After Alyssa Burkett is murdered, detectives quickly learn that the prime suspect is her child’s father, Andrew Beard. But as they investigate, they will learn that Beard is not the only one involved in the murder plan.
Look inside the investigation.
2 October 2020 | at 9 in the morning
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24 years Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking lot at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through the car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gunfire, got out of the car and tried to get help. His bloody hand was written on the office window.
The attacker saw Burkett running and chased after him. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in a black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave the detective a name: Andrew Beard. Beard is the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old daughter, Willow.
2 October 2020 | at 12 midnight
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, a police officer stopped Beard in a white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancee, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t go home. Officers also seized the pickup truck.
2 October 2020 | at 9 p.m
Carrollton Police Department
That night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging station that matched the tracking device detectives found in Burkett’s car that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also found what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
3 October 2020 | at 12 midnight
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found the backpack. Inside, they found two bottles of dark chocolate makeup, and men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and soaked in bleach.
October 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police found a black Ford SUV that the attacker had driven to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s home.
Carrollton Police Station
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
October 5, 2020
Carrollton Police Station
When Beard learned there was an arrest warrant, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
October 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancee, Holly Elkins, volunteered to go talk to detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrollton Police Station
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger boyfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard had left the house that morning.
6 October 2020 | 1:30 p.m
Carrollton Police Department
After the interview, investigators say Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can’t I be taken to court if I have a psychiatrist’s note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“psychiatrist contact in Dallas”
“Can’t I go to jail if I have a mental problem?”
29 October 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before being released on bail. Det. Carrollton police officer Jeremy Chevallier said he was concerned for baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearms laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during a search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take over the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he got out, Beard was arrested again and eventually charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon causing death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon causing death.
FBI
A month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And they’ve talked a lot about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It’s… ‘this is how you’re going to do this,’ it’s, ‘… you’re going to wear this dark makeup…’ That’s her plan… that’s how it’s going to end,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigatorsfound an internet search and Walgreens receipts that linked him to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard a week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you get over it, I’m not going home to b**s***”
Elkins is charged with three counts: conspiracy to stalk, stalking with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and death and possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
9 – 16 April 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to a jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour and a half before finding Elkins guilty on all counts. On August 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
