They made appearances at public events, and tried to keep up with the investigation, hoping to bolster one another and present a brave face. She ended up managing the child abuse squad for several years, hoping to make life better for children around the D.C. region. That year, a 24-year old woman was abducted at gunpoint by Robert Askins, and taken back to his home. On Saturday, May 1st, 1971 - six days after the disappearance of Carol Spinks - a group of kids were playing in a grassy area behind St. Elizabeths Hospital. 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. [4] A reward of $150,000 remains open as well.[5]. They started a task force, which included more than 100 detectives and federal agents and had involvement from the following law enforcement agencies: the MPDC Homicide Division and Sex Squads, detectives from Maryland's P.G. Touted as Washington, D.C.s first serial killer, this yet-to-be-identified murderer was responsible for killing at least six minor girls in Washington, D.C., from April 1971 to September 1972. Their mother, Allenteen - a strict disciplinarian - was heading out to visit a nearby relative. In addition, Darlenia Johnson - just like Carol Spinks - had been found in the clothes she was wearing when she went missing, but was missing her shoes. fisher funeral home portsmouth, va obituaries ABOUT US; IFR WORKWEAR. Edward Simmons in North Carolina We found 46 records for Edward Simmons in Charlotte, Tarboro and 29 other cities in North Carolina. 1971-1972 Edward Emerson Simmons (October 27, 1852 - November 17, 1931) was an American Impressionist painter, remembered for his mural work. Bertha recalls her sister crying on the other end of the phone, and sounding somewhat distracted. He didn't want to risk being exposed to the other gang members, for fear of retribution. It was a word that had been used in his prior legal paperwork, during his murder trial from the 1950's and subsequent release, but had also been included in the Freeway Phantom's note. They didn't believe him to have any real insider information, and remain doubtful that this gang of perverts was responsible for a serial murder spree. Free-way Phantom!" 7 The Alphabet Killer Photo Credit: calafellvalo / Flickr Like the case of Dr. In 1980, the Washington Post wrote an article about the case, which included statements from two of the victims' family members. Both would eventually be convicted for the crime, and sentenced to lengthy stays in prison. On May 17th, he showed them the alleged locations dealing with Darlenia Johnson, although while showing them where her body was abandoned, he took them to the place where Brenda Crockett's body was found. They noted that both calls seemed to insist upon the kidnapper being a white man, who had taken Brenda to Virginia. January 28, 2023 tim o'neill goldman sachs net worth . One witness reported having seen Johnson in an old black car, driven by an African-American male, shortly after her abduction. However, following the murder of Brenda Woodard, the so-called "Freeway Phantom" would disappear for close to an entire year. During this period, an election was being held in Maryland, and one of the candidates publicly announced to the press, that a break had occurred in the Freeway Phantom investigation, and provided that an inmate atLorton Prisonhad given the information. Approximately eight hours after Brenda's disappearance - the early morning hours of July 28th, 1971 - a hitchhiker that was traveling on U.S. Route 50 (near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in P.G. Likewise, Lewis Crockett - Brenda's father - states that he was never able to emotionally recover from the death of his daughter. The same coroner would state that she had been sexually assaulted before her death. Sellman and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. Just one of eight children, Carol had an identical twin sister named Carolyn. If you may know anything, please contact Washington D.C. authorities or the FBI. The inmate being interviewed stipulated that he would provide the information only if he could remain unidentified, which was agreed upon. These differences seemed to point to Brenda being an outlier, perhaps even an incorrectly-labeled victim. However, despite there being no sign of sexual assault, police would find semen on Diane's clothing. They were identified as rookie cops who had resigned from the force during their one-year probationary period. In this meeting of more than 100 people, residents expressed their disdain for the police response to the murders. The next morning police found the 17-year-old's lifeless body in blue jeans and a gold sweater. She didn't do anything.". All of the known members of this gang had been locked up on charges relating to sexual violence at around the time that the Freeway Phantom crime spree came to an end, and had been incarcerated inside Virginia's Lorton Prison. The investigation into the Freeway Phantom has long been considered a "cold case." However, other detectives that have handled or examined the case in the years since have pointed out that most of the information Morris Warren provided was all stuff he could have gotten from news coverage of the murders. Brenda then told her younger sister that she was in Virginia, before the call came to an abrupt end. She was sent to buy groceries at a 7-Eleven located a half-mile away from her home by her older sister, but she never returned. Robert Elwood Askins was a middle-aged black man that worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital as a computer technician through the 1970's. It wasn't even a case she investigated at the time, but watched unfold from afar. A vote in favor is a vote to end debate and move to a vote on the issue itself, while a vote against is a vote to prolong debate or to filibuster. Jim Henson's