Ozark murder suspect going to grand jury

A man charged with five counts of capital murder and rape in connection with the 1999 deaths of two Dothan girls was bound to a grand jury by District Judge Stan Garner Jr. on Wednesday, April 3.

Coley McCraney, 45, was arrested on Saturday, March 16, and charged with the 1999 deaths of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett.

Beasley and Hawlett were 17 years old in 1999 when their bodies were found Aug. 1, 1999 in the trunk of Beasley’s abandoned vehicle on Herring Avenue in Ozark.

During a press conference on March 18, Ozark Police Department Chief Marlos Walker said he reached out to Parabon NanoLabs Inc., a company famously used in the Golden State Killer case in California. The company found McCraney’s DNA matched that found on the body of Beasley, leading to McCraney’s arrest.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there was probable cause for a trial was held at the Dale County Courthouse on April 3.

McCraney is represented by David Harrison and Andrew Scarborough. Thirty-third Judicial Circuit District Attorney Kirke Adams and Assistant DA David Emery represented the state.

During the hearing, questions about DNA, the determination of the rape charge placed against McCraney and McCraney’s living arrangements in 1999 were asked to law enforcement officials Ozark Police Department Investigator Michael Bryan and Chief Marlos Walker.

Garner ultimately found there was enough probable cause to continue to a grand jury.

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