Beebe sentenced to 60 years for murder

PALMER — “This is all I have of him,” said Terria Walters, clutching an urn containing the remains of her son Christopher. “His ashes that sit on top of what little things I put in a glass case in my living room.”

Walters and a large contingent of family, friends and supporters filled Superior Court Judge Vanessa White’s courtroom Thursday afternoon for the sentencing of 32-year-old Joshua J. Beebe, who pleaded guilty May 8 for the June 2015 murder of 23-year-old Christopher Seaman of Houston. Walters said her son was an aspiring rap artist and recovering heroin addict at the time of his death. Troopers found Seaman’s body the morning of June 23, 2015, in his parked vehicle behind a fireworks stand on Parks Highway in Houston.

Both prosecutors and Beebe’s counsel struck a deal this spring in which Palmer Assistant District Attorney Melissa Wininger-Howard asked the court to hand down a 60-year sentence with 25 suspended and no discretionary parole. White imposed the sentence after more than an hour of proceedings.

“I have so much that I want to say to you,” Walters said, looking directly at Beebe sitting nearby. “I have wanted to hate you but (I can’t) because of my relationship with God. And because I have a strong relationship with God, I felt compelled very much, a need to forgive you for what you did to my son.”

Walters said she has daily nightmares and often thinks what Seaman, who would have been 26 the same day of the sentencing, would have looked like. She said she can’t watch shows with shooting or other violence without thinking about her son went through.

“For a day-and-a-half, my son lay dead in the back of a car. And for what?” she asked. ”To fuel your drug addiction.”

Walters said her son was a good man, very kindhearted and shy. A recovering drug addict herself, Walters said she was aware of what drugs can do to a person, but added it still does not forgive Beebe for what he did. Walters shared her personal story of overcoming drug addiction and straightening out her life.

“I took that time to change my life…you can take that same opportunity,” Walters said to Beebe.

Prior to Walters speaking, Tosca Yeager, Seaman’s then girlfriend who now lives in Washington state, addressed Beebe.

“Today is Aug. 17 and Chris would have been 26 years old. You murdered the love of my life…for what? I feel like you are a monster. Not a monster that I fear or that I feel sorry for,” she said. “After Chris passed away, I told myself I would live for the both of us, and I’ve been doing so.”

She told Beebe that she took a red-eye flight from Washington “…to reopen this wound one last time…so I could tell you these things to your face. I forgive you because that’s what Chris would have wanted…You left Chris alone stuffed in the backseat of a car. I pray that you use your time and change your life in a positive way and use the rest of your life to give back.”

Seaman’s grandfather Jeff also addressed the court via teleconference.

After Walters’ statement, Beebe made a very brief statement saying what happened was tragic.

“I don’t know the words to find to even begin to say I’m sorry,” Beebe said addressing his comments directly to Walters.

Before White imposed sentence, she addressed those in the courtroom. The judge said she had met Seaman and knew him to be a kind and loving young man who was surrounded by the love of his family. Addressing Walters specifically, White commended the mother for both overcoming and freely discussing her substance abuse challenges and her desire to help others overcome theirs.

White said she was surprised to hear Walters offer encouragement to seek recovery to a man who murdered her own son.

“It was an incredibly unselfish act on her part and demonstrates to me that she will use this tragedy in her own life and others to help overcome struggles with addiction and other issues that impact their wellbeing,” White said. “I am proud to live in the same community (that has) someone such as Miss Walters. “

White then took a few minutes to address the growing nationwide opioid addiction crisis stating she felt it “…the most significant challenge that this community has faced in the last 20 years. My comments are not made to excuse Mr. Beebe in any way. But we are here and the reason Mr. Beebe is here he is at least in part because of opiates.”

White suggested the best way to honor Seaman was by “taking whatever steps we can as a community to assist and engage in a sustained recovery.”

White added Beebe had the capability, even when struggling with addiction, to engage in the moral compass that his parents gave him and to do the right thing. The judge said she felt the prospect for Beebe’s rehabilitation was guarded at best.

Beebe was originally indicted on nine counts in August 2015 stemming from what authorities alleged were the shootings of two individuals in the span of a week. He faced charges of first-degree murder, three different counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first degree robbery, one count of first-degree assault, and two counts of third-degree weapons misconduct. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

In January of 2016, while incarcerated at Goose Creek Correctional Facility, Beebe was steadfast in his innocence of the Seaman murder. The following are excerpts from a published Frontiersman letter to the editor:

"We know that I have had minor run-ins with the law and struggled on-and-off with drugs and alcohol. But that does not make me a murderer. The police have been very quick to use every mistake, trial and tribulation throughout my life to try to add it all up to murder. But, what about speaking on my accomplishments? For more than a decade and a half I have been a hardworking and accomplished construction worker and carpenter, building houses, stores, hotels and even banks throughout the Valley and Anchorage," Beebe wrote. "I am a victim to unprofessional, malicious, and sadistic police investigators. It is very difficult to have trust and faith when there is absolutely no evidence to support these horrific charges...the real killer is on the loose."

In addition to his prison sentence, White assessed court costs and fines totaling $2,700 and left restitution open for 90 days after he is paroled.

Contact reporter Chris Ford at 352-2270 or chris.ford@frontiersman.com