Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder - Ep. 75 | Texarkana Moonlight Murders

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

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Nightfall once meant safety in Texarkana, the cool air after a long day and the comfort of a routine. But in 1946, darkness became something else entirely. And from the edges of Lover's Lane to the windows of farmhouses, a faceless predator stalked the innocent. And he didn't leave a name or a trace, only bodies and fear. But the town gave him a name, the phantom. And what began as a single strange attack soon grew into a reign of terror that pushed in the entire community into hysteria. And his shadow still hangs over Texarkana today. Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers, and murder. All things that I love to consume. And I know you do,

too, you sick, twisted, beautiful, intellectually minded for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I put a little sauce on it today for you. How'd you like that? Also, I'm sick. Sorry in advance for my, if I sound nasally. I will try to mitigate any coughing and sniffling for this. But yes, we are talking about a case that is just haunting overall. So without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts. Go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes, and bust through this windshield into this Texarkana case together. Texarkana in 1946 was actually two cities bound together by name and culture. Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Arkansas, or Arkansas.

Why is Arkansas called Arkansas and Kansas called Kansas? Shouldn't it be Kansas then? Why, make it make sense, people. All right. But anyway, together they had around a little more than 40,000 residents. And the population was majority white, around 66% in fact. But with a very large African-American minority, which was about 31%. And they were living under the harsh restrictions of Jim Crow segregation.

And this was a community where the racial divides of the South were firmly in place, dictating everything from schools to social spaces. Yet on the surface, Texarkana was a typical friendly southern town, because World War II had just ended bringing an economic boom, and massive military installations like the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant had sprung up nearby during the war, pumping money and jobs into that area. So the wars and meant thousands of young men and hometown soldiers were returning. And many of these veterans carried invisible wounds, what we know now as PTSD.

But in those days, there was little, if any, recognition or treatment for combat fatigue. It was basically suck it up and go to the looney bin back then. So they came back to a community that still felt safe and innocent. The kind of place where people left doors unlocked and spent warm evenings on their front porches,

sipping ice tea. And the location and time would suggest Texas Texarkana residents considered their town peaceful and god-fearing. So in 1946, Texarkana's social life was vibrant in its own wholesome way. On weekends, young people flocked to community dances, especially those hosted by local VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, and a popular attraction was a band called Jerry Adkins and his Rithmeries, which played swing music for returning soldiers and their sweethearts. and movies were another big draw.

In downtown theaters, screamed the latest films, and a recent horror flick like House of Dracula might have been the scariest thing on anyone's mind before 1946. And maybe the war, that just happened also. And teenagers also enjoyed cruising, drive-in restaurants, and spending time at secluded lovers' lanes

on the edges of town, where couples could park under the moonlight and do the devil's tango, if you will, or play checkers, I don't know what they were doing, And for those seeking an even spicier nightlife, there were a few rough nightclubs slash roadhouses with girly floor shows, but those were on the fringes. But overall, Texarkana's entertainment scene was likely typical of a small southern town. It's a modest, besides the fringes of town, community-orientated, and very safe.

And people felt comfortable just going out at night. But no one could imagine that within months their town would be gripped. by terror, with nightfall bringing fear instead of music and laughter. So on Friday night, February 22nd, 1946, 25-year-old Jimmy Hollis and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Mary Jean Larry, parked on a lonely dirt lane off Richmond Road on the Texas side of town. And it was nearly midnight, and the area was known as a lover's lane. And it was about 300 feet from the nearest house.

And the young couple had just seen a movie downtown and just wanted a little privacy. So in the still darkness, their car's headlights were off, and the two were likely lost in conversation or embrace, so they did not notice when a car pulled up and parked nearby. And suddenly a blinding flashlight beam pierced the driver's side window, and a figure stood there, a man wearing a white cloth mask that looked like a pillowcase with eye holes, and he was also armed with a pistol. So Jimmy and Mary Jean would freeze in shock,

as the masked intruder barked commands at them, saying, I don't want to kill you, so do what I say. And he would order them out of the car. And Jimmy thumbled to comply. And that's when the attacker gave a bizarre demand. And he would tell Jimmy to, Take off your goddamn wutches. And confused but terrified, Jimmy removed his pants.

And without warning, the man slammed the butt of his gun into Jimmy's skull. Two absolutely savage blows. And the impact was so loud that Mary Jean later said she thought it was a gunshot. But it would be the sound of Jimmy's skull fracturing. Just absolutely brutal. So Jimmy would naturally collapse to the ground with a cracked skull, stunned, but still alive. And the assailant would then turn on to Mary Jean. And Mary Jean frantically showed him a wallet, pleading that they had no money,

assuming that this was a robbery of some sort. but the man wasn't interested in cash. Instead, he struck Mary Jean with the pistol, knocking her down, and the attacker then told Mary Jean to stand up. And he would say, Run. So Mary Jean would stumble away in a blind panic down the road, but the man chased her and caught up to her,

angrily accusing her of trying to escape when he had told her to run in the first place. I can't even imagine the terror that was going through Mary Jean's head at this point. And in that eerie moment, it became clear, he was toying with her or tormenting her for sport. And he would beat her again. And then in an act of pure cruelty, would S.A. her with the barrel of the gun. And Mary Jean's pain and terror was unimaginable at this point.

But then suddenly, headlights appeared in the distance. And the assailant would realize he was about to be caught and he would vanish into the darkness, slipping away as quickly as he appeared. And Mary Jean eventually managed to, get help by reaching a nearby house. And Jimmy, despite his severe head injuries, had regained consciousness and flagged down a passerby on the road. And by 1230 a.m., Bowie County Sheriff Bill Presley and several officers arrived on the scene. So both victims were rushed to the hospital,

and Jimmy in critical condition with multiple skull fractures, and Mary Jean with head wounds and profound trauma. But incredibly and luckily, both people survived the attack. So they had looked their attacker in the face, or at least in the face of his mask, and lived to tell the tale. And in the days that followed, Sheriff Presley tried to get detailed descriptions of the assailant from the victims. But even this turned strange. Because Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jean Larry gave conflicting accounts of their attacker's race and appearance. Mary Jean insisted the man was African American, saying she glimpsed dark skin through the eye holes of the man. mask. But Jimmy, however, was convinced the man was white, perhaps a tanned white man around 30 years old.

And he wasn't even certain the guy wore a mask at all. But both agreed on one point, and that is that the attacker was about six feet tall. So these discrepancies unsettled investigators. Some officers wondered if the young couple might actually know their attacker and were covering for him in some weird way, which is, why would you cover for a guy that literally almost killed both of them, but they were just perplexed on how different the descriptions were. But I mean, you're looking at one guy got his fucking skull beat in with the butt of a gun. Like, he's not, he's, you can't trust somebody who's just had their skull beaten in with a gun. And also, Mary Jean also had her skull hit with the gun.

I feel like it's, you know, obviously you have to get these descriptions. But I feel like it's not that far fetch to believe that they're both like completely out of their wits. on what actually happened, given, you know, that their skulls were beaten with a butt of a gun. Different times though, what do I know? But overall, it did appear that the two had been brutally attacked at random, you know, if it wasn't one of their buddies. Again, weird theory, I don't like it.

And before Jimmy Hollis was even out of the hospital, he made a prophetic statement to Sheriff Presley, saying, If you don't find him, he's going to kill someone. So Jimmy feared the crazed man who nearly beat him to death, would strike again. And this time, the victims might not be so lucky. So Sheriff Bill Presley faced an immediate challenge

investigating the Hollis Larry attack. And in 1946, criminal forensics was rudimentary by modern standards. And Presley's small town department was not equipped with advanced labs. And forensic work mostly meant taking eyewitness statements and maybe comparing bullet casings or fingerprints by visual inspection. There was no computers or DNA about it. back then, as you know. But still, the sheriff took the case very, very seriously.

And he publicly warned citizens to be cautious, but initially he stopped short of linking this incident to anything bigger. In fact, local newspapers and police at first treated it as an isolated, if bizarre assault. And the media began to report the incident with headlines such as, Incherment agents, girl assaulted on lonely dirt road.

