Beverly Logan (10 of Clubs, Kansas)

our card this week is beverly logan the 10 of clubs from kansas if you ask the salina kansas pd about the homicide rate in their town they'll tell you this a few murders in one year is a hell of a lot so to say that it came as a surprise when a gentle 56 year old certified nurse's assistant named beverly logan was found murdered in her home in 2008 well that is an understatement since then more than 50 people have been tested against suspect dna in this case but still her killer remains elusive as does a motive is it possible that a very unique item taken from her home might hold significance or is it possible that a hobby as a pen pal put beverly in close proximity to danger i'm ashley flowers and this is the deck it was around 3 30 in the afternoon on monday january 21st 2008 when the salina police department received a call from some employees at a senior living community called the presbyterian manor they were concerned about their co-worker beverly logan who'd been a no-call no-show within like an hour of her not showing up for work they immediately called because of the fact that it was just very uncharacteristic of her to not be at work on time that's melissa short who at the time was a detective with the salina pd she told us beverly was supposed to arrive at work at 2 p.m and it was more than just her being late that was cause for concern beverly didn't drive so she normally scheduled a local rideshare bus to get her to work well that bus arrived at her home at around 1 18 p.m but by 1 35 p.m she was already at work and she was supposed to arrive at work at 2 p.m she hadn't come out so the driver left she was so routine that the bus driver called her work to see if she'd gotten there some other way but of course she hadn't after getting that call and being unable to reach beverly on her home phone her co-workers knew that something must be very wrong so salina pd sent a patrol officer out to beverly's small bungalow house that sat on a corner near a convenience store the officer walked up to the front porch but when he knocked on her door he found that it was a jar when you enter into the residence you're immediately in what's considered the living room and dining room area it's one large room if you go to the left off of that there's bedroom number one and then i believe there's another bedroom back behind that and then a bathroom straight back from the living room and then dining room is the kitchen beverly was in the kitchen lying motionless on the floor the officer knew that what he was seeing was no accident and that beverly was beyond saving the first detective to arrive that day just before 4 p.m was detective short this would be her very first homicide investigation it was very surreal to me that i was walking into a scene where someone had been murdered fairly recently when she first stepped into beverly's house something immediately stood out all of the curtains in the home were drawn as well as it being the midwest very gray january super cold day so the house was extremely dark inside there was only a light on in the living room that was the only light that was shining i had a flashlight and so i was able to shine my flashlight once i walked in she was completely nude she had blood on her body and then one area on her right rib cage like at about her bra line where it appeared she had been stabbed before long detective short wasn't alone more detectives and crime scene tech showed up lights were turned on so that photos could be taken and the house could be scoured for evidence beverly's pets a yorkshire terrier named jen and her two birds were found unharmed and something became very clear early on here's detective aaron carswell who's taken over as lead investigator on the case we didn't find any substantial items that were missing from the home there was also cash that was left in the house would lead us to believe it wasn't a robbery beverly also had some jewelry that she was wearing that wasn't taken and there were no signs of forced entry including on the door that was found a jar though they did find a lot of blood on the door handle so that could be promising but as far as the murder weapon no murder weapon was found at the scene a small piece of plastic believed to have been snapped off a knife handle was found next to beverly that was it and the police couldn't determine if the knife used had come from her own kitchen or if it had been brought by the killer in one of the bathrooms some more blood was found in the sink possibly a sign that the killer had washed their hands on the floor were beverly's pajamas and some suggestion as to maybe why she was found nude i believe there was a towel hanging um somewhere that was wet so it was determined that she more than likely was getting ready for work and had showered now they hadn't found any work clothes laid out but honestly that's not all that surprising at least not to me because i'm the kind of person who pulls my clothes out right out of my drawers like as i go to the bathroom and i'm like oh my god i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so sorry to put them on maybe