Man charged with killing wife in 1990 cleared hours before his trial after his friend 'confesses'

Prosecutors say Alabama man Jeff Beasley admitted to killing Tracy Harris

Alex Woodward
New York
Tuesday 14 January 2020 18:36 GMT
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Jeff Beasley is in custody after being charged with the 1990 killing of a woman in Ozark, Alabama.
Jeff Beasley is in custody after being charged with the 1990 killing of a woman in Ozark, Alabama.

Carl Harris Jr was about to be tried for murder for allegedly killing his wife 30 years ago in Alabama, marking the closure of a cold case that was revived in 2016.

Instead, prosecutors announced during a dramatic courtroom appearance that charges against the 55-year-old man had been dropped.

Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams announced that Ozark police had arrested a new suspect, 54-year-old Jeff Beasley, for the death of Tracy Harris, who disappeared from her home on 7 March 1990 and was discovered a week later in the Choctawhatchee River.

An autopsy report showed that she was probably strangled before she died from drowning.

The Dale County District Attorney's office said Mr Beasley had admitted killing her.

He has now been charged with murder and is being held on a $150,000 bond after being booked into Dale County jail on Monday, according to the Dale County Sheriff's Office. He has not yet entered a plea.

During the cold case investigation, Mr Adams said one of his aides noticed "very important information regarding a witness" who was last interviewed in 1990. The witness — Mr Beasley's ex-wife — connected investigators to Mr Beasley, reportedly a friend of Carl and Tracy Harris at the time of her death.

During an interview, Mr Beasley admitted to the murder, according to the district attorney's office.

Ozark Police Department Chief Marlos Walker said Mr Beasley was living in Ozark at the time of the murder, and he was still living in Ozark when he was arrested, according to the Dothan Eagle.

Police arrested Mr Harris in 2016 while he was living in South Carolina. His defence attorney filed a motion last week disputing Ozark police and revealing Mr Beasley's confession.

Defence attorney David Harrison said: "I do thank the district attorney's office for looking into the witness and dropping the charges against my client, but no one has apologised to my client for what he has gone through since his arrest."

Mr Beasly had previously pleaded guilty to burglary in 1991 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, though it's unclear how much time he served.

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