Here was a lead, that was as promising as any thus far, which had now evaporated into nothing. Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. They operated in Washington, D.C., between April 1971 and September 1972 and claimed at least six victims. One such suspect was the rookie police officers duo Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons. The Phantom also most likely lives in the Washington area, as he seems to have knowledge of the region, especially the local stores. She still regrets not going to the store with her older sister, believing that if they had been together, things might have ended differently. best used midsize suv under $20 000; lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after. In the middle of July 1971, an employee of the D.C. Department of Highways and Traffic began experiencing car troubles. Shortly after leaving the store, another kid from the neighborhood saw her walking back home, with a bag of groceries in her hands. 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. Both girls went missing just blocks away from one another, and both of their bodies were found just feet away from one another - likely dumped off of a road overlooking the grassy embankment they had been found in. Currently Reading. 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. It alleged that the Green Vega's - all of whom had been locked up for crimes of sexual violence - were responsible for more than 100 rapes in the region. [7], On July 27, 1971, 10-year-old Crockett from Northwest failed to return home after having been sent to the store by her mother. Jenkins believes that the killer was either in the military, or lived some kind of transient lifestyle. However, with her body being found not too far away, just eight hours after her abduction, we can reasonably surmise that wasn't the case. jennifer 8 filming locations; what is a state vendor for nj familycare; the vintage new orleans happy hour menu Occupation They may be living somewhere else, doing it again. Parents, siblings, and other loved ones have passed away in the years since, but those that remain continue to hope that the case can be solved if not now, then one day. These family members banded together in 1973, to form the Freeway Phantom Organization - a grouping of loved ones, who wanted to support one another in the wake of this tragedy. 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. 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. Brenda Faye Crockett was a 10-year old girl that lived with her family in Northwest, about a block away from Cardozo High School. The perpetrator might have served in the Army during the Vietnam War and may have been responsible for some war crimes such as rape and murder during massacres. Carol obliged, and accepted the five dollars from her older sister. 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. Many theorize that the Maryland State Police have since lost the evidence, but are unwilling to admit it providing an already-aggravating story the most unfortunate ending possible. 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. Logical investigation and intimate knowledge of the modus operandi of the Green Vega Gang brought them to the forefront. In the second case - Darlenia Johnson - her remains were too decomposed to tell how quickly she had been killed or disposed of. ". During these interviews, one gang member initially implicated another gang member, who he said told him he was involved and gave information as to one of the beltway homicides. Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons. Immediately, the case showed some prominent similarities to that of Carol Spinks, another teenager that had been murdered a few months prior. "From that moment on, our lives were never the same," said Williams, 40, who is a police officer. 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. After that announcement, the inmate who provided the information declined any further interviews, and denied that he had ever provided the information. 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. I can only guess if police investigated him for any involvement in the Freeway Phantom crimes, but it was theorized in the same article that he wasn't the real killer - just perhaps taking the credit to scare his victim. Like any kid would, she answered it only to hear her sister on the other end of the line. Holland, OH Leesburg, VA Ashburn, VA West Lafayette, IN Germantown, MD State College, PA. All of these victims had a number of traits in common. One witness reported having seen Johnson in an old black car, driven by an African-American male, shortly after her abduction. Want to Read. 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. Her father had put aside education money for college. A search warrant was eventually obtained, and investigators dug through Askins' backyard. ", "(Wanted Poster) Up to $150,000 Reward 'Freeway Phantom' Murders", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freeway_Phantom&oldid=1139343201, CS1 Chinese (Taiwan)-language sources (zh-tw), Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from February 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 17:04. They were charged with Angelas murder and were held by Washington, D.C. police in Charles County jail in Maryland. 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). It's not too late to say something. Regardless, both of these retired homicide detectives continue to stick to their guns. Brenda was still wearing her black boots, which stood in direct contrast to the first few victims. 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. 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. She, however, had been 18 years old, and likely much more aware of what was happening to her. The police later recovered one of the .38 caliber pistols reported stolen by the two police officers. 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. He had pulled over to the side of the road, just south of the border separating Washington D.C. and the state of Maryland. They noted that both calls seemed to insist upon the kidnapper being a white man, who had taken Brenda to Virginia. and Montgomery Counties, the Maryland State Police, and the FBI itself. A number of these grisly cases were heartbreaking, consuming much of Jenkins' time with tragedy. 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. edward sullivan and tommie simmons; edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Their apathy would be noted on at least one more occasion. Remember, the note from Brenda Woodard's coat pocket had read: "This is tantamount to insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. All but one are still considered victims of the "Freeway Phantom Murderer. 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. Investigation revealed that the minor girl was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. During this search, they began looking for those that knew the victim, and were able to quickly link this case to the missing 13-year old that had disappeared less than a week beforehand. Not only did Askins seem to commit a similar crime in the vicinity of the abductions, but he lived and worked in the region. However, authorities would note that her feet seemed to be incredibly clean for someone that had been walking outside, become an odd footnote in the case-file. Following this casual dinner, they each began heading home. The cause-of-death, though, appeared to be strangulation. Detectives John Moriarty and Roy Lamb were called to the scene, amidst Vietnam War protests, and began canvassing the neighborhood. chicken of the woods ottawa; how tall was prophet idris; how much money did hercules in new york make She was the region's first female homicide detective - a feat made all the more incredible when you factor in Jenkins' ethnicity. [9] As with the other cases, her shoes were missing and unidentified green fibers would also be found on her clothing. It's even possible to imply that Brenda's last words in the phone call - the reflexive "I'll see you" comment - were indicative of her being close to home. Despite police attempting to link several other cases to the Freeway Phantom, they were unsuccessful in doing so. Investigators would continue to ponder this theory over the coming months, as they began to inquire into possible leads. He retired the next year, 2010, and had received no word in an official capacity from the Maryland Police. Robert Askins would later be convicted on kidnapping and rape charges, stemming from two separate incidents - including the one that had put him on the investigators' radar. Another exception of the modus operandi was the body of 14-year-old Angela Denise Barnes; her bullet-riddled body was found on an abandoned Maryland road in 1971. Unknown This neighbor had thought nothing of it at the time, since one of her family's friends drove a similar car. 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