However, Presley did not forget Jimmy Hollis's ominous warning. And unbeknownst to everyone, the nightmare was only beginning. And the hooded man in the shadows was still out there. And as Jimmy feared, he was about to kill. Steamer here. Give me the dirt. Work is stressful. My life is a disaster. Help me. The first is mental clutter. The second is physical clutter.

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who had served his country and recently come home. And Polly Moore was a local high school girl, vivacious and just 17 years old, with her whole life ahead of her. And they had been dating for only six weeks. And on Saturday night, the couple went out on a typical date. Dinner or perhaps a midnight movie

at Texarkana's Paramount Theater, then a late night stop at a diner for coffee. And sometime after 1 a.m. in the early hour, of March 24th, they drove to a secluded lover's lane. And Richard parked in a wooded area about half a mile outside the city limits. It was dark and damp and quiet. And there, in the pre-dawn stillness, the masked man found them. And at around 9 a.m. that Sunday, a passing motorist noticed a vehicle pulled off the road

in an odd spot. And out of curiosity, he stopped to check if the car was broken down or if anyone inside needed help. What he discovered made his blood run cold. And Richard Griffin and Polly Moore were dead, specifically shot to death inside of the car. The motorist went off to find a phone and call the authorities immediately. And when officers arrived, they found a horrifying scene.

Richard was in the front between the seats on his knees, head resting on his crossed hands, and pockets turned inside out. And Polly was sprawled face down in the back seat. and both had been shot in the back of the head, execution style. And blood soaked the ground nearby, and a 32 caliber cartridge casing was found, suggesting the murder weapon was a 32 handgun.

An investigators deduced that the killer likely ambushed the couple while they sat in the car or just after they exited. And there were signs of struggle as well, because on one of the car's running boards, congealed blood indicated someone had bled heavily while climbing in or out. And a large patch of blood on the ground nearby, along with a blood trail,

showed that Richard and Polly were probably shot outside the vehicle on a blanket and then dragged or positioned back in the car afterward. So this eerie staging positioning the bodies as if peacefully resting suggested the killer took his time after the murders. And the town obviously was horrified and shocked from this news. And rumors swirled that Polly had been essayed amongst the brutal crime because of the brutality seen in the Hollis Larry case. However, later reports indicated there was no sign of SA or any sort of torture in this double murder specifically. But still, the sheer viciousness and seeming randomness terrified everyone.

And unfortunately, critical evidence from the Griffin War crime scene was lost or compromised before it could be proper. collected. Just classic in those days. Just seems to happen just all the time. But news of the double murder spread like wildfire on that Sunday. And in the hours before police secured the site, curious locals and onlookers had tramped through the area like a bunch of fucking idiots. I can say that now. They didn't know anything about DNA, but it's just, it's just frustrating. It's just frustrating. I feel like you know, though, not to go into a crime scene. I don't know. What do I know? And even worse is that an overnight rain had fallen, so that potentially washed away footprints or tire tracks that the killer could have potentially left. And by the time, investigators combed the scene, they found only a few useful clues. Namely, the blood-soaked blanket and the trail of blood. No fingerprints were recovered on the car or the casing that could be traced to a suspect. And the killer had left virtually nothing behind except bullets and blood.

So it was just a very dark foreshadowing, because he could strike and vanish without a trace, like a phantom, hence the name. In fact, the local press soon seized on that very word. But at this point, in late March, the newspapers had not yet dubbed him the phantom. That would come after the next killings. So with two people dead in cold blood,

the Tix Arcana police forces realized that they had a killer on the loose, and urgently needed help. So the investigation immediately became a multi-agency effort. And law enforcement from both Texas and Arkansas, I mean Arkansas, sorry, I actually didn't say that ironically. Anyway, coordinated since Texarkana straddled the state line and the killer clearly wasn't respecting any sort of jurisdiction.

So the Texas side's Bowie County Sheriff Bill Presley teamed up with Miller County, Arkansas officials. And the Texas Rangers sent to their, top men, including the famed captain Manuel Lone Wolf Gonzuela, two Texarkana. What a sick name. And the Arkansas state police dispatched detectives like Max Tackett to assist. And even the FBI eventually became involved, helping with ballistics and fingerprint checks across state lines.

But within days, there were dozens of officers working around the clock. And 20 additional state troopers from Arkansas were also brought in to bolster the local And investigators had their work cut out for them. Because in 1946, there were no surveillance cameras and no DNA tests. And detectives relied on shoe leather and interviews. And by the end of the case, over 400 suspects would be questioned or arrested in connection with the murder

as they chased every single lead. And forensic limitations meant they focused on ballistic matches specifically. Like the 32 caliber bullets from the Griffin Moore scene were compared under a microscope to see if they came from the same gun as any other known crime. But at this point, they didn't yet have another shooting to compare it to, because Hollis and Larry hadn't been shot, so they held onto the casings. And investigators also explored latent fingerprint evidence, and references in the FBI's vault materials suggest that fingerprints and biometrics were, indeed, part of the case file. But none of those prints matched any known criminals in their local files.

So the phantom had no record that they could find. He had never been imprisoned at this point, and he was still out there. But Leeds would pour in, and some well-meaning citizens flooded police with tips and accusations. And in those first frantic weeks, false confessions also began. And at least one man and ultimately nine individuals over the whole investigation claimed to be the murderer. But these stories didn't check out. and local jails briefly held men picked up for questioning when they couldn't immediately explain their whereabouts.

And as the case escalated, the press was getting more involved and the public just grew more fearful. Because after the first double murder, Texarkana realized with dread that Jimmy Hollis's warning had been right. A predator was stalking the town's lovers' lanes. And he was far from finished. So Bowie County Sheriff William Bill Presley was the chief lawman on the Texas side of Texarkana

and found himself thrust into the biggest case of his life. And Presley was a solid methodical lawman, a small town sheriff who was suddenly faced with a potential serial killer. And he, as we know, was the first on the scene and was the first to coordinate any sort of response to the attacks, starting with Hollis and Larry. And Presley did his best to preserve evidence. He personally pocketed a key piece of evidence

from one scene, keeping it secret until a suspect mentioned it, which is just like high class. detective work, but he was also just extremely overwhelmed. This was unprecedented terror for a town like Texarkana and his office had limited manpower and resources. So recognizing this, Presley readily welcomed outside help, as we know. But as a killer alluded capture week after week, Presley voiced the town's frustration, saying, 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. he would tell reporters. The phantom just seemed to disappear like smoke after each crime.

And Sheriff Presley's name would later become part of the legend. But no figure cuts a more flamboyant image than Texas Ranger Captain Manuel T. Lone Wolf Gonzalez. A text says, you're on my mind. A bouquet from 1-800 Flowers says, you're my everything. Heartfelt moments belong in the real world, not just your phone. For 50 years, 1-800 Flowers has helped millions of people make memories that'll last a lifetime, with gifts they'll cherish forever. Their expertly curated arrangements and gift baskets shipped nationwide with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

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So in 1946, Gonzales was already a legend. He was a veteran ranger known for his white hat and dramatic flair. And he arrived in Texarkana after the first. double murder and the lone wolf quickly made a striking impression and the media would quickly gravitate to him because we know the media loves drama but here was a Hollywood-esque lawman to match the sensational story that they were getting and Gonzales did not shy away from the limelight and he gave colorful quotes to reporters vowing that the killer would be caught and boasting of the

ranger's prowess and the local newspapers ate that shit up behind the scenes however, some colleagues felt Gonzalez was something of a publicity seeker, more interested in looking good for the press than in collaborative detective work. But he was often photographed on the case. And some local officers also grumbled that lone wolf spent more time escorting reporters, especially attractive female reporters, around than actually chasing any leads. But despite the criticism, Gonzalez was an experienced investigator and did contribute to the case. with things like decoy operations, which we'll discuss in a bit.

