The Tragic Story of Missy Bevers

In the early morning hours of April 18th, 2016, Missy Bevers, a 45-year-old mother of three and a fitness instructor, arrived at Creekside Church of Christ in Midlothian, Texas.

She was scheduled to teach a 5:00 AM boot camp class and was bringing the exercise equipment inside. Half an hour later, the students would discover her lifeless body.

**Missy Bevers, a Texas fitness instructor and mother of three who was killed at a church in 2016.**

Following the review of the surveillance footage, detectives uncovered a chilling sight. An unknown suspect dressed in SWAT-style tactical gear calmly walked the church halls with a hammer in hand, breaking windows and opening doors just before Missy’s arrival.

Since the day of the murder, the Midlothian Police Department received thousands of tips, but Missy Bevers’ killer has never been identified.

Background

Terri Leann Bevers, better known as Missy, was born on August 9th, 1970, in Graham, Texas. In 1998, Missy married Brandon Bevers, and the couple had three daughters. Before starting her family, Missy worked as a special needs teacher for two years.

In June 2013, Missy started working out at Anytime Fitness Gym. She fell in love with exercising and expressed a desire to become a personal trainer. In April 2014, she earned her personal trainer certification and actually started working at Anytime Fitness.

Her clients adored Missy’s dynamic exercise classes, especially her boot camps. So in March 2015, Missy became an instructor for Camp Gladiator.

The Camp Gladiator boot camps were held at Creekside Church of Christ in Midlothian, Texas. The large number of participants required more space, so the group usually exercised in the church parking lot.

By all accounts, Missy and Brandon had a wonderful marriage, and the couple didn’t shy away from expressing their love for each other on social media.

However, what the public didn’t know was that the two had some marital problems in the past. Missy had an affair, but it seemed like Brandon had forgiven her and was willing to work on their marriage.

The morning of the murder

On April 14th, 2016, Missy drove to Austin, Texas, to attend a weekend of Camp Gladiator events. She returned home to Red Oak, Texas, on April 17th, the same day her husband, Brandon, left for a fishing trip in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The weather was rainy that evening, and since Missy had a regular Camp Gladiator class the following morning at 5:00 AM, she took to Facebook to inform her students that the endurance workout would take place as planned despite the storm.

Missy was murdered early on the morning of April 18th, 2016.Her killer ambushed her while she was setting up for a workout class she was going to teach. Her students found her body a short while later.

Missy intended to hold the class under the awning outside the Creekside Church of Christ, or perhaps inside, depending on the rainfall. Her Facebook activity concluded with a post mentioning that she planned to wake up at 3:30 AM.

A surveillance camera captured Missy arriving at the church parking lot at 4:16 AM. Two minutes later, she unlocked the front door and entered the building. As Missy walked through the main hall, she turned her head suddenly, as if she had heard something or someone. Then she continued walking until she was out of range of the cameras.

The first student arrived at the parking lot at 4:35 AM and waited under the awning. Missy’s workout group entered the church at 5:00 AM, and a few minutes later, they called 911 after discovering Missy’s lifeless body.

Emergency services arrived a short time later, and the beloved fitness instructor was pronounced dead. The initial report stated that she had several puncture wounds on her body, primarily on her head and chest.

Right next to her were several tools, including a hammer. Investigators didn’t mention whether the killer used a firearm.

An eerie discovery

Law enforcement secured the crime scene quickly and reviewed the surveillance cameras in hopes of finding footage that would reveal what happened to Missy just hours earlier.

They discovered that some of the outside cameras weren’t operational that night, but they did manage to obtain the footage from inside the church.

What the investigators found shocked everyone. At 3:50 AM, motion-activated cameras inside the church captured an individual coming out of room 8 and walking into the north hall.

This person was dressed in a SWAT police uniform, complete with a helmet, balaclava, tactical belt, and a vest with two police patches on it. The unknown individual had broken into the church through a kitchen window and appeared on the video carrying a pry bar and a hammer.

