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Did DNA Solve the Murders of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley?
Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley were 17-year-old best friends in 1999. On the last day of July, the girls, who lived in Dothan, Alabama, planned to drive to the town of Headland for J.B.’s birthday party. They left at about 10 p.m., but they got lost in Ozark, about 20 miles from home.
Unable to decide where to go, the girls stopped at a BP gas station at about 10:30 in search of directions. They talked to some friends on the payphone and seemingly had a better idea of where they needed to go. About an hour later, they were nowhere near the party and still lost. They stopped again, this time at a different store with a payphone. Tracie called her mom and told her what had happened. She also told her they were coming home.
Tracie’s mother would never see the teenagers again.
A Shocking Discovery
With her daughter not home by 8 a.m. the next morning, Tracie’s mother called the cops to report her daughter missing.
The same day, authorities found J.B.’s car. It had been parked on Herring Avenue in Ozark with an empty tank and the doors locked. A handprint on top of the trunk provided a haunting hint as to what may have happened.
When officers opened the trunk, they found J.B. and Tracie inside. They’d been shot and killed. Both girls were clothed, but dirty. Semen was found at the scene, allowing investigators to collect a DNA sample of the perpetrator.
Authorities were able to rule out robbery as a motive, as both girls still had their jewelry and purses. The only thing missing from the vehicle was J.B.’s key chain containing the keys to the car.
Investigators were unable to determine if J.B. and Tracie had been killed in the trunk or somewhere else.
A False Lead
On September 1, 1999, a man named Johnny went to the store to buy milk for his child. He returned home and told his wife that he’d been hit by a black truck near Herring Avenue. Johnny’s friends convinced him he should go to the police with this information, as it could be linked to the murders of Tracie and J.B.
While talking to police, Johnny changed his story at least five times. He even…