beverly was like that too now they did find some of her other clothes in a weird place though on the floor near the front door was this odd pile of stuff that almost looked like trash mixed in with some of beverly's items there's an empty dylan's bag a partially empty pepsi bottle bottle of water some items of paper there's some lavender pajamas a pair of gray and black shoes and then some sort of pink clothing item in there also maybe a tissue and a pill bottle it was almost like there was some a bag by the door that had maybe contained these items and then somebody had dumped the items out to either use that bag to take with them or something of that nature if all these items had been in a big bag why had the killer dumped it maybe it was a way for them to sneak something out of the house without drawing attention the murder weapon bloody clothes or maybe something else that police didn't even know they were looking for yet whatever it was mission accomplished because even though january 21st was martin luther king jr day a federal holiday when some people would have been off work and kids would have been out of school none of beverly's neighbors saw or heard anything we did have some surveillance video from the convenience store near beverly's house we reviewed that video and didn't see anybody or see any activity that was unusual while law enforcement had been taking its first steps in the investigation shockingly a big step seemed to have been missed no one notified beverly's family it wasn't until one of them drove past beverly's house on tuesday the 22nd and saw a cruiser and crime scene tape that they started to realize something might have happened to her here's beverly's younger sister maxine rogers i had a good friend that's been on the police force for years and years so i called him i said do you know what's going on with beverly and he says are you just now finding out i said finding out what he said that she was murdered or she's dead and of course i lost it he said get to the house your mom and i will call the police department and i will get somebody over there unfortunately even after finding out the family couldn't shed any helpful light on the investigation none of this made sense in their eyes beverly wasn't a woman with a long list of enemies for the most part she kept to herself had a small circle of friends she liked reading and loved animals goats in particular and on occasion despite her shy nature she liked to break out of her shell beverly loved to dance we'd be all sitting around talking and she'd just get up and do this little jig across the floor and it's like it was so unusual for her because she was always so shy and quiet but when she was comfortable with the family and she was being goofy it was like where'd that come from beverly spent most of her days caring for older adults while working as a certified nursing assistant she loved her patients and the families loved her she would sit with them and they'd do little activities you know depending on the health of the patient they'd watch tv or read a book the Family told police that in the days prior, Beverly had been sick with the flu. But by Monday the 21st, she was feeling better and expected to show up for work. And they know this for a couple of reasons. First, Beverly called that bus service that she used that morning between 10 and 10.30 to schedule a pickup. Second, Beverly spoke to a couple of family members that morning as well. She had a call with one of her sisters around the same time that she called for a ride. And then her mother reported talking to Beverly at about 11.50 a.m. Though, according to Detective Carswell, phone records couldn't confirm that call. So it does muddy the timeline a little bit. Either way, it leaves a tight window for the crime to have occurred, since presumably she was already dead or at least incapacitated in some way by 1.18 when the bus driver arrived to pick her up. And really, considering the fact that Beverly wasn't found dressed for work, it might tighten the window even more. I mean, we're talking like one to two hours max in my mind. But what exactly happened in those couple of hours remained a mystery. While Beverly did work odd hours and lived alone, her sister said that she exhibited an almost extreme sense of caution. Even me walking up to the porch before I knocked on the door, I already seen the curtain move. You know, she was looking. I could see who was on her porch. She kept her doors locked all the time. It was to the point where Beverly would often talk to people visiting her through a locked screen door. And this kind of information, while seemingly small, made it very clear to detectives in this case, something Beverly would never have done. She would not open the door for people unless she knew them. Considering there was no forced entry, this led police to believe that Beverly, might have known her killer, and may have even let them into her house. And the question now was, could the autopsy reveal anything else to detectives? Just days after Beverly's murder, they had some answers. We did do a sexual assault kit, and there was no evidence of a sexual assault