Texarkana Moonlight Murders - Wikipedia. Phantom Killer. Born. Never identified. Killings. Victims. Span of killings.
February 2. 2, 1. May 3, 1. 94. 6Country. United States. State(s)Texas (Texarkana)Date apprehended. Never apprehended.
The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the news media, references the unsolved murders committed in and around Texarkana in the spring of 1. The killer is credited with attacking eight people within ten weeks, five of whom were killed, usually three weeks apart. The attacks happened on weekends between February 2. May 3, 1. 94. 6. The first two victims, Jimmy Hollis and Mary Larey, survived. The first double murder, which involved Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore, happened four weeks later.
Serial killer Gary Leon Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, murdered at least 49 women in Washington state before he was caught in 2001. Serial killer Gary Leon.
The second double- homicide, involving Paul Martin and Betty Jo Booker, occurred exactly three weeks from the first murders. The Texas Rangers came in to investigate, including the famous M. Finally, almost exactly three weeks later, Virgil Starks was killed and his wife, Katie, was severely wounded. Contrary to popular belief, the killer did not attack during a full moon, but did strike late at night. The murders sent the town of Texarkana into a state of panic throughout the summer. At dusk, city inhabitants heavily armed themselves and locked themselves indoors while police patrolled streets and neighborhoods.
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The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the news media, references the unsolved murders committed in and around Texarkana in the spring of 1946 by an. A pretty young mother is shot dead in her bedroom in 1985, and her teenage stepdaughter confesses to the crime. The case is as good as closed, but detectives suspect. Crime Scene Training A blog to teach the fundamentals of Crime Scene Investigation, and to encourage input, feedback and involvement from site visitors.
Although many businesses lost customers at night, stores sold out of guns, ammunition, locks, and many other protective devices. Several rumors began to spread, including that the killer was caught, or that a third and even fourth double- homicide had been committed. Most of the town hid in fear inside their houses or hotels, sometimes even leaving town. Some youths took matters in their own hands by trying to bait the Phantom so they could kill him.
After three months of no more Phantom attacks, the Texas Rangers slowly and quietly left town to keep the Phantom from believing he was safe to strike again. The murders were reported nationally and internationally by several publications.
Since the movie claimed that the . A cold case in Texarkana in 1. Virginia Carpenter has been speculated to be the work of The Phantom. The 2. 01. 4 book The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders, by James Presley, pointed to Youell Swinney as the culprit of all five attacks. Presley believes that there is enough evidence to close the case. Attacks and murders.
According to a fourteen- page statement by Hollis, the attack happened about 5. Richmond Road on an unpaved street, about 1. After about ten minutes, a man walked up to Hollis' driver- side door and flashed a flashlight in his face, blinding him. Hollis, not sure if it was a prank or if he had been mistaken for someone else, told the man, . You've got the wrong man. They both got out through the driver- side door.
The man told Hollis to . Larey explained in an interview three months later with Texarkana Gazette reporter Lucille Holland that the noise was so loud she thought he had been shot, but she learned later it was the sound of his skull cracking. Larey then picked up Hollis' pants and pulled out his wallet and told the assailant, . Larey told him that she did not and was knocked to the ground. She said she felt like she was hit with an iron pipe.
The assailant ordered her to get up, and, when she did, he told her to run. As she ran towards a ditch, the assailant told her not to go that way but to run up the road. She stated that while she was running, she heard Hollis groaning, and that the man continued to beat and stomp him. She was having trouble running in her high heels when the assailant ran after her.
She saw an older car parked further up the street facing their vehicle. She quickly looked inside to see if anyone could help her, but after seeing no one, she began to run and was overtaken by the attacker. The man asked her why she was running. She told him he told her to run. Larey stated he did not rape her but abused her terribly. Later reports indicated that the assailant sexually assaulted her with the barrel of his gun.
She managed to get up and told the assailant, . A car passed but did not stop when she called after it. She ran to the back of the house and woke up the owners, who then notified authorities. Bowie County. Sheriff W. They found Hollis' pants 1. Post- attack. Hollis was hospitalized for several days with three skull fractures.
She stated she did not know why the attacker did not chase after her or kill her. She learned that the injured Hollis made his way to Richmond Road and flagged down a passing motorist, who contacted a local funeral home ambulance. Larey thought the attacker may have been scared off by headlights.
