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[Music] what was lost when Alysa was taken what was lost with her murder my daughter
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Willow's mother [Music] everything how do you keep Alyssa alive for her daughter Willow show her
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pictures this is your mom this is your [Music] mom every Mother's Day we visit the
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grave we take flowers we take cards you know we talk about her all the time what
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does this say mother of Willow an I hope that when she learns what happens she doesn't let
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it tear her apart October 2nd [Music] 2020 any crime scene is going to be inside that tape it's inside that tape
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all right I remember my phone was continuously ringing [Music] ringing and I finally answer it cuz it's
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my supervisor and she's frantic and she's telling me you've got to get to Green Tree
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Apartments when we heard that pop I turned around I knew it was a gunshot and she says something has
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happened to Alyssa what what happened to her we're going to start having family member show up here I pull up police
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fire trucks ambulance everywhere she got shot in the car okay she can see her handprints who are you I'm detective
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Harding I remember asking that officer I said she didn't make it did she and he said no she
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didn't and I just lost it at that point when you learned that your sister was dead did you have a suspect in mind I
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knew immediately it was Andrew beard I knew that the only person I could think that would want her dead was
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Andrew beard she even said I think he's the kind of person that's going to try to kill me and he did and he
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did oh my God it was one of the most brutal scenes that I've been to in 32 years law
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enforcement you could see the rage don't touch anything okay what does it tell you when it's
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this vicious about the killer it's personal uh she apparently has had a history with baby daddy within an hour
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of getting to the crime scene we knew that we needed to look for Andrew beard Andrew beard is the suspect yes he can
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not get away with this he can not get away with this at first this seemed like an open and shut case but as it turned
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out Andrew beard was only half the story [Music] [Music] in the months after Alysa briquette was
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murdered she appeared to her Mother Teresa Collard in a dream I see her across the room and in
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my dream I knew she was gone but I was hysterically happy that I was seeing her and I was thinking you're
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back she came to me and said no I'm not back and I don't want to come back and I
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never want to be there [Music] again I was puzzled why don't you want to come back and she said because I was
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always afraid there although 24-year-old Alysa Kat had been afraid for months the attack at
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this apartment complex where she worked in Carolton Texas north of Dallas came as a
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surprise so when you arrive here what do you see according to one of the lead detectives Michael Harding Alyssa pulled
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into her usual parking space at around 9:00 a.m. Alyssa's car was actually parked right here where this green van
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is right here and the as salance vehicle had parked right next to her in this spot were you here when everything
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happened yes I was sing on my desk what Witnesses say the as salent exited his vehicle a black Ford Expedition SUV with
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a gun in his hand she had the window up and he shot right through the wind right
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through the window maintenance supervisor Darren Iker about 15 ft away it's horrible I mean heard the gun blast
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and turned around what do you see uh I see a a black SUV starting to back out of the parking
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spot investigators believe the shooter thought Alyssa was dead the blast had destroyed her left eye and part of her
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face but Elissa bat was still alive she gets out of her car and she walks up to this Landing to try to get
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help cuz she knows her her co-workers are here the shooter described by some as a
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black man I like to say he's a black guy got out of the vehicle and began sprinting toward Alysa this time with a
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new weapon in his hand something more personal a large hunting knife did you see him holding the knife uh yeah in the
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H after he starts to to stab her she's still fighting on this window right here there was a blood handprint smear where
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Alyssa was trying to get anyone to come out and help [Music] her but fearing it was an active shooter
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situation they stayed inside we just getting our day started and the attacker launched into a rabid killing frenzy
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plunging his knife into flesh and Bone again and again incredibly Alyssa was still breathing when her as salent fled
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once the suspect left her co-workers came out to try to render Aid one of her colleagues made this call to 911 911
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what is the address of the emergency someone came up and just shot my my assistant manager where is the shooter I
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don't have enough information I need he's gone he left in his car he literally left a second ago
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fire department pulled up first they come up I get out of the way and let them do their thing and they start
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working on her right here you she was immediately yeah and it was too late she was gone Alyssa had been stabbed and