at that time. The cause of death was determined to be from the multiple stab wounds. Beverly had been stabbed approximately 25 times, along with numerous other cuts. And that includes defensive wounds found on Beverly's hands. And those hands offered a pretty big clue to detectives. DNA was found under her fingernails. The problem, according to Detective Carswell, is that the DNA in this case, including that from the blood at the scene, is YSTR only. Meaning, it's not specific to one individual, like other DNA profiles might be. Several males within a. A single family, such as like a father, son, brother, or uncle, can share the same Y chromosome. It's one of the reasons a YSTR profile is limited in CODIS to cases like missing person investigations. Now, where it can be helpful, is to compare it directly with potential suspects. For instance, if two brothers match the YSTR, and one has an alibi and the other doesn't, well, now you know which one to rule out, and which one to focus on. Or if someone doesn't match the YSTR at all, you know you can rule them out. And early on, there was a person of interest in this case who needed to be closely looked at. A guy that Beverly might have opened the door for, and with whom she had a long, complicated history. His name was Victor Logan. You see, Beverly had been married twice. First to a man named Floyd, with whom she had two children, and then to Victor. The couple had been estranged for years at the time of Beverly's murder. They were never officially divorced. Victor is a person who was very familiar to us at the Salina Police Department. In dealing with him through cases of domestic violence with Beverly, as well as usually drunk, or fighting, or things like that. So, he was someone who was known to the police department. Several times, the local police had to be called to Beverly and Victor's house when he was intoxicated, and causing disturbances. Beverly had even filed orders of protection against him due to his behavior, and told police that he was abusive. And while he was never actually arrested for domestic violence, Victor did have a criminal record for things like theft and narcotics. So, the Salina PD interviewed Victor, among other things. They had done photographs of his body to see if he had any injury or anything. No injuries were found, like cuts on his hand, that you might expect from a knife attack. Victor, who lived at a motel across town at the time, told police that he was at his place all day and never left. Maybe not the strongest of alibis, but there was something else that eventually took him out of the running, according to Detective Carswell. He provided DNA and was excluded by DNA. An estranged husband would have likely had a motive. But if it wasn't Victor, the biggest question still lingered. What was the motive? The evidence in this case had all but ruled out a robbery. But that's because detectives didn't fully know what they were looking for. You see, it wasn't until the crime scene was released and Beverly's family was finally able to get in and look around that they realized what was actually gone. It was small and a little bizarre. I can see why detectives missed it. Her daughter later reported a set of baby dolls that were missing. Now I'm not talking about the ones your three-year-old might be currently pushing around in a tiny stroller. I'm not even talking about the widely popular American Girl dolls. These were something a little different. The dolls were called Tiny Miracles and Truly Real. They were something that you could order from a magazine and they are very small. I would say probably 8 to 10 inches maybe. And they're meant to look like life-like babies. This wasn't a massive collection. Just two dolls. But distinct enough that the family noticed they were missing. They were made by the company Ashton Drake. And at a glance, they do look lifelike in the pictures that I've seen. The dolls have hair and tiny, realistic-looking hands. And apparently they have hair. They have like a vinyl coating to make them feel more real to the touch. On their website, these dolls sell anywhere from $80 to over $100, depending on which one you get. So not nothing. But also not like hundreds or even thousands of dollars either. Considering nothing else was missing though. It makes you just start thinking of different options when you're working a homicide. As far as, you know, your suspect pool and things like that. Like who would take something like that. One thing police had to consider was that the dolls were already gone before the murder. When people collect things, whether it's dolls or baseball cards, they also trade, sell, or get rid of them at some point. So they released photos of these types of dolls, thinking that maybe that might jog someone's memory. Maybe someone would, you know, remember buying or getting these dolls from Beverly. But nothing came of this, even after law enforcement. And I think that's one of the reasons why this is so important to me. I think that's one of the reasons why this is so important to me. Had she gotten rid of them? Had she given them to a friend? Is it possible that she took them