Lab results released for bloody shirt in church murder case
MIDLOTHIAN, Texas -- Authorities have concluded testing on a bloody shirt dropped off at a dry cleaner by the father-in-law of a Texas woman murdered inside a church, reports CBS DFW.
The tests confirm the blood on the shirt is animal, which supports the man's claim the blood was from the family dog who had gotten into a fight with another dog.
An April search warrant revealed Randy Bevers dropped off "shirts that appear to have blood stains on them" at the Midlothian dry cleaner four days after the April 18 murder of his daughter-in-law Terri "Missy" Bevers. Terri Bevers was found dead in the Creekside Church in Midlothian, about six miles away.
Terri Bevers was slain as she was getting ready to lead a 5 a.m. fitness class. A person seen in surveillance video wearing what appears to be police body armor broke into the church before she arrived, according to police. Her suspected assailant was also seen on surveillance video walking the hallways of the church early that morning, using a hammer to break windows, while wearing a helmet and tactical gear. Bevers' wounds were "consistent with tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building," documents said.
Police have not said if they have suspects in the case, although they previously indicated that there was a list of persons of interest.
A lab report released Monday found blood on the shirt Randy Bevers dropped off was animal, the station reports.
At the time, Randy Bevers told CBS DFW he didn't think twice about taking a bloodstained shirt to the same dry cleaner his daughter-in-law once used.
"Only a person trying to hide something, would have tried to hide something like that," he said.
Randy Bevers told CBS DFW that the blood came from their pet dog Kilo, who was killed in a fight with another dog at a relative's house, where and his wife have been staying since the murder. Randy Bevers said shirts belonging to both him and his wife were stained with the animal's blood when they brought the dying animal to the Animal Emergency Hospital of Mansfield.