Alyssa Burkett, 24, appeared to be building a life in Carrollton, Texas: a young mother to her daughter Willow (born July 23, 2019), a job as an assistant property manager, and plans for the future. But by fall 2020 she was in a bitter custody fight with her daughter’s father, Andrew Beard, and living in near-constant fear. On October 2, 2020, the fear became reality: coworkers found Alyssa shot and then brutally stabbed outside the Greentree Apartments leasing office where she worked. She had been slashed and stabbed 44 times; part of her face was destroyed and, miraculously at first, she had still been breathing. She did not survive.
From the start, Alyssa’s mother, Teresa, suspected Andrew. The couple had a volatile history after meeting in their teens and then separating while Alyssa was pregnant. Andrew, older and more established, pushed for primary custody and repeatedly drew Alyssa into court fights. After months of what Alyssa and her friends described as harassment, including stalking-like behavior and an incident in September 2020 in which someone calling himself “Frank Morrow” tipped police to drugs and a gun allegedly in Alyssa’s car, her fear reached a peak. Police later concluded the drugs and gun had been planted; detectives tied the false 911 call to evidence found at Andrew’s home.
The attack unfolded in daylight. Witnesses reported a black SUV stopping beside Alyssa’s car; a man fired through the windshield, then approached with a knife and stabbed her repeatedly. Some witnesses described the shooter as Black; investigators later discovered evidence showing Beard had tried to disguise himself darkening his face with heavy makeup and wearing a fake beard. He had reportedly bought a Ford Expedition for the attack and parked it nearby; it was later found abandoned. Blood tested from the SUV matched Alyssa.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on Andrew. He had visitation with Willow that day and was pulled over within hours for an unrelated traffic stop. Andrew and his fiancée, Holly Elkins, were cooperative at first and allowed to leave while police pursued leads. Detectives then executed searches and found damning items: notes linking Andrew to the “Frank Morrow” 911 script; batteries and chargers for a GPS tracker later found on Alyssa’s car; dark makeup and costume facial hair; and an envelope containing the license plate and vehicle details used in the fake drug tip. A tracking device with matching batteries had been attached to Alyssa’s car. Detectives recovered blood from the black SUV as well.
Andrew initially denied involvement but was rearrested after federal agents took the case under federal firearms laws; an unregistered silencer had been found in his home. He faced state and federal charges. In the end Andrew Beard pleaded guilty to federal charges and admitted to killing Alyssa. During interviews he described how Holly had pressured him and, later, how he had returned to the stabbing after thinking the gunshot had killed her—he said, cynically, that he “finished” her as a mercy. Prosecutors portrayed Andrew as the triggerman in a plot he said he carried out under Holly’s direction.
Holly Elkins’s role was central to investigators’ portrait of a planned, conspiratorial plot. Text messages and phone records showed Holly’s animus toward Alyssa, with derisive language and repeated attempts to undermine Alyssa’s claims as a mother. She had told friends she wanted a “perfect” family and that Alyssa stood in her way. Investigators say Holly helped orchestrate the earlier framing—the “Frank Morrow” 911 call that planted drugs and a gun in Alyssa’s trunk—and encouraged Andrew to track and surveil her. Evidence later tied Holly to searches for tracking devices, purchases of ammunition and a large hunting knife, and to the dark makeup used to disguise Andrew. After the homicide she left Texas and returned to Michigan; in July 2023 she was arrested at Miami airport and charged federally with conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
Andrew eventually spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. His statements, prosecutors said, implicated Holly as the “puppet master” who directed Andrew’s actions—pressuring him, instructing him how to make it look like someone else, and demanding he prove he was “ride or die.” At trial prosecutors showed jurors the incriminating materials found in Andrew’s possessions: the fake beard, the Halloween costume beard, notes connected to the 911 call, and makeup purchased to darken Andrew’s face. They also introduced surveillance video of Andrew fleeing the area after the attack.
In May 2023, Andrew Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Holly’s case proceeded to trial in April 2024. Prosecutors argued she orchestrated and manipulated Andrew, playing a leading role in the planning and execution of the crime. A jury convicted Holly of conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death. She was sentenced to two life terms—longer than Andrew’s sentence—and her conviction closed a legal chapter for Alyssa’s family, though it could not undo the loss.
The human toll has persisted. Alyssa’s daughter, Willow, was returned to family care after the arrests; she was just one year old at the time of her mother’s killing. Family members describe rituals to keep Alyssa present in Willow’s life: showing pictures, visiting her grave on Mother’s Day, and talking about her often. Alyssa’s mother, Teresa, and sister, Madison, speak of the small daily things—Willow’s questions and the hole left by Alyssa’s absence—and of the hope that Willow will grow to know her mother’s love rather than only the circumstances of her death.
Detectives and prosecutors described the case as notable for its stalking and stalking-by-conspiracy elements: the months of surveillance, the framing attempt with the fake 911 call, the placement of a GPS on Alyssa’s car, the purchase of a vehicle and disguise, and the eventual violent execution at her workplace. For the family, the case underscored a pattern of intimidation and control that escalated to murder.
In the wake of convictions, Alyssa’s loved ones emphasize the work of investigators and federal agents in piecing together the evidence: the physical traces that tied the crime to Andrew, the cell and purchase records that tied Holly to planning and materials, and the testimony that painted a picture of a relationship in which manipulation and jealousy culminated in murder. For them, the verdicts brought a measure of accountability—though not solace—and the continued focus remains on Willow, raising her with memories of her mother’s life rather than only the violence of her death.