And Gonzalez would patrol back roads night after night as well. And he was also the one to publicly urge residents to arm themselves for protection. And famously advising people to oil up their guns and see if they're loaded and to not hesitate to shoot if they felt threatened. So this emboldened already anxious citizens,

perhaps more than was wise, but reflected Gonzales' boldly's bold. take no prisoners persona. So by April 1946, fear had started to take hold in Texarkana, but more was yet to come. And on the night of April 13th, 1946, a Saturday,

15-year-old Betty Joe Booker was playing her saxophone at the local VFW club dance with the Jerry Atkins band, the Rhythmaries. And Betty Joe was something of a local darling, an outgoing, talented high school junior, and formerly Little Miss Texarkana, known for her musical skills and bright personality.

And at around 1.30 a.m. after the dance ended in the early hours of April 14th, which was Sunday morning, Betty Jo's friend, Paul Martin, aged 16, arrived to pick her up. And Paul was a popular boy, a high school junior, and an old friend of Betty Joes. And he had been out with other friends earlier that night and then swung by to give Betty Joe a ride home. So the two of them left in Paul's coop. But instead of going straight home, they decided to take a little detour. And it was common for teens to go to Spring Lake Park, a lover's lane type area on the north edge of Texarkana, Texas. And Paul and Betty Joe headed in that direction. And unbeknownst to them, they were being hunted.

And by dawn, the young couple had not returned home. And their families got extremely worried. And on approximately 6.30 a.m. on April 14th, a horrifying discovery was made. A family out for an early Sunday drive came upon Paul Martin's body lying by North Park Road just outside of Spring Lake Park. And Paul was deceased and shot four times. And investigators later noted he was shot through the nose, his ribs, right hand, and the back of his neck. And his car was nowhere in sight. So a search party immediately formed to look for Betty Joe, and it took hours of combing through the woods and fields in the vicinity. But at around 11.30 a.m., two searchers found Betty Joe Booker's body behind a tree in a

wooded area almost two miles away from where Paul was found, and she was lying on her back, fully clothed, with her hand in the pocket of her overcoat as if she might have been trying to shield herself or even keep her coat closed. And Betty Jo had been shot twice, once in the chest and once in her face. And the positioning suggested she may have been shot where she was found or possibly moved a very short distance. But it was clear that this attack had unfolded

in a very chaotic way. And the two teenagers ended up a considerable distance apart. And Paul's car had been driven off completely separately. But Paul's car would eventually be located about three miles away from Booker's body, and about a mile and a half away from his own body, near the edge of Spring Lake Park, with the keys still in the ignition. And it had been left, parked, and presumably ran out of gas. And this indicated the killer likely commandeered the vehicle at some point, perhaps to confuse investigators or to make his own escape, then just abandoned

it. And investigators pieced together the events as best they could. So what appeared, Paul Martin's car was parked at Spring Lake Park when the attack began. So likely the killer approached them just as he had the other victims, by surprise under the cover of darkness. And there was evidence of a struggle. Paul Martin, a very courageous kid, may have fought or fled. And blood on the opposite side of the road from his body indicated Paul was moving while bleeding, which supports the idea he was shot and still tried to escape or possibly draw fire away from Betty Joe Booker. And Betty Joe Booker's body suggested the killer had taken time with her. Because the fact that her coat was buttoned and hand in pocket could mean she was made to button it.

Or she did it in a desperate attempt at modesty or warmth before being killed. And there was also evidence of possible SA because reports note that Betty Joe's body did have some bruising in those parts. And there was presence of semen. And this indicated she likely suffered. heard SA or attempted S.A. Before or after death. And forensic analysis in 1946 could confirm semen, but not DNA.

So it told them about the crime, but there's nothing they could do with that evidence. And her saxophone was also missing and only her saxophone case was found at the crime scene initially. And even that wasn't found until much later in the search. So had the Phantom taken it as a trophy potentially? The absence of the saxophone would

later proved to be a key clue. For now, it was just one more bizarre facet of this double murder. But one consistency emerged, and that is that ballistic tests showed that the 32 caliber bullets that killed Betty Joe and Paul match the same weapon that killed Richard and Pauly. So it was the same gun linking all four murders, a 32 caliber pistol, so that was definitive proof the crimes were connected. So the killer, the serial killer now, had now murdered four people with the same firearm. And the brutality of these killings sent Texarkana into even more shock.

And the local newspapers ran sensational headlines. And this was now a second double homicide in three weeks. And the pattern was undeniable. A killer was targeting young couples at night. And the use of the car and the separation of the victims showed an escalation in audacity. because the phantom felt confident enough to take control of a vehicle and drive around after committing two murders.

Just a sick, sick fuck. So this was a frightening development. He was growing bold and just more unpredictable. And the community's sense of security was completely shattered at this point. And it was after the second double murder that the press gave the unknown perpetrator the famous name, the Phantom Killer.

And on April 16th, 1943, the Texarkana Daily News and Gazette ran banner headlines about a phantom killer who was on a spree. And the name, Phantom, was coined by Texarkana Gazette editor Calvin Sutton, who later admitted he chose it for dramatic effect. Big shocker. And because it captured how the killer seemed to strike and disappear like a ghost. But Sutton's sensational moniker stuck immediately. And the newspapers realized that fear sold papers. and they leaned into it.

And one Gazette article infamously warned, Sex-Maniac hunted, terrifying residents with the idea that a crazed predator was loose. Just scum. Media is just scum. And another screamed that the phantom killer alludes officers as investigation of slangs pressed, as the officers and rangers failed to catch the phantom.

And journalists from outside the region descended on Texarkana as well. And the story went national and even international. And many correspondents came to the small town to cover what they dubbed the Texarkana Loonlight Erders. The case had all the elements of a lurid true crime. Young lovers, a mysterious masked killer, incompetence of powerlessness, of police, and a catchy nickname. Nobody's thinking about the actual people that lost their lives, the children that lost their lives. and the people that are still alive and that were severely affected by this killer.

There's just no thought. It's just all about money and selling stuff. It's disgusting. It makes me sick. In radio news, broadcasts further spread the alarm. And since radio was the primary home entertainment in 1946, families across the southwest listened intently to updates about the phantom. And in Texarkana itself, rumors became even more wild and pervasive, thanks to radio and newspaper coverage, feeding the frenzy.

And Gazette's managing editor, JQ Mahaffee, would later reflect years afterward that the paper may have contributed to hysteria more than it should have. No fucking shit! But at the time, the imperative to inform the public and frantically to sell newspapers drove the coverage. And the result was a kind of mass hysteria

that modern Texarkana had never experienced. And the phantom killer dominated conversation, in churches, barbershops, and dinner tables. So with the phantom nickname, he became almost a supernatural boogeyman in people's minds, an invincible, unseen force that could be anywhere in the dark at any time. And as April turned into May, the community braced itself,

wondering when and where the phantom would strike next. So by late April, 1946, Texarkana was in the grip of mass hysteria, as we know. And after the brutal murders of Betty Joe Booker and Paul Martin, in unprecedented fear swept the Twin Cities. And people who once left doors unlocked were now barricading themselves inside their own homes at night.

And gun stores and hardware shops had shelves cleared within days, and citizens bought every firearm and box of ammunition that was available. And stores also sold out of window shades, blinds, and padlocks, and guard dogs were in high demand as family sought any form of protection.

And at dusk, Texarkana turned into a ghost town. And businesses that used to stay open late, like movie theaters or cafes, began closing earlier and earlier, some by 6 or 7 p.m. And the downtown midnight movie showings were canceled altogether.

And curfews were informally imposed by parents on their children and by business owners on their establishments. And the infamous phrase, the town that dreaded sundown, which would later title an actual movie, was already true in spirit. Because when the sunset, everyone went home,

locked their doors, and prayed for mourning. And commerce suffered in surrounding areas as well. And one report even noted that even businesses in nearby towns felt the impact of Texarkana's fear-driven shutdowns. Because the normally robust social life with dances and picnics and dates and drive-ins was utterly paralyzed by fear. And with police stretched thin and no

culprit caught, many townsfolk decided to take matters into their own hands. Teenagers, especially, responded in a mix of fear and bravado. And groups of high school boys armed themselves with deer rifles and formed vigilante patrols driving around at night hoping to confront the phantom. And this was extremely dangerous, and not to mention, illegal, but it just shows the level of panic. Even kids were hunting the hunter. And homeowners, too, sat on their porches and rocking chairs, cradling shotguns, eyes just scanning the darkness.