In her interview with Lucille Holland, she stated that she had told the attacker to kill her because she would rather have been dead than to be touched or abused. She also explained that she did not understand why officers did not believe her when she told them the attacker was black and that she did not know who he was.
She said officers attempted to coerce her into stating that she knew the assailant. Because Hollis was blinded by the flashlight before being beaten, he did not notice a mask. Although Hollis believed he was a dark- tanned white man, Larey believed he was a light- skinned African American . By March 9, no developments had been made, but the department continued to search for clues to the identity of the attacker.
The next attack happened 2. March 2. 4. Larey moved to Frederick, Oklahoma two months later to live with her aunt and uncle.
After the first double murder, she made a trip from Frederick to Texarkana hoping that her story would help police connect the incidents and catch the killer. She was questioned by the Texas Rangers, who continued to insist that she knew who her attacker was. Later, after the second double murder, Texas Ranger Joe Thompson flew to Frederick to question her again. Following the murder of Virgil Starks nine weeks later, Hollis and Larey declared that their attacker was the same person who killed the other five victims. The crazy things he said made me feel that his mind was warped. Right after it happened, I told the deputy sheriff and the city attorney that that man was dangerous. He is a potential murderer.
The next person he gets will be killed. It wasn't long after that when the first two bodies were found out on West Seventh street. I think there are three people alive today who escaped from that man. The woman who is in the hospital now .
Griffin and Polly Ann Moore. Griffin, age 2. 9, and his girlfriend of six weeks, Polly Ann Moore, age 1. Griffin's 1. 94. 1 Oldsmobilesedan on Sunday, March 2. The motorist at first thought that they were asleep. Griffin was found between the front seats on his knees with his head resting on his crossed hands, and his pockets were turned inside out. Moore was found sprawled face- down in the back seat.
Griffin had been shot twice while still in the car. Moore's purse was beside her in the back seat and contained the photo of her that was used in the following morning's paper. The motorist contacted the city police who then contacted Bowie County Sheriff W. According to a police report written by Arkansas State Trooper Max Tackett, one of the lead investigators of the Phantom cases, Moore was killed on a blanket in front of the vehicle before being placed back inside. In a mix- up, Moore's body was picked up before an examination could determine if she had been sexually assaulted. Both bodies were taken to the Texarkana Funeral Home. The couple were last seen having dinner with Griffin's sister and her boyfriend on Saturday at around 1.
They were also seen earlier Saturday at 2 p. On Monday, March 2. Presley, leader of the investigation, was with his old friend Texas City Police Chief Jack N.
Runnels when the call came in and they sped to the scene. They immediately launched a city- wide investigation along with the Texas and Arkansas city police, the Department of Public Safety, Miller and Cass County sheriffs' departments and the FBI. No money was found on Griffin, nor was any found in Moore's purse.
Family members claimed that they did not carry much money with them. Officials spent most of Sunday exploiting the very few clues that were left behind. Stream Gad Elmaleh: Part En Live online in english with english subtitles 4K 16:9.
Presley declared that no break in the case was left in sight. Among the uncovered clues were a section of ground 2.
A blanket was also found in the car and a . Colt, inside the blanket. He and the rest of the investigators combed for more clues on Tuesday. They concluded the only apparent motive was robbery.
The investigators continued to work overtime on the crime the papers called . The lack of definite clues hampered their investigation.
The bloody sand that was found seven steps in front of the car was sent to laboratories of the State Department of Public Safety in Austin, Texas, along with the blood- soaked clothing of the victims, to determine if the blood belonged to one of the victims or a third party. They managed to get three suspects in custody because of bloody clothing, two of whom were released on explanations that satisfied the officers. The third suspect was held in Vernon, Texas for further grilling. Dick Oldhan, another Ranger, was called in and arrived Wednesday from Tyler, Texas to help in the investigation. In the March 2. 7 edition of Texarkana Gazette, an announcement was made that told readers .
Texarkana residents can help in this investigation and at the same time if they are not careful, they can hinder the investigation and cause the officers to spend many hours following blind trails. Persons who have information which might furnish a clue to the identity of the slayer or slayers or which might indicate a motive for the crime should not divulge such information on street corners or at cold drink stands but should immediately make it available to the officers.
Do not spread rumors regardless of how much basis for fact there is in them.