Read. 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. [4] A reward of $150,000 remains open as well.[5]. Members of this gang were collectively responsible for numerous Washington D.C. and surrounding Maryland vicinity rapes and abductions that occurred near theWashington Beltway. Despite seeming to know specific details about the various murders, this inmate - Morris Warren - had alibis for the days of several crimes, so investigators began to surmise that he had gotten his information from elsewhere. Reports on this seem to vary, with some sources claiming that the call came in three hours after she disappeared, but one record listed the specific time, 9:20, so I'm going to stick with that. At least one witness would claim having seen her with her boyfriend that afternoon, but that boyfriend's mother refused to let police speak to her son. "This is tantamount to insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. There was nothing about Carol Spinks that stood out: she seemed relatively normal, and she liked to fill up her time with friends and games - in particular, jumping rope and hula-hooping. The victim, Ruth McDonald, had actually died as a result of the poisoning, and Askins was later convicted for her murder. In the early morning of November 16th, 1971 - just hours after Brenda Woodard was last seen by her classmate - Cheverly city police officer David Norman happened to be driving in the region near Prince George's County Hospital. In the fall of 1971, she began taking night classes at Cardozo High School, hoping to improve her working skills (such as typing). She recalls her mother's devastating sobbing, and the gloom that fell upon the entire neighborhood. With the fourth murder, the FBI had gotten involved, and investigators were now hunting a single killer a killer that now seemed to accept his nickname. In December of 1938 - when Askins was a much younger man - he had poisoned a sex worker in Washington D.C with potassium cyanide. The remains of this young victim were brought in for an evaluation and autopsy. [6] Eleven days later, her body was located only 15 feet (4.6 meters) from where Spinks had been found[4] even though police had been notified of the location of the corpse nearly a week earlier by an anonymous caller who had details only her killer could have known. The Green Vega Gang members were individually interviewed by MPDC Homicide Detectives Fickling, Irving, and Richardson, atLorton Prisonin Virginia, where the gang members were serving sentences in conjunction with the successful prosecutions of those crimes in theSuperior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1974, two more names were entered into the suspect fray: Edward Sellman - sometimes referred to as Edward Sullivan in reporting of the case - and Tommie Simmons. 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. Serial KillerSerial RapistAbductorPedophileEphebophile 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. 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. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Jenkins joined the Washington D.C. police force. Warning: set_time_limit() has been disabled for security reasons in /data/web/virtuals/167612/virtual/www/index.php on line 63 [5] About two hours later (around 9:20 pm) the Crocketts' phone rang and was answered by her 7-year-old sister, who had waited at home while her family searched the neighborhood. episode Paradise . She hopped on the next bus, and that is when her trail went cold. A couple of beat cops would be sent out to investigate the scene, but made very little attempt to locate the body. With the temperature rising, on July 19th, 1971, one of the original callers that had found the body decided to return to the scene, to see if the matter had been dealt with. Because the body of Diane Williams - the sixth and final victim - had been found near the D.C.-Maryland border, Maryland State Police had initially handled the investigation. This was just a stone's throw away from the first two abduction scenes - those of Carol Spinks and Darlenia Johnson - from more than a year beforehand. The other victims had had their shoes taken from them. Less than three hours after her mysterious disappearance, the remains of Nenomoshia Yates would be found. Hairs of two unknown males were found on the clothing of Brenda Woodward, hairs whose origin is unknown. The usage of the word 'tantamount' had often stood out to investigators, and here was a prime suspect that seemed to use the word regularly - as verified by his coworkers, who said as much. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. Romaine Jenkins, the retired homicide detective that I detailed in this episode's introduction, has maintained a lifelong obsession with the case. That year, a 24-year old woman was abducted at gunpoint by Robert Askins, and taken back to his home. 4 distinct works. Despite the bodies of Sheila and Katherine Lyon never being found, a man named Lloyd Welch confessed to their murders, bringing some resolution to the surviving loved ones. The "Freeway Phantom" was a nickname given by a regional tabloid, but the name seemed to stick. All of this created a lot of animosity towards the local police department - the MPDC - who hired almost exclusively white officers. They believe that the Freeway Phantom was a young black man in his 20's or 30's, and agree with the FBI profile. While the Freeway Phantom was never directly mentioned or referenced, he appears to have been an inspiration for the following unsubs: Criminal Minds Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. A police department spokesman said the cases have been assigned to the cold case squad, which will review the files periodically and investigate any new leads actively. It's a story that continues to haunt her, more than two decades after her retirement. These members included men such as Morris Joseph Warren, Paul Fletcher, John Davis, and Paul Brooks - whose exploits you can find in detailed newspaper archives. Signature When Brenda Woodard's body had been found, her coat had been found draped over her body. Like the first four victims, Woodard had been strangled but it appeared that her end had been a much more violent one. Union. This seems to hint at some connection between Reatha, her mother, and the abduction itself. Some leads were easily proven not to be viable, while others required substantial investigation. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as: names, dates, place of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. Now, the victim was found just hours after going missing. It's very possible that he had nothing to do with the Freeway Phantom crimes, but his name is one I haven't seen mentioned before, and thought it worth bringing up. When he returned nearly a year later - in September of 1972 - he had lashed out at another victim in the neighborhood of Congress Heights. [25][26] Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders.[12]. They both believe that the killer was a young black man, who was able to fit into the neighborhood he committed his abductions. 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. In the case of the third victim, Brenda Crockett, the Phantom forced her to call her family twice, likely as a way to both taunt them and throw the Police of the trail, very similar to the way The Gilgo Beach Killer taunted his victim's families with phone calls. Investigators had now followed up several leads at this point - including Robert Askins and the Green Vega's - but had little to show for it. The Phantom also strangled her with a scarf. Gender Authorities would note that her crime scene was incredibly gruesome - with her clothing being stained with blood - and she had six stab wounds to various parts of her body. [14][15] They also speculated that, given the absence of indications of duress in the writing, apart from evidence of dysgraphia, she may have known her kidnapper. They were identified as rookie cops who had resigned from the force during their one-year probationary period. Experts believe that it might have only been a tragic coincidence that Angelas murder loosely mirrored the victims of the Freeway Phantom. 13-year-oldCarol Denise Spinks body was discovered by the authorities six days later from the day she was reported missing on April 25, 1971. In face, the case of the Lyon sisters was reported on frequently in the media, and in 2017 - just a year or so ago - the case was finally resolved after more than 40 years. It was believed that these had come from a vehicle or a carpet/rug of some kind, but would provide police a very minuscule lead as the investigation began to stretch out over several weeks. The service, which comes 25 years to the month after Diane Williams's slaying, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Howard University School of Divinity. Where Are They Now. The fact that this victim had been stabbed multiple times pointed to this being a separate incident - perhaps one perpetrated by an individual that wasn't connected to the first four crimes. Right? Perhaps she knew her abductor, and wasn't too far away from her family's home at the time of the call. She read the case notes and offered insight whenever possible, but that was really all she could do. The most notable thing about the discovery was that the body was dressed except for the missing shoes. These differences seemed to point to Brenda being an outlier, perhaps even an incorrectly-labeled victim. Nenomoshia Yates had been sent by her family to a Safeway grocery store, which was just down the street from their apartment - literally less than a block away. There is no closure," Williams said. Prosecutors at the time said there was no evidence linking the pair to the other slayings. 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