At the same time, the cold case unit was starting to reopen the investigation. Tullie's son, Jason Hunter Culverhouse ("Hunter"), a named beneficiary under the Alfa policy, filed a claim for the proceeds . She died in 1990, but not until 16 years later did police arrest Carl Harris and, even then, those charges did not hold up. Kirke Adams: Carl had let the police in his house a couple of times for them to look around. The defense also offered up an alternate suspect: that friend police say Carl picked up the night Tracey disappeared named Bobby Herring. She was so modest. Through Gods grace and strength, weve come this far, and thats what Tracie would want us to do. Jordan Davis: There was also several people that they found since then that he had made statements to that were incriminating. I tried to talk her into leaving him. McCraney is listed on Facebook as a bishop at a local church and has also worked as a trucker. Enterprise native named state AEA Assistant Principal of the Year, SATURDAY PREP BASEBALL: Dothan rallies past Houston Academy, Glasgow pleads guilty to federal tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug charges, Elba girls battle with grit, but fall short against Marion County in 1A state semifinals, THURSDAY PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: G.W. Trial in 1999 Ozark slayings continued due to lack of jurors. When her grandmother died in 2015, Carolyn returned to Ozark to bury her next to her mother. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! But police and prosecutors did not believe it was an accident, and Jeff Beasley was charged with the murder of Tracey Harris. I think that he was jealous of their success. Maureen Maher: Did you ever consider filing charges against Dawn? That's my ex-husband, Jeff Beasley. We were in between high school and college that summer. 1980 murder . The girls, both from Dothan, had traveled from. Coley McCraney in an undated police photo. He was eyeing the clock. or redistributed. Police accused Carl Harris of killing. I cant do it alone., READ NEXT: Man Whose First Wife Died Mysteriously Is Wanted in the Murder of His Second Wife, Coley McCraney: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Carl Harris: No. I remember taking her, pushing her under water I mean if the autopsy says it, I don't, I guess . Only you know. Carl Harris: I had to go out of town to get jobs, where people don't know me. TRACEY'S AUNT: Because it kind of shocked me, because he was saying, it was like he was smarter than the police, you know? Carl Harris: No, ma'am, I never said that. BROTHERCOLEY MCCRANEY (GOD HAS YOU & THE FAMILY AS WELL), James Lee Fuller wrote on Facebook. Carolyn was just 4 years old when she lost her mom. Jordan Davis: I think it was extremely difficult for her to come forward. all the ones that they could find, they got back in touch with. Ozark alabama, it was the Culverhouse murders. " people really liked her and respected her. His attorneys have requested documents related to Ozark Police Department officers and the girls' deaths, and they will make their case for access in a hearing scheduled for Monday. Please continue to pay online and use the mail service when possible. Dawn told police about those altercations she said she saw -- and her feelings about Carl. They soon left Ozark, hoping to start over, and moved to Texas. They married in her senior year in 1986. August 21, 2021 / 11:02 PM Heres what you need to know about Coley McCraney and the cold case murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett: Family PhotoJB Beasley and Tracie Haweltt. Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery and assault. DA KIRKE ADAMS [to reporters]: - I have dismissed the murder case against Carl Harris. She started asking people in town what they knew about Tracey and the investigation. Then, in 2015, an Ozark Police cold case unit took another look at Tracey's murder, and again zeroed in on Carl. He has children with his second wife and is shown in family pictures smiling with his kids. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. This is a dispute over proceeds from a life insurance policy issued to Tullie R. Culverhouse, Sr., by Alfa Life Insurance Company ("Alfa"). I did my grocery shopping and I'm in the milk section and there's a couple standing there talking about it. Daveed Diggs kicked off the show with opening comments. It wasn't just stories about abuse that made law enforcement take a hard look at Carl there was that young girlfriend. Dawn Beasley: And she said, "well, how do you know he's innocent?" Walker told WDHN-TV, I dont believe DNA lies. He called the latest developments shocking.. It is not known if he has hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf. In other similar investigations, police obtained