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slashed a total of 44 times Alyssa's Mother Teresa immediately gave the police a name and it wasn't a
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black man it was Andrew beard and now he did this he's an evil person Teresa told
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detectives that Andrew beard and Alysa were in the throws of an ugly custody battle over their one-year-old daughter
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Willow Anne a battle that began when Alyssa was still pregnant says her friend Brandy Reagan he initiated by
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asking her if he could have full custody of the baby after the baby was born and
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what did Alyssa have to say to his idea of him getting full custody you better be effing kidding me
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Alysa and Andrew were worlds apart from the beginning he was almost 9 years older established with a good job at a
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tool company a nice house even had a plane she was 22 loved eating turkey legs at state fairs and was still
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figuring life out after meeting on a dating app they had a fling nothing serious but then she found out she was
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pregnant says her friend and roommate shall be right I'll never forget she's just standing there hysterically crying
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um and upset she couldn't even speak and she hands me a pregnancy test that said
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positive and I honestly had no words for her but as the pregnancy progressed Alyssa's fears turned to excitement says
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Shelby especially when she learned it was a girl on July 23rd 2019 Alyssa gave birth to a baby girl
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she named [Music] Willow and when you saw them together Alyssa and Willow what was that
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experience like amazing motherhood looked great on her [Music] yes just looking at the two of them you
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could tell that their relationship was I mean everything I always love how she's
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looking at her in this picture Madison Grimes is Alyssa's younger sister Willow clung to her every second every day and
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I think that tells you a lot about the mother Alissa was Alysa went back to college and got a good job as an
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assistant property manager I think everything she did at that point in her life was for Willow she wanted to be
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successful for Willow she didn't want Willow to grow up and struggle she just wanted Willow to have an easy
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life Andrew who had joint custody had Willow a few days every week but he kept pushing for primary
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custody dragging Alysa in and out of court hearings emptying her bank account she was terrified um Willow at this
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point was the most important thing in her life and when she you know looked at the bigger picture Andrew he made more
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money than her you know he had a house he had all of the nice things that she didn't have so she was afraid that you
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know he wanted Willow and he was going to get her Andrew's mother lazette Bowers says her son was acting out of
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love not malice my son Andrew beard is a loving warm individual who always operated from his heart from his core
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Center when he had Willow she was constantly strapped to the front of him he was reading to her he wanted her to
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see the whole world every day he just felt that he could provide her more stability in March 2020 when Willow was
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8 months old things seemed to change for the better the feuding parents found Common Ground finally reaching an
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agreement on visitation and child support and so things seem to calm down things calm down
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yeah but a gathering storm was about to come barreling in Police Department search warrant if
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you're in there come out your hands [Music] up in the spring of 2020 it looked like
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the bitter custody battle between Alyssa and Andrew had finally come to an end Alyssa had a new guy named Ben and
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Andrew fell hard for a woman named Holly Elkins someone his mom lazette was thrilled about a daughter from minute
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one she just has this charm and energy I warmed to her very quickly Alyssa was happy that he started
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dating someone else I guess hopeful that Holly would help this situation that Holly
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would be supportive of the mother that's involved Holly sent this text to Alyssa
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look forward to having a super healthy relationship with you and Ben Alyssa responded I hope your influence helps
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because I'd love nothing more for us all to have a healthy relationship despite Holly's message
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Andrew suddenly became hostile with Alyssa he was once again demanding primary custody of Willow dragging
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Alyssa back into court he was always very short very very rude very hateful it just totally changed the way
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that they communicated together Alysa couldn't shake this uneasy feeling that she was being watched and began telling
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family and friends that Andrew always seemed to know what she was doing he knew where she was he knew where Willow
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was he knew just other places that she had been I remember one night she was out with one of her friends and they
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were at a bar in Downtown Dallas and she's like text me oh my gosh Andrew is here and in my mind I'm like the odds of
00:14:06
that happening are slim to none you know she didn't know how he was tracking her
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she just knew that she was being tracked how would you describe what she went through hell I mean every day you feel
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like you're having to watch over your shoulder that's how I felt she lived hi everyone um my name's Alyssa Madison
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found this video after Alyssa's death it was never posted past year I have been going through a custody battle a
