On August 24, 1995, Jane O’Toole, Monfort’s daughter, went to check on her mom as she hadn’t heard from her in several days.
Beasley had been staying with Monfort at the time, as he had been working at an apartment complex owned by Neal O’Toole, her son-in-law.
However, when she arrived, Beasley was gone, and she found that her 62-year-old mother had been bludgeoned to death in her laundry room. A bloody hammer in a towel was found near her body.
Monfort’s autopsy later revealed that she’d been hit up to 20 times.
Beasley was on the run for around five months. He fled Polk County for Miami, then Alabama, where he was caught living and working under a fake name.
Investigators determined he’d stolen Monfort’s car and was still using it when they caught him.
In 1998, Beasley was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.