Texarkana Moonlight Murders

"Phantom Killer" and "Phantom Slayer" redirect here. For the 1942 film, see Phantom Killer (film). For the 1982 video game, see Phantom Slayer (video game).

Phantom Killer
Born	Never identified
Details
Victims	5 killed, 3 wounded
Span of crimes	February 22, 1946 – May 3, 1946
Country	United States
State(s)	Texas (Texarkana)
Date apprehended	Never apprehended

The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the news media, were a series of unsolved murders and other violent crimes committed in and around Texarkana in the spring of 1946 by an unidentified serial killer known as the "Phantom Killer" or "Phantom Slayer". The killer is credited with attacking eight people within ten weeks, five of whom were killed.

The attacks happened on weekends between February 22, 1946 and May 3, 1946. 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. The second double-homicide, involving Paul Martin and Betty Jo Booker, occurred exactly three weeks after the first murders. Finally, almost exactly three weeks later, Virgil Starks was killed and his wife, Katie, was severely wounded. The Texas Rangers came in to investigate, including the famous M. T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas.

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. 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 into their own hands by trying to bait the Phantom so they could kill him. After three months without 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.

The 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown was released internationally and is loosely based on the events, despite its claim that "only the names have been changed". Because the movie claimed that the "story you are about to see is true, where it happened and how it happened," the fabricated parts created much of the myth and folklore around the murders for several decades. The disappearance of Virginia Carpenter, a cold case in Texarkana in 1948, has been speculated as the work of the Phantom.

The prime suspect in the case was Youell Swinney, who was linked to the murders by statements from his wife. Swinney's wife refused to testify against him, and he was never convicted. Two of the lead investigators in the case, however, believed him to be guilty, and the 2014 book The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders by Dr. James Presley also points to Swinney as the culprit of all five attacks. Presley believes that there is enough evidence to close the case.

Crimes

February 22, 1946: First attack

At around 11:45 p.m. on Friday, February 22, 1946, Jimmy Hollis, age 25, and his girlfriend, Mary Jeanne Larey, age 19, parked on a secluded road known as a lovers' lane after having seen a movie together. The area was approximately 50 feet (15 m) off Richmond Road on an unpaved street, about 100 yards from the last row of city homes. Around ten minutes later, at 11:55 p.m., a man wearing a white cloth mask–which resembled a pillowcase with eye holes cut out–appeared at Hollis's driver-side door, and shined a flashlight in the window. Unsure if the man was pranking him, Hollis told him he had the wrong person, to which the man responded: "I don't want to kill you, fellow, so do what I say."

Both Hollis and Larey were ordered out the driver-side door, and the man ordered Hollis to "take off [his] goddamn britches." After he complied, the man struck him in the head twice with a pistol. Larey would later tell investigators that the noise was so loud she had initially thought he had been shot, when it had actually been his skull fracturing. Thinking the assailant wanted to rob them, Larey showed him Hollis's wallet to prove he had no money, after which she was struck with a blunt object. The assailant ordered her to stand, and when she did, told her to run. Initially, she tried to flee toward a ditch, but the assailant ordered her to run a different direction up the road.

Larey spotted an old car parked off the road, but found it empty, and was again confronted by the attacker, who asked her why she was running. When she responded that he had told her to do so, he called her a liar before knocking her down and sexually assaulting her with the barrel of his gun. After the assault, Larey fled on foot, running a half-mile to a nearby house; she attempted to call for a car passing by the residence, but was ignored.

Larey was able to awaken the residents of the house and phone the police. Meanwhile, Hollis had regained consciousness and managed to flag down a passerby on Richmond Road. The motorist left Hollis at the scene and drove to a nearby funeral home where he was able to call the police. Within thirty minutes, Bowie County Sheriff W. H. "Bill" Presley and three other officers arrived at the scene of the attack, but the assailant had already left. They found Hollis' pants 100 yards away from the parked car.

Larey was hospitalized overnight for a minor head wound. Hollis was hospitalized for several days to recover from multiple skull fractures, but both survived the attack. Hollis and Larey gave conflicting reports to law enforcement as to what their attacker looked like: Larey claimed the man was wearing a white bag over his head with cutouts for the eyes and mouth, and that she could see under the mask that he was apparently African-American. Hollis alternately claimed the man was white, and around 30 years old, but conceded he could not distinguish his features as he had been blinded with a flashlight. Both agreed that the assailant was around 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. Law enforcement repeatedly challenged Larey's account, and believed that she and Hollis knew the identity of their attacker and were covering for him.

March 24, 1946: First double-murder

Sheriff Bill Presley and his deputies have a difficult task ahead of them as they attempt to solve the shocking double murder discovered Sunday morning. 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 many bases for the fact there is in them. Do not say 'I heard' or 'they say' because the chances are that the person listening will repeat your information and enlarge upon it. Before long the story grows to such proportions as to necessitate a detailed investigation by the officers, thereby perhaps pulling them off the true trail and sending them up a blind alley. Stick to facts that you know of your own personal knowledge and relay those facts as quickly as possible to the officers.

-- March 27, 1946 edition of the Texarkana Gazette, suggesting to readers that they "Can Help Solve Murders"

Richard L. Griffin, age 29, and his girlfriend of six weeks, Polly Ann Moore, age 17, were found dead in Griffin's 1941 Oldsmobile sedan on Sunday, March 24, 1946 between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. by a passing motorist. The motorist saw the parked car on a lovers' lane named Rich Road (now South Robison) near a railroad spur 100 yards south of US Highway 67 West close to a nightspot called Club Dallas. The motorist at first thought that both were asleep. Griffin was found between the front seats on his knees with his head resting on his crossed hands and his pockets turned inside out; Moore was found sprawled face-down in the back seat. There is evidence however to suggest she was killed on a blanket outside the car and then placed there.

Griffin had been shot twice while still in the car; both had been shot once in the back of the head, and both were fully clothed. A blood-soaked patch of earth near the car suggested to police that they had been killed outside the car and placed back inside. Congealed blood was found covering the running board, and it had flowed through the bottom of the car door. A .32 cartridge shell was also found, possibly shot from a Colt pistol wrapped in a blanket.

No extant reports indicate that either Griffin or Moore were examined by a pathologist. Contemporaneous local rumor had it that a sexual assault had also occurred, but modern reports refute this claim. In response to the murders, police launched a citywide investigation along with the Texas and Arkansas city police, the Department of Public Safety, Miller and Cass County sheriffs' departments, and the FBI. By March 27, local police had interviewed around fifty to sixty witnesses, including patrons and employees of Club Dallas, a local bar near the crime scene. By March 30, police had posted a $500 reward in an effort to gain any new information on the Griffin and Moore case that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible; however, the rewards yielded no fruitful clues or suspects, instead producing over 100 false leads.

April 13, 1946: Second double-murder

Officers searching for clues down Morris Lane

On the evening of Saturday, April 13, Betty Jo Booker, age 15, was playing her alto saxophone in her regular weekly gig with her band, The Rythmaires, at the VFW Club at West Fourth and Oak Street. Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, April 14, her friend Paul Martin, age 17, arrived to pick her up from the performance. This was the last time the pair were seen alive. Martin's body was found at around 6:30 a.m. that morning by Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Weaver and their son, lying on its left side by the northern edge of North Park Road. Blood was found further down on the other side of the road by a fence. He had been shot four times—once through the nose, again through the left fourth rib from behind, a third time in the right hand, and finally through the back of the neck.

Booker's body was not found until approximately 11:30 a.m., almost 2 miles (3.2 km) away from Martin's body, behind a tree. She was found by members of the Boyd family, along with their friend Ted Schoeppey, who had joined the search party. Her body was lying on its back, fully clothed, with the right hand in the pocket of the buttoned overcoat. Booker had been shot twice, once through the chest and once in the face. The weapon used was the same as in the first double-murder, a .32 automatic Colt pistol.

Martin's 1946 Ford Club coupe was found about 3 miles (4.8 km) away from Booker's body and 1.55 miles (2.49 km) away from his body. It was parked outside Spring Lake Park with the keys still in it. The authorities were not sure who was shot first. Sheriff Presley and Texas Ranger Captain Manuel Gonzaullas said that examinations of the bodies indicated that they both had put up a terrific struggle. Martin's friend, Tom Albritton, said he did not believe an argument had happened between the victims and that Martin hadn't had any enemies. Law enforcement was unable to locate Booker's saxophone at the crime scene; the saxophone was eventually discovered around six months later, on October 24, still in its black imitation leather case, in underbrush near where Booker's body had been found.

A reward fund exceeding $1,700 was accrued for information leading to the person(s) responsible in the Griffin-Moore and Martin-Booker murders. Rumors circulated throughout the area, with one rumor suggesting a local minister had turned in his own son as a suspect in the Martin-Booker murders. On April 18, Captain Gonzaullas issued a statement to the public during a press conference verifying that the murderer had not been caught and that the rumors circulating among the public and in the newspapers were "a hindrance to the investigation and harmful to innocent persons."

May 3, 1946: Final crimes

On Friday, May 3, sometime before 9 p.m., Virgil Starks, age 37, a farmer and welder, was in his modest, ranch-style house on a 500-acre farm off Highway 67 East, almost 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Texarkana. He turned on his favorite weekly radio show, and his wife, Katie, age 36, gave him a heating pad for his sore back. He sat in his armchair in the sitting room, which was just off of the kitchen and the bedroom. While Katie was in her bedroom lying on the bed in her nightgown, she heard something from the backyard and asked Virgil to turn down the radio. Seconds later, while Virgil was reading the May 3rd edition of the Texarkana Gazette, two shots were fired into the back of his head from a closed double-window 3 feet (0.91 m) away. Katie did not hear the gunshots; instead, she heard what "sounded like the breaking of glass". She thought Virgil had dropped something and went to see what happened. As she entered the doorway to the living room, she saw Virgil stand up and then suddenly slump back into his chair. She saw blood, then ran to him and lifted up his head. When she realized he was dead, she ran to the phone to call the police.