Muppets made 25 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show between 1966 and 1971. January 26, 2023 by by [5] By that time, Johnson's body (again dressed but without her shoes) was far too decomposed to determine the cause of death or if she had been sexually assaulted, but law enforcement was able to find evidence of strangulation. [23] Logical investigation and intimate knowledge of the modus operandi of the Green Vega Gang brought them to the forefront. Bertha Crockett, the younger sister of Brenda Crockett, had been the one to pick up the phone on the night she was abducted. Some leads were easily proven not to be viable, while others required substantial investigation. Considr comme le premier tueur en srie de Washington, D.C., ce meurtrier qui n'a pas encore t identifi tait responsable du meurtre d'au moins 6 filles mineures Washington, D.C. d'avril 1971 septembre 1972. He would receive a life sentence, and ended up spending several decades inside a penitentiary. Today, Williams and other relatives of the victims will hold a memorial service in honor of the girls, whose slayings, with the exception of one, remain unsolved. [19] All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. Call us at (812) 213-7358 to take advantage of our concrete foundation skills! In March, 1977, a 58-year-old computer technician, Robert Elwood Askins, was charged with abducting and raping a 24-year-old woman inside his Washington, D.C. home. According to investigators at the time, Warren had begun providing details beyond what was reported in the media. Tommy served on the USS INTREPID CVA-11 US Navy, four years MM3 The body also had a coat on its chest, in the pockets of which was a note with a poem , this is tAntAmount to my 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. A number of these grisly cases were heartbreaking, consuming much of Jenkins' time with tragedy. The serial killer dubbed the "Freeway Phantom" had strangled and stabbed five young black girls over the span of six months, before disappearing for the better part of a year. "These were probably the first serial cases in the District of Columbia that one can recall," said Romaine Jenkins, a retired D.C. police homicide detective who helped investigate the killings. While there, he broke free of his restraints and assaulted three orderlies with a chair before being subdued. He immediately recanted all prior statements and rescinded his prior confessions, calling it an "elaborate hoax" in the process. Early 1970's newspaper reports hint at a perceived hatred of those names by the killer, but police have not stated that this was a belief of theirs. This leads us to the events of October 1st, 1971. [5], The Phantom's final victim was claimed almost a year later, on September 5, 1972. Occasionally, she flipped through a thick manila folder containing smiling portraits of eight black girls forever frozen in time. However, it's end was just as tragic as the first two abductions. Angelas body was also wearing her shoes which did not fit the bill of the victims of the concerned serial killer. She was the region's first female homicide detective - a feat made all the more incredible when you factor in Jenkins' ethnicity. 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. It was surmised that the body had only been decomposing for 2-3 days, despite her body being found close to a week after her abduction. [24] Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. The body was too severely decomposed by the time officials got to it, and medical examiners would be unable to determine if the victim had been sexually assaulted before her death. "She had said she wanted to be a model," Harper, now 81, said of her niece. One of the original Freeway Phantom detectives, who long suspected Askins to be the killer, continued corresponding with the convict until his death in 2010. Some had been sexually assaulted, and some of whom were found with very little evidence for investigators to chew over. Right? He drove her to a secluded area, where she was then sexually assaulted. This returned him to the scene of the first two crimes, and police would determine that this most recent victim, Diane Williams, had been abducted not too far away from where Carol Spinks and Darlenia Johnson had been kidnapped from. Union. Nothing seemed to link him to the six victims, and a comparison of the green fibers that had been found on 5 of the 6 victims' clothing didn't match anything that Askins owned. Romaine Jenkins, the retired homicide detective that I detailed in this episode's introduction, has maintained a lifelong obsession with the case. A couple of beat cops would be sent out to investigate the scene, but made very little attempt to locate the body. Danh mc . Organized It stuck with him forever - a sentiment shared by Margaret Williams, the mother of Diane Williams, who was not the same following the 1972 murder. [18] As with other victims, her shoes were missing, but no signs of sexual assault were found although traces of semen (assumed to be from the boyfriend) were found. He ultimately let the victim go without harming her any further, and the incident was reported to police. Likely, the inmate he was implicated in the Freeway Phantom murders. In the most unusual development in the case thus far, investigators discovered what seemed to be a taunt from the culprit - which was found at the scene. 