He was Holly Elkins' monster, but he was still a monster.
In a parking lot north of Dallas in September 2020, a young mother named Alyssa Burkett was shot and stabbed 44 times, leaving behind a one-year-old daughter and a question that haunts every such case: how does a custody dispute become a killing? Six years on, a Texas jury has answered part of that question, convicting both the man who carried out the attack and the woman who, investigators say, engineered it from the shadows — driven not by rage alone, but by a calculated desire to possess the child Alyssa loved most. The case stands as a sobering reminder that domestic violence does not always announce itself with a raised fist; sometimes it arrives in the form of planted evidence, tracking devices, and whispered instructions.
- A 24-year-old mother was ambushed in broad daylight by a disguised ex-boyfriend wielding a gun and a hunting knife, her coworkers too frightened to open the door as she stumbled toward them.
- Behind the attack was a meticulous campaign of harassment — drugs planted in her car, a tracking device hidden on her vehicle, and a fake 911 call — all designed to strip Alyssa of her daughter before anyone resorted to murder.
- Alyssa had told her roommate weeks before her death that someone was going to try to kill her, a warning that proved chillingly accurate and that her family could not outrun.
- Andrew Beard's eventual guilty plea cracked the case open, revealing that his fiancée Holly Elkins had orchestrated every step, pressuring him from Mexico days before the murder with the message: 'I hope you handle it.'
- After nearly three years as a fugitive living a rebuilt life in Michigan, Elkins was arrested at Miami Airport and ultimately sentenced to two life terms — longer than the man who held the knife.
- Willow, now old enough to ask her grandmother for her mother's phone number in heaven, is the quiet center of a verdict that brought justice but could not restore what was taken.
On a September morning in 2020, Alyssa Burkett pulled into her usual parking space at an apartment complex north of Dallas and was met by a man who stepped out of a black SUV with a gun. He shot her through the closed window, then chased her down with a hunting knife as she stumbled toward the building. Her coworkers, fearing an active shooter, stayed inside. By the time paramedics arrived, she had been stabbed and slashed 44 times. She was 24 years old. Her daughter Willow was one.
Alyssa's mother knew almost immediately who was responsible. Andrew Beard, Alyssa's ex-boyfriend, had been locked in a bitter custody battle with her, draining her finances through relentless court hearings while she worked to build a stable life for Willow. Then Beard met Holly Elkins, and the harassment intensified. Alyssa began to feel watched — Beard always seemed to know where she was. She was right: a tracking device was later found on her car. A month before her death, drugs, a pistol, and cash were planted in her vehicle, triggering a police search. That same day, Alyssa texted her roommate: 'He is going to try to get someone to kill me next.'
Investigators moved quickly. They found Beard calm and composed with Willow in the back seat hours after the murder. His home yielded Alyssa's license plate number written on an envelope, charging equipment matching the tracking device, and the black SUV — inside it, Alyssa's blood, a fake beard, and dark makeup used to disguise his appearance. A neighbor's security camera caught him fleeing on foot.
Nearly two years later, Beard pleaded guilty and began cooperating with the FBI. What emerged was a portrait of manipulation: Holly Elkins had planned everything. She wanted Willow, and she wanted Alyssa gone. In her phone, Alyssa's contact was saved under a vicious slur. Elkins had left Texas for Michigan weeks after the murder, started fresh with a new apartment and car, and seemed unbothered — but investigators had been building a case from her text messages, which showed her pushing Beard toward violence and, after the killing, pressing him for details of the crime.
In July 2023, federal agents arrested Elkins at Miami Airport. At trial, the prosecutor told the jury: 'Andrew Beard is a monster, but he was Holly Elkins' monster.' The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict. Elkins received two life sentences — a longer punishment than Beard's.
For Alyssa's family, the verdict closed a chapter without healing the wound. Willow, now old enough to grasp fragments of what happened, has asked her grandmother to bring her mother back — just once, so she could see her. She has asked whether her mother has a phone number in heaven. Her family holds onto the hope that one day, when she is ready, she will understand not the manner of her mother's death, but the depth of her love.
On a September morning in 2020, a 24-year-old property manager named Alyssa Burkett pulled into her usual parking space at an apartment complex north of Dallas. A man emerged from a black Ford Expedition parked beside her, gun in hand. He fired through her closed window, destroying her left eye and part of her face. She stumbled out of her car toward the building, desperate for help. Her coworkers, fearing an active shooter, stayed inside. The man chased her down with a hunting knife and attacked with a ferocity that left her stabbed and slashed 44 times. When he finally fled, Alyssa was still breathing. By the time paramedics arrived, she was gone.
Alyssa's mother, Teresa Collard, knew immediately who had done it. Not the Black man witnesses described—that was a disguise. It was Andrew Beard, Alyssa's ex-boyfriend, a man nine years her senior with money, a house, and a plane. They had met on a dating app for what was supposed to be a casual fling. But Alyssa became pregnant, and on July 23, 2019, she gave birth to a daughter named Willow. Motherhood transformed her. Friends watched as she went back to college, landed a good job, and poured everything into building a stable life for her child. Willow clung to her every moment of every day.