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very ugly one I have a one-year-old child um it's taking a toll on my mental and physical health with that being said
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I've become a lot stronger in the process and I guess just my message is um no matter what you're
00:14:51
going through stick it out you can do it and stay strong but she would continue to be tested in September 2020 1 month
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before her murder it reached a whole new level a man who said his name was Frank
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marrow called 911 and reported that Alysa was selling drugs out of the trunk of her car at work I saw I know I
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thought look like someone just selling some drugs out of their truck and I could smell it and I could see it and
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okay what kind of vehicle is it it's a little Toyota Corolla I have a license plate it's that help okay great well
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your last name Marl acting on this tip Carolton police officers descended on the Green Tree apartment's leasing
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office and confronted Alysa she gave them the keys to her car and they opened the
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trunk inside they discovered drugs a pistol and some cash exactly where the caller said they would
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be so your daughter suddenly now looks like a drug dealer and a dangerous one as well she's armed yes I mean is Alyssa
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worried that she's going to get arrested lose her job yes all of the above she's
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worried about her job she thinks yeah she's going to be arrested now he's going to use this in court so she's for
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sure going to lose Willow after questioning Alysa it was clear to police that she knew nothing
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about the drugs and pistol in the trunk of her car they concluded those items had been planted the caller had tried to
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frame her Alysa knew in her gut that caller was Andrew beard later that day she texted
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her roommate Shelby Alyssa messaged me and said he is going to try to get someone to kill me
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next and when you read those words my heart dropped that wasn't who she was she wasn't a fearful person showing and
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asking for help shows me that she was genuinely scared she knew that you know whatever was coming next was going to be
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serious the once Fearless young woman had become scared for her life these are some of the texts she sent to her sister
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Madison come over while I walk inside lock the door behind you do you see anyone around you and Alyssa wasn't the
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only one who was terrified it kept progressing each thing that he would do just kept getting worse and after this
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point framing her and she didn't get arrested I thought well what else is there to do besides kill
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her one month after the drugs and gun were planted in Alysa Brett's car she was dead I knew that it it was him when
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when the drugs didn't work in the car for him to get the baby once we talked to Alyssa's mom we had an idea who we
00:18:05
were looking for and who is that person that person was Andrew beard oh my God and to Teresa's horror he had visitation
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with Willow that day the baby was with him yes I want my grand baby away from him my first thoughts were if he's going
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to kill Willow within hours of the murder the police p pulled over Andrew Beard's
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F-150 pickup truck for an alleged traffic violation Andrew and his fiance Holly elans were asked to get out of the
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vehicle the daughter's in a car seat in the back seat much of the body cam footage in this program has been resized
00:18:47
so you can see it better they've been pretty Cooperative Andrew seemed unfazed by the whole thing says detective Hardy
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he was very calm he wasn't amped up he he didn't seem nervous my part was to just find me
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that's all they asked me to do ultimately Andrew and Holly were allowed to go and because he had court-mandated
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visitation rights take Willow with them but the police seized his F-150 pickup and instructed him not to return home
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Andrew Holly and Willow went to a hotel got garage and that night a search of Andrew's house turned up critical
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evidence this was found inside the living game in one of Andrew Beard's backpacks such as this envelope
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scribbled with incriminating notes upon reading the notes we realized those were
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tied to the Frank marrow 911 call Frank marrow the caller who had reported Alyssa was selling drugs out of her car
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alysa's license plate number the color and model of the vehicle Frank marrow everything that he needed to make that
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911 call was on this back of this it's like you discovered the screen play to this phy called a 911 that was kind of
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shocked I was like he he kept this so we found this GPS tractor box also in plain
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view says another lead detective Jeremy chalier charging stations and batteries that match the tracking device
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detectives discovered on Alyssa's car after the murder so this is the device that was put on her car
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that was all part of his plan to to catch her doing something that he believed that she shouldn't be
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doing to gain an advantage in that child custody dispute a search of that Ford F-150
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seized at the traffic stop turned up more jaw-dropping evidence so this is one of the makeup vials that were
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recovered from inside one of the bags in the F-150 it was a foundation called Java yeah it's really dark very dark and
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the purpose of that was what do you believe was to disguise Andrew Beard's face to make him look like an
