J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett: An Unlikely Suspect

Serial Napper

In the summer of 1999, two young women were stolen from their small town in Alabama—two lives cut tragically short, leaving behind nothing but questions.

J.B. Beasley, just 17 years old, was celebrating her birthday when she and her best friend, Tracie Hawlett, disappeared without a trace. Hours later, their bodies were found—brutally murdered and left in the trunk of their car, parked on a quiet road in Ozark. The scene was gruesome. Their bodies showed signs of a violent struggle—scratches, mud, and evidence that they had been dragged through the underbrush. The car was found in a location that didn’t match the crime—it was clear the murder had happened somewhere else, far from where they were left.

For nearly two decades, the case went cold. Rumours swirled. Speculations ran wild. Some whispered of a cover-up, others feared the killer was still out there, walking free. The investigation was stagnant, leaving the community haunted by the unsolved murders of two young girls. Did the killer live amongst them?

But then, in 2019, something changed—a new method - one that would bring the investigation back to life. For the first time, detectives turned to familial DNA. The evidence recovered from J.B.’s body was entered into public genealogy databases—searching for a name buried deep within family trees.

It would take years, but finally, detectives zeroed in on a name. An unlikely suspect—someone who, for decades, had slipped through the cracks.

Sources:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13404041/Wife-killer-preacher-Coley-McCraney-breaks-silence-arrest-2020.html

https://www.al.com/news/2024/07/story-of-brutal-murder-of-2-teens-that-haunted-alabama-for-20-years-retold-on-sins-of-the-south.html

https://www.happyscribe.com/public/20-20/forever-17

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1Kx6HveAG-PIUcau7DZXcjseRXzToVDvu0lpETPeQ3IQ&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=700%27%20width=%27100%%27%20height=%27700%27%20webkitallowfullscreen%20mozallowfullscreen%20allowfullscreen%20frameborder=%270%27%3E

https://abcnews.go.com/US/dna-match-leads-arrest-minister-decades-after-murders/story?id=109987862#:~:text=The%20murders%20sparked%20a%20decades,a%20McCraney%20in%20high%20school.%E2%80%9D

https://www.oxygen.com/sins-of-the-south/crime-news/where-jb-beasley-tracie-hawletts-killer-coley-mccraney-now

https://alabamavictimsmemorial.com/hawlett-tracie-jean/

https://www.wtvy.com/2024/12/14/coley-mccraneys-new-trial-hopes-teen-murders-dealt-devastating-blow/

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