Woman recantes allegations in 1999 murder of Alabama teenager

Claimed police involvementTwo teenage girls from Alabama, who were found dead in the trunk of their car decades ago, took to social media a few years ago. and now says she lied all along.

Lena Crumb, 53, testified Thursday at a hearing for truck drivers in Alabama awaiting murder charges in the murders of J.B. Beasley and Tracy Howlett, and retracted her allegations. and CBS affiliate WTVY-TV reported.The victims were both 17 years old when they were shot and left in the trunk of their car in southeastern Alabama in 1999.

He hoped that Crumb's testimony on the matter would help prove his client's innocence. 99}

Coley McCraney, 48, said in 2019, or a blogger in southeastern Alabama, that Crum's high-ranking police officer had been raped by a high-ranking police officer. About four years after reporting the allegations, he was arrested for the murder. She covered up the officer's involvement in the killing. The allegations exploded on "true crime" websites and social media, leading to a defamation lawsuit against Crumb and others that was dismissed in 2018 after the blogger filed for bankruptcy.

Authorities said , which states thatDNA evidence led to McCraney's arrest. At the time, Ozark Police Chief Marloth Walker described how authorities were able to use a genetic family tree to identify McCraney as a suspect. This is a new DNA technique that has gained popularity among law enforcement agencies since it was used to identify Joseph James D'Angelo in California last year. Suspect in the infamous "Golden State Killer" case.

"The Golden State Killer happened. We saw it and said, 'You know, let's try that,'" Walker said. I was.

McCraney pleads not guilty to her murder, and she pleads not guilty to her charges of raping one of her victims.

McCraney's defense asked the judge to produce evidence that someone else murdered the two of her. Like the investigator who questioned Crumb earlier this year, the officer Crumb accused took a stand to deny his involvement.

Crumb, a former Ozark Police Department volunteer, did not respond to a Facebook message sent Friday seeking comment. Crumb was given a suspended sentence and a $250 fine in 2016 after being convicted of harassing Beasley's sister, Jackie Bergoon, records show. 125}

Dale County Circuit Court Judge William Fillmore will soon make a decision on what testimony jurors may hear in McCraney's trial, which is scheduled to begin on August 15. did not. He said the car where the body was found could not be inspected because the car was crushed and rendered unusable.

:
• Alabama
• Cold Case
• DNA