to her work to let the senior citizens there hold them? Any of that is possible. And might make the dolls a red herring. But Beverly did have another hobby. Something that could have seemed innocent to her. But in hindsight, may have ultimately led to her murder. Some people have pen pals in foreign countries. Some people message strangers on Instagram. But Beverly's version of this was writing letters to men in prison. Some of whom had violent criminal pasts. That kind of opens us up to a lot more suspects or, you know, potential people who could have done her harm. And she wasn't just writing letters. She and a friend of hers named Kelly, who was also doing this, took it one step further. I know that she and Kelly had actually gone, you know, to visit guys that they had written letters to. And there was several different websites that were out there that she had some accounts on as far as meeting people who were incarcerated. On more than one occasion, Beverly and Kelly had driven out to one of the Kansas prisons like Hutchinson, El Dorado, or Leavenworth to meet with prisoners. Beverly's sister, Maxine, told us they had actually gotten into an argument about it because she didn't think it was smart to cozy up to men who had done some pretty horrible things. Like one prisoner Beverly got close with, named Clyde. He'd been incarcerated for second-degree murder, among other things, like burglary. And he became more than just a prison pen pal to Beverly. Once he was in prison, he was a prisoner. He was out on parole. He had come to visit Beverly on the bus. It was unclear as to whether or not Beverly had paid for the bus ticket or if he had paid for the bus ticket to get here to visit her. Clyde didn't just pop in for a quick hello either. He stayed with Beverly for a couple of days in the summer of 2006. And over the course of that time, the pair did have a sexual relationship, details of which Beverly had shared with one of her friends, who, after her death, relayed that information to police. Beverly told this friend that Clyde wasn't concerned about her comfort at all. He was only concerned about himself. And he had tried to push Beverly into doing things that she wasn't interested in. Clyde was still out of prison at the time of Beverly's murder. So the police tracked him down about an hour and a half east of Salina. Now, our FOIA for this case was denied. So we don't know exactly what Clyde, but as far as his involvement in Beverly's murder, here's what Detective Carswell told us. They knew he wouldn't have been there because Clyde was wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet at the time. But just to be 100% sure, they compared Clyde's DNA to what they had. And he wasn't a match. So, despite looking. oh-so-good on paper, Clyde, like the estranged husband Victor, wasn't their man. Neither were any of the men that they tracked down that Beverly had been in contact with in prison, many of whom were still incarcerated. Eventually, the DNA testing pool got broad. We pretty much did DNA tests on anybody that was a potential suspect or had the ability to be at her house at that time. From Victor to Victor. from Victor's friends to people that she communicated with in prison. Um, even if they were maybe a neighbor or something, um, we would take DNA samples. According to Detective Carswell, more than 50 people in total were ruled out this way, including a random guy who worked at a local Taco Bell nearby who just happened to be spotted close to Beverly's house that day. And Beverly's family confirmed to us that pretty much every male in their family or in her life was tested, and Beverly's family confirmed that pretty much every male in their family or in her life was tested, and ruled out, even that family friend who worked for the Salina PD. Detectives at the time followed up on all the leads that they got, but after we ruled out the initial suspects, there wasn't a lot of new information that came in. And that's been the case for over a decade now, even with Detective Carswell's attempt to revive it when he took on this case in 2018. I actually went back, took out every piece of evidence that we had, went through all the evidence, read all the letters, and then I had some items resubmitted for DNA to see if there was maybe a DNA sample that they had missed, or with the advancements in DNA, maybe we could get a better profile of those items, but that was unsuccessful. That included the jewelry that Beverly wore. All that came back was her own blood. You might be wondering why they can't just, like, go back and test the fingernail samples again, since that's what they got the YSTR profile from the first time. Well, that's because the majority of the DNA samples that they got were from the initial testing, so they don't have much left to work with. And Detective Carswell has been told that what he does have is not enough. I have reached out to some genealogy companies, but at this point, the DNA profile that we have isn't extensive enough to create a full profile of a suspect. So for now, Detective Carswell is going to have to rely on old-fashioned investigative methods. He's doing his best