00:21:03
African-American the police found the knife sheath at the scene but never found the knife or the gun but the day
00:21:10
after the homicide they found something just as important that black SUV they learned Andrew had bought it
00:21:18
specifically to commit the murder and there it was abandoned less than a mile from Andrew's house he drove it to that
00:21:26
location and he fled back to his house Lo the morning of the murder that's Andrew beard captured on a home security
00:21:34
camera fleeing through the neighborhood he is doing the Bigfoot run from this vehicle what' you find when you guys
00:21:42
process the inside of this vehicle we were able to recover multiple spots where blood was recovered that was later
00:21:49
tested to be Alyssa's blood they also found another part of his disguise a fake beard that looks
00:21:57
like a Halloween kind of beard just uh exactly yes he he purchased a a Halloween costume so that's what led us
00:22:03
to get the arrest warrant for Andrew beard Andrew beard who still had Willow had been staying in an Airbnb with his
00:22:12
fiance Holly Elkins and mother Lizette when we were at the Airbnb he got a call he was going to be arrested just 3 days
00:22:23
after Alysa was killed Willow was sent back to Teresa and Andrew beard turned himself into the police Andrew beard he
00:22:33
was charged with murder I was confident they had the wrong man so was Holly Elkins she volunteered to speak to the
00:22:41
police I want to help I really do but I don't have any answers incredulous that the man she planned to marry was capable
00:22:49
of murder so I just told all my friends and family that I'm engaged to the most wonderful man on the planet and now
00:22:56
people want me to believe that he's not and there are so many emotional roadblocks for you to try to believe
00:23:02
that I get that I can't believe that my fiance would do something like that to a
00:23:07
woman or to anybody but a woman detective chalier on the right and detective Harding on the left
00:23:16
interviewed Holly for about an hour hoping to turn her into a witness for the prosecution I'm telling you there's
00:23:23
a side of him that you do not know but she stood by Andrew insisting that he had an alibi he was home with her when
00:23:32
the murder took place there are a few hours that you know he was not in that house you cannot tell me that I feel
00:23:40
that way sir I can tell you that because I know that for a fact that he was out of the house Holly I don't know that for
00:23:46
a fact that's what my problem is Holly remained adamant that she would have known if he had left I am a total stage
00:23:55
five Clinger girlfriend I'm always up his ass ask I find it hard to believe the interview ended with Holly
00:24:03
standing by her man she and Andrew's mom lazette continued living together in an
00:24:11
Airbnb they became extremely close and bonded over their shared belief that Andrew was innocent says lazette we
00:24:20
stayed so close we were just connected at the hip and made agreements to never go anywhere without one another finally
00:24:29
after 2 weeks behind bars Andrew was released on bond lazette was overjoyed Holly as lazette would soon discover not
00:24:39
so much they've told us he's coming home tomorrow and Holly says I'm going she holds is holding her suitcase and she
00:24:47
goes I'm going I'm leaving I'm going home but the day before Andre gets home what why are you choosing
00:24:55
now during this scary scary time for his in his life she'd already ordered her her Uber and never came
00:25:05
back detective chaler says he was so worried about Willow's safety he reached out to the federal government to take
00:25:12
the case under Federal firearm laws because an unregistered silencer was found in Andrew's home the feds agreed
00:25:21
Andrew beard was rearrested 8 days after he bonded out ultimately at that point our goal was was to get him back into
00:25:30
custody Andrew was ultimately charged with cyber stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in
00:25:37
death 1 year and 8 months after Alyssa's murder Andrew called his mother with unimaginable news he said you know Mom
00:25:47
I'm I'm going to plead guilty so I immediately said well Andrew you're not going to you're not going to
00:25:54
plead guilty to anything you didn't do because clearly he didn't murder her in my mind because that's out of character
00:26:00
and not who he is and it was stupidly done and he's not stupid so it never was him but she would learn it was him he
00:26:09
admitted he did it he killed the mother of his child I have physically dropped to my knees sometimes
00:26:20
feeling like I've got punched in the stomach and I have to tell myself I have to tell myself that that
00:26:30
was a a moment a heinous awful outof character broken moment Andrew beard pleaded guilty but
00:26:43
the investigation wasn't over Andrew beard was talking and he had a lot to say how come you waited so long to talk
00:26:52
about what like what Holly did what do you make of Holly Elkin's interview with detectives see more
00:27:02
evidence from the case at 48 [Music] hours.com paully Elkins left Texas and returned to her home state of Michigan 2
00:27:23
and 1/2 weeks after the murder of Alyssa brette she gave no hint of what she'd Left Behind says her best friend from
00:27:31
childhood Stephanie G did she ever mention the name Alyssa brette to you never never never never not once she
00:27:42
didn't talk about Andrew beard either not even once nope Stephanie who met up with Harley about 7 months after she
00:27:49
returned to Michigan says her old friend appeared to be starting life a new a new
00:27:55
condo a new Lexus a new man she had this boyfriend with her so everything just seemed really normal
00:28:03
Stephanie says from the time she was a teenager Polly always had a guy and she knew how to wrap them around her little
00:28:11
finger it was like a cat and mouse thing when you say cat and mouse she was the cat oh absolutely yes she was the cat
00:28:19
she controlled the relationship absolutely she was the one in the driver's seat back in Texas investigators were
00:28:29
just beginning to learn more about the fiance who had skipped town after the murder one year and 9 months after
00:28:37
Alyssa was killed Andrew beard spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal assuming absolutely it does look planned out cuz
00:28:45
it was the process was planned out it quickly became clear to investigators that this Holly Elkin I'm trying to help
00:28:53
and no one's helping me the Holly elen seemingly torn apart by Alyssa's death I just feel bad to not I just feel bad to
00:29:01
not help something that I think is very sad that happened was giving the performance of her life I've literally
00:29:08
cried myself to nauseum every single night over this what did you learn about her true feelings about Alysa she hated
00:29:17
Alysa with with a burning passion investigators dug back into Andrew and Holly's text messages many of which
00:29:25
Alyssa's family also saw both of you learn that Holly had um some derogatory words about Alyssa what did
00:29:36
she call her ugly fat a bad mom all things that she wasn't and baby mama is was my sister's contact
00:29:49
name and Holly's phone see baby mama derogatory word that any woman finds despicable but what the heck's all that
00:29:59
jealousy Holly wanted something Alissa had and she didn't says Madison she wanted Willow why was she so obsessed
