Tracie (left) and J.B.(right)
Real Names: J.B. Hilton Green Beasley and Tracie Jean Hawlett
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Ozark, Alabama
Date: August 1, 1999
Case[]
Details: On July 31, 1999, seventeen-year-olds J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett went out to celebrate J.B.'s birthday by going to a party near their Dothan, Alabama homes. However, they got lost and stopped at an Ozark convenience store to ask for directions. Tracie called her mother and told her that they had gotten lost and ended up in Ozark. A lady who worked at the store gave the girls directions back to Dothan. She saw them drive out of the parking lot and onto the highway. This was the last time they were seen alive.
According to authorities, after the girls drove off, someone forced them to a remote location, performed sexual acts on them and shot them in the heads. At 9AM the next morning, the girls' bodies were discovered in the trunk of J.B.'s car. Their killer has never been caught.
Suspects: Johnny Barrentine was originally arrested after he implicated himself in the murders, claiming that he was at the crime scene. However, he later told authorities that he made up the stories in order to get the $35,000 reward that was being offered at the time. DNA evidence later cleared him in the case.
Extra Notes:
- The case was not featured on Unsolved Mysteries.
- It was profiled on America’s Most Wanted and Haunting Evidence during the investigation and documented on On the Case with Paula Zahn after it was resolved.
Results: Solved. In March of 2019, Coley McCraney was arrested and charged with J.B. and Tracie's murders. DNA found on their bodies was matched to McCraney through genetic genealogy. Investigators submitted the DNA profile from the crime scene to a genealogical database. They were then able to locate McCraney by mapping his family tree and identifying his relatives. A similar method was used to capture the Original Night Stalker. McCraney is from Ozark and lived in Dothan prior to his arrest. He had no criminal record and was not considered a suspect prior to the DNA match.
Links:
- 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? - October 16, 2018
- Man charged in cold case murders of Dothan teens - March 16, 2019
- How Police tracked down suspect Coley McCraney - March 17, 2019
- Anniversary of teen murders, accused killer still awaits trial - August 1, 2020
- McCraney's jury trial in deaths of J.B. Beasley, Tracie Hawlett continued to 2021 - September 23, 2020
- Coley McCraney sentenced to life in prison for 1999 double murders - April 27, 2023
- MURDERED: J.B. Beasley & Tracie Hawlett - November 20, 2023
- J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett at Find a Grave
- Websleuths Discussion Forum
- Tracie Hawlett memorial