What 20/20 didn't tell you about the 1999 Beasley/Hawlett murders
I’m amazed it took this long for the tragic 1999 murders of teens J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett to be picked up by either 20/20 or Dateline.
Friday, 20/20 aired a two-hour recap of the murders, the agonizing 20 years between the crime and the arrest, and the aftermath of the conviction of Coley McCraney, sentenced to life in prison without parole.
It isn’t easy to condense a story spanning 25 years into two hours. The producers did a good job gathering photos and video to let viewers know the two girls. The interviews of the girls’ mothers and guardian also helped deepen the story.
Certainly, every single fact about the case can’t be included. However, there were significant facts about the case 20/20 chose not include. It may have been just a simple matter of time. Or, some evidence may not have been mentioned to lead viewers to draw certain conclusions.
Before I mention what was left out of the show, I must say I do not know for certain that Coley McCraney killed J.B. and Tracie. What I know is that significant evidence pointed to him and that an Ozark jury believed he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Below are a few things not included or slow-played in the 20/20 airing:
Violence in McCraney’s past
“You can’t find a person that will tell you that I’m violent. I challenge anybody to do that,” McCraney said in a phone interview with 20/20 from prison.
In 1994, McCraney’s wife at the time, Zappharie L. McCraney, told Keesler Air Force base personnel that McCraney struck her with a gun and gun magazine. Law enforcement noted an area on her head where her hair appeared to have been pulled out and where a bruise appeared to be forming on her left cheek. She also said she and her baby were locked inside a room by McCraney and barred from leaving.
McCraney was charged with aggravated assault, assault consummated by battery upon a child under 16, unlawful detention and possession of a concealed weapon. He was placed in pre-trial confinement, but the eventual resolution of the case has not been publicly revealed.
The two separated near that time and divorced in 1998.
Two Days Before the Murders
McCraney no-showed for a paternity test in Ozark on July 30, 1999, two days before J.B. and Tracie were found murdered.
This fact may have little bearing on the murder case, or it could indicate an agitated state of mind. He also no-showed for a paternity test several months later. He was ordered to pay child support by a judge but numerous filings for back support by the mother indicate McCraney was not making payments to the mother.
McCraney’s Denial
Other than the DNA evidence linking McCraney to one of the victims, jurors may have been most persuaded of his guilt by the changing nature of McCraney’s story.
In his initial interview with police after his arrest in March of 2019, McCraney said he had no knowledge of interacting with either victim.
A month later, in a statement made to media before a scheduled preliminary hearing, McCraney attorney David Harrison indicated McCraney did know one of the victims.
“We need to remember Mr. McCraney is innocent until proven guilty. Everyone is basing their decision on the DNA. Everyone believes DNA stands for ‘do not ask.’ It (DNA) doesn't prove anything, other than they knew each other,” Harrison said.
Then, during the murder trial in April of 2023, McCraney took the stand in a surprise move and told jurors he interacted with Beasley as early as a month before the murders. He said he told investigators he did not know either of the victims because he said Beasley referred to herself as “Jennifer” instead of J.B. and he did not make the connection between the girl he talked with and the murdered teens.
He said the two agreed to meet for sex on the night of the murders. McCraney said they met, had sex and they parted ways at 12:45 a.m., about an hour and 15 minutes after the girls called home from Ozark and indicated they were on their way back.
“There are some people who say that didn't help him (taking the stand). If he hadn't testified, those same people would have had something to say. And he's the only one that can tell his own truth, you know, can't nobody speak for him,” McCraney’s attorneys, David Harrison and Andrew Scarborough, told 20/20.
It is worth mentioning that 20/20 did air the clip of McCraney’s initial denial. They didn’t spend a lot of time there, especially considering how important it was in the overall case against McCraney.
Race
20/20 definitely highlighted the issue of race during the show.
And certainly, not everyone in the community is convinced of McCraney’s guilt. At least some in the community claim McCraney was set up.
It is worth pointing out, however, that then-Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker initiated the dive into genetic genealogy as an investigative tool in the case. Even after Walker admitted to being surprised that McCraney’s name emerged from the inquiry, he pursued the lead to seek McCraney’s DNA.
When McCraney’s DNA matched DNA found on one of the victims, Walker didn’t hesitate to make an arrest.
Walker, who is black, simply followed the evidence.
“DNA don’t lie,” Walker said in an interview after McCraney’s arrest.
If memory serves me correct, there were also three black jurors among those who found McCraney guilty. If the skeptics are right, that’s an awful lot of conspiring.
None of the above amounts to a smoking gun, but it does add context.
McCraney’s defense was vigorous, as it should have been. Although there was at least one allegation of violence in McCraney’s past, it appears his record was relatively clean otherwise, although juvenile records are not public. DNA evidence is of course very strong, but there does not appear to be any other evidence linking McCraney to the crime scene. And while police looked at numerous persons of interest over the years in connection with the murders, McCraney never appeared to be on police’s radar.
McCraney has appealed the conviction. It is currently before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
For more on the case, check out these resources:
Crime Junkie Podcast: J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett
Very well written as usual