She rang the wall-crank phone two times before being shot twice in the face from the same window. One bullet entered her right cheek and exited behind her left ear. The other went in just below her lip, breaking her jaw and splintering out several teeth before lodging under her tongue. She dropped to her knees but soon managed to get back on her feet. She ran to get a pistol from the living room, but was blinded by her own blood. She heard the killer tearing loose the rusted screen wire on the back porch. She thought she was going to be killed, so she stumbled toward her bedroom near the front of the house to leave a note. Meanwhile, the killer ran to the back of the house and made his way up the steps and into the side-screened porch through the back screen door. She heard the killer coming through the kitchen window, so she turned around and ran through the dining room, through the bedroom, down a hallway, through another bedroom, and then into the living room and out the front door, leaving behind a "virtual river of blood" and teeth throughout the house and across the street. Barefoot and still in her blood-soaked nightgown, she ran across the street to her sister and brother-in-law's house. Because no one was home, she ran 50 yards more to A. V. Prater's house. Prater answered her call for help. She gasped, "Virgil's dead", then collapsed.

Prater shot a rifle in the air to summon another neighbor, Elmer Taylor. Prater called to Taylor to bring his car because Mr. and Mrs. Starks had been shot. Taylor, along with Mr. and Mrs. Prater and their baby, rode with Mrs. Starks to Michael Meagher Hospital (now Miller County Health Unit) at 503 Walnut Street. Mrs. Starks gave Mr. Taylor, the driver, one of her teeth with a gold filling. She was in a semi-conscious state, slumping forward on the front seat. Although she lost a considerable amount of blood, she showed no signs of going into shock and her heart rate remained normal. Miller County Sheriff W. E. Davis, who became head of the investigation, questioned Mrs. Starks in the operating room. The news was printed on the front page the next morning, Saturday, May 4, reading "MURDER ROCKS CITY AGAIN; FARMER SLAIN, WIFE WOUNDED". Four days later, Sheriff Davis talked with Mrs. Starks again at the hospital. Mrs. Starks discounted a circulating rumor that Virgil had heard a car outside their home several nights in a row and feared of being killed.

Investigation and post-events

The Miller County Sheriff's Department was notified just minutes after the alarm reached Hope City Police. Arkansas State Police Officers Charley Boyd and Max Tackett got the call on their radio and were the first officers at the scene. Some of the reports were contradictory. One of the officers said that they found Starks still slumped in the blood-soaked chair, and that the chair had caught fire from the electric heating pad. "Smoke was filling the room and was coming up all around the man and between his legs." Yet Sheriff W. E. Davis said that when officers arrived at the scene, they found the chair on fire, but Starks' body was not burned because it had fallen on the floor.

Immediately after reports of the slaying spread, blockades were set up several miles northeast and southwest on Highway 67 East. Sheriff Davis called in officers from the entire area to help in the investigation, including two agents from the FBI, Captain Gonzaullas and other Texas Rangers, Sheriff Presley and his deputies, Sheriff Jim Sanderson from Little River County, Arkansas State Police, local police, and many others. In the house, investigators found a trail of blood with scattered teeth. On the dining room table were Mrs. Starks' supplies for making a dress. Gonzaullas, after seeing the "virtual river of blood", stated, "it is beyond me why she did not bleed to death." There were only two bullet holes in the window, leading Sheriff Davis to believe an automatic rifle was used. Investigators declared that after the killer shot Virgil, he waited patiently outside the window to shoot Virgil's wife.

Three clues were found at the scene. The first was the caliber of bullets. The second was a flashlight found in the hedge underneath the window that Starks was shot from. The last clue was bloody prints around the house: shoe-prints on the kitchen floor and smudged fingerprints in other places. Sheriff Davis stated that although this murder could not be directly linked to the Phantom because the caliber was a .22, "it is possible that the killer is one and the same man." Those who had been driving in the area near the time of the slaying, along with several men found in the vicinity, were picked up for questioning.

Early Saturday morning, bloodhounds were brought in from Hope by the Arkansas State Police. They found two trails that led to the highway before the scent was lost. That night, many officers patrolled lovers' lanes hoping to prevent another attack. By Sunday night, more State Police officers were called in to help in the investigation and aid in protecting the local civilians. Officers had detained at least twelve suspects but only kept three for further questioning. Forty-seven officers were working around the clock to solve the mysteries. Among them were sheriffs of four counties, Captain Gonzaullas and his staff of Texas Rangers, and Chief Deputy Tillman Johnson.

The flashlight was sent to Washington, D.C. for further inspection by the FBI. Meanwhile, Mrs. Starks was showing improvements at Michael Meagher Hospital. The unofficial theory for a motive amongst the majority of the 47 officers was that of "sex mania" because large amounts of money in the home were not taken, nor was Mrs. Starks' purse, which was lying on the bed containing money and jewels. The title on the front page of the Texarkana Gazette on Sunday, May 5, 1946 read: "SEX MANIAC HUNTED IN MURDERS".

On the night of Virgil's death, the reward fund was up to $7,025. The following Tuesday, a mobile radio station was being sent from Austin, Texas. Gonzaullas stated that the unit, which was "one of the best in the country", would be accompanied by a fleet of prowl cars furnished with two-way radio equipment, which would allow the officers to converse not only with headquarters but between cars as well. A clerk from the Bowie County selective service Board No. 1 stated that even though he contacted officers two weeks prior, no investigating officers had checked his files. Another clerk from the Miller County draft board stated that no request for examination of her files had been made. Both explained that their reports would reveal information such as thumbprints, rifleman awards, and mental and physical conditions of the registrants. That night, during a radio interview, Gonzaullas asked residents to help the investigation by refraining from spreading and repeating rumors. He stated, "These only take the officers from the main route of the investigation. It is so important that we capture this man that we cannot afford to overlook any lead, no matter how fantastic it may seem."

The next day, the mobile radio transmitting station arrived in Texarkana late in the afternoon, along with ten police cars and twenty State Police officers. Captain Gonzaullas placed it into operation immediately. A correspondent from the International News Service made reservations to come to the city and cover the story. Bob Carpenter from the Mutual Broadcasting Service in New York City arrived and was arranging a coast-to-coast broadcast directly from the KCMC studios (the Gazette and Daily News radio station) on 315 national stations. John Holman, chairman of the reward fund, asked people to send their donations in check form made out to either the Texarkana National Bank or the State National Bank. He said that the reward monies would be kept in deposit slips, which would make it easier to return the money back to the donors if needed.

On Thursday morning, May 9, Sheriff Davis was notified that the flashlight found at the Starks murder scene contained no fingerprints. On Wednesday, May 29, a colored picture on the front page of the Texarkana Gazette showed the flashlight. It was the Texarkana Gazette's first spot-colored photograph.

The spot-colored photograph of the flashlight in the Texarkana Gazette

The description under the picture read:

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TWO-CELL FLASHLIGHT?--This is a picture in detail of the flashlight found at the scene of the Starks murder. This is a two-cell, all-metal flashlight, both ends of which are painted red. Three rivets hold the head of the flashlight to the body of the light. There has been only a limited number of these lights sold in this area. If you have owned or know of anyone who owned one of these lights, report at once to Sheriff W. E. Davis, Miller County Courthouse, Texarkana, Ark. You may be the one to aid in solving the phantom slayings.

In the May 11th edition of the Texarkana Gazette, Sheriff Presley and Chief of Police Jack N. Runnels asked for any information on missing persons on the nights of the murders. "Somebody in Texarkana or in Bowie or Miller Counties knows that somebody else was 'out of pocket' on the nights of Feb 22-23, March 23–24, April 13–14, and May 3, and Sheriff W. H. Presley and Chief of Police Jack Runnels want persons having such knowledge to report to them immediately," said the newspaper. In a joint statement, the officers declared:

We want every man and woman in these two counties to recall the dates of these murders and also to recall whether or not any person close to them was missing or out of the pocket during those nights. Persons who have such information and have been withholding it when they know they should report it are leaving themselves open to possible charges of complicity in the event the slayer is captured. Make no mistake about the fact that the slayer will be captured because we will not give up this hunt until he has been captured or killed. All information received will be treated confidentially. We urge you to come in and tell what you know. Don't be hesitant or fear that you are causing an innocent man embarrassment and trouble in as much all investigation will be confidential. This is no time to take any chance on information which might lead us to the slayer. This maniac must be captured. We believe that we are justified in going to any ends to halt this chain of murder. Bear in mind--this killer may strike at anyone. He may strike at persons close to him. For that reason, we believe any person with information that may lead us to the murderer should act in the interest of self-preservation.

On Saturday, May 11, a teletype machine arrived from Austin, Texas in the afternoon and was installed in the Bowie County Sheriff's office. It was in operation later that night. Gonzaullas explained that the machine would aid in the investigation by connecting them with other law enforcement offices in Texas. Sheriffs Presley and Davis suggested raising a reward fund of $2,500 for information that would help catch the killer of Virgil Starks. They mentioned that if the slayer of Mr. Starks was the same killer responsible for the other murders, then the Starks reward would be combined with the other rewards, equating to a sum of $10,000. Over a month later, on Monday, June 10, Virgil's father, Jack Starks, added a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his son's killer. By November 1948, authorities no longer considered the Starks murder connected to the other double-murders.

Rumors

By May 19, rumors were still being spread. Many people believed that the slayer had been caught. Some believed he was being held at the Bowie County Jail surrounded by Texas Rangers with submachine guns on their knees. Others believed he was flown to an out-of-town jail. The Gazette and News offices were drowned with phone calls, both local and long distance, inquiring about the apprehension of the killer. "Newspapers Will Tell Public If Killer Is Caught", read one of the sub-headlines of the May 19th edition of the Texarkana Gazette. Sheriff Presley declared that innocent people were being accused of being the Phantom and asked residents to show more consideration for their fellow citizens.

Presley stated, "These rumors positively are not true. We can understand why the people believe them. All of us are tense and are hopeful that at any hour officers will announce they have the killer in custody. The people must not become so anxious to rid themselves of the killer, however, that they brand innocent persons as the murderer and believe unfounded stories. The investigating officers have announced that when and if the killer is apprehended or killed, the public will be given the full story through the newspapers. We reaffirm this statement. The newspapers are kept posted on developments in the investigation and they will announce all news immediately. We believe that the people have a right to know if the killer is caught or killed, and we pledge ourselves to let the public have this information."

