Eerie Social Media Twist In Midlothian Murder Investigation
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MIDLOTHIAN (CBSDFW.COM) - The mystery into who murdered a fitness instructor inside a North Texas church has taken an eerie turn, with Facebook friend requests – under the dead woman's name – being sent to several of her acquaintances in recent days.
The friend requests began popping up on Facebook pages last weekend, a month after Missy Bevers, 45, was killed inside a Midlothian church, apparently by a hammer-wielding intruder dressed in police gear.
A close acquaintance who received a "Missy Bevers" request told CBS 11's I-Team it startled and frightened her, as if her friend was reaching out to her from the grave.
When she clicked on the request, it vanished, she said.
A police investigator specializing in social media forensics has been assigned to look into the mysterious requests, a law enforcement source has told the I-Team.
As attempts are made to trace the requests, it was too early to tell whether someone was playing a sick joke; whether it was an unrelated scammer trying to spoof the related social media friends online; whether the requests were caused by some type of social media glitch; or, worst of all, whether the still-unknown killer was taunting police and the victim's friends, the source said.
Bevers was the mother of three and a popular fitness instructor for Camp Gladiator when, preparing for an early-morning workout session in Midlothian, she entered The Creekside Church of Christ about 4:15 a.m. on April 18.
Already inside was the intruder, caught on surveillance video, his –or her – face hidden behind what appeared to be a large police SWAT helmet.
The person, strongly believed to be the killer, was also wearing a loose-fitting black jacket with "POLICE" inscribed in large letters on the back.
The weekend before the attack, Bevers attended a Camp Gladiator gathering in Austin.
A source has told the I-Team some of the people who attended that event were also recipients of the recent Facebook friend requests.
If you want to reach CBS 11′s Senior Investigative Producer Jack Douglas Jr., you can email him at jdouglas@cbs.com.
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