The Latest: Lawyer: Cold case suspect is outstanding citizen
Posted March 18, 2019 7:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DOTHAN, Ala. — The Latest on an arrest in the 1999 killings of two Alabama teenagers (all times local):
9:35 a.m.
The lawyer for a suspect in the 1999 deaths of two Alabama teenagers says he’s an outstanding member of the community and is co-operating with law enforcement.
Investigators in Alabama say a DNA match found through a genealogy website led them to arrest 45-year-old Coley McCraney.
McCraney faces rape and capital murder charges in the slayings of 17-year-olds Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley. The girls had left Dothan, Alabama, to attend a party but never arrived. They were later found in the trunk of a car, each with a gunshot wound to the head.
Attorney David Harrison tells The Associated Press it’s going to be difficult to find a jury that’s not already aware of the case and that he might have to ask for another venue to get a fair trial.
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1:30 a.m.
Authorities in Alabama say a DNA match found through a genealogy website has led to an arrest in decades-old slaying and rape case.
Al.com reports 45-year-old Coley McCraney, of Dothan, was arrested Saturday and charged with rape and capital murder in the 1999 deaths of 17-year-olds Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley. Ozark police and Dale County sheriff’s officials are scheduled to hold a press conference about the case on Monday.
The girls left Dothan the night of July 3, 1999, to attend a party, but they never arrived. The pair was found the next day in the trunk of Beasley’s car alongside a road in Ozark, each with a gunshot wound to the head.
A different suspect was cleared after his DNA didn’t match that from semen found on Beasley.
The Associated Press