Consternation and panic

After the first double-murder, some parents warned their children about being out late. The second double-murder shocked the city and curfews were set for businesses. The height of the town's hysteria snowballed after the murder of Virgil Starks. The Texarkana Gazette stated on Sunday, May 5 that the killer might strike again at any moment, at any place, and at anyone. Before, it was normal to leave one's house unlocked, but soon residents started locking doors, pulling down shades, blocking windows, and arming themselves with guns. Some people nailed sheets over their windows or nailed the windows down. Some used screened-door braces as window guards. The day after Starks' death, several residents bought firearms and locks. Stores sold out of locks, guns, ammunition, window shades, and Venetian blinds. Additional items of which sales increased included window sash locks, screen door hooks, night latches, and other protective devices.

That weekend, Texarkana residents kept the police busy by flooding the station with reports of prowlers. One officer stated that nearly all of the alarms were the result of excitement, wild imagination, and even near-hysteria. Farmhouses and neighborhoods blazed with lights. Several businesses, including cafés, theaters, and nightclubs, lost many customers. One business reported a 20% drop in sales. The evenings were hopping, but the streets were practically deserted when dawn approached. The city became a virtual ghost town. Because of the drop in business, liquor stores began closing at 9:30 p.m., and a statement was posted in the paper saying, "We fully understand the state of mind in which Texarkana is now gripped. And we are selling no liquor to persons who already have been drinking. We do not wish to add further to the troubles of the police. Any person who drinks whiskey at this time to get drunk and wander about the streets of Texarkana is further complicating the works of the police and is placing himself in grave danger of being shot by people whose nerves are on edge from the recent murders."

Because citizens were considerably jittery and armed with guns, Texarkana became a very dangerous place. When driving up, officers had to turn on their sirens, stand in their headlights, and announce themselves to keep from being shot by a nervous homeowner. In order to go to someone's house, you had to call in advance and let them know to expect you. A fearful tavern proprietor shot a customer in search of beer in the foot.

On the front page of the Texarkana Gazette on Monday, May 6, a headline stated that the entire area was fighting jitters. Captain Gonzaullas helped fuel the hysteria when he announced on the radio Tuesday evening that Texarkanians should "oil up their guns and see if they are loaded. Put them out of the reach of children. Do not use them unless it's necessary, but if you believe it is, do not hesitate." When asked what advice he could give to quiet the town's fear, he responded: "I'd tell them to check the locks and bolts on their doors and get a double-barreled shotgun to take care of any intruder who tried to get in." Another part of the hysteria came from the killer being called a "phantom".

That Tuesday night, many residents around East Ninth Street were alarmed and called into the Gazette and News that they believed more murders had been committed because they heard sirens. The sirens turned out to be sound effects from a carnival. Guard dogs became a hot commodity in local want-ads. Terrified wives refused to go out after dark. In addition to arming and barricading themselves in, residents took to extreme measures, such as creating booby-traps, installing lights, and even temporarily moving into hotels or relatives' homes for safety in numbers. Overnight watches were kept, and tensions were high, with police questioning anyone who appeared suspicious.

On Thursday, May 9, the Two States Press, a weekly paper published on Thursdays, announced:

Texarkana people are jittery, plain frightened--and with reason. Within a period of six weeks, five people have been murdered in cold blood and a sixth seriously wounded, escaping death by a seeming miracle. The question in the minds of most of the citizens is, when, where, and how soon will another tragedy shock the community, and who will be the victim or victims since two deaths seem to be the design of the killer?

More than a week after the death of Mr. Starks, police departments on both sides of the city were still being swamped with excited calls about prowlers and gunshots. Reports ranged from the possible to the ridiculous, yet officers diligently checked every report. On Friday, May 10, officers rushed to a home on Olive Street with reports of strange noises coming from an upstairs room. Officers found a cat thrashing about in a trash can. Again on Olive Street, officers checked a report that a strange man was on someone's porch. It turned out that he had stepped out of the rain to wait for a bus.

On Magnolia Street, a report of a prowler bumping up against a house turned out to be a hedge being blown against it. On Sixteenth Street, a family called in that they heard a tapping at their door. It was later discovered that a messenger was delivering a special letter. At one point, when white-faced calves broke loose around County Avenue and slept on lawns, frightened residents called to report "white-faced things in the dark". Gunshots that were heard turned out to be someone shooting at something they thought was a prowler (usually a shadow), accidental discharges from people loading their guns, and even backfires from vehicles.

As news announcements spread and suspects were searched in surrounding counties, the fear crossed over to many other cities, including Hope, Lufkin, Magnolia, and even as far as Oklahoma City. Residents in other cities also began stocking up on guns and axes. After three weeks with no murders, the town's fear began to lessen. The concern lasted throughout the summer and eventually subsided after three months had passed. The Texas Rangers quietly left Texarkana little by little through October. This was not announced to avert the Phantom from attempting another attack.

Sleuthing for the Phantom

Although most of the town was in fear of the Phantom, some kids continued parking on deserted roads. Some of them hoped to apprehend the evasive slayer. One night, Chief Deputy Tillman Johnson was patrolling a vacant road with Arkansas State Trooper Charley Boyd, when they came up to a parked car. Johnson got out while Boyd stayed behind. Johnson walked up to the car and noticed a couple. He said, "I am Tillman Johnson with the Miller County Sheriff's Department. Aren't you scared to be parked out here at night?" The girl replied, "You're the one that ought to be scared, Mister. It's a good thing you told me who you are," as she revealed that she had been pointing a .25 ACP pistol at him the whole time.

On Friday night, May 10, Texarkana City Police officers chased a car for three miles after it was spotted following a city bus. The police shot out the tires and arrested a high school star athlete named C. J. Lauderdale, Jr. When the officers questioned the teen at the station, he explained that he did not know they were officers because they were driving an unmarked car. He said that he was following the bus because he was suspicious of an occupant who had entered from a private car. On Sunday, May 12, Captain Gonzaullas gave a warning to "teenage sleuths" in the Gazette, saying, "it's a good way to get killed."

Ranger Gonzaullas also tried baiting the Phantom by recruiting teenagers, some of whom were sons and daughters of Texas Rangers, to sit as decoys in parked cars while officers waited nearby. Officers, too, volunteered as decoys, some with real partners, others with mannequins. After the murders of Booker and Martin, some officers hid in trees at Spring Lake Park. Despite all efforts, the Phantom never took the bait.

The killer

"The Phantom Killer"

The unknown killer did not acquire a nickname until after the death of Betty Jo Booker and Paul Martin. In the April 16th edition of the Texarkana Daily News, a heading read, "Phantom Killer Eludes Officers as Investigation of Slayings Pressed". The front page story was continued on page two with the title, "Phantom Slayer Eludes Police". The Texarkana Gazette contained a small title on April 17 which read, "Phantom Slayer Still at Large as Probe Continues". J. Q. Mahaffey, executive editor of the Texarkana Gazette in 1946, said that Calvin Sutton, the managing editor of the Gazette, had an acute sense for the dramatic in the news, which impelled him to ask if they could not start referring to the unknown murderer as "The Phantom". Mahaffey replied, "Why not? If the SOB continues to elude capture, he certainly can be called a phantom!"

Description

The victims of the first attack, Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jeanne Larey, were the only victims to give a description of their attacker. They described him as being six feet tall, wearing a white mask over his face with holes cut out for his eyes and mouth. Although Hollis believed he was a young, dark-tanned, white man under 30 years old, Larey believed he was a light-skinned African-American. The only other surviving victim was Katie Starks, but she never saw her assailant. Because Hollis and Larey were the only survivors to give a description, it cannot be known if the killer wore a mask during the other attacks.

M.O.

The modus operandi established for the killer was that he attacked young couples in empty or private areas just outside city limits using a .32 caliber gun. Although the caliber used in the Starks murder was a .22, a .32 was still believed by the majority of lawmen to have been used by the Phantom. He always attacked on the weekend, usually three weeks apart, and always late at night.

Profile

Texas Ranger Captain Gonzaullas stated that he and his officers were dealing with a "shrewd criminal who had left no stone unturned to conceal his identity and activities," and that the murderer's efforts were both clever and baffling. He also stated that the man they were hunting was a "cunning individual who would go to all lengths to avoid apprehension." After the murder of Virgil Starks, the majority of the 47 officers on the case unofficially believed that the killer's motives were that of "sex mania". One of the officers stated, "I believe that a sex pervert is responsible."

The headline of the May 5, 1946 edition of the Texarkana Gazette read "SEX MANIAC HUNTED IN MURDERS". At the murder scene of Virgil Starks, Bowie County Sheriff William "Bill" H. Presley said, "This killer is the luckiest person I have ever known. No one sees him, hears him in time, or can identify him in any way." Officers have said that the killer is apparently a maniac who is an expert with a gun. Victim and survivor Jimmy Hollis said, "I know he's crazy. The crazy things he said made me feel that his mind was warped."

The Texarkana Gazette stated:

If one and the same man is responsible for the five murders that have been committed in this vicinity since March 24, the Gazette feels that the public should know the type of man with which the community is dealing. With that thought in mind, the newspaper asked Dr. Lapalla for the following interview. This interview was sought and was given only in the interest of the public and the intent is not to alarm unduly anyone, but to give everyone the benefit of what is considered an expert opinion as to the mental behavior of the man sought in these crimes.

Dr. Anthony Lapalla, a psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, believed the killer was planning to continue to make unexpected attacks such as that of Virgil Starks on the outskirts of town. He also believed that the same person committed the murders of Virgil Starks, Betty Jo Booker, Paul Martin, Polly Ann Moore, and Richard Griffin. Further, he believed the killer's age was somewhere between his mid-30s and 50. He said that the killer was apparently motivated by a strong sex drive and that he was a sadist. He stated that a person who would commit such crimes is intelligent, clever, shrewd, and often not apprehended.

