He had pulled over to the side of the road, just south of the border separating Washington D.C. and the state of Maryland. During their correspondence, Askins continued to deny having any part in the Freeway Phantom murders, stating that he did not have: " the depravity of mind required to commit any of the crimes.". Following this alleged sexual assault, the man had then driven the victim away from the scene, telling her at one point: "Have you ever heard of the Baltimore-Washington Expressway Phantom? However, upon receiving the case, Trainum realized how much of an uphill battle it would be. The Phantom after abducting his victims is assumed to have taken them to abandoned houses where he proceeded to rape the victims multiple times before killing them. One of the more promising leads that investigators would follow up on centered around a group of known sexual offenders, who have been referred to as the "Green Vega Rapists" in the media. Touted as Washington, D.C.'s first serial killer, this yet-to-be-identified murderer was responsible for the killing of at least 6 minor girls in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. Investigation Discoverys People Magazine Investigates: The Freeway Phantom chronicles the crimes of a serial murderer self-proclaimed as the Freeway Phantom. The name was coined by reporters at the now-defunct tabloid, the Daily News, who noted that all of the victims had been disposed of alongside major roads and freeways. Sellman and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Now, she continues to ponder over the case, which still haunts her. Investigators were unable to link the existing evidence to any real suspects, and the witness statements they could gather were hardly helpful. lawrence shankland family 8marla commercial e 1 phase 8 bahria town islamabad edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Bertha recalls her sister crying on the other end of the phone, and sounding somewhat distracted. Two days later, police discovered the body of Angela Denise Barnes, 14. She told her mom that she was going to be staying the night at the rec center, as they were hosting a sleepover event for kids that would stretch into the following morning. It was just about half-a-mile away from home across the state border, in Maryland's Prince George's County (also known as "PG County" to locals). A search of Robert Askin's vehicle the next month ended up raising some more alarms, when police found two buttons and a gold earring underneath his back seat. [5], The Phantom's final victim was claimed almost a year later, on September 5, 1972. This inmate - Morris Warren - began feeding investigators information about the Freeway Phantom crimes, which he alleged were perpetrated by a member of the Green Vega's. The "Freeway Phantom" was a nickname given by a regional tabloid, but the name seemed to stick. Investigators analyzed the notes handwriting to determine that Brenda herself wrote the message, and the writing showed no signs of distress. The Green Vega Gang members were individually interviewed by MPDC Homicide Detectives Fickling, Irving, and Richardson, at Lorton Prison in Virginia, where the gang members were serving sentences in conjunction with the successful prosecutions of those crimes in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. [4] A reward of $150,000 remains open as well.[5]. A reward exists for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of people or persons responsible, totaling $150,000 as of this year. Upon this third - and final - submission, the custody of this evidence became a matter-of-debate. James Groom was later arrested for the incident, and charged with both kidnapping and sexual assault. There were long gaps between the crimes (sometimes as long as 2.5 months between each), but five young women had been killed over the span of 1971. School was out for the summer, and she was occupying her time with her friends, her boyfriend, and her summer job: working as a counselor at a nearby rec center. [23] Logical investigation and intimate knowledge of the modus operandi of the Green Vega Gang brought them to the forefront. Sadly, Darlenia Johnson never made it to work that day. She was the region's first female homicide detective - a feat made all the more incredible when you factor in Jenkins' ethnicity. Starkville. All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Monday, August 2 from 6-8 p.m. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday, August 3 at 9 a.m. and will conclude with a funeral Mass at St. Margaret Church in St. Veronica Parish, www.stveronicama.org , 111 Winn Street, Burlington, at 10:00 am . Read. FRee-wAy PhanTom[13], Based on handwriting samples, authorities surmised that the note, written on paper cut from the victim's school notebook, had been dictated to and handwritten by Woodard. This was, truthfully, based off of statistical analysis at the time - which did show that killers tend to target their own racial demographic, more often than not - but had come after months of inactivity and perceived apathy. This was roughly a month after the last crime attributed to the Freeway Phantom, and Groom - who lived in Northwest Baltimore - had just been arrested for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman. Ph: (781) 272-0050 In the coming years, detectives would theorize that this implies some connection to the neighborhood Brenda Crockett lived in. The Phantom would abduct them, usually when they were on their way to or returning from work or an errand. Most unusually, three of the victims shared the middle name Denise. Crockett was on the other line, crying. Since he wasn't incarcerated at the time, I'll refrain from using his name, but he spoke to police and - over the span of a lengthy interview - was able to positively identify three of the murder victims from a photo lineup. He identified the man who gave him the information, the date and location of the crime, and signature detail which was not provided to the public, but which was known only to the perpetrator, and to detectives. This leads us to the events of October 1st, 1971. By that point, investigators admitted that the Barnes case was not connected to the other six murders, and they did not believe that Sellman or Simmons had anything to do with the crime spree. chicken of the woods ottawa; how tall was prophet idris; how much money did hercules in new york make Mr .. Tommie Simmons in Connecticut 34 people named Tommie Simmons found in Hartford, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and 2 . The first victim was 13-year-old Carol Denise Spinks, whose body was found May 1, 1971. Note: The note left in Woodward's pocket claimed that the Phantom killed additional victims. Like any kid would, she answered it only to hear her sister on the other end of the line. Not only was Johnson's body found incredibly close to the area that Spinks had been recovered - their bodies had been found a grand total of fifteen feet apart from one another. Bryant, of Maryland, was the only victim not from the District. Free-way Phantom!" That was when she learned of her 18-year old daughter's brutal murder. Now, the victim was found just hours after going missing. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can! He owned many scarves which belonged to women, which were described as "soiled." Detective Romaine Jenkins would later theorize that the kidnapper was someone that knew Brenda's mother, who wanted to make sure that they had not been spotted with Brenda. Various conspiracy lovers later alleged that some of the sympathetic police officers had covered up the evidence; no proof of it was ever recovered. "My family was separated and weakened by that loss," said Crockett, who will attend today's service. In another coincidence, five out of the six victims were shown to be related via green fibers found on their clothing. He was able to get close to his victims, and then overpower them. Experts believe that it might have only been a tragic coincidence that Angelas murder loosely mirrored the victims of the Freeway Phantom. However, in an unusual twist of fate, they were resting right next to her body, as if they had been gently placed there by the killer after he disposed of her body. In addition, he owned many photos of unknown girls and young women, and police even found a knife that had been used in another crime. Why don't they investigate whites as well?". So, Detective Trainum then took back the evidence, and re-submitted it to the Maryland State Police. The body was recovered, and was eventually identified as Darlenia Denise Johnson - a missing 16-year old that had disappeared from the neighborhood earlier that month. An autopsy of the victim's body showed that she had been sexually assaulted before her death; in a grisly detail, police also learned that she had been sodomized. Her education policy was cashed in to bury her.". Investigators would later theorize that this note was written by Brenda herself; with the FBI later linking it to other writings from her. The 12-year old girl lived with her father and stepmother in an apartment in Northeast, along Benning Road. Police had long theorized that the killer had a tie to the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C. - where half of the victims had been abducted from - and here was Askins, who not only fit the bill, but worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital where one of the bodies had been disposed of. Their resignation came following an incident after their guns went missing after Tommie, 26, claimed they were burglarized from his Temple Hills home in Maryland. That signature information was correct. A 17-year-old Ballou High School senior, Williams cooked dinner for her family and then visited her boyfriend's house. They had cataloged the evidence, and kept it all in-storage. All of this created a lot of animosity towards the local police department - the MPDC - who hired almost exclusively white officers. Romaine Jenkins, the homicide detective I introduced in this episode's introduction, wouldn't be directly involved in this case. He tried to be more forceful on the phone than Bertha had been, but received most of the same information from Brenda: that a white man had picked her up, and she was going to head home in a cab. Brenda said, "Well, I'll see you," and the call came to a sudden end. Barnes's slaying, originally thought to be linked to the Freeway Phantom killings, was later solved when two former police officers, Edward L. Sellman and Tommie B. Simmons, were convicted of her killing. Despite being just seven years old at the time, she continues to describe the day she learned of Brenda's death as the "most devastating" day of her life. He would receive a life sentence, and ended up spending several decades inside a penitentiary. Police would use that hair over the coming years to test for suspect validity, but were unsuccessful in linking them to anyone. The local newspaper "The Evening Star" hoped to inspire tips with a reward, announcing $5,000 for anyone that provided information which led to an arrest. Females Vanished in the 70s, The Washington Post - Killings Unsolved 25 Years Later, Ivan Reports - DNA test in Freeway Phantom cold case not confirmed, Washington City Paper - Why the Freeway Phantom Still Hasnt Been Caught, The Washington Post - D.C. Unlike the rest of the Freeway Phantom victims, she had been shot in the head, but her case was linked to the others in the immediate aftermath. The Phantom would then rape, strangle them (usually manually), and dump their bodies in grassy areas near freeways, hence the name. She still regrets not going to the store with her older sister, believing that if they had been together, things might have ended differently. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. [21][2] With current evidence and any information of the case from when it happened, no leads produced sufficient evidence for prosecution. Romaine Jenkins, the retired homicide detective that I detailed in this episode's introduction, has maintained a lifelong obsession with the case. She was the one of the few people to speak to Brenda after her abduction, and hear her crying on the other side. Homicide detective Lloyd Davis proceeded to question Askins and learned that he had been charged with murder on several previous occasions. Seven young black girls were mysteriously slain in the national capital by a killer known as the Freeway Phantom. Extensive manhunts were conducted in search of the mysterious assailant since the discovery of the probable first victim of the serial killer. Lewis Crockett, 39, was 14 when his 10-year-old sister, Brenda Fay Crockett, disappeared and was found dead a day later. [4], 12-year-old Yates was walking home around 7:00 pm from a Safeway store in Northeast on October 1, 1971 when she was kidnapped, raped, and strangled. He seemed to be an amiable man, who was known for his propensity to use the word "tantamount" - seemingly at random - but a further look at Askins revealed a bit of a sketchy past. The police later recovered one of the .38 caliber pistols reported stolen by the two police officers. Jury Convicts Man Accused in Green Vega Rapes, Talk Murder With Me - The Freeway Phantom Murders, Baltimore Afro American - Is he the Freeway Phantom (October 21st, 1972 issue), Indiana Evening Gazette - Washington, D.C. Police Seek Clues To Freeway Phantom (November 19th, 1971 issue), Santa Ana Register - 5-Man Gang Tied To Rapes, Killings (July 9th, 1975 issue), Two ex-cops from Washington held for Freeway Phantom murder of girl', Kimberly Riley & Jeremy Britt-Bayinthavong, Paul Skiba, Sarah Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers, June & Jennifer Gibbons (The Silent Twins). Like the first four victims, Woodard had been strangled but it appeared that her end had been a much more violent one. He would spent the next several years inside an actual prison, until he was released in January of 1958 - due not to a completion of his sentence or any kind of parole, but a legal snaffu that resulted in his freedom. The inmate who provided the information said he was not involved in the homicide, and provided an alibi which was found to be verifiable. godzilla, mothra twins. Coroners would later note that the strangulation was excessive, with the girl's esophagus having been broken. 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