The suspect roamed the halls inside the church, smashing glass along the way, and trying to open several locked doors. The police never disclosed the exact location of Missy’s murder. However, it is presumed that the two encountered each other while she was bringing in the exercise equipment.

Investigators initially assumed that the suspect was male, but they did notice a peculiar gait in the footage. The individual also appeared to have difficulty moving their right leg. Thinking someone might recognize the suspect, law enforcement released parts of the surveillance videos to the public.

This decision resulted in discussions about the suspect’s gender, as many viewers suggested that their gait appeared feminine. Afterward, law enforcement issued a statement acknowledging that they were unsure if the suspect was male or female.

The motive

After reviewing the surveillance videos, investigators initially believed that the suspect had broken into the church with the intent to rob it. Unfortunately, Missy was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Despite the suspect’s behavior inside the building and attempts to enter various rooms, nothing appeared to be stolen. Furthermore, Missy’s purse remained intact, and the suspect didn’t even bother to go through her belongings, leaving her wallet and an iPad behind.

Since robbery clearly wasn’t the motive for the break-in, law enforcement began to investigate whether Missy was actually the intended target.

Her daily schedule wasn’t private, and she shared when and where her workouts would take place to more than 1,500 followers on Facebook.

It’s possible that the suspect staged the robbery by breaking glass in the church halls, but their real intention was to murder Missy herself.

Potential suspects

Members of Missy’s family were questioned in the early stages of the investigation, and all of them had solid alibis. Brandon, Missy’s husband, was out of state on a fishing trip on the morning of the murder.

This trip had been planned months prior, so it wasn’t a last-minute decision to cover up his tracks. Missy’s in-laws were in California on April 18th, 2016.

But four days after Missy’s murder, Randy Bevers, her father-in-law, brought a shirt stained with blood to the dry cleaners. By that time, everyone in Midlothian had heard about the shocking crime, and law enforcement was notified right away.

Investigators questioned Randy, who explained that the blood on the shirt came from a fight between the family’s two dogs. The forensic team analyzed the blood and confirmed it indeed belonged to a dog.

During an interview with the police, Missy’s friend shared that during her time in Austin, less than three days before the murder, Missy received a private message on LinkedIn from someone.

The friend described the message as “creepy and strange,” but couldn’t remember the name of the person who sent it.

After examining Missy’s electronic devices, investigators identified another person who communicated with her via LinkedIn. He said the two began messaging in January 2016 and flirted online a bit.

Even though law enforcement didn’t identify the suspect, investigators believe that Missy was in contact with this individual at some point. The suspect very likely followed Missy’s social media posts and knew her work schedule.

The Nissan Altima footage

In May 2016, investigators released an image of a 2010-2012 Nissan Altima captured by surveillance at the SWFA Outdoors store around 2:00 AM on the morning of the murder.

The store was located near the Creekside Church of Christ, and since the parking lot was empty, the Nissan Altima captured the attention of the Midlothian Police right away.

**Missy’s killer caught on surveillance footage inside the church where she was murdered.**

Law enforcement initially urged the driver of the vehicle to come forward, as they could be a crucial piece in solving this mystery. But as months went by, it became clear the driver didn’t want to be identified.

In December 2016, SWFA Outdoors published the surveillance footage from the parking lot, and the video explained why investigators wanted to talk to the driver.

The Nissan Altima entered the parking lot a couple of hours before Missy’s murder. The driver circled the store and flashed the headlights without any clear reason.

They parked in a secluded area for a bit and then exited the parking lot. Unfortunately, there is no clear footage of the license plates, but investigators believe the vehicle has an oval bumper sticker.

Some have speculated that the driver was planning to rob the SWFA Outdoors that night, but changed their mind and went across the street to the church. So far, the Midlothian Police Department hasn’t confirmed that this Nissan Altima is connected to Missy’s murder.

The department continues to investigate the murder of Missy Bevers, and there is a $150,000 reward for information that leads to the suspect.