According to Lapalla's theories, the killer knew at all times what was being done in the investigation and knew that vacant roads were being patrolled, which is why he chose the house on a farmland. He pointed out that his statements were surmised theories that were based on a large number of people who have committed similar crimes. He said that in many cases the killer is never apprehended, and in some instances he will divert attention to other distant communities where it is believed the crimes are committed by a different individual, or else he will overcome the desire to kill and assault people.

Lapalla said that the murderer is probably not a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and that he could be leading a normal life, appearing to be a good citizen. He also said that the killer probably is not a veteran, because if he had served in the armed forces for even a year, his maniacal tendencies would be apparent. He stated that the murderer was not necessarily a resident of the area, despite his knowledge of it. He said that all the attacks show evidence of cool and cunning planning. He further said that the strengthening of the police force would not scare the killer away, but that he would willingly leave due to the difficulty of committing a crime. "This man is extremely dangerous. He works alone and no one knows what he is doing because he tells no one," Lapalla said, adding that the killer may have reasoned in past crimes that the only way to remain unidentified is to kill all persons at the scene. Lapalla did not believe the killer was a black man because "in general, negro criminals are not that clever."

Suspects

Throughout the investigations of the Phantom Killer case, almost 400 suspects were arrested.

In the Hollis and Larey case, no suspects were apprehended.

In the Griffin and Moore case, over 200 persons were questioned, and about the same number of false tips and leads were checked. Three suspects were taken into custody for bloody clothing, two of whom were released after officers received satisfying explanations. The remaining suspect was held in Vernon, Texas for further investigation, but was later cleared of suspicion.

In the Martin and Booker case, a taxi driver quickly became a major suspect because his cab was seen in the vicinity of the crime scene that morning, but the driver was soon "washed out" as investigations continued. Friends, acquaintances, and several suspects were questioned in three rooms of the Bowie County building by officers who worked in 24-hour relays. Suspects were brought in from within a radius of 100 miles (160 km), both male and female, and white and black. Officers received a lead from Jerry Atkins, Booker's band leader, who stated that Betty had carried a saxophone with her. Because no saxophone was found, officers hoped that it would lead them to a suspect.

On Saturday, April 27, a man was arrested in Corpus Christi, Texas for trying to sell a saxophone to a music store. The previous Thursday, the 30-year-old man walked into a music store without an instrument and asked the salesperson if the store wanted to buy a Bundy alto saxophone. The girl told him that she would need to speak to her manager. The man replied, "What do you have to talk to him about it for? You work here, don't you?"

The girl claimed that the man seemed nervous. Once the manager was summoned, the man fled. The store contacted the police. The man was arrested two days later at a waterfront hotel after purchasing a .45 caliber revolver from a pawn shop. On Tuesday, April 30, the sales girl identified him as the same man who had tried selling a saxophone. Although no saxophone was found in his possession, the police found a bag of bloody clothing in his hotel room. The man claimed that the blood was from a cut that he had received on his forehead in a bar fight.

After several days of grilling, Captain Gonzaullas stated, "Everything the man tells us is being checked and double-checked, and everything he has told us thus far has been found to be true. He has answered all of our questions without hesitancy, and we are making every effort to find out if he is telling the truth or is covering up information. We are convinced that thus far the man has told the truth, and if all of his stories are found to be true beyond the shadow of a doubt, we can no longer hold him as a suspect." Gonzaullas also stated, "Our duty is not only to apprehend violators of the law but also to protect innocent persons. When we make an arrest in this case and charges are filed, there must be no mistake. We must get the right man or no man at all." On Friday, May 3, the Gazette reported Gonzaullas' announcement that, "This man has been completely eliminated. He has been checked and double-checked, and he couldn't have had anything to do with the murder cases here."

In the Starks case, several people found in the vicinity of the crime scene were stopped and questioned. Twelve were detained, but nine were soon released. The remaining three were kept for further questioning, but eventually, all detainees were released.

Prime suspect

Max Tackett, a 33-year-old Arkansas State Police officer, a rookie at the time, realized that a car had been stolen on the night of one of the murders, and that a previously stolen car had been found abandoned. On Friday, June 28, 1946, Tackett found a car in a parking lot that had been reported as stolen. He staked out the car until someone came back to it, then arrested a 21-year-old woman, Peggy Swinney. She said that she had just gotten married in Shreveport, but that her husband was currently in Atlanta, Texas, trying to sell another stolen car. Homer Carter, the chief of police in Atlanta, told Tackett that a man had tried selling a stolen car to one of his citizens. Tackett asked the citizen if he would recognize the suspect, but the man said that he would not. Tackett noticed that the citizen had a distinct appearance, which included a cowboy hat and boots. Tackett told the citizen, "You wouldn't recognize him, but he would recognize you."

Tackett then asked the citizen if he would be willing to walk with him into several public places. Tackett had the idea that the suspect would not want to see the citizen and would try to avoid him. On a Saturday in July, Tackett walked into the Arkansas Motor Coach bus station on Front Street, near Union Station, with the citizen. Tackett saw a man run out the back of the building. Tackett chased after him and caught him on the fire escape. The man, Youell Swinney, would not talk, but his wife Peggy confessed in great detail that he was the Phantom Killer and that he had killed Betty Jo Booker and Paul Martin.

By law in 1946, Peggy could not be forced to testify against her husband, and because she was considered an unreliable witness, Youell was not arrested for the murder. Instead, with only circumstantial evidence, Swinney was sent to prison as a habitual offender for car theft.

Circumstantial evidence

• The car Peggy Swinney was arrested for stealing was the one reported missing on the night of the Griffin/Moore murders.
• When Tackett caught Youell Swinney on the fire escape, Swinney said, "Please don't shoot me." Tackett replied, "I'm not going to shoot you for stealing cars." Swinney then replied, "Mister, don't play games with me. You want me for more than stealing cars."
• When Youell was in the police car, he asked Chief Deputy Tillman Johnson, "Mr. Johnson, what do you think they'll do to me for this? Will they give me the chair?" Johnson responded with, "You won't get much. Maybe five or ten years. They don't give you the electric chair for stealing cars." Swinney then said, "Mr. Johnson, you got me for more than stealing cars."
• When a lawyer told Peggy that her husband was being held for murder, she exclaimed, "How did they find it out?"
• Peggy took officers near the spot where Paul Martin's car was found. She said she had walked into the woods there. The officers found a woman's heel prints in that area.
• Peggy's family and Youell's brother-in-law believed Youell was the Phantom.
• Police found a khaki work shirt in the suspect's room with a laundry mark of the word "S-T-A-R-K", which was read under a black light.
• In the front pocket of the work shirt, slag was found, which matched samples found in Virgil Starks' welding shop.
• Youell Swinney previously owned a .32 caliber Colt automatic, but had sold it in a craps game.
• While being accused of murder, Swinney remained silent instead of pleading his innocence.
• Peggy Swinney confessed to her husband's actions, revealing very detailed information, including some information officers already knew and some they did not.

Complications

• Youell's fingerprints did not match any of the latent prints at the Booker/Martin crime scene.
• Peggy Swinney recanted her confession.
• The Texas Rangers and Sheriff Bill Presley were not convinced that Swinney was the Phantom.
• Swinney denied being the Phantom and never made a confession.
• Officers, including Bowie County Sheriff Presley, Miller County Sheriff Davis, Texas City Chief of Police Runnels, and both state police departments worked day and night for six months trying to validate Peggy Swinney's story of her and her husband's whereabouts. They deduced that Peggy was not telling the truth, and that on the night of the murder of Booker and Martin, the couple was sleeping in their car under a bridge near San Antonio.
• Unknown as either a sick prank or a true confession, an anonymous woman contacted family members of two of the victims, one in 1999 and another in 2000, apologizing for what her father had done. Youell Swinney was not known to have ever had a daughter.

Other suspects

H. B. "Doodie" Tennison

On November 5, 1948, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Arkansas, Henry Booker "Doodie" Tennison, was found dead in his bed at home in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Washington County Sheriff Bruce Crider discovered that Tennison had purchased cyanide of mercury on November 3, stating that he was going to use it for rat poison. A note was found reading:

The opening to my box will be found in the following few lines. In a tube of paper is found, rolls on colors and it is dry and sound. The head removes, the tail will turn, and inside is the sheet you yearn. Two bees mean a lot when they are together. These clues should lead you to it.

A note was found inside a fountain pen marked "BB" (for a "double broad" nib). Poison was found on the cap. The note inside the pen contained clues to the combination of a lockbox. Not in the mood for playing games, the police forced the lockbox open. Inside was a View-Master with several rolls of film of Mexico and a stack of papers. Under the stack of papers was a note confessing to the Texarkana killings. The note read:

To Whom It May Concern:

This is my last word to you fine people, and you are fine. I want to thank you for all the trouble that you have gone to, to send me to college and to bring me up, you have really been wonderful. My thanks to Ella Lee [Mrs. McGee, the owner of the house he was rooming in] for letting me stay with her during my college career, and to Belva Jo [Mrs. McGee's 12-year-old daughter] for putting up with me the way she did, she had to I know, but I fell in love with her about a week ago, if she was older I would have asked her to marry me, but that would be impossible.

Why did I take my own life? Well, when you committed two double-murders you would too. Yes, I did kill Betty Jo Booker and Paul Martin in the city park that night, and killed Mr. Starks and tried to get Mrs. Starks. You wouldn't have guessed it, I did it when Mother was either out or asleep, and no one saw me do it. For the guns, I disassembled them and discarded them in different places. When I am found, which has already been done, please give this typewriter to Craig [Tennison's older brother], and tell him that I hope that his child is a boy, it will (help) him in his work. Everything can go wherever you think it will do best except for the View-Master which will go to Belva Jo. Please take my bankroll and give it to Daddy, I think it should go to him, and tell him I don't want the car now.

Well, goodbye, everybody. See you sometime, if I make the grade which will be hard for me to make.

