Person In “SWAT” Gear Beats Woman To Death In Church

Terri Leann “Missy” Strickland was born on August 9, 1970, and grew up in Jacksboro, Texas. She attended Tarleton State University in Stephensville, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1995. Upon graduating, she worked in retail.

In 1998 she married Brandon Bevers and the two moved to Red Oak, in Ellis County. Missy then returned to school to earn a certificate in Special Education.

In 2001, the couple had their first baby, Hannah, and Missy became a stay at home mom. Two more girls followed: Allie in 2003 and Sarah in 2007.

In the meantime, Missy had developed a passion for fitness and wanted to help others achieve a healthier lifestyle. The 45-year-old became a fitness instructor and joined Camp Gladiator — a fitness movement providing classes instructed by certified teachers in churches, parking lots, and football fields.

Moreover, Missy taught her own class at Creekside Church of Christ in Midlothian.

“If it’s raining, we’re still training” is what Missy wrote of Facebook the day before one of her 5 AM classes. They normally took place on the church’s parking lot. However, on April 18, 2016, rain forced Missy to send out a message to her students changing the class to inside the church instead.

Missy arrived at the church at 4:20 AM to get everything prepared for her class. However, 30 minutes earlier, her killer had already broken in.

Video surveillance cameras show a person dressed in fake SWAT gear break into the church by using a pry bar to smash a window and open a side door.

The gear, which included a helmet, made it impossible to see any of their features. As a result, the person remains a mystery — they are 5'2 to 5'7, either male or female.

Interestingly, the unknown person has a characteristic walk and authorities believe they might have an injury to their right leg or foot. The killer wanders through the halls, breaking the occasional window, opening doors, and doing so in no hurry.

At 5:06 AM, one of Missy’s students frantically called the police, saying that Missy had perforation wounds on her head and chest.

Missy had been bludgeoned to death.

At first, it was believed to be a burglary. However, after further inspection, nothing was missing from the church.

A couple of hours before Missy was killed, a light-colored Nissan Altima was seen by security cameras parked in the SFWA Outdoors’ parking lot, on the other side of the highway.

They stayed there for six minutes and oddly turned their headlights on and off various times. Although it has been speculated that whoever was in this car was an accomplice, authorities do not believe they are involved — nevertheless, they would like to speak to the driver.

Given that Missy was part of Camp Gladiator, she had a large social media following. According to her friends, Missy had hundreds of Facebook friends and her posts were public. As a result, it is possible that she has a stalker. Moreover, it is speculated that she even met the killer at one of the many fitness events Missy attended.

Just three days before her death, Missy showed her friend a few creepy and strange messages sent to her on LinkedIn. The women did not know who the man was.

Furthermore, flirtatious and familiar messages were found on her LinkedIn and on her phone.

Reportedly, both Brandon and Missy were unfaithful, leading to theories that Brandon was involved in her death. Not only would her husband know where exactly Missy would be, but people suspect that he was angry at her potential unfaithfulness.

It has also been pointed out that Bradon’s father, Randy, has a similar gait to the mysterious killer.

Nevertheless, police are adamant that the Bevers family is not involved. Besides, Randy was traveling in California, while Brandon was fishing in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Interestingly, some people seem to lean towards the idea that the SWAT person was a pregnant woman. Some think that there is some sort of filling in the abdominal area — perhaps just protection against a strong woman like Missy or a baby bump.

Moreover, others believe it is a woman who might be married to the man that Missy was talking to.

Sadly, it has been over two years and the killer is still on the loose. Missy left behind many friends, family, and her three young daughters.