An Alabama jury ruled a man convicted of the 1999 slaying of two teenage girls should spend the rest of his life in prison, capping a cold case with strange twists that rocked a small city for over two decades.
Marshall, who prosecuted the case, said the verdict doesn't bring closure but answers the question of what happened to the teens nearly 24 years ago."Ultimately, he's going to be able to spend the rest of his life in prison thinking about what he has done," Marshall said.
Hawlett and Beasley, both 17, disappeared after setting off for a party in southeastern Alabama on July 31, 1999. They never returned. Their bodies were found the next day in the trunk of Beasley's black Mazda along a road in Ozark, a city of 19,000 people about 90 miles southeast of Montgomery. Each had been shot in the head.
The slayings went unsolved for nearly 20 years without an arrest until police hired a company to run crime scene DNA through an online genealogy database. Police said they identified an extended family member and then asked McCraney to submit a DNA sample that they said matched the crime scene DNA. McCraney, a truck driver and preacher without a criminal record, was arrested in 2019.for the prosecution. McCraney testified that he had sex with Beasley but did not kill her, news outlets reported.
J.B.'s mother, Cheryl Burgoon, said losing her daughter was something she could not get over, WSFA reported.However, supporters of McCraney, who believe jurors erred in their verdict, held"Coley Strong" signs outside the courthouse or told jurors they know McCraney as a kind and religious man, news outlets reported.WATCH LIVE: Officials speak following McCraney sentencing
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Alabama man convicted of capital murder in brutal 1999 deaths of Tracie Hawlett, J.B. BeasleyThe long-unsolved murders of the two 17-year-olds haunted the Wiregrass region and received national exposure on television throughout the years.
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Jury finds Coley McCraney guilty in Beasley, Hawlett murder trialColey McCraney has been found guilty on all four counts in the murder trial of J.B. Beasley and Tracey Hawlett.
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Mothers describe anguish after their daughters’ murdersThe jury must decide whether McCraney, 49, dies or serves the remainder of his life in prison with no chance of parole for shooting 17-year-old Tracie Hawlett and JB Beasley.
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McCraney sentenced to life without paroleOZARK — Coley Lewis McCraney is sentenced to life in prison without parole after his conviction Wednesday in the 1999 murder of Dothan teens Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley. The
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Coley McCraney sentenced to life in prison for 1999 double murdersA jury has recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Coley McCraney, a man who was found guilty Wednesday for the 1999 murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett.
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