And it got to the point where police responding to calls had to be extremely careful approaching houses. Because officers would pull into a driveway at night, then stand up in the patrol's car headlights and shout, Hey, it's the fuzz. To avoid getting shot by a jumpy resident. And the police even adopted a protocol of using, their siren briefly when arriving to warn homeowners, which is smart. Because Texarkana just

became a trigger-happy town. And the local police had to caution citizens about this overzealous armed vigilance. And Texas Ranger, Gonzales, lone wolf himself publicly warned against vigilantism, saying, it's a good way to get killed. And officers knew the last thing they needed was an accidental shooting or some teenager mistakenly killing an innocent person. in the dark. Yet, in truth, officials quietly admitted that heavily armed populace was a double-edged sword. Because on one hand, the phantom would have a hard time

breaking into any home without facing a hail of bullets, but on the other hand, the extreme fear could cause tragic and deadly mistakes. So it was chaos born of fear. So the entire community was literally on a hair trigger. But thankfully, despite some close calls, There were no known fatality, vigilante accidents, thank goodness. But the tension was palpable.

And Texarkana was effectively a town under siege by an unknown assailant, and everyone was armed and sleep deprived. So the frenzied media coverage not only documented the fear, fueled it. And Texarkana's newspapers, especially the Gazette and Daily News, milked the story for all it was worth, running huge front page headlines and sometimes speculative, articles. This case arguably set a template for how America media handles serial killer panics even to this day, with bold nicknames, lurid details, and constant warnings that no one was safe

and fucking shitty remakes and romanticizations of these horrible monsters. I'm looking at you, Netflix. What the fuck was that? The new Ed Gein Show was shit. I hated it. Don't make up stuff about a guy who actually murdered people. Make it a documentary at least, at the very least. Don't make it this weird intermixed show about stuff that didn't happen. I hated it. Anyway, I could do a whole video on that. That pissed me off anyway. The term, Phantom Killer itself, became a marketing tool for the news. And while it certainly made residents vigilant, it also granted the murderer a kind of dark celebrity status, which can be a very dangerous thing, especially if they like it. That just makes them want to do it more.

So people started attributing any strange event or unsolved crime in the region to the Phantom. And one unfortunate side effect of the breathless media focus on the killer was the eclipse of the victims in public consciousness. His newspapers were so busy printing scare stories and phantom theories that little was written by comparison in memoriam of the young lives lost. And there were funerals for Richard Polly Paul and Betty Joe and heart-wrenching community gatherings, but their names were often drowned out in print by the next Big Phantom headline. And this kind of coverage, prioritizing fear over compassion, has been critiqued in later times. Hi, it's me, I'm critiquing it. And sociologically, Texarkana, 1946, became a case study in mass paranoia and rumor propagation.

And at one point, so many wild rumors were swirling that the phantom had been caught, that he was being hidden in jail, etc., just absolute crap, that the Texas Rangers held a press conference pleading with the public to stop spreading unverified information because it was hindering the investigation. And Gonzalez went on radio admonishing that rumors were a hindrance to the investigation and harmful to innocent persons. as some townsfolk began suspecting or accusing neighbors with absolutely zero proof. So Texarkana's summer of 1946 would be remembered as a textbook example of communal panic, with newspapers and radios stoking a level of fear that became almost its own character in this horrible dark time.

So on the night of May 3rd, 1946, the phantom deviated from his previous pattern of targeting lover's lane couples. And this time, the killer struck at a farmhouse on the Arkansas side in a community called Homan, a few miles northeast of Texarkana. And the victims were Virgil Starks, who was 37 years old, and his wife, Katie Starks, who was 36. And they were a respected farming couple in a rural area. And at around 9 p.m., Virgil Starks was sitting comfortably in his living room reading the Texarkana newspaper, while his wife, Katie, was in another room lying down. And their house sat along a highway, somewhat isolated by farmland. And that night, as Virgil relaxed in his armchair by a window,

two shots blasted through the glass behind him without warning. And both bullets struck Virgil in the back of the head. And he stood up reflexively, then crumpled back into the chair, mortally wounded. And hearing the shattering window and her husband's sudden movement, Katie rushed from the bedroom to the liver. not understanding what had happened. And she saw Virgil slumped over in blood everywhere and ran to the crank telephone to call the police.

But after two rings, she was shot twice in the face through the same window. But incredibly, despite the grievous wounds, Katie did not fully collapse. And she dropped to the floor initially out of shock but remained conscious. And Katie realized in a flash that the shooter was outside the window and likely, coming inside for her. So bleeding and in excruciating pain, she made a split second decision, escape or die.

In summoning astonishing courage, Katie Starks fought through her injuries. Because Katie now had no choice. She had to flee. So she turned and ran toward the kitchen and back of the house, intending to exit the back door. And as she got to the kitchen,

she glimpsed the killer coming through the back screen porch. And Katie didn't have to. hesitate. She turned and bolted out the front door instead, leaving a trail of blood behind her. So barefoot, absolutely terrified and seriously wounded, Katie ran from her house across the dark highway to her sister's farmhouse across the way, but nobody would be home. So Katie kept running and finally finding neighbors a bit farther down who took her in and called her help. And she reportedly gasped out Virgil's dead before collapsing. And Katie Starks miraculously survived her wounds. Thank goodness. Like, talk about strong women, my God. And Virgil Starks sadly

died from his wounds almost immediately. Katie Stark's survival was nothing short of heroic. But despite ghastly facial wounds, Katie remained conscious and alert through her escape, likely due to just pure adrenaline. And the blood trail she left could later be followed by investigators and it clearly marked her path from the living room to the phone, then back through the house,

out of the front door, with splashes where she likely stumbled. And this blood evidence allowed police to reconstruct how the attack unfolded and where the killer had been positioned outside. And at the crime scene, investigators found a flashlight on the ground just outside a window.

And it was a red flashlight. determined to likely have been left by the assailant. Unfortunately, like other evidence, it yielded no fingerprints. The phantom may have worn gloves, but it was a tangible piece left behind. And Katie's survival also put a face of bravery on the tragedy. Because in a way, she became the final girl of this horror story, a term in slasher films for the woman who survives when others don't. and Katie was allegedly the phantom's last intended victim, and she lived.

Because after May 3rd, the phantom killer did not strike again, as far as we know. But the Stark's attack raised immediate puzzles for investigators, and the biggest was that, was this the same phantom killer or a copycat? Because on the one hand, the MO had stark differences. A farmhouse attack on an older married couple at home, not young lovers in a parked car. car and a 22 rifle was used not the 32 pistol tied to the earlier murders and the killer also didn't attempt any SA on Katie so these departures led some lawmen including some from the FBI to suspect it might be a different perpetrator who coincidentally attacked in the same area and by late

1948 there were even officials that publicly leaned towards considering the stark's case separate due to the different weapon and circumstances. But on the other hand, there were compelling reasons to think it was the Phantom, just evolving his tactics. And psychological profilers in a primitive form, as formal profiling didn't exist yet, like Dr. Anthony La Pala, the psychologist at Texarkana's federal prison, believed the Phantom was one man who simply changed his approach due to the intense police pressure on lovers' lanes.

And Lelpaula argued the killer knew the lonesome road, roads were being patrolled and that's why he chose the Stark's house. So essentially the Phantom was smart enough to vary his pattern once the usual targets became too risky. And indeed by late April, every secluded road in Texarkana had troopers and armed teens crawling around. And the Starks lived in a relatively isolated spot, making them a target of opportunity for someone who wanted to strike where no one expected. So it could have been the Phantom's attempt at a new type of type of kill. And it would have been an escalation from lovers

to simply any vulnerable person, perhaps driven by the need to maintain his thrill despite increased patrols. And perhaps he also intended to assault Katie, but his initial gunshots forced a change of plan. And geographically, the Stark's home was just across the state line in Arkansas, where the prior attacks were on the Texas side.