H. B. Tennison

Tennison had written many rough drafts with a pencil and then completed type-written copies. He had even created his own newspaper headlines mentioning his body being found. One read, "UA Student Found Dead", another, "UA Student Commits Suicide". Printed words on a sign read: "Do not disturb, death in the making". He also wrote his own epitaph, which read: "Here lies H. B. Tennison. Born Feb. 12, 1930. Died Oct. 2, 1948. He committed suicide for the happiness of his family. May He rest in peace. Amen."

The officers found more notes, though Sheriff Crider had no idea which order the many notes were written in because they were all undated. Miller County Sheriff W. E. Davis and Bowie County Sheriff Bill Presley were surprised by the news. They said that the youth was never a suspect in the killings and that a detailed investigation would be made.

Officer Max Tackett left El Dorado, Arkansas to investigate the incident. Texas Ranger Stewart Stanley was also sent by Gonzaullas to investigate the suicide. Fingerprints were taken from Tennison to see if a match could be made to the still-unclassified prints found at the scene of the Booker/Martin murders. Mrs. Bessie Brown, Booker's mother, visited Tennison's mother to offer sympathy, and told her that she felt Tennison had nothing to do with her daughter's death.

Officers also found a confusing note which they believed to contradict Tennison's other notes, but were unsure when it was written. This note read:

Please disregard all other messages which I have written, they are only thoughts which I was thinking about as possible reasons for taking my own life.

As I think about it, it is none of these things. They are not the reasons for this incident, there's a much later point to it all. Happiness. Yes happiness. If I am out of the way, all the family can get down to their own lives. Mother will not have to worry about me making my grades, and Daddy will not have to put out more money on me, which would do no more good than it did in high school.

No one will have to worry about me, keep having to push me through the things which would be best for me.

After much thought, I decided to take this way out. It took more thought than anyone can think possible. It started about a week ago, when I began to think of a way to get out of this. Running away would not do any good, the police would find me where ever I went and would bring me back to it all. No, Mother and Daddy are not to blame, it is just me. If I had done what they told me to do this would have never happened. Studying instead of playing around, going out with the people in my age group instead of staying home and dreaming....

James Freeman, a 16-year-old friend of Tennison from Texarkana, came forward and talked to a deputy prosecutor after hearing that Tennison confessed to being the Phantom. Freeman explained that on the night of Virgil Starks' death, they were together at Tennison's house playing cards or checkers between 7 p.m. and midnight. That night, they both heard the news of Starks' death. Tennison's brothers, J. D., Jr. and Craig, said the confession and suicide were "fantastic things" induced by reading too many comic books. They both stated that he did not know guns, and did not care for weapons, hunting, or shooting. None of the guns that Tennison would have had access to matched the bullets used in the Phantom murders. Furthermore, Craig said that he hadn't taught Tennison how to drive a car until the summer of 1947.

Bowie County Sheriff Presley stated that he was notified Tuesday, November 9 that the fingerprints from Tennison did not match those at the Booker/Martin crime scene. A ballistics expert from Little Rock, Arkansas, revealed that the cartridge cases of test bullets fired from the rifles Tennison would have had access to were nothing like the cases of the bullets found at Starks' home. In 2013, a relative of Doodie claimed that all ballistics testing from these available guns was irrelevant because those were most likely not the guns Doodie used, especially if the real guns were disassembled and hidden as stated in his note.

H. B. Tennison was born on February 12, 1930. He was 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds. He was extremely shy and it was said by his sister, Mrs. Alys Jo Daniel, that he had a sunny disposition and that she does not remember him being a moody person. Tennison did not have many boy or girl companions. He played the trombone in the Arkansas High School band with Betty Jo Booker, but they were not friends. He was very fond of comic books and loved listening to radio shows, especially quiz programs.

In high school, he worked as a part-time usher at the Paramount Theater (now the Perot) in downtown Texarkana. Though he was an average student and was not interested in schoolwork, he graduated in June 1948. After high school, he traveled for his father's Memphis firm, Tennison Bros. Inc., which manufactured sheet metal products.

Tennison swallowed poison and died on November 4, 1948. A private funeral consisting of family and close friends was held at his family's home on Hickory Street on Saturday, November 6, at 4 p.m. He is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery on US Highway 67 West.

German prisoner of war and others

On Wednesday, May 8, it was announced that an escaped German prisoner of war was considered a suspect. He was hunted as "a matter of routine." He was described as a stocky 24-year-old, weighing 187 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. The POW stole a car in Mount Ida, Arkansas and attempted to buy ammunition in several eastern Oklahoma towns.

Meanwhile, late at night on Tuesday, May 7, a 45-year-old black man named Herbert Thomas was flagged down by a hitchhiker in Kilgore. The hitchhiker offered $5 and said that he needed a ride to Henderson because his mother was seriously ill. Thomas said that he would not normally have given the man a ride, but felt like he needed to because the man told such a sad story. When they neared Henderson, the hitchhiker pulled out a pistol and told Thomas to keep driving or he would kill him like the five people he killed in Texarkana, mentioning Paul Martin and Betty Jo Booker by name.

The man told Thomas that he was not done with killing, and that he was going to return to Texarkana to kill Martin's father (the suspect apparently did not know that Martin's father was already dead). The man then ordered Thomas to turn around in Lufkin and drive him back to Kilgore, and threatened that if Thomas followed him, he would trail and kill Thomas. The man then stole back his $5, as well as an additional $3. Thomas drove back to Kilgore and reported the incident to the police. Thomas described the man as being 5'8" tall, about 130 pounds, approximately 27 or 28 years old, with red hair, and wearing khaki trousers and a GI jacket.

During that same night, in Lufkin, a local resident named Robert Atkinson spotted a peeping tom in his window. Atkinson grabbed a flashlight and chased after the man, but he escaped. Atkinson then got in his car and went looking for him. Atkinson caught the man he believed was the peeping tom, but the man convinced Atkinson that he was not the window peeper and that he had just taken his girlfriend home. Atkinson later heard the story about Thomas and decided to notify the police of his experience. Atkinson said the man he saw was 5'9" tall, wore khakis, and had hair that could have been dark red. Gonzaullas stated, "We don't believe that the man who killed the five people here in the past six weeks would boast about his crimes and then let the Negro go."

It's unsure whether the man in each instance was the same man. The police kept searching for the POW, but it was said that he had "vanished into thin air."

Atoka County suspect

On Friday, May 10, in Atoka, Oklahoma, a man walked up to a woman's house and opened her screen door. He asked Mrs. Harmon if he could have some turpentine, food, and money. Mrs. Harmon told the man that she had very little turpentine and had no money or food. The man then grabbed Mrs. Harmon by the hair and dragged her out onto the porch. He told her that he might as well kill her, because he had already killed three or four people, and that he was going to rape her. He then heard a horse galloping towards them and told her, "There comes a man on a horse. If you report this to officers, I'll come back and kill you."

After the man ran off, the woman took her child with her to a neighbor's house further up the street and reported it to the police. Soon after her report, a widespread search for the man included 20 officers and 160 residents. She described the attacker as a 5'9-5'10 white man, about 40 or 45 years old, about 150 to 155 pounds, with dark hair, who was badly in need of a shave. He carried an open five-inch bladed pocket knife and was wearing gloves, a faded and worn blue shirt, khakis, and an old, dirty, dark-colored, flopped hat.

Police arrested a suspect that closely matched the description on Sunday. The suspect had gloves that Mrs. Harmon identified as the same gloves worn by her attacker. The man was also wearing blue clothes and khakis. The pocket knife that the 33-year-old was carrying, though, had a blade much shorter than five inches. This man was also cleanly shaven. After investigating the suspect, officers did not believe this man was the Phantom. According to the man's story about bumming around the country, he could not have been in Texarkana at the time of the slaying of Virgil Starks. The man said that he left Pine Bluff in the latter part of April and went to Colorado. Officers said that they were going to thoroughly check his story. They kept him in jail for three weeks so that his beard would grow back, which would allow Mrs. Harmon to definitively identify him as her attacker.

Ralph B. Baumann

On Thursday, May 23, 1946, a 21-year-old ex-Army Air Force B-24 machine-gunner by the name of Ralph B. Baumann told Los Angeles police that he thought he might have been the Phantom. "I've been in a coma, running from something. Maybe murder. I want to clear it up. If I didn't kill five people in Texarkana, I want to settle down and be a stunt man in Hollywood. I'm happiest when I'm living in danger." Previously, he had gone to the Los Angeles Examiner and told a reporter, "I want to sell you some murder information. I know who and where the Texarkana Killer is. Give me $5 and let me have an hour's start and I'll put the information in a sealed envelope." The reporter called the police after reading the following: "On a certain day in March, I was in a Texarkana theater watching a Pathé news picture of war. When a party of persons acted wise and said they were 'overacting', it kind of got me. I followed them home. I killed them within a period of three days."

Police arrested the redhead at a downtown shooting gallery; he had just shot his 23rd bull's-eye in a row with a .22 caliber rifle. Baumann said, "I'm my own suspect." He claimed to have been in a coma for several weeks. He said that he woke up from the coma on May 3 with his rifle missing and heard about a suspect matching his description. He then hitchhiked to Los Angeles, feeling like he was running from murder. Baumann said that he was discharged from the AAF in 1945 for being a psychoneurotic. The chief of police said, "I feel that the man is certainly a mental case. The Texarkana killings could have been the work of a mental case, and so far as we know, this man could have done it. But we have absolutely no facts. They will have to be developed if they exist." Gonzaullas stated that several parts of the man's story had little basis in fact.

Hypnotized suspect

Police arrested a black man in his 30s whose tire tracks were found on the other side of the road from Martin's corpse; James Pressley later gave this man the pseudonym of Sammie. Sammie denied being in the area where Martin's remains were found, was unable to account for his tire tracks at the scene, and failed a polygraph test. Yet given Sammie's lack of a criminal record and his good reputation in the area as a longtime resident, officers were conflicted about his status as a suspect. They decided to have him hypnotized. Sammie was taken to Travis Elliott, a psychiatrist and hypnotist. Elliott talked to the man in a private session for a while. Sheriff Presley asked Elliott if the man could be hypnotized. "Yes, but you have the wrong man. He has no criminal tendencies," replied Elliott.

