Imagine being out with your fiancé for an evening at the bar. On your way home, you encounter another vehicle in a road rage incident. It’s dark, the car is racing up behind you, lights flashing, swerving in and out of their lane. Eventually they force you to stop. When your fiancé gets out, he is brutally murdered. That’s what Tracie Andrews claims happened. It must be true, right?
Tracie Andrews grew up the middle child of three, and had several half-siblings. Her parents had a volatile relationship, which likely contributed to problems in her future relationships. Those who knew her said she was possessive, and had a bad temper. Tracie was prone to aggressive and explosive displays of anger. She was easily provoked, and even became violent from time to time.
In 1990, at age 21, Tracie gave birth to a baby girl. After just over a year, her relationship with the baby’s father was over, and the couple separated.
Tracie wanted to become a model but before that became a possibility, she had to pay the bills. She took a job at a bar and in 1994, started a relationship with local man, Lee Harvey.
Their relationship moved with rocket speed, and within a short three months, the couple had moved in together, along with their children (each having a daughter from previous relationships). They say opposites attract, but in this case, Tracie and Lee were similar, in all the wrong ways. Not only was Tracie possessive, but Lee was as well. They were jealous of each other’s outside relationships with other men, or women.
Tracie and Lee were prone to heated arguments. The arguments were so aggressive, that neighbors reported the couple would shout at each other throughout the day. On several occasions, the couple broke up, but always came back together. Lee’s mother reported that her son had confided in her that Tracie had a noticeable temper.
Despite their problems, the couple got engaged, much to their family’s chagrin.
Tracie was still jealous though, as was Lee. On one occasion, Tracie became infuriated when a member of Lee’s family announced he planned on getting married. Another time, Lee became infuriated with Tracie for aborting their unborn baby.
Explosive arguments weren’t enough, and the two were known to assault each other. Police were called to their home on multiple occasions after reports of domestic abuse. The couple had noticeable physical injuries. In October 1996, police were called to their home where they discovered that Tracie had been Lee on the neck.
Both Lee’s and Tracie’s families encouraged them to break up. They didn’t.
On Sunday, December 1, 1996, after another long day of fighting, Tracie and Lee decided to take a break and hit the local bar for a few drinks. After a few drinks, they decided to call it a night and head back home.
The drive home should only have lasted about 10 minutes, but something went terribly wrong. According to Tracie, as they drove down the narrow and windy road, a car sped up behind them, flashing their lights and honking their horn.
They would speed up to put space between them and the car behind them, but it was only moments before the car was on their tail again. After a while of this, Lee became so frustrated that he pulled the car over. Instead of passing them, however, the other car pulled up behind Lee.
Both men got out of their vehicles and an argument ensued. But that’s all it was, just an argument, and before long, both men were heading back to their vehicles. That is, until the passenger from the other car decided he wanted to say something.
Before Lee could get back into the car, the passenger brutally attacked him. Seeing this, Tracie jumped out and tried to help, but it was no use. The passenger called her a slut and punched her in the face before turning his anger back to Lee.
When the passenger and the other car finally left, Tracie was able to get back to her fiancé. That’s when she discovered that he had been stabbed. “The passenger called me a slut and punched me in the face. Afterwards I went to Lee, I don’t know whether he was alive. I held him, I cradled his head and was just thinking of anything I could do for him.
“I had taken a first aid course and tried to stop the flow of blood. I went into a state of shock.”
All of the commotion caught the attention of a nearby resident who went to the road to investigate. Finding Lee’s body on the ground, stabbed and bloodied, with Tracie standing beside him, he immediately ran back to his home to call the police.
When police arrived, Tracie told them her story, though there were details she couldn’t remember, such as what sort of car the perpetrators had been driving. Investigators noticed that Tracie and Lee’s car had been parked neatly on the side of the road, and there was no sign of road rage – no tire marks, etc…
Lee Harven was pronounced dead at the scene. His autopsy would later reveal he had been stabbed a total of 42 times with a penknife – in the back, front, and throat, the final blow being to an artery in his neck. They also found 80-100 strands of Tracie’s hair clutched in his hand – though they did not know it was hers until later.
Tracie was taken to the hospital where she was treated for her own injuries.
At a press conference on December 3, 1996, Tracie told everyone that Lee had been killed in a road rage attack, saying that a “fat man with staring eyes” had stabbed him over 30 times after getting out of a Ford Sierra in which he was a passenger. Much to the shock of police, she went on to appeal to the driver of the other vehicle.
“Whoever this person is that was with you, you obviously know him. But… he’s ruined my life, he’s ruined the lives of Maureen and Ray, and, um, please just tell us who he is.” She went on to tell the driver that if he came forward, he wouldn’t be in any trouble, it was only the passenger they wanted.
A witness came forward. A child, who lived on the street where Lee had been murdered had heard an argument that night. Though she could not see who it was, she could tell that one voice was that of a man, and the other was distinctly female.
Another witness came forward to report that they had seen Lee Harvey’s car drive past them on the road where the murder had taken place. There was no other car following them, in fact,they hadn’t seen any other cars on that road that evening; it was a fairly rural road.
On December 4, Tracie Andrews tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. While she was in the hospital, police took the opportunity to question her further. On the night of the murder, her clothes had been covered in blood, however it wasn’t just blood from holding Lee after the incident. There was blood spatter, which shouldn’t be there if she was some distance away while he was being stabbed.
Evidence suggested that she was either right there as he was being attacked, or was in fact, the attacker. But she stuck to her story, claiming it had been from holding her fiancé.
When asked about the hair in his hand, she claimed he must have pulled it out as he lay dying in her arms.
Based on the evidence they had, and the attempted suicide, police were sure they had their killer. Tracie Andrews was arrested on December 19, 1996 and later released on bail.
Police needed further evidence if they were going to prove murder. Going back over what they had, they stopped on the boots they had taken from Tracie. Inside the boot they found what appeared to be a penknife-shaped blood stain and impression. Police were convinced that Tracie had concealed the penknife in her boot and disposed of it at the hospital on the night of the murder.
Tracie was formally charged with murder on July 1, 1997, and found guilty on July 29, 1997. She was given a life sentence with a recommendation that she serve a minimum of 14 years. Though she appealed her sentence, it was denied in October 1998.
Her story changed by April 1999, when she finally came out and admitted that she had stabbed Lee to death. She claimed it had been self defense, though the evidence suggested otherwise.
In December 2010, she became a grandmother when her daughter gave birth to a baby girl.
Tracie Andrews served 14 years before being released in July 2011. As part of her release agreement, she was banned from traveling within 25 miles of Lee Harvey’s family without supervision. She has since changed her name to Tia Carter and underwent cosmetic surgery to change her appearance.
Tracie changed her name yet again, this time to Jenna Stephens, and later Jenna Stephens Goldsworth when she married in 2017 to Phil Goldsworthy.
In 2007, Lee’s mother, Maureen Harvey, wrote a book called Pure Evil: How Tracie Andrews Murdered My Son, Deceived the Nation and Sentenced Me to a Life of Pain and Misery.
Another abusive couple that ended their relationship with murder is the Hurricane Katrina Royalty – Addie Hall and Zack Bowen.
