In a tragic case out of Aurora, Colorado, a man has been sentenced to three decades in prison for the murder of his longtime friend, whose body was hidden beneath a bedroom floor. The case, described by prosecutors as deeply disturbing, has left a family devastated and a community stunned
Haskel Crawford, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Karl Beaman Jr., a man he had known for nearly twenty years. On April 17, a judge handed Crawford a 30-year sentence, to be served after completing a separate 16-year term for an unrelated aggravated robbery conviction in Jefferson County.
Beaman’s disappearance in May 2022 triggered alarm when his mother, unable to contact him, reported him missing to the Aurora Police Department. Her determination led her to start a Facebook page in hopes of gathering any information about her son’s whereabouts.
The breakthrough came when an anonymous individual sent a direct message to the Facebook page. The tipster claimed Beaman’s body was buried in a crawl space beneath concrete in an apartment. The message named Crawford and his girlfriend, Casie Bock, as the people responsible, alleging that the murder occurred because they believed Beaman was a “police informant.”
Following the tip, authorities searched Bock’s apartment and made a grim discovery. Beaman’s decomposed remains were found hidden in a crawl space accessed through her bedroom. The disturbing find confirmed the worst fears of his family.
During the investigation, Bock admitted that after Crawford committed the murder, she assisted in hiding the body. She was charged as an accessory and received a deferred judgment in 2023 after pleading guilty.
At the sentencing hearing, Beaman’s mother delivered a heart-wrenching statement. “He murdered my only child,” she said. “We may never know all the details, but the defendant does. I hope it haunts him every day for the rest of his life like it does me.”
Deputy District Attorney Michele Fuller expressed relief that the court imposed the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal. “Mr. Beaman died in the hands of someone he considered his best friend and brother of nearly two decades,” Fuller said.
