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| 1986 Beard, Rebecca, March 1, 1986 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 6 2006, 10:04 PM (790 Views) | |
| PorchlightUSA | Jul 6 2006, 10:04 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/beard_rebecca.html![]() Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: FRI 02/10/1995 Section: A Page: 26 Edition: 2 STAR Brazoria County authorities search unsuccessfully for body By RUTH RENDON Staff ANGLETON -- Almost nine years after a young Freeport mother was murdered, Brazoria County authorities Thursday searched -- unsuccessfully -- for her body. Rebecca G. Beard, 22, was reported missing by her family in 1986, but it was eight years before murder charges were filed against Paul Gayland Taylor in the case. Prosecutor Tom Selleck said Thursday that Taylor was an early suspect, but, without a body or witnesses, police lacked proof of a murder. The decision to press the charges came after the former Clute resident -- while in prison for an unrelated conviction -- bragged about the killing, the prosecutor said. Selleck was set to go ahead with a murder trial before state District Judge J. Ray Gayle III Wednesday, when a plea bargain that prosecutors hoped would lead to the body was reached. Taylor, 38, pleaded guilty to murder and solicitation of capital murder and agreed to tell authorities where he left the body. "We cut a deal with him. The deal is as unusual as the case itself," said Selleck. "We had two cases, solicitation of capital murder and murder. We agreed this week, to give him life for murder and 25 years for solicitation to run concurrent, if he would produce the body." Taylor agreed to the bargain in attempt to avoid a longer prison term, said District Attorney Jerome Aldrich. Taylor led law officers to a rice field where he said he buried his victim. Authorities searched the field, but no body was recovered Thursday. |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 7 2007, 01:19 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/beard_rebecca.html Rebecca Jean Beard Above: Beard, circa 1986 Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance Missing Since: March 1, 1986 from Freeport, Texas Classification: Endangered Missing Date Of Birth: February 15, 1964 Age: 22 years old Height and Weight: 5'5, 120 pounds Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Beard has a scar on the side of her face. Her ears are pierced. Beard's nickname is Becky and she may use the last name Lemke. Some agencies refer to her as "Rebecca G. Beard." Clothing/Jewelry Description: A long white silk blouse with a red triangle imprinted on it, blue stirrup pants and spike heels. Details of Disappearance Beard was last seen leaving the Excaliber Club, a nightclub in Freeport, Texas, on March 1, 1986. She carrying a small yellow purse when she went missing. Beard has never been seen again. She was employed at a car dealership at the time of her disappearance. She left behind a young daughter. In 1995, Paul Gayland Taylor Jr. pleaded guilty to Beard's murder and lead authorities to a rice field in Brazoria County, south of Angleton, Texas. He said he had buried her body in a shallow grave there, but a search of the field turned up no evidence. Taylor was a suspect in Beard's case from the beginning, but authorities lacked enough evidence to file charges until 1994. Taylor was incarcerated at the time on charges of driving while intoxicated, and one of his cellmates told investigators he had bragged about killing Beard. He said he shot her to death at his home in Clute, Texas. Taylor was sentenced to life in prison for Beard's murder. He was also sentenced to 25 years for solicitation to commit murder; he tried to hire someone to kill a witness in Beard's case. Foul play is suspected in Beard's disappearance due to the circumstances involved, but her body has never been recovered. Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Texas Department Of Public Safety 800-346-3243 Source Information Texas Department Of Public Safety The Houston Chronicle Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated November 21, 2006; details of disappearance updated. Charley Project Home |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 29 2008, 11:08 PM Post #3 |
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http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/MPCH/mpdetail...13:52:37PM' Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse Online Bulletin Missing Person Details Date Picture Updated: 10/12/2001 Name: Rebecca Jean Beard AKA: Rebecca Lemke Beard, Becky Lemke Case Number: M8607004 Case Type: Endangered - Foul Play Possible Last Seen in: Freeport (Brazoria County) Last Seen on: 3/1/1986 Height: 5' 5 " Weight: 120 lbs. Age Missing: 22 Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color: Blonde Date of Birth: 2/15/1964 Race: White Sex: Female State Missing From: Texas Country Missing From: USA Circumstances: Ms. Beard has a one inch scar on the side of her face. She was last seen at the Excaliber Club. She was wearing blue stirrup pants, a long white silk blouse with a red triangle, spike heels and carrying a small yellow purse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at : Missing Persons Clearinghouse Texas Department of Public Safety P O Box 4087 Austin, Texas 78773-0422 Phone: (512) 424-5074 Helpline: (800) 346-3243 |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 29 2008, 11:09 PM Post #4 |