00:30:08
with Willow that was her life she wanted a a perfect family and that was her way
00:30:14
of getting it Alyssa was going to stand in her way of doing that if it was Friday Hol would have been the more
00:30:21
Andrew talked the clearer Holly's role became says detective chaler what portrait did he paint of
00:30:29
Holly Elkins that she was the one running the show uh that she was telling him what he
00:30:37
was going to do when he was going to do it how he was going to do it remember that drug plant if you were to ask me
00:30:43
whose idea was what drugs and and the planning of drugs was was was Elkins Holly Elkins even tried to get Alyssa's
00:30:51
mom Teresa arrested the incident started when Teresa and Alyssa drove by Holly and and 's home Teresa says Holly and
00:31:00
Andrew had failed to return Willow at the appointed time we see Holly on the golf cart with Willow in her lap coming
00:31:08
towards the end of their driveway and I got out of the car and I grabbed Willow went and got back in the car handed
00:31:15
Willow to Alyssa and sped off Holly immediately called the police who arrived with body cams rolling the
00:31:23
grandmother Holly told them Teresa assaulted her when she grabbed Willow from her lap she literally attacked me
00:31:31
from behind or from behind side I was facing the lake Teresa says she never touched Holly but Holly pulled up her
00:31:38
shirt to show Cops scratches she claimed Teresa had inflicted I have oh you have some in your on your
00:31:48
what did you think of those pictures that they were ridiculous that it was so apparent that she had done
00:31:54
that to herself how would they even think someone else did that to her because they're going downwards like
00:32:01
your own hand did it the police agreed concluding the injuries looked like they were
00:32:08
self-inflicted but it only made things more dangerous for Alyssa says detective chalier the things that they were doing
00:32:16
to try to get custody of Willow wasn't working at that point and I think that they decided we we got to up the game
00:32:23
and uh up in the game meant getting rid of of Alysa how began playing her game of cat and mouse it was made very clear
00:32:33
to me that your previous methods aren't working this is what you're going to do now in order to prove that um that that
00:32:41
that you're basically you're worthy worthy of being a man who deserved her love Holly Elkins writes to Andrew I
00:32:50
don't want anyone who is a to some low life or a pushover I want a man who protects his women and child before
00:32:57
anyone and doesn't give two FS otherwise your comment just straightforward manipulation she was
00:33:05
going to make him do what she felt needed to be done no matter what and Andrew told investigators it worked like
00:33:14
I was emotionally drained and at that point I just basically said okay and became submissive to whatever she wanted
00:33:22
me to do that's the task I did a week and a half before the murder Holly left for Mexico but didn't let up on Andrew
00:33:32
here's a text this is one week before the murders this is September 25th 2020 Holly Elkins writes I hope you handle it
00:33:42
I'm not coming home to BS Andrew beard says that's my goal to that Holly texted back well it will be a whole different
00:33:53
conversation if I feel like you are ride or die if not then I don't know what is she
00:34:01
saying to him to me it means that you're either with me or you're not with me uh
00:34:05
you're either going to ride with me and die with me or you're not going to be with me at all after he killed Alysa
00:34:11
Andrew told investigators Holly begged for details about the crime her request was that he described uh the murder to
00:34:20
her while they were in bed together it's one of the most aggrading things I've ever heard in May of 2023 Andrew beard
00:34:27
was sent sentenced to 43 years in federal prison investigators believe Holly Elkins thought the case was over I
00:34:36
think she believed that the further she got away from this the less involved she
00:34:39
was going to be but it didn't work out for [Music] her these are the photos of the grave we
00:34:59
always decorated for every holiday in July of 2023 Valentine's Day and then Christmas almost 3 years after Alyssa's
00:35:09
death happy Mother's Day Holly Elkins was arrested by federal agents at the Miami Airport as she was returning from
00:35:17
a trip to the Dominican Republic the lanterns that was I think one of my favorite things that we did an Arrest A
00:35:26
Long Time Coming for Alyssa's family what is that balloon I thought we were never going to see that happen I felt
00:35:36
relief Holly who pleaded not guilty was charged with conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a dangerous weapon
00:35:44
resulting in death the FBI had built a compelling case against her says detective chaler Holly's phone really
00:35:53
had a lot of stuff on it searching for tracking devices there were indications that they were together whenever the
00:36:01
ammunition and the knife were purchased and they also tied Holly to the makeup Andrew used to disguise himself as a
00:36:09
black man it was um you're going to dress dress up as a as a different person essentially you're going to wear
00:36:17
this dark makeup that was her plan that was how it's going to be done while Andrew seems harmless in this video
00:36:25
never forget that he was was the one who chased Alyssa down like a hunter tracking a wounded animal he furiously
00:36:35
stabbed her with a brutality these detectives had never seen Andrew ends up saying about why he
00:36:43
came back to finish her what did he say his statement to US during the interview
00:36:49
with agent Hansen was that he did it out of Mercy that he knew that she was still
00:36:55
alive and he was somehow doing her favor by by killing her Andrew may have committed the murder
00:37:02
alone but according to the US attorney's office he didn't plan it alone in April
00:37:09
2024 hully Elkins went on trial as a co-conspirator in the courtroom where no cameras were permitted one of the
00:37:18
prosecutors put it like this says detective Harding Andrew beard is a monster but he was Holly Oak's monster I
00:37:28
don't want or need a lawyer because I don't have anything to hide us attorneys painted a picture of a woman who would
00:37:34
stop at nothing to get what she wanted well I feel like the dumbest most manipulated woman on the entire planet
00:37:41
if this is true yes and what she wanted was a little girl named Willow and do you believe Holly Elkins was a puppet
00:37:51
master in all of this 100% I do she orchestrated this whole thing I think Holly is
00:38:00
wicked I think she's wicked to the core that she would ever want this to happen to another woman to a mother to a mother
00:38:08
of the child that she had come to love what if these two had never come together Holly and Andrew would Andrew
00:38:16
have committed this murder I I don't think they would have I don't want 100% believe that if Holly and Andrew had
00:38:25
never met that Alyssa briette would be alive today after a one-week trial the case
00:38:32
went to the jury the jury takes just 90 minutes to deliberate when they come back to that courtroom what is the
00:38:40
verdict guilty Holly was found guilty and sentenced to two life terms much longer
00:38:49
than Andrew for Alyssa's family the verdict was a Bittersweet Victory I was thrilled but heart heart broken at the
00:38:58