And it showed the killer was not beholden to one jurisdiction. And law enforcement had to accept that nowhere was off limits. And the Phantom also just might have been attempting to show he could get to people even in their homes. A thought that sent Texarkana's fear through the roof, if that was even more possible. So after the Stark's attack, investigators redoubled efforts, but also felt a peculiar pause because this crime was so different and made them question their assumptions. If it was the same killer, he had just brazenly attacked a household where the victims were not teenagers,

and had no romantic context. And the presence of a separate 22 firearm in this case meant ballistics could not link it to the other crimes. They just had to rely on MO and circumstantial evidence. So in hindsight, many people still do believe it was the same phantom that did this crime because the timing, the general area,

and the fleeing pattern, he vanished as he usually does. But officially, doubt remained. And the Stark's case technically stayed, unsolved and open as a standalone just like the others. But what was clear is that after May 3rd, 1946, the attacks stopped, just like out of nowhere. And the Phantom Killer, if it was him at the Stark's farm,

had reached a climax of violence and then nothing more. And Texarkana's immediate nightmare was over, but the investigation was about to turn into one of the largest man hunts in regional history. So as noted, as many as 47, officers from various agencies were actively working the case following the Stark's attack. And this included local city police, both county sheriff departments, Texas Rangers, Arkansas State Police, and even FBI agents. And they set up a makeshift coordination center to share information.

Though communication was still tricky as different police radios weren't all on the same frequencies and long-distance calls were very slow. So to improve coordination, authorities brought in a mobile radio station, and teletype machine to Texarkana, allowing faster sharing of info between Texas and Arkansas officers. And this was cutting edge for the time and indicates how seriously the government took this case. And the Texas Department of Public Safety committed dozens of troopers as well. And the Arkansas governor reportedly offered state resources freely as well. And a reward fund kept growing, contributed by both states and local civic groups, reaching about $7,000 in total, which was a huge,

equivalent to about $150,000 shortly after the Stark's case and was climbing to about $10,000, which is about $166,000 today. And tips and leads continued to pour in, not just from Texarkana, but from around the country, as newspapers everywhere ran the story of the Phantom Killer. A detectives had to check leads by calling or visiting other towns, looking through paper records and fingerprint cards by hand.

And the FBI helped by checking fingerprints national, with analysts visually comparing to their files and prints for any matches to prints found at the scenes. But none of those panned out. And police held roadblocks on highways, leaving Texarkana immediately after the Stark shooting, stopping and questioning motorists randomly, hoping perhaps the killer might be trying to slip away

in the exodus of frightened people. An officers interrogated traveling salesmen, ex-cons known in the area, drifters, and any stranger who aroused suspicion. And many of those people were cleared through alibis or lack of evidence, but the sheer volume is telling. So essentially, if you lived in or around Texarkana and weren't a bedridden invalid, chances are the cops talked to you in that span of weeks. But despite the scale, there were significant challenges.

Records were all on paper, and coordinating between Texas and Arkansas law enforcement was sometimes hindered by bureaucracy or simple logistics. For example, when a suspect would flee across the state line, it would cause delay due to jurisdiction issues. And there was also the problem of false information clogging the pipeline every single day. And like we said before, at least nine individuals came forward to police at various times, claiming to be the phantom killer themselves. And each of these confessions had to be checked thoroughly, obviously. But some confessors were just very mentally disturbed or attention seekers, and others might have. felt guilty about something else or sought the glory of being the infamous phantom killer. So police would just chase down every single lead, even if it involved other states. So this massive

manhunt just put tremendous pressure on law enforcement. And the lead investigators, Sheriff Presley and Ranger Gonzalez, and Detective Tackett and others, were running on little sleep and constant strain. And they knew the killer could be a local, someone who might even be chatting with them, or someone they had interviewed, potentially hiding in plain sight. And that paranoia seeped into the force, too. And in such an atmosphere, they were primed to leap on any promising suspect. And in the thick of the hunt for the phantom, law enforcement tried some clever tactics to catch the killer in the act. Knowing that the murderer favored targeting couples in parked cars, they organized decoy operations using both real people and dummies.

And teenagers had been acting as self-appointed bait out of bravado, but the police formalized the idea. And brave young people volunteer to sit in cars at night in various lovers lane spots pretending to be a couple, which is crazy to just get locals to volunteer to do that. That's just, that's 1946 for you. And they'd park in a dark spot, engine off, lights off, and exactly the scenario the phantom found enticing. And then other armed officers would hide nearby, perhaps behind trees or in other cars up the road, ready to ambush the killer if they took the bait.

And in Spring Lake Park, officers reportedly hidden trees to surveil the area from above, hoping to spot anything suspicious. And these operations continued night after night for weeks. and there were some heart-pounding moments, but ultimately, the phantom did not reappear to attack any decoys. I'm assuming because he's not a wild animal looking at a stake in the middle of the forest. I get what the cops were doing, but I mean, you know, this guy's got a level of planning that's involved.

He hunts, he prows, he makes sure everything's clear. He's making sure that they're a couple, you know, it's a... It was a stretch, not saying it's bad that the cops tried it. I think it is good, but it just, yeah, it just seems far-fetched. But better than it actually happening to someone who's innocent in the car. So as the weeks passed on, none of the decoys lured in the fandoms, obviously. And this lent credence to the idea that maybe the phantom had left the area or gone dormant. Perhaps the heavy police presence itself just deterred him.

And the small city was literally crawling with patrol calls and plain-clothed detectives lurking in the shadows. So if the killer had any sense, he might have realized any further attempt would be high risk, or he may have simply gotten scared off. But it's quite possible that the decoy strategy did at least prevent another murder by making the environment too dangerous for the perpetrator to strike. So 10 points to the police for that. And officers would remain on high alert through the summer of 1946, running decoys and checking tips.

But by the fall, as no new incidences happened, the frenzy, did die down, but officially the search stayed alive because lawmen did not want to pack up and declare victory without a capture. So criminal profiling wasn't formalized yet at this time, but Texarkana authorities did seek expert opinions on the killer psychology, like Dr. La Pala's analysis. And it was primitive profiling like we were talking about before, but he surmised that the phantom was likely a white male with a disturbingly, prejudiced rationale dismissing African-American suspects as quote not that clever unquote which just reflected the ignorance of the era and of this fucking doctor but if we do look at

other crimes that have happened other serial killings that have happened it's more often that serial killers do not kill outside of their race but it's not it's not a thing that happens but it's more often that they kill within their own race. So you can kind of assume based off that that the person was white, not that the person wasn't smart and was African-American like this dipshit said, but also Lelpala guessed the killer had a strong sysual drive and sadistic tendencies. And he also predicted the killer could alter his behavior or move locations to avoid capture. But one of the biggest investigative problems was simply information overload without modern analysis tools.

because they had thousands of pages of reports, witness statements, and tips all on paper. So just organizing and cross-referencing them was a nightmare by hand. And sifting insight from that volume with no computer is like finding needles in a haystack. And lastly, crime scene security and evidence preservation was not as tight back then, obviously.

And crowds of the car murder scenes undoubtedly trampled things, and the concept of preserving a pristine scene was in infancy. And there was even an incident at the Stark's home where Gonzalez, you know, the flamboyant lone wolf detective, went into the Stark's home before other investigators got there and was taking photos with a photographer at the scene so he would look like he was the first one there. It was just a giant shit show. And certainly didn't help with forensic integrity. But among the investigators, there was Max Packett, who was in the Arkansas State Police.

And Detective Tackett was not as flashy as Gonzalez, but he was sharp and very analytical. And he was the one that noticed a pattern in the case that no one else noticed. Because Packett noticed that in the days leading up to each major attack, a car had been reported stolen in the area. And then after each attack, there was an abandoned stolen car. found around the same area in Texarkana. So it was an oddly specific pattern, but this insight planted a seed in Tackett's mind that this could be connected to the Phantom.

And it was a hunch, but it was a crucial one. Because while others were chasing leads of suspects with violent pasts, Tackett started tracking reports of missing vehicles. And Tackett's diligent work would pay off in July of 1946 when he set out a stakeout for a recently stolen vehicle. And sure enough, a young woman would come to retrieve the car.