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. Police would use that hair over the coming years to test for suspect validity, but were unsuccessful in linking them to anyone. [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. I will Admit the others Like the other murder victims, Neno had been strangled to death. jennifer 8 filming locations; what is a state vendor for nj familycare; the vintage new orleans happy hour menu It appeared to be in her own handwriting, written in pencil, and seemed to be written on a piece of paper that had been torn out from her notebook. This angry sentiment was also shared by the sister of Carol Spinks, Evander Spinks, who stated: "You better bet that if these had been white girls, the police would have solved the cases. The 50-year anniversary of the Freeway Phantom's crime spree continues to loom large over the D.C. region, and - despite the efforts of many hardworking investigators - the case is unlikely to be solved anytime soon. especiAlly women. Some people believe that the Phantom himself called in tips to mislead police and stall the investigation. Upon his arrest, Askins declared to police that he was a "woman hater" and was placed under mental observation at Washington, D.C.'s Gallinger Hospital. To police, this explained the defensive wounds on her hands, and the stab wounds themselves. As a result, the Freeway Phantom case files have been lost, along with the associated notes, and all investigators assigned as primary or task force have either long retired, or are deceased. Regardless, both of these retired homicide detectives continue to stick to their guns. Despite police attempting to link several other cases to the Freeway Phantom, they were unsuccessful in doing so. As you can imagine, she never made it home. Like the other victims, Diane Williams had been strangled to death, but an autopsy would find no sign of sexual assault. As of this episode's recording, the storeis of Carol Spinks, Darlenia Johnson, Brenda Crockett, Nenomoshia Yates, Brenda Woodard, and Diane Williams remain unresolved. Due to the brutality of the crimes the police suspected the offender to be a psychopath. Most of the people in the homicide unit now would know nothing at all about the Freeway Phantom." All were black. lawrence shankland family 8marla commercial e 1 phase 8 bahria town islamabad edward sullivan and tommie simmons. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. It was Crockett again, and she merely repeated what she'd said in the last telephone call, adding "Did my mother see me?" Since then, the police department found the bodies of 6 more minor black girls, all of whom were strangled, assaulted, and shoes missing. Mr .. Tommie Simmons in Connecticut 34 people named Tommie Simmons found in Hartford, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and 2 . All of these victims had a number of traits in common. All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. Abduction and rapeManual strangulationLigature strangulation (once)Stabbing (once) Still, she believes the greatest hope lies in keeping the memory of the slain girls alive. "It took maybe up to the fifth victim when they really got the message that there was a problem," Jenkins added. Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. Both were ex-cops that were arrested in relation to the 1971 murder of Angela Barnes. Quitman. All the cases involving white girls still get publicity. He pulled over to the side of I-295 - not too far away from where the body of Carol Spinks had been found a few months prior - and within moments, discovered a body laying in the grass. All had been killed by a mysterious killer - or group of killers - who seemed to embrace the nickname that the media gave them. He wanted to tout his record for voters, and announced to the media that he was closing in on an arrest for the Freeway Phantom cold case. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Robert Askins would be sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital shortly thereafter, until he was mentally fit enough to stand trial. He mentioned a cooperating inmate at Lorton Prison, who had recently confessed to investigators, and was currently singing like a bird. Askins, who died at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland on April 30, 2010 at the age of 91,[27] remained in prison for two D.C.-area abductions and rapes in the mid-70s, and had been contacted by both Davis and press regarding the Freeway Phantom slayings. On July 8th, 1971, Darlenia said goodbye to her mother, and began walking to work. 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. "It's in the past, plus personnel in the police department has changed. 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. January 19, 2023 . Even though most of the evidence had been poorly-preserved - if it was preserved at all, and wasn't just missing - Trainum hoped that advancements in DNA technology would allow for a closer look at the Freeway Phantom killer. The most notable case, which police had originally attributed to the Phantom, was the murder of 14-year old Angela Barnes. If that is the case, it perhaps explains the next development in the story. This was also supported by the contents of her stomach, which included some kind of citrus fruit. Speaking to the Post, Williams stated: "If it was a white girl, the police would have found the person. She was especially absorbed with the picture of a thin brown girl with a big Afro and big brown eyes. He was indicted for this murder in 1954, accused of several other assaults of similar circumstance, and re-tried for the 1938 murder, it having been determined that he was indeed sane upon committing the act. Her work wasn't too far away - located in Oxon Hill, a neighboring district of Congress Heights - which sat in unincorporated PG (Prince George's) County. For close to six months - stretching from April to November - the Freeway Phantom had struck almost regularly. Her thoughts seemed to be scattered, and she gave concerning details about her whereabouts. 