same time I'm so happy that Alissa is getting the Justice she deserved but at that
00:39:04
point it's over our fight is over two families are left to Grapple with the wreckage Holly Elkin and Andrew
00:39:12
beard Left Behind lazette Bowers will forever be known as the mother of a murderer he
00:39:22
killed someone and that is beyond awful it's the worst thing anyone can do but that's
00:39:29
not who I love and Teresa and Madison must try to make sense of a world without Alyssa in
00:39:38
it we don't get to live the normal life anymore it was always me and her my best
00:39:45
friend like that was my person and only getting to be with her for 20 years that's not just not
00:39:53
fair after the trial Teresa was allowed to take a things out of her car it was pretty
00:40:00
emotional for all of us actually this was the mirror that she used so she could see Willow from the driver's
00:40:09
seat you know just knowing that was the last place she was sitting when it happened I want mama Willow who was with
00:40:21
Teresa had never cried over her mother until that day she was crying asking me if I could please bring her mom back
00:40:31
just so she could see her one more time and I tried to explain to her that she's
00:40:36
in heaven and then she asked me if she had a phone number in heaven one day Willow will learn the
00:40:46
whole story of what happened to her mother do you know what this is Will Tree yeah and when that time comes her hopes
00:40:57
Willow will see the beauty in Alyssa's life not the tragedy of her death I hope that one day she grows up and she feels
00:41:08
the love that her mom sincerely had for [Music] her you've probably heard of the NCIS
00:41:24
from the hit TV series but we're about to take you inside its real life work listen to 48 Hours NCIS early and AD
00:41:33
free on the 48 Hours Plus subscription on Apple podcast as a kid growing up in Chicago
00:41:39
there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch it was called Candyman but did you know that the movie Candyman
00:41:45
was partly inspired by an actual murder listen to Candyman the true story behind
00:41:50
the bathroom mirror murder wherever you get your podcast [Music] welcome back to postmortem I'm your host
00:42:05
anarie green and today we are discussing the case of Alysa burette who in 2020 was brutally murdered by Andrew beard
00:42:16
her ex-boyfriend and also the father of her young daughter nearly 3 years after Alyssa's death Andrew's fiance Holly
00:42:24
Elkins was arrested in connection with the murder so joining me now to unpack all the twists and turns of this case
00:42:30
our 48 Hours correspondent Peter vancan producer Liza Finley and Gabby demerin thank you so much guys thanks anarie
00:42:38
thanks anarie great to be here again anarie okay as per usual everyone remember if you haven't listened to the
00:42:44
48 Hours episode yet you can find the full audio just below this episode in your podcast feed go take a listen and
00:42:52
then come back for this conversation so here we go Alysa brette was murdered in broad daylight outside of her workplace
00:43:02
in Carolton Texas this is just North of Dallas they were Witnesses and even though Andrew beard wore a disguise he
00:43:09
was really quickly identified as a suspect and surrendered to authorities just three days later but what I was
00:43:15
really surprised by is he he picks such a public place to attack her do you have
00:43:21
any insight into why he would do it there in broad daylight well first off it's absolute Madness that he did it
00:43:28
where he did it and his own mother even said this was stupid she wasn't involved
00:43:32
in in in the murder of course but to to have all those eyeballs there where he was spotted his getaway vehicle was
00:43:39
spotted how he killed her was seen But authorities think it's all part of this enormous psychological pressure he was
00:43:46
under from Holly that he had to act that's the power that she had over him that he would have done something this
00:43:54
stupid which uh put authorities WR on top of him so quickly and by the way quick side um I used to live in Carolton
00:44:01
Texas when I was a reporter in Dallas and about a mile and a half from this site so it's really something Carolton
00:44:08
is a great town and I love living there and this is an extraordinary case for uh
00:44:12
for those folks it was unbelievable I mean just to go back to how stupid it was for instance they made up this
00:44:19
decision to have him appear he's a white man as a an African-American man so they
00:44:25
got this makeup you know sort of the Java makeup and he put this on like like it was ridiculous and then he put on a
00:44:35
fake beard that was a Halloween costume and he expected people to to think that he was an African-American man and a lot
00:44:42
of the witness has said you know something about him I don't think he was really yeah yeah yeah and he he wasn't
00:44:50
fooling anybody it was ludicrous and you do wonder I mean one of the things we think about all the time it's like how
00:44:58
did he think that he was going to get away with this there's no way I mean he had a history with this woman of of
00:45:06
tormenting her and stalking her and here he is in the 9 o00 in the morning doing
00:45:12
this Savage murder M you know the thing about Andrew is that he was really willing to talk pretty openly with the
00:45:20
FBI almost right away did you all reach out to him yes so I had originally um sent him an email
00:45:27
he's in prison but there is a system where you can contact incarcerated people through and that's how I was able
00:45:33
to get my message to him and so I'd sent him an email and I said hey would you be
00:45:37
willing to speak with me over the phone and he was he was very polite answered all of my questions and he was very
00:45:44
willing to help and he wanted to do an interview on camera and he was trying to facilitate this with the prison
00:45:51
ultimately they didn't let us in there wow but he wanted to talk on camera he was ready did he Express regret
00:45:57
not to me and I always find some people they just want to talk cuz they also realize
00:46:04
we're the last gasp of the real world from the horrible confinement in prison and and we're a relief to them they
00:46:13
sometimes seize on that and they want to talk to us because after that it's just
00:46:17
bars horrible food violence isolation shame makes a lot of sense yeah of course part of the reason that he was a
00:46:26
suspect sort of early on is because Alyssa and beard had had this contentious uh relationship this custody
00:46:34
battle over their daughter Willow uh but when beard started dating Holly Elkins Alyssa was actually hopeful that maybe
00:46:43
this new woman would create sort of a new more positive environment that all three of them could maybe work together
00:46:50
to support Willow and there were a series of text messages that we actually did see in the hour between Melissa and
00:46:57
Elkins from this period and they seem quite amicable and then something changed drastically between the two of
00:47:04
them do we know why Holly Elkins was just acting and she says they met for the first time they all had a meal
00:47:12
together and they were very friendly and she wrote texts to Alyssa that said um I
00:47:17
really want a super healthy relationship and Alyssa's like yes thank goodness and
00:47:23
her mother was happy and her sister was happy and finally you know somebody that's
00:47:29