Beard, who had joint custody, wanted more. He pushed relentlessly for primary custody, dragging Alyssa through court hearing after court hearing, emptying her bank account with legal fees. He had the resources she didn't—the house, the income, the appearance of stability. Alyssa was terrified. Then, in spring 2020, Beard met Holly Elkins, and everything changed. Elkins sent Alyssa a text about building a healthy relationship. But within weeks, Beard became hostile again, more demanding than ever. Alyssa began feeling watched. She told friends and family that Beard always seemed to know where she was, where Willow was, what she was doing. One night, she texted her roommate from a bar downtown: "Oh my gosh, Andrew is here." The odds were impossible. She was being tracked.
In September 2020, one month before her death, a man named Frank Marrow called 911 and reported that Alyssa was selling drugs out of her car trunk at work. Police descended on the apartment complex and found exactly what the caller described: drugs, a pistol, and cash. But Alyssa knew nothing about any of it. The items had been planted. That same day, she texted her roommate Shelbie Wright: "He is going to try to get someone to kill me next." Wright's heart dropped. This wasn't the fearless woman she knew. Alyssa was genuinely scared. Her sister Madison thought the same thing: if the drug plant didn't work to take Willow away, what else was there besides murder?
Investigators quickly zeroed in on Beard. Within hours of the killing, they pulled over his truck and found him calm, unfazed, with Willow in the back seat. A search of his house revealed an envelope scribbled with notes—Alyssa's license plate number, the color and model of her vehicle, everything needed to make the fake 911 call. They found charging stations and batteries matching a tracking device discovered on her car. In the seized black Expedition, they recovered Alyssa's blood and a fake beard. In a bag, they found makeup—a dark foundation called Java, meant to disguise Beard's face and make him look like a Black man. He had bought the SUV specifically for the murder and abandoned it less than a mile from his house. A home security camera captured him fleeing through the neighborhood in what detectives called "the bigfoot run."
One year and eight months after the murder, Beard called his mother with news: he was going to plead guilty. His mother, Lizette Bowers, was devastated. She had believed in his innocence, convinced that the murder was too brutal, too stupid, too out of character for her son. But he admitted it. He killed Alyssa. And as he talked to the FBI as part of his plea deal, the full picture emerged. This wasn't his plan. It was Holly Elkins' plan. She was running the show. She told him what to do, when to do it, how to do it. The drug plant was her idea. The tracking was her obsession. She wanted Willow—wanted the perfect family that Alyssa stood in the way of. In her phone, Alyssa's contact name was "C*** Baby Mama." Elkins hated her with a burning passion.
Elkins had left Texas and returned to Michigan two and a half weeks after the murder, giving no hint of what she'd left behind. She got a new condo, a new Lexus, a new boyfriend. Her childhood best friend met up with her seven months later and saw a woman starting life anew, seemingly unbothered. But investigators were building a case. They found text messages showing Elkins manipulating Beard, pushing him toward violence. A week and a half before the murder, she left for Mexico but kept the pressure on: "I hope you handle it. I'm not coming home to BS." After he killed Alyssa, she begged him for details about the crime, asking him to describe the murder while they were in bed together. In July 2023, almost three years after Alyssa's death, federal agents arrested Elkins at Miami Airport as she returned from the Dominican Republic. The case went to trial in April 2024. The prosecutor told the jury: "Andrew Beard is a monster, but he was Holly Elkins' monster." After 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Elkins was sentenced to two life terms—longer than Beard.
For Alyssa's family, the verdict brought relief and heartbreak in equal measure. Her mother and sister had fought for justice, but the fight was over. Willow, now old enough to understand fragments of what happened, asked her grandmother if she could please bring her mom back, just so she could see her one more time. She asked if her mother had a phone number in heaven. One day, when Willow is ready, her family hopes she will understand the depth of her mother's love—not the tragedy of how it ended.
Citas Notables
Andrew Beard is a monster, but he was Holly Elkins' monster.— U.S. Attorney, during Elkins' trial
He is going to try to get someone to kill me next.— Alyssa Burkett, in a text to her roommate after the drug plant, one month before her death
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why do you think Holly Elkins was so fixated on getting Willow? It seems like more than just wanting a child.
It was about control and completion. She wanted the perfect family—the man, the child, the life. Alyssa had something she couldn't manufacture: a genuine bond with a child. Elkins saw Willow as the missing piece that would make her whole, make her worthy.
Andrew Beard seems almost passive in the narrative. How much of this was really his choice?
That's the trap of asking that question. Yes, he was manipulated. Yes, Elkins pushed him. But he still chose to buy the SUV, wear the disguise, pull the trigger, and stab a woman 44 times. Manipulation doesn't erase agency. It just explains how someone gets there.
The tracking, the drug plant, the fake 911 call—these were all escalations. Did anyone see the final step coming?
Alyssa did. She told her roommate he was going to try to get someone to kill her. Her sister thought the same thing after the drug plant failed. They understood the logic of it: when custody battles and harassment don't work, when the system isn't giving you what you want, what's left? That's the terrifying clarity Alyssa had.
What strikes you most about Elkins' behavior after the murder?
The performance. She cried to police, said she'd cried herself to nausea every night, acted devastated. Meanwhile, she was texting Beard asking for details about the murder to get aroused by. She left town without mentioning Alyssa's name once to anyone. That's not someone wracked with guilt. That's someone who thought she'd gotten away with it.
Do you think Beard would have killed Alyssa without Elkins?
The detective said no, and I believe him. Beard was in a custody dispute, yes, but he was also a man with a plane and a house—he had options. Elkins created the emotional pressure, the shame, the sense that he had to prove himself worthy of her love. She weaponized his insecurity.