Elliott, later speaking about the session, said, "The technique I used on this man was to get him to completely relax. I got him started at counting by ones, twos, threes, etc., to a hundred and then backward. I had established in his mind that I was his friend. He knew he was in very serious trouble and he knew he was innocent. When he went under, he was counting by threes backward. He was completely relaxed. The critical stage is the next state, when you say the subject is cataleptic. The longer you keep them in the state of catalepsy, the deeper they sink into the third state. I kept him for ten minutes in this state of catalepsy. He was in a state of extreme exhaustion. Sweat was on his face. Observing that even Bill [Sheriff Presley] was still somewhat skeptical of hypnosis, whether or not the man was truly hypnotized or faking, I resorted to a fail-safe demonstration. Through suggestion, I removed all feeling, reflex actions, etc., from the subject's right arm and stuck a burning cigarette to his arm--absolutely no reaction. Bill was thoroughly convinced."

Elliott asked Sammie if he killed Betty Jo Booker; the man replied "no". Elliot then asked him if he knew who did, and the man said "no". On the night of the murders of Booker and Martin, it was revealed that the suspect spent some time with a friend, dropped the friend off at home, then pulled over to the side of North Park Road to urinate. He then visited his paramour, but after the plans did not work out, he went home and to bed. Sheriff Presley and his officers then verfied the details of the man's story and cleared him as a suspect. He lied during the polygraph test because of the love affair he was having with a married woman.

False confessions

As in other famous crimes, including the case of Jack the Ripper, the police dealt with numerous false confessions. Tillman Johnson recounted a story about traveling to Shreveport after being notified that the Shreveport police were holding a man in custody for confessing to the crimes. The man was arrested at a bar after unknowingly telling his story to a news reporter. The reporter promised the man a fifth of whiskey if he would "tell all". When Johnson arrived, he noticed the man was a Texarkana alcoholic who had confessed to the murders before. Calling the man out by name, Johnson said, "You know you didn't kill those people. What'd you go and do this for?" The drunkard replied, "Well, hell, I got a fifth of whiskey out of it."

Tackett recalled that nine people tried to convince him that they were the Phantom. He said, "But in every case, they could not have been, for their stories didn't jibe with what we knew were the detailed facts in the case. You don't tell everything you know about a case. When it gets into the paper, the real criminal finds out how much you know, and the confessors will fit those facts into their confessions. You keep yourself two or three pertinent facts to protect yourself from crackpots."

Victims

James Mack "Jimmy" Hollis

Jimmy Hollis

Jimmy Hollis was a 25-year-old insurance agent at the time of the attack. He was born on September 25, 1920. He lived at 3502 North State Line Avenue, a house which no longer exists. On the night of his attack, he was at the movies on a double date with his brother, Bob, who was also an insurance agent. After the movie, he dropped his brother and his brother's date off. While he was taking his girlfriend home, they stopped on a lateral street off of Richmond Road, where the attack occurred. Hollis suffered three skull fractures and was hospitalized for several days at Texarkana Hospital (also known as Pine Street Hospital), which stood at West Fifth and Pine Street, and no longer exists. He was in critical condition. After four days, he showed slight improvement but was still not fully conscious.

He was released from the hospital on Saturday, March 9. His doctor told him it would be "some time" before he was completely well again and that he was not to work for six months. By the middle of May, he was still recovering from his injuries. Three months after the attack, he stated, "I still get nervous when I think about it. At night, on the street, even downtown." Hollis was questioned several times by officers after the other killings. Starting at the end of April, he spent a week with Larey in Frederick, Oklahoma before residing in Shreveport, Louisiana. Hollis eventually married and had seven children. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in history and a Master of Science in public administration, subsequently working for the U.S. government. He loved to dress in Western clothing, which included a cowboy hat, a holster, and a pistol. He appeared in the 1971 television film They've Killed President Lincoln as Vice President Andrew Johnson. He eventually moved to Houston, where he began working for NASA. Hollis died in his sleep at the age of 54. His family remembered him for his jokes and sense of humor, as well as his love for the outdoors, including camping and hunting.

Mary Jeanne Larey

Mary Larey was 19 and lived at East Hooks Courts in Hooks, Texas when she was attacked. She had just been on a double date at the movies with Jimmy Hollis, Jimmy's brother, Bob, and Bob's girlfriend. On the way home, Bob and his date did not want to ride all the way to Mary's house, so they were dropped off. Larey and Hollis then headed to the lovers' lane just off of Richmond Road, where the attack occurred. She was beaten and sexually assaulted with the perpetrator's pistol. She suffered a head wound which was stitched up at the hospital. Afterward, she had frequent nightmares about her attacker. She later moved to Frederick, Oklahoma to live with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Long. Her aunt said that for the first time in Mary's life, Mary was extremely nervous and would not go upstairs by herself or sleep alone.

Three months later, Texarkana Gazette reporter Lucille Holland was flown to Frederick by a man named Paul Burns to interview Mary. At the time of the interview, officers had not publicly linked Larey's attack with the more recent murders. The report appeared in the May 10th edition of the Texarkana Gazette. Larey said, "I would know his voice anywhere. It rings always in my ears. Why didn't he kill me too? He killed so many others." She described her attacker as a light-skinned black man, which was different from Hollis' belief that the attacker was a dark-tanned white man. After the first double-murder, Larey went to Texarkana to talk to the police with the hope that they would connect the incidents and identify the murderer, but the Rangers questioned her story and insisted she knew who her attacker was. After the second double-murder, a Texas Ranger went to Frederick to question Mary again. Larey, native to Oklahoma, died in Billings, Montana of cancer in 1965 at the age of 38.

Richard Lanier Griffin

The headstone of Richard L. Griffin in Union Chapel Cemetery

Richard Griffin was born on August 31, 1916. He was a 29-year-old war veteran who was discharged from the Seabees in November, 1945. He was a carpenter and painter, and handled his own contracting. He was living with his mother, Mrs. R. H. Griffin, at 155 Robison Courts, which was built for servicemen returning from World War II and has since been demolished. Griffin attended school in Linden, Texas and Union Chapel, Cass County. He was last seen alive around 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, in a West Seventh Street (US Highway 67 West) café with his sister, Eleanor, and her boyfriend, J. A. Proctor. Richard was also seen earlier at another West Seventh Street café by friends around 2 p.m. He was found fully clothed on his knees between the front seats of his 1941 Oldsmobile sedan with his pockets turned inside out and his head resting on his crossed hands. He was shot once in the back of the head.

Polly Ann Moore

The headstone of Polly Ann Moore in Pleasant Hill Cemetery

Polly Moore, born on November 10, 1928, graduated from high school in 1945 in Atlanta, Texas, at the age of 16. She had worked for the Red River Arsenal (now Red River Army Depot) as a checker since July of that year. The seventeen-year-old was living with her cousin, Mrs. Ardella Campbell, in a boardinghouse at 1215 Magnolia Street (which was demolished during the widening of State Line Avenue). She had been dating Griffin for six weeks at the time of her death. Friends described her as being "homey", as she did not go out with boys much.

She was last seen with Griffin on Saturday at 2 p.m. at a West Seventh Street café, and later around 10 p.m. at another café on West Seventh Street, having dinner with Griffin, Griffin's sister, Eleanor, and Eleanor's boyfriend. Polly's body was found fully clothed, sprawled face-down across the back seat of Griffin's car, with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. A picture of her at her former home in Douglassville, Texas with her arm wrapped around a black and white dog was found in her purse, which sat beside her on the seat; it was printed in the next morning's newspaper. She was also wearing her class ring, with the inscription "P.A.M. -- '45", which helped the police identify the body.

Paul James Martin

The foot marker of Paul Martin in Hillcrest Cemetery

Born in Smackover, Arkansas on May 8, 1929, Paul Martin was a 16-year-old high school junior at the time of his death. He had worked in his family's ice plant in Kilgore when he was young. His brother, R. S. Martin, Jr., described him as a "quiet kid". He was a member of Beech Street Baptist Church, the same church as Betty Jo Booker. He completed the ninth grade at Arkansas Junior High, and then attended the Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi in 1945 before going to school at Kilgore. He and Booker had been friends since attending Fairview Kindergarten (on the Arkansas side) together before she moved to the Texas side in 1944.

On Friday, April 12, Martin drove to Texarkana from Kilgore. That night, he stayed with a friend, Tom Albritton, at Martin's Texarkana residence at 1222 Locust Street (now 1224). The next day, he hung out with Booker at her house during the afternoon. He then picked her up from her regular Saturday night gig at the VFW Club on West Fourth and Oak Street on Sunday morning around 2 a.m. He was found shot to death four hours later, his body lying on its left side at the north side of North Park Road, a mile and a half from his car. He was buried at his church, Beech Street Baptist, on April 16 at 10 a.m. during heavy rainfall. His mother stated that she had objected to his trip to Texarkana, not due to danger in the town, but because she feared he might wreck his car while driving alone.

Betty Jo Booker

Betty Jo Booker's foot marker in Westlawn Cemetery

Betty Booker was born on June 5, 1930. She was a 15-year-old junior at Texas High School at the time of her death. She was raised in the church and, like her friend Paul Martin, was a member of Beech Street Baptist Church. She was also a member of the Delta Beta Sigma sorority. She was one of four officers in her high school band, and played the Bundy E-flat alto saxophone second in Jerry Atkins' orchestra, The Rythmaires, who would play at proms and other events. In 1937, several years after the death of her father, her mother, Bessie, married her stepfather, Carl Brown, an employee of the Gifford-Hill Company. Betty and Paul Martin had been friends since they went to kindergarten together on the Arkansas side until she moved to 3105 Anthony Drive on the Texas side.