an item with DNA on it discarded in public by the person of interest and then confirmed it was a match to the DNA from the crime scene. Legal Statement. Dawn said Jeff had told her that Tracey and he fought at the Harris home. JEFF BEASLEY: And we got into an argument. Can we really give her peace? Maybe I make an anonymous phone call. You guys don't want me to testify.". Matt Elofson. On August 19th, 2021, Carl Harris filed his lawsuit against the City of Ozark. In 1999, two teenage girls, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were found dead with a single shot to the head in their vehicle. Carl Harris: I thought it was good news I thought they found somebody they were looking at And when they told me they was looking at me as a suspect again they came up two weeks later, arresting me. Engineer Richard Hawes, his wife, and two children were brutally murdered in an event that baffled people for years. Advances in DNA technology and genealogical search methods have led to several other high-profile cases being solved in a similar manner, most notably the Golden State Killer serial murder case in California. I said, "you're ruining my life and you don't understand why. The law enforcement community had become aware of the arrest of the Golden State Killer , Joseph James DeAngelo, through a new process called forensic DNA phenotyping. In Ozark, Alabama you have a 1 in 98 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime. Ozark might have been the county seat, but it didn't take off until Fort Rucker was established in 1941. Can we really solve this for Carolyn? It didn't even say Beasley. Barrentine was cleared after his DNA didnt match semen found on Beasleys body. But after it all happened, we just stopped seeing each other. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). A DNA match found through a genealogy website has led to an arrest in the killings of two teen girls nearly 20 years ago, Alabama authorities said. Alabama police have linked a suspect to the 1999 cold case murders of two 17-year-old girls using DNA and genetic genealogy. The City-Data.com crime index weighs serious crimes and violent crimes more heavily. They are open every day except Monday, Saturday, and Sunday. JEFF BEASLEY: I didn't, I didn't do this. In her senior year of high school, Tracey became pregnant, and she and Carl, who was three years older, married. The typical household in Ozark earns $41894 a year, compared to the national median of $67,500.Nearly 56.8% of households earn less than $50,000 a year compared to 39% national rate. It was done? 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. Q: Do people have the right to take your picture and publish it without your permission? Please enter valid email address to continue. I was happy for her that she had a boyfriend and somebody that she really liked. How Ben Davis Died On Ozark After being put in a state hospital to treat his bipolar disorder following an arrest, Ben was sprung from the facility by Ruth with the help of Darlene Snell. She looked like her and she had a personality like her. David Harrison: In 2016 in this area there were unsolved murders. And every word of my statement was true. Carolyn's focus remains on the mother she never had the chance to get to know. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 270.6. 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 a public genealogy website linked Coley McCraney, 45, to. 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. Kirke Adams: It was certainly one of the first places that investigators were looking for Tracey. Dawn, about to celebrate her 21st birthday the next day, was pregnant with her first child. Ozark police sued for arresting wrong murder suspect. Because the credibility of the people that were going to testify they had no credibility, none whatsoever. More than 26 years after Tracey Harris's body was found, Carl Harris was arrested on September 13, 2016 for her murder. She said in 2007 that her daughter and J.B. wound up in Ozark after getting lost driving to the party, WDHN-TV reported. Tracey won't be home. While police were reinvestigating the case, Carl was trying to get on with his life. Ozark is in Dale County. Jordan Davis: I don't think there was one particular motive. Copyright 2021 WTVY. Main Phone: (334) 774-2335. On the eve of Carl Harris trial, Dale County prosecutor Jordon Davis discovered that investigators had accused the wrong man. That's when one statement from 1990, not followed up on, caught her attention. Police were able to find a match to a family member who had submitted DNA to one of the website databases. Walker said he was not considered a suspect in 1999 and had been under investigators' radar. It is believed that Brogdon killed his mother at his home, cutting up . Crime Tips HOTline 334-774-2335 or Submit Via Email. Kirke Adams: Back then, the domestic violence law was much different if the police arrived and nobody wanted to make a report there was just no reports done. 