Michael Dale Roberts died on Wednesday at 74 years old. Months earlier, he sat in the front row of court as a man was found guilty in the killings of his daughter Tracie Hawlett, and her friend JB Beasley, who were 17 when they were found dead in 1999.
The father of an Alabama teen who was the victim of a 1999 killing has died just months after his daughter's cold case was finally solved.
Michael Dale Roberts died on Wednesday. He was 74.
Roberts' stepdaughter, Tracie Hawlett, and her friend JB Beasley were both 17 when they disappeared after setting off for a party in southeastern Alabama on July 31, 1999. They became lost, and Hawlett called her mother to say they had gotten directions and were headed home. They never arrived there, either, Inside Edition Digital previously reported.
Their bodies were found the next day in the trunk of Beasley's black Mazda along a road in Ozark, about 90 miles southeast of Montgomery and less than a half-mile from the pay phone Hawlett used to talk to her mother. Both had been shot in the head, authorities said.
The case went cold until 2019, when investigators, inspired by the break in Golden State Killer investigation, used a private genealogy site to test DNA evidence found at the crime scene that linked Coley McCraney to the crime. McCraney, a 45-year-old truck driver with no criminal record, was arrested after genetic testing matched his DNA to evidence collected in 1999 from the car trunk.
"For this community, it's a long time coming," Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker said at a press conference in 2019. "People just have a sigh of relief to know who was responsible for this crime."
Walker grew up in Ozark and knew McCraney and his family, he said. "I was very surprised when I saw the (DNA) results," Walker said. "And everyone I talked to said the same thing. But the DNA doesn't lie."
McCraney was arrested during a traffic stop and later submitted to a DNA swab test, Walker said. That swab matched the genetic material evidence taken from the crime scene, he said.
In April, Hawlett's parents sat on the front row of a Dale County courtroom to witness the trial of McCraney, who was convicted of killing their daughter and Beasley and was sentenced to life in prison.
"We lost two precious girls...who didn't have the opportunity to grow up and experience life," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a press conference after the sentencing.
And less than a year later, Hawlett's stepfather Michael Dale Roberts "passed away peacefully." Roberts raised Hawlett from when she was a child after her biological father died in an accident, according to WTVY.
“Mike’s journey through life was marked by his unwavering kindness, a deep commitment to his family, and a generous spirit that touched everyone he met," his obituary read.
"Mike's legacy is not merely in the things he built with his hands but also in the lives he shaped with his heart. His unwavering support, laughter, and the warmth of his spirit will forever be remembered by his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing him," it continued.
He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Carol Roberts, their sons Ben and Chris, their grandchildren and his brother. "Although his daughter, Tracie Hawlett, predeceased him, her memory remained a cherished part of his life," his obituary read.