Betty was very popular, had many friends, and was well-liked in school. She had many boyfriends, but none that were serious. She loved music and swimming, and liked dancing in programs and recitals. She won many awards: scholastic, literary, and musical, as well as the citywide title of Little Miss Texarkana in 1934, representing the Presbyterian Book Store. She was a near straight-A student who was planning to become a medical technician. After her death, The Rythmaires never played again. The night before her attack, she played at her regular Saturday night gig at the VFW building on West Fourth and Oak Street. She was then picked up by her friend Paul Martin, and was headed to a slumber party. She was killed early Sunday morning, and her body was removed by an East Funeral Home ambulance.

Several classmates and her band leader, Jerry Atkins, attended her funeral two days later at her church, Beech Street Baptist. It was held on April 16 at 2 p.m., four hours after Martin's, also during heavy rainfall. Texas High School dismissed its students at noon that day so that they could be at her funeral. Hundreds of young people attended the separate funerals. Betty's mother could not control her grief as she watched the long line of teenagers file by Betty's casket. Atkins was one of the pallbearers. She was then buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, located between 3006 State Line Avenue and 3085 County Avenue. Miss Booker was survived by her mother (died in 1977), stepfather, both grandparents, three aunts, and three uncles.

Friends do not know how or why Betty ended up at Spring Lake Park, because they knew she and Martin were just friends. Even after all this time, classmates of Booker and Martin do not want to be identified. The murders are still vivid. "We were all extremely frightened and extremely upset. And in a way, we still are," said one classmate in 1996. Jerry Atkins stated, "What happened was so tragic, and for many of us who lived through it, the frustration and sadness will always be there." Mrs. Booker said, "I trust the men who are handling the investigation into my daughter's death. I'm sure they'll find whoever did it. If he is caught, I would like to kill him. If they would let me, I would kill him myself." Booker's parents stayed at their Texas home until October, 1946, when they moved to 1417 Locust Street (now 1407?).

Walter Virgil Starks

Virgil Starks' foot marker in Hillcrest Cemetery

Virgil Starks was born on April 3, 1909. He was a 37-year-old who lived in a modest, ranch-style home on a 500-acre farm for five years, which was located about ten miles northeast of Texarkana, on Highway 67 East. He lived not far from his brother, Charlie (died in 1960), and only two miles away from his father, Jack (died in 1951). He married Katherine Ila Strickland on March 2, 1932. Known as a progressive farmer, he was also a welder who would do welding work for neighboring farmers. He had no known enemies and was said to be a neighbor of excellent reputation, and was respected and trusted by everyone who knew him. He was a member of the First Methodist Church on Sixth and Laurel Street for years.

On Friday, May 3, around 8:50 p.m., Virgil was relaxing in his chair in the sitting room, just off of the kitchen and bedroom, with a heating pad on his back. He was listening to his favorite radio program and reading the Friday, May 3 edition of the Texarkana Gazette when he was shot from a closed double window three feet behind him, which faced the highway. He was shot in the back of the head by two slugs and died almost instantly. His funeral, which his recovering wife could not attend, was held the following Monday at his church at 2:30 p.m. More than 500 people attended his funeral, more than 60 of whom were his and his wife's relatives. He was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery on Highway 67 West, the same cemetery as Paul Martin was buried in. He was survived by his wife, parents, sister (Mrs. Millard Boyce, Jr.), brother (Charlie), two nieces, and one nephew.

Katherine Ila "Katie" Starks

Katie Starks Sutton's foot marker in Hillcrest Cemetery

Katie Starks was born on September 25, 1909 in Redwater, Texas. Katie was 36 at the time of her attack. She was married to Virgil Starks and lived at their farmhouse of five years, which was on 500 acres of farmland, off Highway 67 East, almost ten miles northeast of Texarkana. Her sister, Mrs. Allen, lived directly across the street from Katie. She was the daughter of Jim Strickland. Katie and Virgil went to school together growing up because their parents lived on neighboring farms in Red Springs, Texas.

A friend had stated that Katie and Virgil were two of the best people he had ever known. After discovering her husband had died, she ran to telephone the police. She rung the phone twice when she was shot two times in the face. One bullet entered her right cheek and exited behind her left ear, and the other went in just below her lip, breaking her jaw and splintering out several teeth before lodging under her tongue. She ran to a neighbor's house, who then took her to the hospital where she recovered.

Katie eventually remarried. At 84 years old, on Sunday, July 3, 1994, she died in a local hospital as Katie Starks Sutton. Her funeral was held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6. She was survived by her husband, Forrest Sutton, three sisters (Gertie Starks and Lois Russell of Texarkana, and Mary Johnson of Houston, Texas), and a number of nieces and nephews. She was buried next to Virgil, and is now between both husbands. She was the retired office manager of American Optical and a member of the First United Methodist Church.

Investigators

The grave marker of Tillman B. Johnson in Rondo Memorial Park

Miller County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Tillman Byron Johnson

Tillman Johnson was born on May 24, 1911 in Stamps, Arkansas. He moved to Texarkana in the 1930s and started working for the Miller County Sheriff's Department in 1938. He served in the military for two years during World War II before returning home and working on the Virgil Starks murder case. He soon became one of the leading investigators in the case. Johnson did not believe that the Phantom committed the Starks murder. He was a member of First United Methodist Church of East Sixth Street. He was the last surviving lawman of the Phantom slayings and was the "go to" man for the case. He had been contacted by many interested individuals, including television crews, from all over the world, including China, Sweden, and Australia. He kept many personal files of the case, most of which became the only case files, because many of the original files, photographs, and police notes eventually went missing from both police departments. Johnson firmly believed the identity of the Phantom was that of the prime suspect, Youell Swinney.

Johnson departed from the sheriff's office in 1957 and became an insurance adjuster, which he retired from in the 1970s. He then became a private investigator. Johnson died on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 in a local hospital at the age of 97. He was survived by two sons, a daughter-in-law, one daughter, a son-in-law, two grandsons- and granddaughters-in-law, one granddaughter, and twelve great-grandchildren. He is buried near the grave of his police peer, Max Tackett, at the farthest-west side of Rondo Memorial Park (not to be confused with Rondo Cemetery) in Miller County, Arkansas.

Arkansas State Police Detective Max Andrew Tackett

Max Tackett's grave marker in Rondo Memorial Park

Max Tackett was born on August 13, 1912 in Glenwood, Arkansas, and moved to Texarkana in 1941. He was a member of the Arkansas State Police from 1941 to 1948, having served as a trooper, then as a special investigator during that period. Tackett was the Texarkana Arkansas Police Chief from 1948 until his retirement in 1968. In 1951, he became the president of the Arkansas Peace Officers Association. He was a World War II combat veteran who had served in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. Max was also a member of the Beech Street Baptist Church and the Optimists Club. Max was said to be colorful, outspoken, and even a controversial figure in the police department. Max became the arresting officer of the lead suspect, Youell Swinney, after realizing that on each night of the murders, a car was stolen and later abandoned.

Tackett died on Sunday, March 12, 1972 at midnight (March 13) in a local hospital at the age of 59. His funeral was on the following Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Texarkana Funeral Home Chapel. He was buried in Rondo Memorial Park. Survivors included his wife, Mrs. Caroline Tackett, a son, John Tackett of Birmingham, Alabama, a daughter, Mrs. Sandra Zaleske of Bensenville, Illinois, two brothers, Boyd Tackett of Texarkana and John Zane Tackett of Nashville, Arkansas, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary E. Rankin of Nashville, and Mrs. Minnie Raines of St. Louis, Missouri.

Bowie County Sheriff William Hardy "Bill" Presley

The headstone of William H. "Bill" Presley in Eylau Cemetery

William Presley was born on April 25, 1895 in the Red Springs community of Bowie County. He was a member of the Men's Bible Class at the First United Methodist Church on Fourth Street and State Line Avenue. Presley had served 20 years in elected office, including terms as county commissioner, county treasurer, and sheriff. He was a veteran of World War I and had served overseas in France with the American Expeditionary Forces. He was a member of the Chapelwood Methodist Church, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and was a 32nd degree Mason and a Shriner. He was a long-time friend of Texas City Chief of Police Jack N. Runnels, and he knew the Starks family well. He was the first lawman on the scene of Mary Jeanne Larey's attack and the first and second double-murders.

Presley died on Saturday, May 27, 1972 at 1:38 a.m. in a local hospital at the age of 77. His funeral was held on the following Monday at 10 a.m. He is buried in Eylau Cemetery, off of Gun Club Road, which is off of South Lake Drive in Bowie County. His grave is near the end of the second row from the entrance.

Texas City Chief of Police Jackson Neely "Jack" Runnels

Jack N. Runnel's grave marker

Jack Runnels was born on September 26, 1897. Runnels was a long-time friend of Bowie County Sheriff Presley. He and Presley were the first officers called to the scenes of both double-murders. Runnels was also the leading investigator of Booker's saxophone after it had been found. He was a law enforcement officer for 30 years, serving as chief of police for 20 of them, having been re-elected ten times. He retired in 1953 and became a farmer.

Runnels died at 11:15 a.m. on Friday, October 14, 1966 in a local hospital at the age of 69 from a heart attack he had suffered a few hours earlier. He was survived by his wife, three sons (R. E. Gray of Jefferson City, Missouri, Bob Gray of Shreveport, and Captain Preston E. Gray of the U. S. Air Force), three daughters (Mrs. Denny Worley of New Orleans, Mrs. Walter Espy of San Antonio, and Mrs. L. M. Burch of Texarkana), six grandchildren, and three sisters (Mrs. Patsy Strayhorn, Mrs. W. R. Turquette, and Mrs. Ernest Ford). His funeral was held at 4 p.m. on Monday, October 17. He is buried at the far-left side of Hillcrest Cemetery (front row of section H).

Texas Ranger Captain Manuel Trazazas "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas

Main article: Manuel T. Gonzaullas

Manuel Trazazas Gonzaullas was born on July 4, 1891 in Cádiz, Spain to parents who were naturalized American citizens. He married in 1920, and enlisted in the Texas Rangers that same year. He was in charge of controlling gambling, bank robbery, bootlegging, narcotic trafficking, prostitution, riots, and general lawlessness from the Red River to the Rio Grande and from El Paso, Texas to the Sabine during the 1920s and 1930s. He was made captain of the Company B Texas Rangers in 1940. In 1946, while hunting the Phantom, he swore to stay in Texarkana until the killer was apprehended, but left three months after the last murder.

