Winona. 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. When Brenda Woodard's body had been found, her coat had been found draped over her body. This seems to hint at some connection between Reatha, her mother, and the abduction itself. She had been killed in 1971 - wedged in-between the 2nd and 3rd murders - but unlike the others, she had been murdered via gunshot. best used midsize suv under $20 000; lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after. The investigations resulted in 53 individual charges of selling heroin, and 43 individual charges of selling crack cocaine, among other charges. 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 Former Washington police officers, Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons, were convicted of murdering Angela Denise Barnes, age 14. In another striking similarity to the other crimes, green fibers would be found on her clothing. 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. The case files had been lost by DC police in the years since, and were nowhere to be found. They were a small gang that had operated in the region around Washington D.C. - primarily along the Washington Beltway, but extending out into Maryland. ", Following this development, it was announced that the FBI would be getting involved in the investigation. It wasn't until 2001 that the case was officially re-opened, when Detective James Trainum took it on as a personal challenge. Her education policy was cashed in to bury her.". Mr .. Tommie Simmons in Connecticut 34 people named Tommie Simmons found in Hartford, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and 2 . Her father had put aside education money for college. The first of which was from Leon Williams, the father of Diane Williams - the sixth and final murder victim of the Freeway Phantom. County, Maryland) discovered the body of the missing 10-year old. Diane would spent the next few hours with her boyfriend, before the time came to head home. In addition, Allenteen - a single mother of eight - would organize a neighborhood search for the missing teenager that evening, but the volunteers (primarily friends and family members) would be unable to find any trace of Carol Spinks. However, following the murder of Brenda Woodard, the so-called "Freeway Phantom" would disappear for close to an entire year. It's really infuriating, knowing that investigators might have come so close to solving at least one of the major mysteries in this case, but it got lost in a sea of bureaucracy and legalities. However, he traces the killer's origins to the neighborhood of Congress Heights, where, as Trainum states: "He felt safe there, he felt he could do his dirt and get away with it.". She had also been fully clothed, minus her shoes (which were missing). 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. Askins remains one of the most popular suspects in the media, and many of the original detectives heavily favored him as the Freeway Phantom. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Jenkins joined the Washington D.C. police force. The Freeway Phantom case has seen a myriad of investigators and garnered much interest over the years. In her teenage years, as a result of her sister and best friend's tragic death, she ended up turning to drugs as an escape - a rabbit hole she would struggle to escape over several years of her life. But ours have been forgotten.". This case is open as a cold case in the MPDC Homicide Division as of September 2018. Some time had passed since the end of the Freeway Phantom's crime spree, when an anonymous tip forwarded to police hinted at some kind of connection between the "Green Vega's" and the still-unsolved crime spree. Holland, OH Leesburg, VA Ashburn, VA West Lafayette, IN Germantown, MD State College, PA. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. The Freeway Phantom targeted female children and teens ranging from 12-17 years of age. 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. Coroner reports of the Freeway Phantom's victims tell us that the victims were brutally raped with penetration up to 9 inches deep, with both anal and vaginal assaults taking place. On the evening of November 15th, 1971, Brenda met up with a male classmate of her's, and the two had dinner together at a D.C. staple named Ben's Chili Bowl. Regardless, both of these retired homicide detectives continue to stick to their guns. It was Crockett again, and she merely repeated what she'd said in the last telephone call, adding "Did my mother see me?" The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland, Maryland State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "DNA discovery could solve 1972 Freeway Phantom slaying", "Up to $150,000 Reward "Freeway Phantom" Murders", "Why the Freeway Phantom Still Hasn't Been Caught", "Black Ex-Cops Arrested In. Infuriated, this caller called their boss and let them know about the police inactivity. Lets find out. The cause, he said, was revenge: for him contracting a venereal disease from another sex worker earlier that year. He would receive a life sentence, and ended up spending several decades inside a penitentiary. Her mother, Reatha, later stated that she told Brenda to take a friend with her, but it seems like 10-year old Brenda left by herself. An examination of Brenda's clothing would find two different hair samples: one of which, authorities stated, belonged to a Caucasian man. Investigators would continue to ponder this theory over the coming months, as they began to inquire into possible leads. Part of me was just killed. [21] Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. However, along the way, she encountered her mother, who just-so-happened to be returning home. 