going to be able to calm Andrew down but behind the scenes let me tell you behind
00:47:36
the scenes she was up to no good talk about you know sort of a two-faced personality Alyssa had no idea she had
00:47:43
these evil designs to eliminate her and become Willow's mother we have some other texts that didn't make it into the
00:47:51
show and this is an exchange about what Andrew was going through with Holly how she put pressure on him and the murder
00:47:59
took place in October of 2020 this is in June and Holly is texting Andrew and she
00:48:06
says some nasty things about Alyssa she refers to her as BM which is a baby mama
00:48:13
here's some of that exchange Holly writes outside of not wanting some garbage mom pathetic hookup in my life
00:48:21
if I raise Willow with you and we don't work out I lose a child do you get that she's talking now to Andrew the man
00:48:30
she's manipulating to do this this this killing Andrew said I do it would be unbearable you know he was just so
00:48:38
submissive to her right then Holly writes if those things were important to you you would have brought them up to
00:48:44
baby mama on your own Andrew and Andrew writes back in his submissive style I love how serious you were taking it and
00:48:53
was just so wrapped up in how great it's been I didn't give you any acknowledgment of that and Holly writes
00:49:00
back but you chose to be IDK I don't know for lack of a better term submissive to her like let me deal with
00:49:10
some crazy ass courts baby mama situation for the rest of my life to raise Willow who I have no right to and
00:49:18
I lose if anything goes sideways this was part of her badgering of Andrew you're not a man unless you you do this
00:49:27
you are to stand up and defend me these are my desires my wants and he is very submissive oh you know what what's sort
00:49:34
of interesting is we spoke to Holly's best friend growing up and in high school and this is exactly how she
00:49:41
treated boys growing up she was The Catch of the Day you know everybody wanted Holly all the guys she had the
00:49:49
fanciest clothes and the nicest pocketbooks and she wound them around her little finger and got them to do
00:49:55
things for her like pick her up at midnight and take her to get a a hamburger yeah she really she had it
00:50:02
down Gabby in your like correspondence with Andrew beard did he talk about how he felt about Elkins no really but he
00:50:09
would refer to her as Elkins and I thought that that was interesting and he does that in his interview with the FBI
00:50:15
and he refers to Alyssa as brette as well which I thought is kind of cold yeah yeah that's a little odd we saw in
00:50:22
the hour that they had done this whole fake drug bus to try and get Alysa I don't arrested maybe she would lose
00:50:30
custody but that wasn't the only thing they tried Andrew beard said Holly was behind a lot of these schemes she called
00:50:37
911 claiming to be a woman named Amber for instance and uh she wanted to report that there's a car that matched alysa's
00:50:47
car with the same license plate driving recklessly F drunk um and she was afraid
00:50:55
Holly was afraid and they went and checked it out and they didn't find any evidence that
00:51:02
Alissa was even on the road that night and remember they had put a tracker on her car we talked about this where she'd
00:51:07
be out at a club and Andrew would walk in it was like how how did he know I was here she had no idea that this
00:51:16
incredible plot was unfolding where she was the Target and it was escalating so I have to admit uh Elkin's interview
00:51:26
video that we saw I fell for it she looked truly distressed she voluntarily speaks to police she tells them that she
00:51:36
knows nothing about Alyssa's murder um some of the interview was in the hour but we're going to actually play a clip
00:51:42
that was not included in the hour like I know what it's like to lose a mom anybody losing a mom is not okay with me
00:51:49
by any means and I don't care if I if I liked her disliked her or thought anything about her because that is not
00:51:55
okay I didn't always have the best relation ship with my mom either but losing a mom is not okay so one of the
00:52:00
things I thought was interesting about what she says is I know what it's like to lose a mother I would never do
00:52:06
anything like that did she lose her mother yes so about two months before she met Andrew beard she lost her mother
00:52:13
to Suicide it's very clear in this interview she's trying to play on the sympathies of these cops she wants them
00:52:19
to feel badly for her and um knowing what we know now it's honestly crazy that she had come up with a plan to kill
00:52:27
Willow's mother a baby that she'd come to love so much knowing that she had also lost her mother so recently she was
00:52:33
masterful in that I thought the the acting performance right she could be nominated for an Oscar absolutely
00:52:40
convincing one things the the cops told us that she always thought she was the smartest person in the room she thought
00:52:46
she could out would smart everybody welcome back everyone so Elkins was actually arrested nearly 3 years after
00:53:02
Alyssa's murder what was she doing during that time so we don't know much but according to court documents uh we
00:53:09
learned that she had gotten married in February 2023 we don't know to who but she had also made 12 trips to the
00:53:17
Dominican Republic so she was keeping busy she's live in large Andrew was in the rearview mirror Left Behind to to
00:53:25
deal with this situation she had helped create for him and she was obviously not
00:53:30
afraid of getting caught I mean this was an opportunity for her to go disappear somewhere in remote region of the world
00:53:37
and get away with murder but I guess she didn't think she had anything to fear so
00:53:42
what evidence did the FBI uncover that really pointed to elen's involvement in Alyssa's murder because as you point out
00:53:49
Liza she was probably feeling like well I didn't do it I don't know maybe she was thinking it's not illegal to bring
00:53:55
up an idea right right well they had all these very damning texts but they also had some
00:54:01
real evidence that really put her smack in the middle of the plot they found that she had uh bought that makeup that
00:54:09
dark makeup that and ordered him according to his FBI interview to wear it and to to be this Persona she was
00:54:17
there when they bought the the knife when they bought the ammunition I mean really tangible stuff you know 48 hours
00:54:26
viewers know this every modern car has a GPS tracker authorities can see where you went on particular days and if your
00:54:33
car went to a Walmart parking lot they can then check that day on the cameras if you use your credit card anywhere
00:54:39
they're going to find that purchase and so they are able to trip them up on all of these things and another thing is
00:54:46
that there was evidence that Holly was with Andrew when he placed the GPS tracker on Alissa's car in June of 2020
00:54:54
interesting and there was one search on her phone that said creepy stalking music and another search something to
00:55:03
the effect of is it legal to track somebody after the murder she did some searches and she wrote can I not be
00:55:10
brought into court if I have a psychiatrist note she also wrote um vulnerable patients going to court she's
00:55:17
looking into apparently mental illness then she also wrote contact psychiatrist in Dallas suggesting she was mentally
