Alabama trucker, part-time preacher goes on trial in February for killings of teen girls in 1999
Published 12:25 pm Friday, October 4, 2019
A judge has scheduled a February trial date for an Alabama trucker and part-time preacher charged with murder in the shooting deaths of two teenage girls two decades ago.
The Dothan Eagle reports that a Dale County judge has set Feb. 3 as the opening day of Coley McCraney’s trial on capital murder charges.
McCraney was arrested in March for the shooting deaths of two 17-year-olds, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett. Their bodies were found in the trunk of a car in 1999.
Police say they identified McCraney as a suspect after using genetic genealogy techniques on crime scene DNA. They say subsequent testing indicated McCraney’s DNA was a match.
McCraney’s wife and his attorneys say he is innocent.
A hearing is set for Monday in the case.