Maureen Maher: You just pulled a dark curtain over and that was it? DNA has led to an arrest in the cold case murder of two Alabama girls, according to reports. The body of Tracy Harris, of Ozark, was pulled from the Choctawhatchee River near the . For Carl Harris, his relief is mixed with anger. I wonder what she's doing. Kirke Adams: Carl had let the police in his house a couple of times for them to look around. She died in 1990, but not until 16 years later did police arrest Carl Harris and, even then, those charges did not hold up. Can we really solve this for Carolyn? Walker told ABC News the investigators recognized McCraneys name in the DNA search and brought him in for a DNA swab. Carolyn Aznavour [in tears]: Everybody I've talked to said that she was so quiet. Carolyn Aznavour: I was four years old when my mom was murdered I was 4 or 5, I would cry nonstop if I would get in trouble and say, "I want my mom, I want my mom.". They spent time on the bridge where police believed Carl threw Tracey into the river. There was a problem saving your notification. Walker said there is no evidence that McCraney knew the victims before the killings. Then what happens to me? Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Melissa Velsquez Loaiza (CNN) La edicin nmero 29 de los Premios del Sindicato de Actores de la Pantalla SAG Awards se llev a cabo el domingo en el Fairmont Century Plaza de Los . Motive was also a question prosecutors Kirke Adams and Jordan Davis thought about, as they prepared their case against Carl. Copyright 2021 WTVY. Selina Dodson: When she had Carolyn, she was adorable everybody just loved her. Richard Barber, Ken Blum and Michelle Harris are the editors. Dawn Beasley: I never talked about it ever to another living soul, not even Jeff. Harrison contends that Harris, who he represents, has suffered irreparable harm. So, we just kind of started with a long list And we just started trying to narrow it down. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Tracey Harris, 22, disappeared on March 7, 1990. Their bodies were discovered about 20 miles from Dothan in Ozark, a small town in the southeastern part of the . Standard Hours. The remaining potential jurors were questioned individually about their knowledge of the case and their death penalty beliefs. They had planned to attend a party near Headland on the night of July 31 but got lost and were last heard from when Hawlett called her mother from Ozark to let her know they were on their way home. Carolyn was immediately adopted by Tracey's mother. The rate of crime in Ozark is 43.52 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. In investigating Carl Harris, Jr. as s possible suspect in the death of Tracey Harris, the Ozark Police Department found no blood, no crime scene, no DNA evidence, no marks upon the body of Carl Harris, Jr., the lawsuit alleges. For people to come out and care this much, its a miracle. The case drew nationwide attention and has been the subject of TV shows and documentaries over the years. 192 West Reynolds Street, Ozark, AL, 36360. Maureen Maher: What's different in 2016 that wasn't there or obvious in 1990? She still has no relationship with Carl. The break in the case came when investigators submitted DNA from the crime scene to Virgina-based Parabon Labs, Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker told ABC News. View Full Report Card. Maureen Maher: Does that strike you as odd? Most of all, he claims, Harris lost a relationship with his daughter who authorities took from his custody immediately after Tracey Harris funeral. On Tuesday, media reports continued to reflect the challenge of finding an impartial jury let alone enough people to empanel a full jury from such a small jury pool. Originally set for trial in November 2020, the case was continued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than a week before it was set to begin, the trial for the suspect in the 1999 killings of two Dothan teenagers has been continued due to the lack of available jurors. INVESTIGATOR: I'm not, I'm not going to put a word in your mouth. Kirke Adams [at the bridge]: While we were here, we were looking under the bridge. Kirke Adams: I think the major thing was getting these witnesses together, which is what we did for the grand jury presentation And once you heard those people It was very clear that Carl was violent. It was there she first saw Tracey with Carl. In 1999, two teenage girls, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett were found dead with a single shot to the head in their vehicle. MONTGOMERY Kenneth Glasgow, a Dothan pastor and founder of the Christian-based nonprofit The Ordinary People Society, pleaded guilty Friday . Carl Harris: No, ma'am, I never said that. Investigators identified Coley McCraney, of Dothan, Alabama, in the murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett as the case closed in on two decades without being solved, Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker told ABC News. "I never talked about it ever to another living soul, not even Jeff," Dawn Beasley said of her ex-husband's confession the night Tracey died. And she had witnessed domestic violence while living in their home. didn't have a problem with each other or nothing like that. When her grandmother died in 2015, Carolyn returned to Ozark to bury her next to her mother. Michelle Sigona is the development producer. David Harrison: Bobby Herring was convicted of raping a woman in a sister county. and the realization that, perhaps, her boyfriend was a murderer. The missing person case became a homicide, and Ozark police started interviewing those close to Tracey and her ex-husband Carl, with whom she still lived. With regards to property crime, you have a 1 in 24 chance of becoming a victim. Jordan Davis: I was actually 3 when this happened, so from 1990 -- and we're trying to track down witnesses We were dealing with people that had moved all over the country. Dawn, about to celebrate her 21st birthday the next day, was pregnant with her first child. Dawn said Jeff had told her that Tracey and he fought at the Harris home. The real life killer was the member of a popular trio of brothers. Carolyn was just 4 years old when she lost her mom. Some days you go to work, get home and tears start. It is not clear where he is currently employed. The pastor of the church wrote a message of support for McCraney and his family on the churchs Facebook page on Sunday, a day after his arrest, and a video showing they prayed for him at their service Sunday. They have a lot of political pressure to charge somebody the environment of Ozark, Alabama was we need to do something. Tracey met Carl Harris when she was in high school. But Dawn was willing to overlook his criminal past, and the information about killing Tracey, as they married and started their own family, keeping the secret to themselves. In March of 2021, the Dothan Police. A press conference is also scheduled for Monday where Dale County officials and Ozark Police are expected to announce the charges against McCraney. I was happy that I was standing my ground and I was telling the truth the whole time and they finally caught the boy who did it. Barrentine later told police he made up stories to get reward money. As prosecutors prepared for trial, Dawn Beasley's statement from 1990, not followed up on, caught prosecutor Jordan Davis' attention. '", Assistant D.A. She would stay quiet, she says, out of her desire to keep her life intact, and also out of fear that police might not believe her. But a few months before the anniversary, police sent evidence from the crime scene to Parabon. In this April 2, 2019, photo, Coley McCraney shakes hands with his attorney David Harrison as he enters the Dale County Courthouse before a preliminary hearing. Carl made Tracey miserable. In other similar investigations, police obtained an item with DNA on it discarded in public by the person of interest and then confirmed it was a match to the DNA from the crime scene. First published on January 23, 2021 / 11:09 PM. Carl was real controlling and, you know he didn't want her to have a lot of friends. (The case will be featured on 48 hours, a CBS news program, Saturday, August 21, 2021, at 9 pm Central time. On the eve of Carl Harris trial, Dale County prosecutor Jordon Davis discovered that investigators had accused the wrong man. And they remained confident that Carl was their man. Box 279 Ozark, AL 36361. David Harrison: There's absolutely no evidence at all that connects Carl Harris to this murder, none whatsoever. Tracey's mother, was taking care of Carolyn You know young parents, you could tell, you know, that her and Carl, you know, struggled some. And he flew into a rage. On January 13, 2020, the day prosecutors had planned to be in court starting Carl Harris's trial, instead, they held a press conference. Many retirees live in Ozark and residents tend to have moderate political views. I'm about to get married, I'm pregnant This baby deserves a chance at a life with a loving family and a mom and a dad. Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams and Assistant DA Jordan Davis spent years building a case against Carl Harris for the murder of his ex-wife, Tracey. Dawn Beasley: He said he took her down to the river because he didn't want them to come home and find her body. Coley McCraney with his wife and friends. "The evidence was circumstantially strong," said Adams. (Dale County Jail). And every word of my statement was true. Matt Elofson. Kirke Adams: He confessed in a way that matches the evidence I don't know how many times that happens -- when you get a confession from the real killer technically 17-18 hours before trial. The Ozark time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Police say Carl then picked up a friend, reportedly at 9:30 p.m. Making all those stops, Carl would have traveled about 20 miles. Dawn Beasley: And she said, "well, how do you know he's innocent?" OZARK, Ala. (WTVY) - A woman who had accused Ozark police of covering up the murder of two teens to protect one of their own recanted those claims in explosive testimony on Thursday. He says Carl's arrest was motivated by politics and nothing more. Online records show McCraney, a married Dothan, Ala., man with children, was booked into the Dale County Jail on five counts of capital murder and one count of rape. Este 26 de febrero se celebran los SAG Awards 2023. DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) -Accused killer Coley McCraney's attorneys on Thursday publicly named a retired Ozark police officer as the murderer of two teens, claiming eyewitnesses will implicate him. With Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner. Why? