama Police Department, via Associated Press "It raised my awareness as something we needed to check into," he said in an interview. But after it all happened, we just stopped seeing each other. Maureen Maher: Did she talk to you about it at all? She was raised by her grandmother in Texas and didn't have contact with her father. Selina's thoughts would often wander to Tracey and Carl's daughter. 2618 US Hwy 231 N. Ozark, AL 36360. And he flew into a rage. David Harrison: This officer made this up to make this arrest. Coley McCraney was identified a suspect in the deaths of J.B. Beasley and Tracie. "The evidence was circumstantially strong," said Adams. And they remained confident that Carl was their man. The man, Coley McCraney, was charged with capital murder in March of this year for the killings of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett and is facing the death penalty. Dawn Beasley: I had an impossible choice to make And I really struggled Tracey deserves justice. Then, after being subpoenaed, she called prosecutor Jordan Davis again. McCraney was divorced and a military veteran in 1999. They spent time on the bridge where police believed Carl threw Tracey into the river. He has yet to be indicted in the case . 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