to try and track down anyone who may have been in contact with Beverly back in 2008. One avenue that he's really keen to explore is Beverly's dating life, since there's evidence that she was on dating websites back then. Those dating websites didn't keep records like they do today. And of course, you know, this far in the future, it's hard to go back and find those records to see exactly who she was talking to and who could have came to visit her. My theory for Beverly is that she was on a dating website. My theory for Beverly is that she was getting ready for work. Somebody showed up at her house that she knew. She let this person in. I don't know if the suspect wanted some type of sexual relationship with Beverly, and maybe she refused, and that it turned violent. But based on her injuries and the crime scene, I would say that it was very personal. So it leads me to believe it was somebody that she knew. Going off this theory, I would think whoever. Whoever this was knew her really well if Beverly opened the door for them in the nude. Remember, the towel was found in the bathroom. That's something that her family told us would not have happened. Which makes me more inclined to believe Detective Carswell's second theory. That it's possible someone she knew could have already been at the house. Maybe stayed overnight or came earlier before Beverly hopped in the shower. And then something escalated after that. That seems more reasonable. Here's Beverly's grandniece, Keisha Wood. I do think it was someone that she knows. And I think it was intentional. I don't think that was any random guy on the street, bored, needing someone to stab. Like, I don't think that's what happened. I think it was someone she knows. Beverly's family won't stop asking the question of who that person is. I would be at work, and I was like four blocks from the police department. And I'd just get this thing in my head, and I'd get up and say, I'll be back. And I'd go down there, I mean, weekly, sometimes daily. You know, just give me something. Answer me, you know, tell me this, tell me that. That got nothing. In recent years, Keisha has been leading the charge to solve her great-aunt's case. Doing the legwork that, unfortunately, families like her sometimes find themselves having to do. Like filing FOIA requests to get a hold of police records. A little trick, by the way, that she said she learned from listening to our shows. There was one episode in particular that reminded me a lot of, like, ours. And the whole case was solved, but it took, like, one family member going down a different route to do it. You know what I mean? As with ours, Keisha's FOIA request was denied. Eventually, the family did start getting some answers after one of the investigators retired and could talk a little more freely about the case. But learning more about Beverly's case hasn't changed the outcome. And according to Beverly's niece, Nicole White, it sure hasn't calmed the fears that her family has continued to carry for all of these years. Our doors are always locked. Our blinds are closed. Like, we just are always very much so, like, I guess, just alert of our surroundings and, you know, the trust and everything that we've gotten a whole level of. We just don't know. We just don't trust, you know. Beverly's family thinks it's time for some fresh eyes on this one. Specifically, the eyes of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, or the KBI. As far as I'm concerned, Beverly's book is in a box on a dusty shelf. They tell me it's not a cold case. 18 years, what do you call it? As recently as May of this year, the family sat down with the Salina PD to discuss Beverly's case. One thing that came out of that discussion was circling back to the idea of genetic genealogy. Now, they didn't have enough of a sample in the past to be able to do that, but they wonder if enough has changed over the years to make it possible now. At this point, it might be worth a shot. Though, when that happens or even how it's funded remains to be seen. In the meantime, one thing is clear. No matter who continues to investigate this case, Salina PD or the KBI, they're going to need some help from the public. I would just encourage people to think of themselves and their family, and if this had happened to their family, you know, wouldn't they want the answers? And I think that a lot of times people think, oh, well, I did see this, but, you know, it wasn't that big of a deal or anything. But at this point, I would say any lead would be great so that, you know, we could bring some justice for her. I just want people to know my sister was a good person. She was a loving person. She gave her coat off her back to anybody. She did not deserve to go out the way she went. She did not deserve this. And I want justice for my sister. If you have any information about the murder of Beverly Logan in January, of 2008, please call 1-800-KS-CRIME or call the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210. The Deck is an AudioChuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about The Deck and our advocacy work, visit The Deck Podcast. I think Chuck would approve.