On April 18, 2016, Missy Bevers, a 45-year-old mother of three, headed to Creekside Church Midlothian, Texas to lead a fitness class. It was the early hours of the morning, and so Missy believed that she was the only person there inside the building. However, there was someone inside waiting for her.
But less than an hour later, Missy Beavers was found dead, with vicious puncture wounds to her head and chest. Surveillance cameras caught a possible suspect on tape, and what followed was a bizarre mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Here's everything you need to know about the Missy Bevers case.
Who Was Missy Bevers?
Terri 'Missy' Bevers was a 45-year-old fitness instructor from Red Oak, Texas. Missy was a charitable woman; a devout follower of religion who spent her life caring for those who couldn't care for themselves.
She was married to Brandon Bevers, her husband of 20 years, and had three children with him. Aside from her fitness job, she was also a special education teacher at a local school.
As a fitness trainer, Missy would teach early morning classes at the local Creekside Church, where she'd often arrive an hour before to help set up her equipment.
Missy was an active member of the Midlothian community and was quite popular amongst the locals. On April 18, 2016, Missy arrived to set up her class as usual, but was unaware that someone was already inside the church waiting for her.
She Was Murdered Under Bizarre Circumstances
Surveillance footage inside the Church showed Bevers arrived as planned at 4:18 am. At 5 am, when the class should have started, a call was made to the authorities.
A member of Missy's class had found her lifeless body in the church's main foyer, lying bruised and bleeding in her workout clothes. There were large pools of blood around her body and broken glass scattered on the floor.
Read Next: The Insane True Story Of The Dating Game Killer
When police and paramedics arrived, Missy was pronounced dead on site. She had been bludgeoned to death with clear puncture wounds to her head and chest and her body showed signs of a struggle.
Outside, her car was unlocked, with her gym equipment, phone and handbag still inside. The brutal murder sent shockwaves through the Midlothian community. Who would kill such a charitable soul in such a barbaric way?
A Creepy Surveillance Video Caught Everything
When the Midlothian police department checked the CCTV cameras inside the church, what they discovered was as baffling as it was chilling. At around 3:50 am, a mysterious attacker had broken into the church by shattering the glass in a side Dutch door.
The suspect was dressed in complete SWAT gear, all black, with a vest and a helmet. The attacker roamed around the church, opening doors and cabinets which he searched for the victim.
The police uniform along with the helmet made identification impossible, and police couldn't determine if it was either a woman or man. Unfortunately, the cameras didn't capture the actual murder.
And due to the fact that the cameras outside weren't in operation, police couldn't determine if the attacker in the footage had some form of transport waiting outside or which direction they left in.
Who Was This Mysterious Person?
Police determined that the killer had entered the church, carrying a hammer or a mallet, broken several windows inside and opened various doors before moving in the direction of the entrance Missy Bevers would later use.
They believed the killer was between 5'2 and 5'7 and was familiar with Missy's schedule. The scene was not considered a burglary gone wrong due to nothing being stolen.
The suspect appeared to have a foot or leg injury impeding his or her walk, and police believed that the walk suggested a female more than a male. Just hours before the murder, a 2010-2012 Nissan Altima was seen circling the church parking lot. The vehicle arrived at 1:58 am then left at 2:04 am. Neither the license plate or the driver have been identified.
Social Media May Have Played A Role
Missy Bevers was an active social media user with a far-reaching follower base. After seizing Missy's phone, police discovered that she'd received a series of 'creepy' messages from someone on LinkedIn.
According to a friend, Missy had shared this message with her a few days prior to her murder, and they both agreed it was strange. However, this message has never been released to the public.
Further inspection of Missy's phone revealed that she regularly communicated with several males through LinkedIn. While the platform exists in a professional sphere, the conversations Missy had with these men were flirtatious and intimate. Other messages on Missy's phone suggested she was engaging in multiple extramarital affairs.
Her Husband Brandon Is A Suspect
Messages discovered on Missy's phone revealed that she and her husband Brandon were having marital and financial issues at the time of Missy's death. Both Missy and Brandon had been suspected of having affairs, and while both halves of the relationship were aware of the other's infidelities, Brandon assured police they were working through their marital issues.
Brandon was immediately considered a suspect given their circumstances, but Brandon had an air-tight alibi according to police. At the time of the murders, Brandon was around 600 miles away on a fishing trip and had numerous people confirm his presence there. However, police considered that someone equally close to him might be responsible.
Her Father In Law Is Also Suspected
Four days after Missy's murder, employees from a dry cleaners notified police that a man had dropped in a bloody piece of clothing. The man was missy's father-in-law, Randy Bevers. More alarmingly, the item of clothing was a woman's white long-sleeved shirt. However, the blood was later confirmed to be animal blood resulting from a dog fight.
According to an anonymous source, Randy and his wife also made some alarming posts on Randy's Facebook page in the weeks following the murder. While the specific posts have never been made public, Randy reportedly said that Missy was romantically involved with someone in the Midlothian police department.
Some People Were Convinced Of Randy's Guilt
Law enforcement noticed a shocking number of similarities between Randy and the unknown assailant on the security tape. Randy's height and weight match that of the assailant.
He also had a walking gait (particularly in his right foot) that was near identical to the attacker on the CCTV video. For a lot of people, this was enough to cement Randy as the guilty party.
Furthermore, Randy may have had a motivation to kill Missy; to free his son from a struggling relationship. But it later came out that Randy had an alibi for the morning of Missy's murder - he was traveling to California. This ruled out the police's two main suspects, and so investigations are still ongoing.
Recent Updates In The Case
There are still many unanswered questions and many details not yet revealed to the public. Who would do such a thing to a generous, caring soul like Missy Bevers?
Was this a jealous husband exacting vengeance on a cheating spouse? Did Missy's in-law take things into his own hands? Was it a planned murder? Or perhaps Missy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Oak Farms Dairy is still offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Missy’s killer. Anyone with information can share tips with police by texting MIDL and a tip to 847411 or calling Ellis County Crime Stoppers at 972–937–7297.
More true crime: Meet David Parker Ray the Toy Box Killer
