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Coley McCraney was convicted of the brutal slaying of two teenage girls that occurred back in 1999 in southeast Alabama. The court proceedings came to a close when Circuit Judge William Filmore officially sentenced McCraney to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 

The jury's decision from April was binding, as Alabama law mandates judges to honor the jury's determinations in capital cases.

In July 1999, Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, both 17 years old, vanished on the way to a party in southeastern Alabama. They never returned home.

The following day, their lifeless bodies were discovered in the trunk of Beasley's black Mazda along a road in Ozark, a small city, 90 miles southeast of Montgomery.

 Each victim had been shot in the head.

DNA identifies Coley McCraney

The families of Hawlett and Beasley have been desperately seeking justice for over two decades.  Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who prosecuted the case, acknowledged that "While we cannot bring back their loved ones, we hope today's sentencing will bring them some level of closure."

The case remained unsolved for nearly 20 years until McCraney's arrest in 2019.

Ozark police, collaborating with Parabon NanoLabs. It specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. This cutting-edge technique uses an unidentified person's DNA to trace their identity by exploring a network of relatives.

It has gained attention in various high-profile cases, including the Golden State Killer and the investigation into the murder of four Idaho college students.

After identifying an extended family member, authorities obtained a DNA sample from McCraney, a truck driver and preacher with no previous criminal record. 

The sample was found to be a match with the DNA recovered from the crime scene, providing pivotal evidence for the prosecution. McCraney maintained his innocence. And claims he had consensual sex with Beasley but didn’t murder the girls.

During the sentencing, Coley McCraney displayed no visible emotion as he stood before the judge.

His defense attorneys announced they would seek a new trial based on allegations of juror misconduct. Defense attorney David Harrison claimed that some jurors had engaged in unauthorized online research and accessed social media platforms pertaining to the case.