00:55:26
troubled with a bunch of question marks what was that about prosecutors thought that Holly was trying to create a
00:55:33
narrative about herself potentially for her own defense so she was thinking of a
00:55:39
way that she might be able to I'm guessing put the blame on Andrew that I'm I was
00:55:45
mentally uh damaged or mentally ill at the time and he manipulated me right that's just a theory I have no idea but
00:55:54
that's a theory and also what's so weird is is that if it was so obvious that Andrew did this and he was going to get
00:56:02
caught for doing it she would never get Willow and she knew that so really what what was the game what was
00:56:10
it so the 48 iish team was actually in the court room for elen's trial this this is April of 2024 what was it like
00:56:19
in the courtroom so it was very sad um Andrew had pleed so he never got to go to trial so this is the first an only
00:56:26
trial that Alyssa's family was ever going to attend and it was almost four years later after the murder so they
00:56:34
have to relive this whole thing with the anticipation leading up to it the prosecution played Holly's interview in
00:56:41
court as well and you know it's very evident in some places where she's just overacting and lying and you know
00:56:50
knowing what we knew sitting in the courtroom it was very intense being in there so so you in the courtroom and
00:56:58
you're hearing all this evidence crazy evidence about the makeup what did you learn so her defense put on a makeup
00:57:04
artist as their expert and they used um the same bottle of makeup that was found
00:57:11
in Andrew Beard's car that investigators say he used to cover his face uh the morning of the murder they took that
00:57:18
bottle of makeup and they essentially did a makeover on Holly Elkins in front of the jury a demonstration to show that
00:57:26
this makeup could be used to Contour her face it took about 20 minutes the jury is looking at each other like what is
00:57:35
going on everybody in the room is like are they really just like giving Holly alkins a makeover at her own trial and
00:57:42
the judge says something to the effect of like I've been a judge for a very long time this is definitely a first
00:57:48
what was her demeanor like in the court room she very rarely throughout this 7-Day trial looked back into the gallery
00:57:55
to see every body do you know if there was anyone there on her behalf there was a couple there I didn't know if they
00:58:02
were related to her but um like we said she lost her mother and her dad did show
00:58:08
up the very last day I believe wow yeah um Andrew's mom also attended Holly's trial and she was sitting in the same
00:58:16
section with the victim's family and the judge actually ordered her to sit on the
00:58:23
opposite end away from Alyssa's family and Lizette Andrew's mom said to the judge well I'm not here in favor of the
00:58:30
defense making it very clear what her position was yeah this is something that I think was kind of unique Andrew's
00:58:37
mother was not defending her son I mean she acknowledged that he did this horrible thing she is heartbroken about
00:58:46
it was it difficult to convince her to talk Lizette did she want to talk she wanted to talk she needed to talk
00:58:54
sitting across from her this was a very cathartic moment for her she did want to
00:58:59
communicate that my son had been a normal boy he had dreams and I loved him and I never saw this kind of behavior
00:59:07
before and people think too well a personality like Andrew must have come from a bad seed somehow I think she also
00:59:16
wanted the world to know I'm a normal person which makes us ever more Haunting of how this can happen and looking in
00:59:24
the depths of the human psyche how her son could go from this terrific young man to a killer and she just wanted to
00:59:32
talk about it I mean she feels very tainted you know she feels that uh people look at her with disgust and
00:59:43
blame her and uh she wanted us to know that she was a loving mother who had raised a good son in her
00:59:51
mind we meet a lot of families of people who commit murder very rarely do they admit that their loved one actually did
01:00:02
it and take responsibility and feel terrible and most of them they just can't go there they just can't and she
01:00:10
did you know I I admire that I wondered also about did she talk about her relationship with Holly Elkins um
01:00:20
because I thought it was interesting that little part part of the interview where she's talking about how close they
01:00:24
are and she says we vowed that we would never go any place without each other and that actually made me think like but
01:00:32
that's not normal like that's a different kind of attachment you know well they bonded over their belief or
01:00:39
Lizette thought that that uh Holly believed it as well that that Andrew was innocent so they had some they had a
01:00:47
really you know they had a Cause right us against the world yeah lazette you almost felt like she'd gone back in time
01:00:55
and she was the same age like they were dear friends and that was a fascinating Dynamic but it's part of Holly's ability
01:01:02
to manipulate for lazette she felt as though Holly was a member of the family and she came to love her then Holly
01:01:10
abandons Andrew and Vette never hears from her again right the minute he gets out on bond she just disappears The
01:01:18
Charge I thought was interesting because Elkin is ultimately found guilty of conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a
01:01:24
dangerous weapon resulting in death but then she gets two life sentences it just
01:01:29
didn't seem like those charges would result in such a heavy penalty most murder cases are handled on the state
01:01:36
and county level on the federal side they do have a murder charge but it's rarely used they use these other charges
01:01:44
that sound convoluted but they still pack a wallup in terms of uh a sentence and you can be sentenced to Life as a
01:01:53
result of that charge and she got two life sentences I know what about Willow how is she doing Willow is 5 years old
01:02:02
now and Alyssa's Mother Teresa said she's a very loved little girl um it's very clear that they've made a lovely
01:02:10
home for her she has this beautiful princess bedroom all pink and I think you know now that she's growing up
01:02:19
Teresa is worried about how she's going to have to explain what happened to Alyssa to her remember Willow asks her
01:02:28
grandmother does mama have a cell phone in heaven can I call her yes it's heartbreaking I can't imagine ran who
01:02:35
can imagine that uh I have to say Alyssa's mom though is is just the most loving person and so she'll be
01:02:43
surrounded in that and hopefully she can come through the other side of This Disaster well it sounds like she has an
01:02:49
incredible support system um but this is you know this is something that will hang over her for for the rest of her
01:02:55
life it was a really fascinating hour an incredible twist at the end Peter Liza Gabby thank you so much for joining us
01:03:02
today thank you for having us thanks for having us Amar another fascinating talk
01:03:06
thanks so much if you like this series postmortem please rate and review 48 Hours on Apple
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01:03:20
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01:03:29
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