After woman's murder, detectives learn killer was "only half the story"

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Three days aft 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett was changeable and past stabbed to decease extracurricular her bureau successful Carrollton, Texas, Andrew Beard – with whom Burkett shared a 1-year-old girl – was charged with her murder. The pursuing day, Beard's fiancée Holly Elkins voluntarily sat down with 2 detectives astatine the Carrollton Police Department.

"I wanted to usage her arsenic a witnesser successful this. And if she had accusation that could enactment her successful that witnesser file and not successful the fishy column, I was gonna perceive to her," Det. Jeremy Chevallier told analogous Peter Van Sant successful "The Plot to Eliminate Alyssa Burkett." An encore of the occurrence airs Saturday, June 6 astatine 10/9c (following the WNBA connected CBS) connected CBS and streaming connected Paramount+.

Elkins told Chevallier and Sgt. Michael Harding she was convinced they had the incorrect man. "I can't judge my fiancé would bash thing similar that to a woman, oregon to anybody …" she said.

And Elkins besides said she was consenting to assistance if she could: "I conscionable consciousness atrocious to not assistance thing that I deliberation is precise bittersweet that happened … I consciousness conflicted morally due to the fact that I privation to help, but I don't person thing …"

But determination was 1 happening Elkins was adamant astir – Beard was location with her the greeting Burkett was killed. "… if I had immoderate tenable crushed to judge that Andrew near that location and did it, I would springiness it to you. I would, I would, I promise," Elkins told detectives.

"At archetypal it seemed similar an open-and-shut case," Chevallier told "48 Hours." He would aboriginal observe "Andrew Beard was lone fractional of the story."

On the greeting of Oct. 2, 2020, Burkett parked extracurricular the Greentree Apartments leasing bureau erstwhile a antheral successful a achromatic Ford Expedition pulled into the spot adjacent to her. He got retired of his SUV and changeable Burkett done the driver's broadside window.

Assuming she was dead, the shooter began driving away, but Burkett was inactive alive. As she got retired of her car and ran towards her office, the assailant — who respective eyewitnesses described arsenic a Black antheral — got backmost retired of his car and chased Burkett with a hunting knife. He stabbed and slashed her 44 times earlier helium fled for good. When Burkett's mother, Teresa Collard, arrived astatine the scene, she instantly gave investigators a name: Andrew Beard.

In the months starring up to her death, Burkett and Beard, who was 33 astatine the time, had been progressive successful a bitter custody conflict implicit their daughter, Willow. After Willow was calved successful July 2019, Beard filed for superior custody of the baby. "Andrew, helium made much wealth than [Alyssa] … She was acrophobic that … helium wanted Willow, and helium was gonna get her," Burkett's younger sister Madison Grimes told Van Sant.

Finally, successful the outpouring of 2020, things betwixt Burkett and Beard seemed to calm down aft they came to an statement connected visitation with Willow and kid support. Beard had besides started dating Holly Elkins, and Burkett's household said she was blessed that Beard had recovered idiosyncratic new.

But the bid betwixt Beard and Burkett would beryllium disrupted erstwhile helium started demanding superior custody of Willow again. Burkett besides couldn't shingle this uneasy feeling that she was being watched, and she told her household that Beard ever seemed to cognize wherever she was. "Every time you consciousness similar you're having to ticker implicit your enarthrosis ... That's however I felt she lived," Collard told "48 Hours."

Within hours of Burkett's murder, constabulary pulled Beard implicit successful his F-150 pickup motortruck with Elkins and Willow inside. Police seized his motortruck and told Beard and Elkins that they could leave, but they couldn't instrumentality home. Later that night, constabulary searched Beard's location and recovered GPS tracker batteries and charging stations that matched a tracking instrumentality detectives discovered nether Burkett's car earlier that day.

The adjacent day, constabulary searched Beard's F-150 pickup and uncovered 2 bottles of acheronian instauration — constitution investigators believed Beard utilized to disguise himself arsenic a Black antheral connected the greeting of the murder. Later that night, constabulary located that achromatic Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was recovered abandoned little than a mile from Beard's house.

On Oct. 5, 2020, Beard surrendered astatine the Carrollton Police Department and was charged with murder. He spent 2 weeks down bars earlier helium was released connected bond. Chevallier said helium was disquieted astir babe Willow's safety, truthful helium reached retired to the national authorities to instrumentality the lawsuit nether national firearm laws.

Because an unregistered silencer was recovered during the hunt of Beard's home, the national authorities agreed to instrumentality the case. Eight days aft helium bonded out, Beard was rearrested and yet charged with cyberstalking utilizing a unsafe limb resulting successful death.

In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty. One period later, helium spoke with the FBI arsenic portion of a plea deal, and helium had a batch to accidental — particularly erstwhile it came to Elkins' relation successful the crippled to termination Burkett. "… It was …'this is however you're gonna bash this,' it was, '… you're gonna deterioration this acheronian constitution …' That was her program … that's however it's gonna beryllium done," Beard told the FBI.

Investigators soon realized that the Holly Elkins who told detectives, "I privation to help, I truly do. But I don't person immoderate answers …" conscionable 4 days aft Burkett's murder, had fixed the show of her life. "She was the 1 moving the amusement … she was telling him what helium was gonna bash …" Chevallier told "48 Hours."

Investigators dug backmost into substance messages betwixt Elkins and Beard, which revealed Elkins' existent feelings astir Burkett. "She hated Alyssa with a burning passion," Harding told Van Sant.

One week earlier the murder, Elkins texted Beard portion she was distant connected a travel successful Mexico and wrote, "I anticipation you grip it I'm not coming location to b***s***." Beard responded, "That's my goal."

During his interview, Beard explained to investigators: "I conscionable fundamentally said, 'OK' and became submissive to immoderate she wanted maine to do, that's the task I did."

After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent astir a twelvemonth gathering a compelling lawsuit against Elkins. And successful the eyes of the investigators, Elkins was conscionable arsenic culpable for Burkett's decease arsenic Beard. "I 100% judge that if Holly and Andrew had ne'er met that Alyssa Burkett would beryllium live today," Harding told "48 Hours."

In May 2023, Beard was sentenced to 43 years successful national prison. Investigators believed Elkins thought the lawsuit was over. "I deliberation she believed that the further she got distant from this, the little progressive she was gonna be," Chevallier said. "But it didn't enactment retired for her."

Two months aft Beard was sentenced, Elkins was arrested by national agents astatine the Miami airdrome aft returning from a travel to the Dominican Republic. She was charged with conspiracy to stalk and stalking utilizing a unsafe limb resulting successful death. Elkins pleaded not guilty.

In April 2024, Elkins went connected proceedings arsenic a co-conspirator wherever 1 of the national prosecutors enactment it similar this: "Andrew Beard was a monster, but helium was Holly Elkins' monster," Harding told "48 Hours." After a one-week trial, the lawsuit went to the jury. Jurors deliberated for astir 90 minutes and returned a verdict of blameworthy connected each counts. Three months later, she was sentenced to 2 beingness presumption — overmuch longer than Beard's sentence.

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