The Plot to Kill Alyssa Burkett
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What was lost when Alyssa Burkett was taken?
What was lost when Alyssa was taken? What was lost with her murder?
My daughter, Willow's mother, everything.
How do you keep Alyssa alive for her daughter, Willow?
Show her pictures. This is your mom. This is your mom. Every Mother's Day, we visit the grave, we take flowers, we take cards. You know, we talk about her all the time. What does this say? Mother of Willow Ann. I hope that when she learns what happened, she doesn't let it tear her apart. October 2nd, 2020.
Any crime scene is going to be inside that tape? It's inside that tape.
All right. I remember my phone was continuously ringing, ringing. And I finally answer it because it's my supervisor, and she's frantic, and she's telling me, you've got to get to Green Tree Apartments.
I heard that pop, and I turned around, I knew it was a gunshot.
And she says, something has happened to Alyssa. What? What happened to her?
We're going to start having family members show up here.
I pull up, police, fire trucks, ambulance, everywhere.
How do you keep Alyssa alive for her daughter, Willow?
She got shot in the car. OK. She can see her handprints.
Who are you?
I'm Detective Harding.
I remember asking that officer. I said, she didn't make it, did she? And he said, no, she 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 knew immediately it was Andrew Beard. I knew that the only person I could think that would want her dead was 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 did. Oh, my God.
It was one of the most brutal scenes that I've been to in 32 years law enforcement. You could see the rage.
Don't touch anything, OK?
What does it tell you when it's this vicious about the killer?
It's personal. She apparently has had a history with baby daddy.
Within an hour of getting to the crime scene, we knew that we needed to look for Andrew Beard. Andrew Beard is the suspect?
Yes.
He could not get away with this. He could not get away with this.
At first, this seemed like an open and shut case. But as it turned out, Andrew Beard was only half the story.
In the months after Alyssa Burkett was murdered, she appeared to her mother, Teresa Collard, in a dream.
I see her across the room and in my dream, I knew she was gone. But I was hysterically happy that I was seeing her and I was thinking, you're back. She came to me and said, no, I'm not back and I don't want to come back and I never want to be there again. I was puzzled. Why don't you want to come back? And she said, because I was always afraid there.
Although 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett had been afraid for months, the attack at this apartment complex where she worked in Carrollton, Texas, north of Dallas, came as a surprise. So when you arrive here, what do you see? According to one of the lead detectives, Michael Harding, Alyssa pulled into her usual parking space at around 9 a.m.
Alyssa's car was actually parked right here where this green van is, right here. And the assailant's vehicle had parked right next to her in this spot.
Were you here when everything happened?
What events led to Alyssa's tragic murder?
Yes, I was sitting at my desk.
Witnesses say the assailant exited his vehicle, a black Ford Expedition SUV with a gun in his hand. She had the window up, and he shot right through the window. Maintenance supervisor Darren Eichler, about 15 feet away... It's horrible. ...heard the gun blast and turned around. What do you see?
I see a black SUV starting to back out of the parking spot.
Investigators believe the shooter thought Alyssa was dead. The blast had destroyed her left eye and part of her face. But Alyssa Burkett was still alive.
She gets out of her car and she walks up to this landing to try to get help because she knows her co-workers are here.
The shooter, described by some as a black man, got out of the vehicle and began sprinting toward Alyssa, this time with a new weapon in his hand, something more personal, a large hunting knife.
Did you see him holding the knife? Yeah, in the hand.
After he starts to stab her, she's still fighting. On this window right here, there was a blood handprint smear where Alyssa was trying to get anyone to come out and help her.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What was lost when Alyssa Burkett was taken?
0:12–1:42
2
How do you keep Alyssa alive for her daughter, Willow?
1:42–4:42
3
What events led to Alyssa's tragic murder?
4:42–8:25
4
Who was the main suspect in Alyssa's murder?
8:25–10:37
5
What evidence linked Andrew Beard to the crime?
10:37–15:02
6
How did the police investigate the murder scene?
15:02–16:07
7
What role did Holly Elkins play in the conspiracy?
16:07–16:44
8
What was the outcome of the trial and sentencing?
16:44–41:11