And her name was Peggy Lois Stevens. And she had happened to be the wife of a local petty criminal named Ewell Swinney. So Tackett would arrest Peggy on site and take her into custody. And he would suspect Swinney to be the Phantom. But he didn't have him in custody at this point. But in a dramatic turn, a couple weeks later, Tackett himself spotted Ewell Swinney stepping into a bus station in Texarkana after receiving a tip about a possibly stolen vehicle. So Tackett would give chase and he would arrest Swinney on the spot.

So Tackett was steadfast that Swinney had to be the Phantom Killer based off of his car theft, putting the dots together. But others were not so sure. So with a main suspect in custody now, which is Yul Swinney, prosecutors would look into him and they would see it was a, largely circumstantial case and they would hesitate. So let's get to know you'll Swinney. So Swinney was a 29 year old man at the time of the murders.

And he was no stranger to the police because Swinney had a long criminal history of petty crimes like car theft, burglary, forgery, and other nonviolent offenses. In fact, he was what they called a habitual criminal. And he'd been in and out of jail repeatedly in his teenage years. And importantly, Swinney was not. a teenager. Early rumors in town had speculated that the phantom might be a high school kid or soldier, but Swinney was a grown man. And he did come from a troubled background. His father was a locally well-known Baptist minister, which in a southern community made the situation all that more

scandalous, and one can imagine the shock of a minister's son being linked to such heinous acts. But by 1946, Swinney's reputation in Texarkana was already poor. And physically, Swinney roughly matched the sparse descriptions. He was around six feet tall and of medium to stocky build, aligning with what survivors like Mary Jean Larry had noted. And if we consider Mary Jean's initial claim that the attacker was a light-skinned black man, Swinney was a tanned white man that could fit the confusion she had in the dark. and Jimmy Hollis had thought the guy was white, so Swinney didn't contradict those aspects.

And he also often wore work clothes and sometimes overalls, attire that wouldn't stand out if someone saw a figure lurking at night. And some speculated he had a kind of inferiority complex or latent violent tendencies. However, it's worth noting, he had no record of violent crimes prior to 1946. And that was one reason some investigators. Investigators were initially skeptical that a two-bit car thief could suddenly escalate to being a vicious serial killer. But some people argued that some serial killers have prior records of lesser crimes or simply hadn't been caught for violence yet. But Swinney certainly had the stealing car parts down. And as we know, that Detective Tackett observed a string of stolen cars that corresponded with the murder nights.

And Swinney's personal life was turbulent to say the least. Because in 1946, he was dating a new woman named Peggy, the woman that got arrested earlier by Max, and she was young, she was 21 years old, and she came from a troubled background herself. But unbeknownst to law enforcement until later, Swinney and Peggy Stevens had gotten married in the summer of 1946, right before Swinney was arrested for car theft.

And that would become a key issue in the case, because Yule Swinney was a plausible suspect and the prime one, and he moved in the same circles as the crime scenes, with the stolen cars found in the same town as the crime scenes. And he had the right physical attributes, and he had a shady reputation. And crucially, as soon as he was locked up in 1946, the phantom murder stopped for good.

And investigators later remarked that of all the people that they looked at, Swinney fit the bill better than anyone else. So means, opportunity, and perhaps twisted motive, some of his acquaintances allegedly hinted he had a cruel streak. The community upon hearing whispers of his arrest breathed a tentative sigh of relief. But proving he was the killer would be a whole other matter entirely. Because the break in the case came not from a smoking gun or a fingerprint, but from good old-fashioned detective work on an unrelated crime,

which was stolen cars, as we know. And as we know, Peggy got arrested and then soon after Swinney got arrested, and it would be at this point that they would find out that they had gotten married only a few days before. And that itself seems suspiciously convenient. As if Swinney anticipated trouble and married Peggy so she couldn't testify against him. Because under Texas law, a spouse could not be compelled to testify against her husband, the so-called marital privilege.

And when Swinney got arrested, he also said something interesting in the car on the way to jail. And that was something he said to the deputy, and he said, Mr. Johnson, what do you think they'll do to me for this? Will they give me the chair? And this was very telling, because car theft wouldn't carry the death penalty and the chair refers to the electric chair for capital crimes, and it implied Swinney thought or knew

that they were after him for much more than just stealing cars. And Johnson later recalled being struck by the fear in Swinney's query, potentially an accidental slip-up indicating consciousness of the guilt in the murders. And this quote is often cited as an indirect confession of sorts, With Swinney in custody, the intensive investigation turned toward building a case that he was the phantom. And detectives searched the places that Swinney had been living in a rooming house where he stayed. They found a shirt with the name Stark written on it, spattered with welding slag, likely stolen from Virgil Stark's welding shop. And to police, this was a smoking clue, tying Swinney to the Stark's crime,

because Virgil's welding shop had some shirts with his name and one. was allegedly missing. And they also found items possibly belonging to other victims, but the record is unclear. And they interrogated Swinney for hours, but initially he denied everything, except the car thefts of course, because he got caught in the act. But he did not confess to the murders at that point. And investigators then turned to Peggy, hoping she might talk. But since she was now married, they couldn't force her to testify against him, but she could choose to speak voluntarily. And speak she would,

and multiple times with stories that gradually painted Swinney as the phantom. But the evidence against Swinney, other than Peggy's statements, was mostly circumstantial but compelling when combined, because he owned a 32-cult automatic pistol in the past, the same caliber that the phantom used, and Swinney claimed he had sold or pawned that gun months before the murders began, in late 1945, alleging that he needed money, so that would put a big hole in the case if that was the case. So they never recovered that pistol to test it. But still, the fact that he had

owned the same type of gun was noted. And perhaps most crucial, Tackett's hunch about stolen cars proved dead on, and records showed Swinney was tied to every auto theft around the time of each phantom attack. For example, a car stolen on March 24th was found abandoned near where Richard Griffin had lived, and a car stolen April 13th was found abandoned close to Spring Lake Park where Betty and Paul were killed, and a car stolen on May 3rd was found not far from the Stark's farm. So all those thefts now looked likely to be Swinney's work. So essentially, he had a pattern of stealing a car using it, then ditching it, which fits exactly how the phantom could roam without using his own identifiable vehicle. So with these puzzle pieces, law enforcement

privately felt they had their phantom killer, but public proof was another matter. And they needed Peggy to come through with details only the killer or accomplice would know. And in the days following Ewell Swinney's arrest, his 21-year-old bride, Peggy Swinney, gave a series of damning statements to police. And though her story shifted each time,

initially, Peggy was scared and somewhat protective of Ewell, but under pressure she began to crack. And in her first statement, Peggy was hesitant. and she stopped short of admitting Swinney was the killer, but she placed him at some scenes and provided no alibis. And crucially, she did not incriminate herself. So after some hours, and possibly after being confronted with evidence like the stolen items, Peggy gave a second statement that was far more incriminating.

And in this version, she directly implicated Ewell Swinney in at least the murder of Betty Joe Booker and Paul Martin. And Peggy claimed that on the night of April 13th to 14th, 1946, she was with Ewell when he left her in a car near Spring Lake Park, and she heard gunshots in the distance. And when he returned, he had a black saxophone case with him, which he put in their car trunk. And a few days later, he told her he had gotten rid of the saxophone. And this detail was crucial for investigators, because Betty Joe's missing saxophone had been big news, and here was Peggy mentioning it unprompted. So if true, it puts the same. It puts, Swinney at the scene of a double murder with knowledge only the killer could have.

But the saxophone's disappearance was public knowledge, but only the killer would know what he did with it. So Peggy said Yule later sold the saxophone in Corpus Christi, which matched an earlier incident where a man had tried to sell a Bundy Sax to a music store and fled. And police had indeed nabbed a suspect back in April who tried to pawn a sax in Corpus Christi, but released him when his alibi checked out. So maybe Swinney had an intermediary do it, potentially, or Peggy's recollection was off. But actually, the sacks was found months later, hidden in the woods near where Betty Joe's body lay, suggesting maybe Ewell stashed it rather than sold it.

