Execution date set for Smith County man who strangled mother, buried her in backyard

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - An execution date has been set for the Smith County man who strangled his mother and buried her body in their backyard.

The execution date for Tracy Lane Beatty, 58, of Whitehouse, was set in the 241st Judicial District Court in Tyler on Wednesday. Beatty was brought in from a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison unit for the court hearing.

Beatty’s execution date was set for 6 p.m. on March 25, 2020.

Beatty committed the crime in December of 2003, and he was arrested and charged with capital murder. He was convicted of the crime in August of 2004.

According to information on the TDCJ website, Beatty strangled his 62-year-old mother and left her in the bathtub for two days. Then he buried her in a shallow grave in their backyard.

Before he was convicted on the capital murder charge, Beatty did a 4-year prison term for an injury to a child charge and a 15-year prison term for a theft charge. Both of his previous convictions were in Dallas County.