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. He's going to deny it. Jordan Davis: He did have a 17-year-old girlfriend at the time who several people said he had had conversations with about marrying her, but that she couldn't -- he couldn't leave Tracey because he'd have to pay child support. His DNA was not on file because he had no criminal record, WSFA-TV reported. McCraney was 26 at the time of the killings. DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) -Accused killer Coley McCraney's attorneys on Thursday publicly named a retired Ozark police officer as the murderer of two teens, claiming eyewitnesses will implicate him. But, she says, the fear of upending her own children's lives always stopped her. Dawn Beasley: It was extraordinary relief. One particularly heinous crime, a 1989 stabbing death, had attracted the Carolyn Aznavour [in tears]: Everybody I've talked to said that she was so quiet. It took Jordan several calls to wrong phone numbers to find Dawn Beasley. For more than four hours, Beasley insisted he had nothing to do with Tracey's death: JEFF BEASLEY: It seem like you guys are wanting me to say I did something, when I didn't . Carolyn Aznavour: She was like the best. "Carl Harris did have a reputation for being very violent in particular towards Tracey Harris," said Davis. Beasley pleaded guilty and received a 30-year sentence. - October 16, 2018 we were very confident that we would be able to get a conviction in this case. Ozark is a city in Alabama state in USA with a population of 14350 residents..The poverty rate of Ozark is 19.6%, which is 40% higher than national average. Maureen Maher: Did she talk to you about it at all? They found the name "Beasley" spray-painted in big letters. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Eugene's body was sent to Ashland, Ohio, where his father and some family resided. The prosecutors also visited the area around the river where Tracey's body was found. Carolyn spoke with the sheriff, who put her in touch with the Ozark Police Department. The husband said, "well, looks like that boy done finally killed that girl.". Alabama My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Violent Crime 1 in 341 in Ozark 1 in 168 in Alabama Ozark VIOLENT CRIMES Population: 14,313 United States VIOLENT CRIMES Population: 331,888,310 Property Crime Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents) 100 75 50 25 0 22.71 25.85 National Median: 19 The couple had recently divorced at the time of her murder, Carl had a girlfriend and. Rumors about domestic violence in the couple's relationship spread around Ozark quickly. Police accused Carl Harris of killing Tracey Harris whose body was found about 10 miles from her home in the Choctawhatchee River. The autopsy revealed that Tracey had drowned, but also noted marks around her neck likely indicating strangulation. 15 year old double homicide of Ozark teenagers remains unsolved - August 1, 2014 Breaking Their Silence: Sisters & Family Talk About Unsolved Murders August 21, 2015 19 years pass since double-murder of teen girls in south AL - August 1, 2018 Who Murdered Teen Friends J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett in 1999? Produced by Ruth Chenetz. Dawn told Jordan about the night of March 7, 1990, when Tracey went missing. Dawn Beasley: And she says "My name is Jordan Davis, I'm with Dale County D.A. Dawn Beasley: He threatened to kill her in front of me And I intervened. Motive was also a question prosecutors Kirke Adams and Jordan Davis thought about, as they prepared their case against Carl. Dawn met Jeff shortly after he was released from prison, having served four years for burglary and escape attempts. On January 13, 2020, the day prosecutors had planned to be in court starting Carl Harris's trial, instead, they held a press conference. New Registrations can now be processed online at www.easytagal.com. Answer Man: Is it illegal to take pictures of people without their permission? Investigators found their bodies in the trunk of J.B.s car on Aug. 1, 1999, a day after their families reported them missing. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Ozark time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Ozark Alabama Police Department, via Associated Press "It raised my awareness as something we needed to check into," he said in an interview. Jordan Davis: I was actually 3 when this happened, so from 1990 -- and we're trying to track down witnesses We were dealing with people that had moved all over the country. 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