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. " Carl Harris.". DNA leads to arrest in cold case murders of two Alabama girls. Selina Dodson and Tracey were about 11 years old when baptized. David Harrison: In 2016 in this area there were unsolved murders. These murders resulted in a delay riot that quickly garnered media attention across the country. Among those who police went back and interviewed -- an acquaintance of Tracey and Carl's, and Tracey's aunt: WOMAN: He said, "the police are so dumb, I can kill somebody and get away with it.". He worked as a bouncer, in construction, had a girlfriend and another daughter. As they prepared for trial, Kirke and Jordan sifted through statements, looking for more potential witnesses to testify. She started asking people in town what they knew about Tracey and the investigation. According to Al.com, investigators conducted more than 500 interviews, examined forensics and tested the DNA of 70 potential suspects. The most famous murder in Alabama history is the 1988 Hawes murders, which took place in the city of Birmingham. Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship said Wednesday he had no comment because he had not seen that lawsuit. He died Wednesday. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Maureen Maher: What did people tell you about him? Based mostly on statements from the interviews originally done back in 1990, an investigator from the Ozark police put together this scenario of what he thought happened the night Tracey went missing: "It was determined that Carl Harris left his job at Super Food [sic], sometime around 9 p.m. and went to his home Carl Harris jumped on top of Tracey Harris and began chocking [sic] her Carl Harris then placed her seemingly dead body into his vehicle and subsequently drove her to the Choctawhatchee River and placed her body into the water.". "Carl Harris did have a reputation for being very violent in particular towards Tracey Harris," said Davis. Selina Dodson: A lot of people, you know, just assumed Carl would be arrested -- assumed he did it and were waiting for him to be arrested. A 45-year-old man has been arrested in the 1999 cold case rape and murder of two teen girls in Ozark, Alabama. Carolyn spoke with the sheriff, who put her in touch with the Ozark Police Department. Carolyn Aznavour: I knew my mom was murdered And then, as the years went on, I found out it had to do with my dad. This was not me. Carolyn Aznavour: I have tried to piece it together that's what I do -- I try to piece everything together and make it all make sense. McCraney was initially married in 1992, but separated from his first wife in 1994 and later divorced. Dawn refused to come, saying she was too busy. There is no indication that McCraney knew the teens before they were killed, Walker said. Can we really give her peace? (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). But Carolyn, who traveled to Ozark for every single hearing, was convinced of her father's guilt. Tracie had called her parents to say she and J.B. were lost . Maureen Maher: Were you worried that there was some new piece of evidence that they had? Market data provided by Factset. "I never put my hands on Tracey Never," he told "48 Hours" correspondent Maureen Maher. Dawn Beasley: I cannot imagine that she was cheating, with Jeff or anyone else. When determining if Ozark, Alabama is a safe place to live, we analyze factors including air quality, water quality, crime rates, natural disaster frequency, substance abuse rates, cancer . Would love your thoughts, please comment. McCraney was arrested March 16 and booked into jail about 6:30 p.m. McCraney is expected to appear in court on Monday. Dawn Beasley: One time (we were sitting at the table and) she told Carl, hey, listen, I'm going to need some money for the water bill. Dawn Beasley: He threatened to kill her in front of me And I intervened. Tracy Harris murder Pictured in a January 2016 Street View image is Woodham Bridge in Dale County, Alabama. Ozark Map. Jordan Davis | Dale County Assistant District Attorney: There was about 14 different people that had come forward, that witnessed some types of domestic violence between Tracey and Carl. 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