A 36-year-old man will serve more than 40 years in federal prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend to gain custody of their young daughter.
Installing a GPS tracker to pinpoint the location
On October 2, Beard installed a GPS tracker in 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett’s car and followed her in her newly purchased black SUV to the apartment complex where she worked. Prosecutors said Beard disguised himself as he approached Birkett’s car and shot him in the head while he was behind the wheel. He drove off in his car believing her dead. Birkett, badly injured and covered in blood and went to a nearby building and tried to call for help. About three hours later, police found Mr. Beard and stopped him from driving away from his home in a white truck. Investigators recovered three mobile phones including a prepaid cell phone.
Authorities recovered lots of evidence in an abandoned black SUV
Officers found shredded hiking boots soaked in bleach in his car. A battery matching the GPS tracker was also found in Mr. Birkett’s car, as well as “a script that Mr. Beard used to file a false drug allegation against Mr. Birkett over the phone a month ago,” the report said.
The day after Birkett’s death the investigators found a black SUV abandoned near Beard’s home, prosecutors said. They found dried blood and a fake beard on the SUV. The DNA from the blood reportedly matched Burkett’s, and his DNA from the fake beard matched Beard’s.
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