ABC’s special investigation into the McCraney murder case airs tonight on WDHN | WDHN

DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) – Tonight, Friday, May 10, WDHN will air a special edition of ABC’s investigative true crime series 20/20, which follows one of the most prolific and discussed murder cases in the Wiregrass.

“Forever 17” airs at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central on Channel 18.

The two-hour special explores the murders of JB Beasley and Tracie Hawlett in the summer of 1999, the twists and turns of the nearly 20-year-long unsolved case, and the trial of their convicted murderer, Coley McCraney.

20/20’s Debra Roberts interviewed several key figures connected to the nationally known story, including Beasley and Hawlett’s family, McCraney’s arresting officer, Deputy Chief Micheal Bryan, his wife Jeanette McCraney, and for the first time ever, you’ll hear from McCraney himself inside hear the Donaldson Correctional Facility.

McCraney was arrested in 2019 after DNA evidence found on Beasley linked him to the crime. For nearly three years, the case went back and forth through the Alabama court system until McCraney finally stood before a jury of his peers on a hot April day in 2023.

WDHN reporters Aaron Dixon and Richard Everett covered the two-week trial and were the first to break the news of McCraney’s guilty verdict.

McCraney’s lawyers David Harrison and Andrew Scarborough are currently fighting to get their client a new trial.