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. Investigators had created a timeline of events, which they forced themselves to adhere to. Name [3] On her way home from the store, Spinks was abducted; her body was found six days later at 2:46 pm behind St. Elizabeths Hospital on a grassy embankment next to the northbound lanes of I-295, about 1,500 feet south of Suitland Parkway. meadowbrook country club estates; michael mullen obituary; pamela gluckin obituary new york; antonio tonyboy floirendo jr biography The investigators that were handling the case at the time would continue to believe that the Green Vega's were responsible for the Freeway Phantom murders - many of them, until the day they died. The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland,Maryland State Police, and theFederal Bureau of Investigation(FBI). [17] A few hours later, her strangled body was discovered dumped alongside I-295, just south of the District line. Which, as you can guess, has played a major role in the reporting of this story over the years. If the killer fit this profile, and was in his 20's or 30's, it is possible that he is still alive. 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. 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. Unfortunately, an autopsy of the remains wouldn't be very efficient at locating any specific details. Carol Denise Spinks body was discovered by the authorities six days later from the day she was reported missing on April 25, 1971. 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. In the first murder attributed to this spree - that of Carol Spinks - it was discovered that she had been held captive for some time before her death. Diane Denise Williams was a 17-year old was known for her impeccable fashion sense. Occupation FRee-wAy PhanTom. West Point. By the time the 1980's had come around, the case was already dormant, and it would remain that way for more than two decades. A witness apparently saw her getting into a blue Volkswagen, and although investigated, the lead led nowhere.[5]. especiAlly women. Their mother, Allenteen - a strict disciplinarian - was heading out to visit a nearby relative. That ended up being 13 years later, in 1952, when he was re-indicted and convicted of the murder charges. This hints at some kind of urgency, such as the killer being rushed. Robert Elwood Askins was a middle-aged black man that worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital as a computer technician through the 1970's. Written, hosted, and produced by Micheal Whelan, Borrtex - "Black Out"Blue Dot Sessions - "Arbic Tallow"Graham Bole - "Lurking"Percival Pembroke - "Pembroke-Schaffer Manifold (Parts 1 & 2)"Vitus Von Degen - "Pieta"Rest You Sleeping Giant - "Dead Waters"ROZKOL - "If These"Sann Gusmao - "Reescrever Fotografias Sobre Dias Que Me Rasgam"Organoid - "Cassini"Krackatoa - "Under An Ending Sun", Other original music created and composed by Ailsa Traves, Unsolved Child Murders: Eighteen American Cases 1956 - 1998 by Emily G. Thompson, The Washington Post - Six black girls were brutally murdered in the early 70s. [19] All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 - and the subsequent riots, which caused extensive damage to the Washington D.C. region - the area had been left reeling. Nonetheless, doubt continues to linger over the case, and the potential involvement of the Green Vega Rapists. She wasn't found with any shoes, but police didn't find that odd - after all, she had left her house without wearing shoes, as far as anyone knew. Some had been sexually assaulted, and some of whom were found with very little evidence for investigators to chew over. [8] "A white man picked me up, and I'm heading home in a cab," Crockett told her sister, adding that she believed she was in Virginia before abruptly saying, "Bye" and hanging up. Bryant, of Maryland, was the only victim not from the District. 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. The Freeway Phantom is an unidentified pedophilic and ephebophilic serial killer, rapist, and abductor active in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. Both were ex-cops that were arrested in relation to the 1971 murder of Angela Barnes. saving. It's a story that continues to haunt her, more than two decades after her retirement. Three of the victims had been sexually assaulted, including one that was sodomized. Warren was taken out of prison to specific locations, and began pointing out where victims had been abducted, killed, assaulted, and then disposed of. Police quickly zeroed in on Askins as their suspect, but it wasn't until D.C. detective Lloyd Davis began interviewing Askins, and learned about his past, that he began to connect the man to the unsolved Freeway Phantom murders. However, upon receiving the case, Trainum realized how much of an uphill battle it would be. episodes A Trout in the Milk, Adapt or Die, The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and the D, After, Before, As I Have Always Been, Stolen, Brand New Day, The End is at Hand and What We're Fighting For. All but one are still considered victims of the "Freeway Phantom Murderer. Type A store clerk would later recognize the girl from photographs, and state she had purchased the items that evening, just after 7:00 PM. After that announcement, the inmate who provided the information declined any further interviews, and denied that he had ever provided the information. On December 30, only two days later, he stabbed to death another prostitute, 26-year-old Elizabeth Johnson, at the same location. Investigators hypothesized that the killer left her shoes because her name was inscribed on the pair. During his trial, it was revealed that he'd been a police informant, aiding law enforcement in the arrests of prostitutes. These were odd correlations that likely had no importance, but were of interest to the media at the time. 