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. After all, Washington D.C. would not establish home rule until 1973, meaning that the local residents had no real representation of their own at the time of the Freeway Phantom murders. He walked her to a bus stop nearby, along Martin Luther King Avenue. The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances. Trainum was able to recover many of the documents from the Maryland State Police - who had carefully stored the files - but had no idea what had been lost in the preceding decades. 6+ killed He replaced Joel Dabney Courtney, who portrayed Nathaniel Malick in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He had pulled over to the side of the road, just south of the border separating Washington D.C. and the state of Maryland. [13], The Freeway Phantom case has seen a myriad of investigators and garnered much interest over the years. This neighbor had thought nothing of it at the time, since one of her family's friends drove a similar car. of Victims So he began scouring for anything that fit the bill and, surprisingly, found something. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Many of the original detectives had been long-retired, or were even deceased, when Trainum took on the case. They didn't care about us. Both Trainum and Jenkins stick with this analysis, which provides a small insight into most serial killers - again, most serial killers, not all of them. 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 . He denied any role in them, adding that he did not have "the depravity of mind required to commit any of the crimes."[28]. Facebook gives people the power. 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. A missing persons report was filed, and Darlenia Johnson's case was tentatively labeled an abduction. The case files had been lost by DC police in the years since, and were nowhere to be found. Are Green Vega Rapists Freeway Phantom? 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. This time, the call would be answered by Brenda's mother's boyfriend, who had returned to the news of the first call. With current evidence and any information of the case from when it happened, no leads produced sufficient evidence for prosecution. 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. Despite happening just a few years after the Freeway Phantom murders, the case of the Lyon sisters was worked on constantly over the years, and everything regarding the case was well-documented and preserved a far cry from the haphazard way the Freeway Phantom crime spree was investigated. Askins also seemed to match the criteria that investigators had established the Freeway Phantom would have: he was a middle-aged black man that lived in the neighborhood, had a proclivity for targeting similar victims, and harbored a violent grudge against women. She, however, was sent by her mother to a nearby Safeway grocery store to pick up some bread and some food for the family's three dogs: Ringo, Rex, and Romeo. Like the other two victims, she had been strangled. The investigations resulted in 53 individual charges of selling heroin, and 43 individual charges of selling crack cocaine, among other charges. Diane would spent the next few hours with her boyfriend, before the time came to head home. We know that Carol made it to the store - a 7-Eleven along Wheeler Road - because a clerk working that evening later told police that they sold the girl some items - TV dinners, bread, and some soda - before watching her leave. This was less than two miles away from Diane's home. One of the cases often pointed to as an example of this very behavior is the disappearance of Sheila and Katherine Lyon - two sisters that disappeared from the Washington D.C./Maryland region in 1975. 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. We know that this article of clothing was not tested for DNA by either the Maryland State Police or the FBI, but it was last in the possession of the Maryland State Police - who have not confirmed that they actually have the evidence. Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home. 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. Prosecutors at the time said there was no evidence linking the pair to the other slayings. "And this is probably one of the most massive and extensive investigations that was ever conducted in D.C.". Investigation Discoverys People Magazine Investigates: The Freeway Phantom chronicles the crimes of a serial murderer self-proclaimed as the Freeway Phantom. The cause, he said, was revenge: for him contracting a venereal disease from another sex worker earlier that year. edward sullivan and tommie simmonsthe hardy family acrobats 26th February 2023 / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by To residents, the murder of six girls in their community was a travesty. Vicksburg. episode Paradise . FRee-wAy PhanTom. However, by the time the 1980's had rolled around, the case was still unsolved. The bail bond for the alleged perpetrators was set at $250,000. Police believed that the culprit of this violent death had fed her in the interim few days. Like whoever had been carrying them had disappeared into thin air. This statement seems to imply that the investigators had either not properly expressed their investigation to the loved ones of the victims, or had simply failed to take their feelings into account. FREEWAY PHANTOM' VICTIMS Carol Denise Spinks May 1, 1971 Nenomoshia Yates October 1, 1971 Teara Ann Bryant November 26, 1972 Diane Williams September 6, 1972 Brenda Denise Woodard November 16, 1971 Darlenia Denise Johnson July 19, 1971 Brenda Fay Crockett July 28, 1971 CAPTION: Teara Ann Bryant CAPTION: Brenda Denise Woodard CAPTION: Carol Denise Spinks CAPTION: Nenomoshia Yates CAPTION: Diane Williams CAPTION: Brenda Fay Crockett CAPTION: Darlenia Denise Johnson. More than two months had passed since the 13-year old had gone missing and her remains were found, and the story was a blip on the radar for 16-year old Darlenia.