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Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: SAT 02/18/1995 Section: A Page: 33 Edition: 2 STAR Only a wreath for birthday By RUTH RENDON Staff AS any mother would, Linda Barnes used to have fun making her daughter's birthday as happy as possible, with a cake and all the other things that go into a celebration. On Wednesday she marked the occasion by placing a wreath in a Brazoria County rice field. Authorities searched the field for days recently after a man pleaded guilty to Rebecca Beard's murder and said he had buried her body there. The search was suspended without finding Beard's remains. Beard, who would have turned 31 on Wednesday, has been missing since March 2, 1986, when she failed to return home from a nightclub. "We never had a memorial service because I wouldn't," Barnes, 50, of Freeport said. "I was always determined that I would have a funeral for Becky." She may never get to have the funeral, but now she does plan to have a memorial service soon. Police were led to the rice field in southern Brazoria County by Paul Gayland Taylor after he pleaded guilty to murdering Beard. His admission was part of a plea bargain in which he agreed to take investigators to the site where he said he had dug a shallow grave. Taylor, 38, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. He also was sentenced to 25 years for solicitation of capital murder for trying to hire someone to kill a witness who was to testify in the murder case. At the time of her disappearance, Beard had a 2-year-old daughter. The girl, now 10, lives with her father in Lumberton, near Beaumont. |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 29 2008, 11:10 PM Post #5 |
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Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: WED 02/15/1995 Section: A Page: 24 Edition: 2 STAR Body search suspended in 9-year-old case Staff ANGLETON -- The search for the body of a Brazoria County woman missing since 1986 has been suspended. Officials from several law-enforcement agencies had been searching in a rice field just south of Angleton since last week for the body of Rebecca Beard, who was 22 when she disappeared. "We've suspended the search efforts," said Tom Selleck, an assistant Brazoria County district attorney. "We've dug up half of southern Brazoria County." Authorities were led to the rice field by Paul Gayland Taylor, who last week pleaded guilty to murdering Beard, a Freeport resident who had a 2-year-old daughter and worked for a car dealership. Taylor showed authorities where he thought he buried Beard in a shallow grave. Selleck said the search for Beard's remains will continue only if Taylor is able to give authorities a better idea of where he buried the body. Murder charges were filed against Taylor, 38, last year -- eight years after he is accused of shooting Beard. Prosecutors were able to get an indictment against Taylor after he bragged while in prison on unrelated conviction to having killed Beard at his Clute home |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 29 2008, 11:10 PM Post #6 |
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Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: THU 06/23/1994 Section: A Page: 30 Edition: 2 STAR Inmate is indicted Staff ANGLETON -- A Lake Jackson man already serving a prison sentence has been charged with the murder of a woman whose body was never found, Brazoria County prosecutors said Wednesday. In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Paul Gayland Taylor Jr., 37, is accused of murdering Rebecca Beard, 22, of Freeport. Taylor, a former chemical plant worker, was brought to the Brazoria County Jail Tuesday and is being held without bail. Beard disappeared March 2, 1986 after leaving a Freeport night club. The indictment was returned June 9 but remained sealed until Taylor could be transferred from a state prison in Huntsville, where he was serving 35 years for two Brazoria County driving-while-intoxicated convictions in 1991. Investigators said they were able to get a murder indictment without a body because of information provided by informants and witnesses. Taylor becomes eligible for parole in July on his current sentence. |
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| PorchlightUSA | Nov 29 2008, 11:12 PM Post #7 |
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