So as Peggy kept talking, she eventually gave a third statement, which essentially placed her at the scenes as an unwilling accomplice. And she confessed that she was with Ewell during the Martin Burr. Booker murders, sitting in the car while he went and did the crime. And by this account, she made herself an accessory. And perhaps she felt compelled to unburden herself of the full truth, or perhaps investigators coach some details, but accounts differ. And Ranger Gonzalez and others considered her third statement very credible because it

included specifics not released to the public, like the location of certain evidence. And several accounts assert that in her confessions, Peggy Swinney indicated exactly where Betty Joe Berger's saxophone had been discarded. And investigators later found the instrument six months after the murder, buried under leaves and under brush near where her body had lain. And she also knew about Paul Martin's date book being thrown in the bushes. And Sheriff Presley had privately found Paul Martin's pocket notebook in the brush at the scene, which he kept secret.

And that's the piece of evidence. He kept secret that he didn't want to give to the public to see who actually knew about it. So when Peggy mentioned, you'll tossing papers or stuff, it wasn't actually, she didn't say notebook, he said papers or stuff from Paul's pockets into the bushes, Presley nearly fell out of his chair, because that was a detail never made public. So to him, this was the smoking gun of veracity. But Peggy's confessions had a glaring problem. Because by the third one, she had implicated herself as an accomplice. And now, as the suspect's wife, her testimony could be seen as coerced or biased. And legally, she could not be compelled to testify against Ewell because of marital privilege.

And once she fully realized that, she recanted everything and refused to repeat the stories in court. So this put prosecutors in a bind. Without Peggy's testimony, the case against Swinney was mostly circumstantial. Because there was no forensic proof tying him to the murders. And the circumstantial evidence was strong, our theft pattern and his suspicious statements, stolen items from the Starks, Peggy's prior detailed confession,

but could a jury convict on that without a confession or eyewitness? And the DA doubted it, especially since the defense could claim Peggy's tales were fantasies of a pressured young woman possibly abused by her husband. And indeed, Peggy, after recanting, claimed she had made it all up

because she was afraid of Ewell and just told police what she thought they wanted to hear. Which is a crime, by the way, that's obstruction of justice, if true. Objectively, though, Peggy's knowledge of those unpublished details strongly suggest she was telling the truth when implicating him. An investigator certainly believed her initially. And Tillman Johnson said later, Peggy's bread wasn't baked. The elevator didn't go to the top. crudely suggesting she wasn't bright enough to concoct such consistent lies. I'm not going to lie.

I like the way he said that. That was kind of funny. Not nice, very misogynistic, but it is a little bit funny. I'd like to say the same thing about the doctor that made that horrendously racial remark about who the phantom was and their ethnicity and stuff. That's, I'm going to, yeah, his bread wasn't fully baked and the elevator didn't go all the way to the top. I'm going to use that. Only all people that deserve.

But anyway, they felt she couldn't have given those accurate details unless she was there or privy to them. And though law enforcement and much of Texarkana were convinced Swinney was the Phantom Killer, legally he never faced trial for the murders. Despite having what they believed was the killer and confession from his wife, the authorities were forced to drop plans to charge Swinney with murder. And they feared an acquittal that would forever bar retrial or double jeopardy. So instead, they hit him with the heaviest charge. they confidently could, and that was habitual car theft, which under new repeat offender laws

could carry a life sentence. So in 1947, Yul Swinney was convicted of being a habitual criminal for car theft and sentenced to life in prison. So this was a way to ensure he never walked free, a kind of de facto justice for the murders without actually trying him for them. And lawmen called it a backdoor way of getting the phantom off the streets for good. and Swinney was sent to the Texas state penitentiary. Some accounts say it was the East Ham unit to serve his life term. And Texarkana breathed easier. And Peggy was not charged with anything.

Possibly as part of an arrangement, she was let go, perhaps due to her cooperation, albeit later withdrawn. And she returned to normal life, staying married to Yule for a while, then divorcing him years later. But investigators like Tackett and Johnson went to their graves convinced that Peggy had essentially given them the truth and that Yule Swinney was definitely the Phantom. And Sheriff Presley publicly said he was not 100% certain, but personally believed

they'd caught the right man. And indeed, no more Phantom-like murders occurred after Swinney's incarceration. However, the story didn't quite end there. And in a twist, Swinney did not spend the rest of his life behind bars. And in 1973, after 26 years, he managed to get his conviction over turned on appeal via a hobbyist corpus proceeding. And the courts found that back in 1947 during his car theft trial, he hadn't had proper legal representation or was improperly sentenced under the habitual offender statute.

Thus, he was released. Some sources indicate the prison records simply show released in 1973, possibly due to a technicality. And this, understandably, caused a stir among those who remembered 1946. But by 1973, Swinney was an older man, reportedly in very poor health. And he had remarried, not to Peggy, she was long gone, and attempted to live quietly. But old habits die hard. And within a year or two, he was arrested

yet again for counterfeiting and car theft. This guy doesn't stop. Didn't learn anything behind bars. So apparently he was just incapable of staying out of trouble. And he would be in and out of prison in the late 70s for these minor crimes. And Yule Swinney died in 1994 at the age of 77 of cancer, so with him died any secrets he hadn't spilled. And he never publicly confessed to the Texarkana killings. But the consensus of those closest to the case was that justice, however imperfect, was served in a backhanded way. And Yule Swinney lost 30-some years of freedom, which if he was truly guilty of five murders and multiple assaults, is a lighter penalty than he deserved, but far heavier than nothing at all. But the Phantom case stands as a hauntip

example of a near miss in the justice system, or a complete miss, and they caught the supposed right man but could not convict him in court. And instead, they utilized a workaround to protect the public, leaving the official record unsatisfyingly inconclusive. And to this day, Swinney remains the prime suspect

with no serious alternative ever discovered by law enforcement. But one of the most bizarre turns in the Phantom case came in 1948, two years after the murders. when an 18-year-old college student named Henry Booker Doody Tennyson died from unsubscribing from life behind a confession note claiming to be the Phantom Killer. Tennyson was a former Texarkana High School band member and he played trombone in the same band as Betty Joe Booker,

though they were not close friends. And on November 4th, 1948 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he was attending university, Tennyson took a fatal dose of mercury cyanide. And in his personal effects, police family, encrypted directions leading to a sealed envelope. And when deciphered and opened, the letter inside was a shocker. And Tennyson wrote,

Why did I take my own life? Well, when you committed to double murders, you would too. Yes, I did kill Betty Joe Booker and Paul Martin in the city park that night and killed Mr. Starks and tried to get Mrs. Starks. So this was effectively a written confession to the April 14th, 1915 46 murders and the May 3rd farmhouse attack. And the authorities were stunned. Because was it possible that all along the Phantom

was actually a teenager and one who had been known in the community? Could they have actually jailed the wrong man, Swinney, while the real killer lived quietly and went off to college? So they took the Tennyson note very seriously at first. However, upon deeper investigation, several problems and inconsistencies emerged that cast doubt on duty Tennyson's claim. And first was physical evidence.

His investigators compared Tennyson's fingerprints to those at the crime scenes, and there was no match. And they also looked at his known habits and capabilities, and Tennyson was described by peers as shy, introverted kids, socially awkward, and often bullied. And it's been suggested he might have been gay as well as he was teased for being quote-unquote strange. So while shy people can definitely harbor darkness, nothing in his background hinted at violent tendencies. And he had no criminal record, and importantly, some of his family provided what seemed to be a solid alibi. Like on May 3rd, 1946, the night of the Stark shooting, Tennyson was at home playing cards or checkers with a friend James Freeman at the very time of the attack. And you'd be able to note this because you remember in town when something happens. Like if a couple in town that everybody knows gets killed, you remember what you're doing, you know?

