Arrest made in Guthrie murder

Updated January 5, 2012- Beverly Mccolm was extradited by Logan County Sheriffs’ Office yesterday and is being held at the Logan County Detention Center on a charge of first degree murder.

December 22, 2011 – A Texas woman is under arrest for the murder of Francis Maurice Byrd inside his Guthrie home on December 7th.

Beverly Rhea McColm (08-29-1946) was arrested Tuesday (December 20) at her home in Forney, Texas for the murder according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations. McColm was booked into the Kaufman County, Texas, jail where she awaits extradition.

Byrd, 60, and McColm, 65, were acquaintances and according to McColm she recently loaned Byrd $20,000 in the form of Wal Mart gift cards.

Guthrie police found Byrd dead with four gunshot wounds to his back.

Surveillance video from Macedonia Baptist Church, a block from Byrd’s home, located at 1223 East Vilas, and cell phone records put McColm at the crime scene.

According to the arrest warrant, the surveillance video, on December 7th, captured a gold-colored vehicle parked near the church where McColm is seen talking to a church member. McColm told the member that she was having car troubles and needed to leave the vehicle there. She is then seen walking in the direction of Byrd’s home and out of view of the cameras. She is next seeen on camera five minutes later.

The OSBI obtained information from the Department of Motor Vehicles that came back to a 1998 Gold Tavalon registered to McColm’s address in Fomey, Texas.

Byrd’s cell phone records showed a one-minute phone converstaion at 8:00 with a number matching “Beverly M” in his phone contact list.

A family relative of Byrd called the OSBI when an older, white female that nobody in the family knew was spotted at Byrd’s funeral. When asked who she was, the lady said her name was Beverly McColm from Texas. She went on to say she was an investor with Byrd and she had invested $20,000 and had an interest in Bryd’s vehicle in the repair shop.

When Texas Rangers arrested McColm on December 20, she admitted to loaning Byrd about $20,000 and giving it to him in the form of Walmart cards. McColm went on to say that she and Byrd went to a gun range to shoot a gun that she purchased in Texas. Inside McColm’s home, investigators found a pistol in her closet and box of ammunition. Five rounds were missing from the box of 50 bullets.

Walmart cards and close to $2,000 in cash were recovered.

When confronted with the surveillance video, McColm admitted she’d lied. She told investigators she’d taken her male friend “Max” with her to Byrd’s residence the evening of Dec. 7 in order to intimidate him into returning her money. An altercation between Max and Byrd ensued. McColm said she heard gunshots while in the bathroom, saw Byrd bleeding from his back and left the house.

After reviewing the tapes from the church, no other vehicles or persons approached the house until the following morning when the landlord came over to collect the rent, but there was no answer at the door.

Byrd’s family became worried when they had not heard from him and contacted the police to do a welfare check on December 10th.