Gonzaullas believed the attack on Hollis and Larey was not committed by the Phantom. He also believed that someone else murdered Virgil Starks. Gonzaullas retired from the Rangers in 1951 and moved to Hollywood to become a technical consultant for radio, television, and motion pictures (most notably, the long-running 1950s radio and TV show, "Tales of the Texas Rangers"). Gonzaullas, a Mason and a Presbyterian, died of cancer on February 13, 1977 at the age of 85 in Dallas, Texas. He is buried in Sparkman/Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.

J. Q. Mahaffey, Texarkana Gazette editor during the spree of the Phantom, described Gonzaullas:

...he was one of the best-looking men I have ever seen and wore a spotless khaki suit and a white, ten-gallon hat. He packed two ivory-handled revolvers on his hips, and did not deny that he was the Ranger who sat in the cashier's office at the Crazy Water Hotel in Mineral Wells and gunned down two ex-convicts who sought to rob the place. He was so good-looking that my girl reporters would not leave him alone. He really didn't have time to hunt down the Phantom. He was too busy giving out interviews and trying to run the Gazette. All of the other officers working on the case were intensely jealous of Lone Wolf and complained bitterly every time his picture appeared in the paper."

Mahaffey also stated that after the murder of Virgil Starks, the police declared the farmhouse off-limits to everybody. "Several nights later, I was holding forth in the Arkansas police station, when a call came through that a neighbor had seen strange lights in the farmhouse. We sped to the scene and I hid behind a car while Police Chief Max Tackett and three other patrolmen approached the house. Chief Tackett yelled into the house that the place was surrounded and the Phantom might as well give up. Who do you suppose walked out? None other than Lone Wolf Gonzaullas of the Texas Rangers and a woman photographer from Life and Time magazines. Lone Wolf explained rather sheepishly that he had been re-enacting the crime and the young lady was taking pictures of him. Police Chief Tackett turned to me and shouted at the top of his voice, 'Mahaffey, you can quote me as saying that the Phantom Murders will never be solved until Texarkana gets rid of the big city press and the Texas Rangers.'"

Tillman Johnson said, "Whenever he came down the stairs from his hotel room, he called for the press. He was a showman. He was a handsome man, I'd say, and he made a good appearance, and of course he had a reputation for being a killer. So the press all followed Gonzaullas." He also said, "No, he didn't do any real police work himself. He'd get in that car and ride around, ask a lot of questions about what the other officers had found, then he'd release it to the press like it was his information. It got to where after a while some officers wouldn't tell him anything."

Louis "Swampy" Graves, a Texarkana Gazette reporter in 1946, described Gonzaullas as a handsome man with a lot of personalities. "He was well-built and wore a whipcord suit and a battle jacket with bright buttons. He was very clean-looking, with an olive complexion, and wore pearl-handled pistols, one on each hip. He looked like a typical Texas Ranger," said Graves. "He would have been perfect in the Old West. He fit the description going around in those years about the number of Texas Rangers needed to quell a riot. One Riot, One Texas Ranger."

Related news

Earl McSpadden

On Tuesday, May 7, 1946 (four days after Starks' murder) at approximately 6 a.m., the body of a man was found on the Kansas City Southern Railway tracks 16 miles (26 km) north of Texarkana, near Ogden. He was lying face-down beside the tracks with his head pointed north. The man's left arm (severed at the elbow) and leg (severed at the hip) were on the inside of the tracks, and had been cut off by a freight train that had passed by at 5:30 a.m. The body was taken to the Phillips Funeral Home in Ashdown for examination. The coroner's jury's verdict stated, "death at the hands of persons unknown", and that "he was dead before being placed on the railroad tracks." Little River County

Sheriff Jim Sanderson, however, scoffed at the coroner's report and said that the man died when he fell under the wheels of a passing freight train. The coroner examined the body a second time and found further evidence of murder. The Little River County coroner explained, "We found a deep cut over the man's temple [two inches wide and one and one-half inches long], which is sufficiently deep to cause death. We also found cuts about the man's hands and wrists, which would indicate that the man grappled with another person who had a knife. All of these wounds were clean and indicated that the cuts were made with a sharp instrument. The wounds which we believed the man received when his body was struck by the train were full of dirt and were jagged."

The coroner believed that the man was dead for a full two hours before being placed on the tracks, and that there was not enough blood around the wounds which caused his death. Blood was found on the street near the crime scene, supporting the coroner's theory. Sheriff Sanderson still believed that the man's death was accidental, regardless of the coroner's report, saying, "I think the man fell from the train and was killed." The coroner maintained the verdict that the man had died of knife wounds.

The man was identified as Earl Cliff McSpadden from a social security card which was issued in Baltimore, Maryland. McSpadden's brother, R. C. McSpadden, contacted an attendant at the Ashdown Funeral Home after hearing about Earl's death over the radio. His brother reported that Earl was employed by a company that "travels around a lot". Earl was said by his brother to be a transient oil storage tank builder. His brother was not sure where Earl was living at the time. It was also found that Earl had registered at the United States Employment Service in Shreveport. The body was taken by a Prewitt Funeral Home ambulance from the funeral home to Dallas.

Because the murder is unsolved, locals have speculated that McSpadden was the Phantom's sixth victim. A prominent rumor exists claiming that McSpadden was the Phantom, and had committed suicide by jumping in front of a train, taking his secrets with him in death.

Blood-stained clothing

On Monday, July 9, 1956, a worker tearing down the Spring Lake Park School found men's clothing with dark red stains in the attic under a table scarf with the same stains. The school was located near the scene where Martin's car was found, across the railroad tracks. The clothing was sent to the state laboratory in Austin, Texas by Texas city police to determine if the stains were human blood. It was evident that the clothing had been there for a long time because it was deteriorating. It consisted of white linen trousers and a white linen shirt and undershirt.

Before the test results came in, officers were cautious in linking the clothing to certain "particular murders" in the area. Officers received a written report claiming that the stains were blood, but it failed to give a blood type. Officers were concerned and made a long-distance phone call to the Bureau of Investigation of the State Department of Public Safety, and were told that there had been a mistake, and that the letter should have said that the stains were "not" blood. The stains turned out to be paint stains. The "blood"-stained clothing was speculated as being hidden by the Phantom; a rumor which still persists as of mid-2013.

Tradition

Every October near Halloween, the movie The Town That Dreaded Sundown, which is loosely based on Texas Ranger Captain M. T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas' investigation into the murders, is the last movie shown to the public during "Movies in the Park" at either Spring Lake Park or at the Southwest Center in Texarkana. The free event is sponsored by the Texarkana Department of Parks & Recreation. This showing of the movie has been a tradition since 2003. About 600 people attended the showing in 2008.

The director of the Texarkana Parks & Recreation Department, Robby Robertson, advised in 2009 that many people had requested DVD copies of the movie. Robertson said, "It's still shown only on VHS tape and those aren't even available anymore." Robertson said that the city was unable to rent or hire a copy from a local video store due to legal restrictions; instead, a copy is rented from a distributor for $175 to $200 per show. The film was released on Blu-ray on May 21, 2013, by Scream Factory.

In popular culture

• In 1976, Charles B. Pierce, a native of Texarkana, made The Town That Dreaded Sundown, based on the moonlight murderer. In 2014, a meta-sequel to The Town That Dreaded Sundown with the same name was released.
• In 2007, the band The Bad Detectives recorded the song "Texarkana Moonlight", which is about the crimes.
• In 2010, a play called "The Phantom Killer" debuted in Manhattan at the Abingdon Theatre Company's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre. It was written by Jan Buttram, who grew up in the Oak Grove community near DeKalb.
• In the movie Seven Psychopaths (2012), a short flashback segment shows a couple setting a trap for the "Texarkana Moonlight Murderer".
• In 2017, the CW series Riverdale aired the episode "The Town That Dreaded Sundown".

Media based on the events

Books

Non-fiction

• Corroborating Evidence by William T. Rasmussen (October 15, 2005)
• Death in a Texas Desert: And Other True Crime Stories from The Dallas Observer by Carlton Stowers (January 30, 2003)
• Haunted Route 66: Ghosts of America's Legendary Highway by Richard Southall (February 8, 2013)
• Lone Wolf Gonzaullas, Texas Ranger by Brownson Malsch (September 15, 1998)
• The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders by James Presley (November 15, 2014)
• The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer by Michael Newton (May 14, 2013)
• Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State by Michael J. Varhola (July 19, 2011)
• Texas Ranger Tales: Stories That Need Telling by Mike Cox (April 1, 1997)
• Time of the Rangers: Texas Rangers: From 1900 to the Present by Mike Cox (August 18, 2009)

Fiction

• '’The Dark Inside’’ by Rod Reynolds
• ‘'Betty Jo's Rose by Robert Stewart (May 31, 2012)
• It's a Marvelous Night for a Moondance by Flo Fitzpatrick (April 8, 2011)
• Untied Shoelace by Pam Kumpe (February 6, 2014)
• "Unshackled Courage" by Pam Kumpe (May 27, 2018) takes place in 1976; investigator Annie Grace solves the cold case of the Phantom Killer as the filming of "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" is happening in Texarkana. Mystery and historical, a journey in honoring the victims.

Films

• Murder in the Moonlight (2018)
• The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
• The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

Television

• Chiller's Killer Legends (2014)
• KDFW's The Tex Files: Phantom Killer (2002)
• TLC's Ultimate Ten: Unsolved Crime Mysteries (2001)

Podcasts

• My Favorite Murder Minisode 6 (2016)

See also

• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
• List of serial killers in the United States

Works cited

• Newton, Michael (2004). The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-816-06988-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Newton, Michael (2013). The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-476-60578-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Texas Monthly: Texarkana Murder Mystery
• Dallas Observer: The Phantom Menace
• Arkansas Life: Phantom Memories
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture: Texarkana Moonlight Murders
• Fox16: The Texarkana Phantom Killer
• WKMS Radio interview with James Presley