And Freeman did confirm this, saying he and duty were together when they heard. the news about the Stark's on the radio. And if true, Tennyson could not have been out at the Stark Farmhouse. Additionally, Tennyson didn't know how to drive a car in 1946. And his brother later stated he taught Henry to drive only in the summer of 1947. So he couldn't have driven and it's unlikely he could steal cars or easily get to a distant lover's lane at night. And he also, as far as anyone knew, had no proficiency with firearms and didn't own any either. And his brothers testified that Henry didn't know how to use weapons, and indeed was not the type to even handle guns. So why would Tennyson claim credit?

And in subsequent notes found in his belongings, Henry had written contradictory messages. One explicitly said, Please disregard all other messages I have written as possible reasons for taking my own life. But the Texarkana Gazette sensationally ran a headline saying, quote, Note canceling murder admission found, unquote. implying Tennyson recanted within his own writings. And it appeared that Tennyson was deeply troubled, possibly guilt-ridden about something else.

Some suspected he was grappling with personal issues like his orientation or simply depression, and he may have latched onto the phantom crimes as a dramatic scapegoat for his despair. And another of his writing spoke of not being able to live with himself, but also vaguely mentioned reading too many comic books and pulp stories, which could have planted ideas in his head. But interestingly, Tennyson's cousins, Dr. John T. Tennyson, a forensic psychiatrist,

has spent years researching whether Henry could have been involved. And he noted peculiar connections, like the fact that Henry worked as an usher at the Paramount Theater, which all the first victims had attended the nights that they were killed, suggesting he could have seen them on their dates and followed them. And Dr. Tennyson also pointed out Henry was tall, he was six three and knew another oddball teen James Freeman who lived near the Stark's relatives home. And Dr. Tennyson's theory is that perhaps Henry Tennyson and James Freeman together could have been the Phantom, acting as a duo like Leopold and Leob. However, no hard evidence ever emerged to substantiate those theories and law enforcement in 1948 ultimately concluded that

duty's confession was false. And they cleared him after the alibi and family input. And Henry Tennyson's, on subscription, note saga is a tragic side of this chapter, likely a case of a disturbed young man taking on guilt that just wasn't his. And it just serves as a reminder of how the phantom's cases notoriety seeped into local culture and psyches. And even years later, it could spur someone to such dramatic gestures. But virtually, all modern researchers agree Tennyson was not the Phantom, despite the initial sensational headlines. And another, false lead came literally from across the country in May 1946 when 21 year old Ralph Bowman and ex-Army Air Force

Machine Gunner turned himself into LA police claiming he might beat the Phantom Killer. But Bowman's story was unusual. He said he had awoken from a sort of fugue state on May 3rd the very day of the Stark's attack in San Francisco with his rifle missing and a feeling that he'd been running from something. And he heard descriptions of the Phantom over the radio

that seemed to match him and a trouble and confused, hitchhiked L.A. to surrender saying, I'm my own suspect, he told LAPD. And he speculated that perhaps he committed the Texarkana murders during a blackout episode brought on by combat trauma. Because in World War II, Bowman had indeed been diagnosed as psychoneurotic and discharged.

So not exactly a reliable source. In Texas Ranger, Gonzalez flew to Los Angeles to interview Bowman, but after thorough questioning, they determined several parts of a story didn't line up with any facts. It just became more and more clear that Bowman was a deeply troubled individual,

likely seeking an explanation for his psychological troubles. Police ultimately concluded he was not the Phantom and he was not charged with anything related to Texarkana. But in another strange twist, early one morning on May 7, 1946, railway workers found a grisly scene about 60 miles north of Texarkana near Ogden, Arkansas. And it was a man's mutilated body sprawled along

the Kansas City. Southern Railroad tracks. And the man was Earl Cliff McSpadden, and a freight train had run him over, severing an arm and a leg. And initially, given the timing, days after the stark shooting and the proximity, rumors flared that the Phantom Killer

had either claimed a new victim or possibly unsubscribed by jumping in front of a train. And some locals whispered that maybe McSpadden was the phantom and racked the guilt or cornered by police pressure, he unsubscribed on the tracks. just a way for the phantom to vanish forever. However, the coroner's inquest ruled that death at the hands

of persons unknown, declaring McSpatten's demise a murder, not in a subscription. And they believed he was killed or placed on the tracks after death because his head showed a puncture wound that might have been a stab or gunshot and that lack of significant bleeding from the amputations suggested he wasn't alive when the train hit him. So someone may have murdered McSpethers,

and then tried to make it look like an accident by using the train. So if that's true, was McSpadden a phantom victim potentially? Perhaps an unrelated homicide, but the coincidence with the phantom spree was irresistible to the press. And one theory posited was that he was the Phantom's sixth and final victim.

And maybe he'd been hitchhiking and the killer picked him up and dispatched him, but this contradicts the phantoms modus operandi because he targets couples not solo men. And another theory was that McSpadden himself was the phantom and someone killed him, effectively vigilantism or an associate silencing him. Perhaps another criminal or an enraged citizen

took him out and staged the train scene. But there was zero evidence ever of tying McSpadden to any murders though, because he had no known connections to the earlier victims and was older than descriptions given by survivors. And no firearm of the appropriate caliber was associated with him.

So this idea is largely considered baseless. And ultimately, police found no link between McSpadden and Phantom case beyond timing. And he remains a peripheral curiosity. And in a swirl of 1946 paranoia, some residents floated the idea likely born of World War II xenophobia. Perhaps the Phantom was an escaped German prisoner of war from one of the many POW camps in the southern U.S. at the time.

On May 8, 1946, it was reported that a German POW had indeed escaped from a camp in Oklahoma and was being sought in the region. And he was described as stocky, 24 years old with brown hair and blue eyes, and the news fueled speculation that this fugitive could be the phantom, a foreign killer roaming the countryside, feeding into locals ingrained fears from the recent war. So the idea of a rogue German phantom made for sensational headlines to say the least. And law enforcement did briefly consider and investigate this angle, and they noted that the POW had a stolen car in Arkansas near Mount Ida and attempted to buy an ammunition in some Oklahoma towns. However, they found no evidence linking him to Texarkana beyond circumstantial proximity. But in all truth,

the known pattern and familiarity the killer had with local lover's lanes suggested a local person, not a random escape to German foreigner. And indeed, most of the law enforcement never put much stock into the POW idea, once more plausible leads like Swinney emerged. It did remain a popular media trope, though, shockingly. So numerous suspects and leads were chased in the phantom case, reflecting how desperate authorities were for a solid answer. And essentially, all were eliminated besides Swinney's just seems the most compelling and they kind of backdored him, but even then they weren't certain. And no one aside from Swinney had any compelling evidence against them. So all other avenues just turned into footnotes in one of America's strangest unsolved

cases. And to this day, it is still unsolved. And even 30 years after the terror in Texarkana, Hollywood, of course, turned the phantom story into a semi-legislary film that would influence the horror genre. And in 1976, Texarkana-born filmmaker Charles B. Pierce produced the town that dreaded sundown. And it was part true crime, docudrama, slash part horror thriller. And the movie was actually shot in Texarkana as well. So Pierce's film undeniably cemented the phantom killer in pop culture. And many who watch it assume that it's all gospel, but it's not true. Who would have known? Hollywood romanticizing serial killers. That's crazy. What a crazy notion. Most of it is just propaganda and myths and just stuff he took liberties in. But it also kept the memory of the case

alive and directly influence the next generation of horror creators and sleuths. So officially, the Texarkana Moonlight Murder's case remains open but unsolved to this day, because there is no statute of limitation on murder. So in theory, if any new evidence did emerge, charges could still be filed. But realistically, nearly 80 years on, it is a cold case. So hopefully one day we can get some evidence that and get DNA and, and link it to somebody, but as of right now, the phantom remains a phantom and a monster. And instead of focusing on him and ending it on him, I would like to focus on the victims.

And my heart always goes out to the victims and to their families, regardless of it being 80 years ago. That is the true, true cruelty of this whole case. And they are the ones that deserve the spotlight and deserve to be remembered. But that is it for the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. Hopefully one day it'll get solved. but I don't know. If you guys have any other cases you want me to deep dive into, let me know down below. I always read the comments and I will see you a beautiful face in the next video.

Alright? Bye.