Two Years Later: Terri "Missy" Bevers Murder Still Unsolved
MIDLOTHIAN (CBSDFW.COM) - The sun still rises in the small town of Midlothian, and yet the unsolved murder of Terri "Missy" Bevers, is like a cloud that refuses to clear.
"Nobody's forgotten," says Debbie Hunt, "we think about her every day."
It's been two years since Bevers, a mother of three and a local fitness coach, was found murdered in the Creekside church. No one has been arrested for her murder. No suspect named.
"If you would have told me back in April of 2016 that we would still be investigating this case two years later, really two months later, I would have disbelieved you," says Asst. Chief Kevin Johnson. He says the case has attracted interest from around the world. "The fact that it happened at a church, that it happened to an unsuspecting victim, she showed up one morning and this terrible thing happened."
Bevers taught an early morning fitness class at the church. On the morning of April 18th, a disguised assailant wearing what appeared to be police gear was spotted on the church's surveillance video breaking windows in the church. Police documents later revealed that Bevers died of multiple puncture wounds to the head and chest.
"Nobody should get away with something that horrendous," says Donna Warren. "It was just horrible and taking her from her family."
Warren works at a local hair salon where she says the murder was a frequent conversation among clients. And there was also concern that someone among them could have committed such a brutal crime. No one in the community, she says, is ready to move on.
"They want answers," says Warren, "definitely...they want it resolved."
According to Midlothian police, to date more than 1600 tips have poured in, most of them connected to that surveillance video showing a killer, with a curious gait.
"The tips that we received, especially from those in our community, were always backed with a real sincerity and uneasiness because many of the tipsters were so convinced that when they watched that video they saw somebody who they knew," says Asst. Chief Johnson. "There for a long time, and probably even still, it was hard to walk around this community and see somebody with a particular gait and not reflect back on that video."
Police documents in the case also revealed that Bevers' marriage and finances were troubled. Her husband, Brandon Bevers, was on an annual fishing trip in Mississippi at the time of the murder. He later told reporters that he could not explain why his wife had been targeted, refering to a "lot of evil in the world."
And two years later, still so many questions. And frustration for police.
"It's hard to not have a resolution," says Asst. Chief Johnson, "it's hard not to be able to offer the family and our community more answers and a resolution...but, we'll get there."
State and federal investigators were asked to assist almost immediately. In the past two years, others have also been asked to review the department's handling of the case without any major developments. Just recently, a new investigator has been added to the team in the hope that a fresh perspective might find an important clue initially overlooked.
"Nobody here has given up," says Asst. Chief Johnson, "nobody here is ready to stop working."
Note: Relatives of Terri "Missy" Bevers declined to be interviewed for our report. Midlothian police continue to maintain that the family has cooperated in every way with their investigation, and no one is considered a suspect.