UPDATED at 8:25 PM w/ Suspect Name and Picture OZARK - Dale County Sheriff - ALEA Make Arrest In Beasley - Hawlett Murders

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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334-790-1729
Date: Mar 16 2019 11:07 AM

OZARK - DALE COUNTY:    11:00 AM.     Throughout Friday and today in a combined effort with many current and past law enforcement officers, Ozark Police have Suspect in custody in thr Beasley - Hawlett murders.

Ozark Police Chief Marlo’s Walker, Retired Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson, ALEA Colonel Charles Ward have been In and out of Ozark Police Department Friday and today.The Suspect is in custody but not charged as of this writing.

Ozark Police Chief Marlo’s Walker is expected to make a formal announcement.

#beasleyhawlett.  #murder.  #ozark.   #coldcase

#textrickeystokesnews3347901729

UPDATED @ 1:00 PM

The suspect is Coley McCraney and he has been charged in the case. McCraney is originally from Ozark and now lives in Dothan

UPDATED @ 6:36 PM

Sources identify the 1999 murder suspect as Coley Lewis McCraney, age 46.  A 1990 graduate of Carroll High School. Currently he resides in Dothan. Information is McCraney is currently married and lives in Dothan.

McCraney is charged with the 1999 murders of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley who were Northview High School students at the time of their murders.

Sources said a state lab matched McCraney as the possible murder suspect through genealogy reports.

McCraney is reported to have never been in trouble so there were no DNA samples on record.

On July 31, 1999 the young girls left a birthday party. They became lost and ended up in Ozark. Tracie called her mother informing they were lost, got directions home but never arrived.

On Sunday the police in Ozark found their bodies in the trunk of Beasley's Mazda 929. The young girl's bodies were found in the trunk and had been shot.

Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey and Ozark Police were in charge of the investigation. The Dale County Sheriff was Bryant Mixon. These two departments, Alabama Department of Law Enforcement, at the time known as Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Dothan Police Department, Houston County Sheriff Department and a multitude of agencies have worked the case.

At the time of the death David Emory was District Attorney of the 33rd Judicial Circuit. He is now Assistant District Attorney and Kirke Adams is District Attorney.

Over the 20 years many have come to love these two girls and families even know they did not know them. Retired 20th Judicial District Attorney Doug Valeska kept their pictures hanging in his car. Often times seen wearing a button with their pictures.

Chief Spivey and Sheriff Mixon daily kept these two girls on their minds during their tenures as Chief of Police and Sheriff.

No one ever gave up.

The crime scene was combed with a fine tooth comb by investigators with Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Evidence was gathered, to include DNA.

This case included tons of rumors. During the years as rumors circulated a lot of people were eliminated in secret. Investigators took coffee cups and spit cups as certain individuals would leave them and have them tested for DNA. Rumors on some deceased people and the bodies were quietly exhumed for DNA evidence to verify.

A lot of investigation since this crime that has never been public in an effort to solve.

The only reason I bring this out is, often times agencies can not say things they have done. But you can believe, this case has been worked.

When Marlos Walker became Chief he took some cold cases and assigned new people to them. Sometimes reviews by others not directly associated from the beginning can take a file and establish more leads.

Chief Walker will hold an upcoming press conference.

Below is a picture believed to be the suspect.

UPDATED @ 8:25 PM      

CLICK FOR DALE COUNTY SHERIFF WEB SITE

Colen Lewis McCraney has now been officially booked into the Dale County Jail. Listed is five counts of Capital Murder and one count of Rape in the first degree.

Capital Murder is a death penalty offense. McCraney, as booked into the Dale County Jail at this time, is facing the death penalty 5 times.

For a case to be Capital Murder, Code of Alabama 13A-6-2(3) he or she commits or attempts to commit arson in the first degree, burglary on the first or second degree, escape in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, rape in the first degree, robbery in any degree, sodomy in the first degree, aggravated child abuse under Section 26-15-3.1, or any felony clearly dangerous to human life and, in the course of and in furtherance of the crime that he or she is committing or attempting to committ, or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant if there be any, causes the death of any person". 

The 5 counts of Capital Murder on this person consists of only the victims Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley. There are multiple ways to charge and convict on the five counts. Obviously there are a lot of " FACTS " that have been withheld from the public in this double murder case. You can never ever let a lot of the facts out because when questioning someone you want to extract certain details from them that only a person on the scene would know.

So all of the reasons which constitute the ability to charge this person with 5 counts of Capital Murder have not been disclosed at this time and probably will not until this case progresses in court.

While important to the public, understand this: at this point and time of this case, the only persons who need to have all of the facts and circumstances proven to them will be the 12 men and women selected as the jurors of peers in Dale County that will hear the evidence as presented in court in order to render a true and fair verdict of guilt or innocence. 

So right now there is limited information that Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker and 33rd Judicial Circuit District Attorney Kirke Adams will release or speak about in a press conference.

This case needs to be tried in the courtroom only. And not in the media.

Along with the 5 counts of Capital Murder, the defendant is charged with one count of Rape in the first degree. That is a case of "forcible rape".

GREAT JOB TO OZARK POLICE CHIEF MARLOS WALKER

When Marlos Walker took over the reigns of Ozark Police Chief, it was not long that he started working cold case files. And Beasley and Hawlett was one of those cold case files.

Retired Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey and his team had worked that case extremely hard as did Dale County Sheriff Bryant Mixon.

Walker put fresh eyes on the case and they went over the files and records of the case. Worked leads. And then low and behold recently a certain break occurred.

And now we are here today.

Walker did a great job and this case was on his mind every day since Chief. And this case had been on the mind of the retired Chief, retired Sheriff and current Sheriff Wally Olson.

But Marlos Walker has done an outstanding job on this case and bringing to an arrest. But this is phase two.

Phase One was the working of the crime scene and details. Phase Two is taking that information and the pursuit of the suspect. Phase Three is a conviction or convictions in a Court of Law.

CONGRATULATIONS MARLOS WALKER and all involved.

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