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. Police investigators initially linked a total of seven slayings, including that of Barnes, to the same killer. [11] Unlike the other victims, she was still wearing her shoes, and a coat had been placed over her chest. They operated in Washington, D.C., between April 1971 and September 1972 and claimed at least six victims. One witness reported having seen Johnson in an old black car, driven by an African-American male, shortly after her abduction. 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. Some people believe that the Phantom himself called in tips to mislead police and stall the investigation. "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. He was afraid that more details of his cooperation would be leaked to the media, and he refused to give any more statements. Brenda then told her younger sister that she was in Virginia, before the call came to an abrupt end. 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. Coroners would later note that the strangulation was excessive, with the girl's esophagus having been broken. They believe that the Freeway Phantom was a young black man in his 20's or 30's, and agree with the FBI profile. Experts believe that it might have only been a tragic coincidence that Angelas murder loosely mirrored the victims of the Freeway Phantom. As a result, the Freeway Phantom case files are now incomplete - some have been discarded entirely and others are incomplete with pages or articles of evidence having been lost, along with their associated notes, and all the primary or task force investigators have either long retired, or are deceased. Common practice at the time was that case files at MPDC Detective Divisions were retained in files maintained by the detectives assigned to the case. Many of the original detectives had been long-retired, or were even deceased, when Trainum took on the case. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Abduction and rapeManual strangulationLigature strangulation (once)Stabbing (once) She had been raped and strangled, and a scarf was knotted around her neck. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. By that time, FBI agents had been distracted and called off to assist with the ongoing Watergate scandal, and the attention of almost everyone was diverted elsewhere. The classmate of Brenda's usually drove them whenever they hung out, but with his car in the shop temporarily, they had to take the city's buses home. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Eventually, the FBI would enter the fray once again in 1974. godzilla, mothra twins. Valerie Moore - the older sister that had sent Carol Spinks to the 7-Eleven down the street to fetch some soda and TV dinners - was wracked with guilt. With current evidence and any information of the case from when it happened, no leads produced sufficient evidence for prosecution. This was also felt by Patricia Williams, the sister of Diane. Now-retired, she always dreamed of being the one to crack the Freeway Phantom case, hoping to be the one to personally handcuff him. Yeah, that came back into play roughly 30 years later, in 2002, when Trainum submitted that piece of evidence for forensic testing. Their boss then decided to make a call to a friend of theirs - Charles Baden, a police sergeant in Washington D.C. Baden, was wasn't even on-duty that day, was able to make his way to the scene, where he finally got the police involved. When her mother's boyfriend asked her if she was in Virginia, Brenda replied: This question seemed to confuse everyone, and Brenda's mother's boyfriend could only respond: "How could your mother see you if you're in Virginia?". 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. Tom Sullivan in Ohio. I don't believe that police followed the leads they had. On May 16th, he took them to the areas where Brenda Woodard, a homicide victim, had allegedly been kidnapped, raped, and murdered. They may be living somewhere else, doing it again. It was discovered that the victim had been found in the same clothing that she had disappeared in - a red sweater, blue shorts, and brown socks - but most unusually, her shoes were missing. The following day - September 6th, 1972 - the body of Diane Williams was discovered by a trucker along Interstate 295. When investigators announced that the Freeway Phantom killer was most likely a black individual, this animosity towards the local police force began to turn into widespread distrust. 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. These were the type of cases that her male colleagues tried to avoid. In the cases of all the Freeway Phantom victims, the girls were stabbed or strangled, and in some cases had been sexually assaulted, according to police. In 2013, an employee at the Maryland Chief Medical Examiner's officer spoke (under the veil of anonymity), and stated that trying to find out any information about the Freeway Phantom case: It is unknown if the DNA sample from Diane Williams' clothing still exists, and if it can be tested. This boogeyman would become known as the D.C. region's "first profiled serial killer," and their crimes continue to haunt investigators and loved ones close to half-a-century later 4 distinct works. Both would eventually be convicted for the crime, and sentenced to lengthy stays in prison. He was able to get close to his victims, and then overpower them. Her body was found November 26, 1972, under a bridge in the 4000 block of Bladensburg Road NE. 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. This conviction was overturned in 1958. This has yet to be verified. 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. They didn't want to let their lives be forever ruined because of the actions of one mad killer, and joined together to combat that. Just one of eight children, Carol had an identical twin sister named Carolyn. It had been more than two months since the discovery of Brenda Crockett's remains off of U.S. Route 50. Furthermore, colleagues at the National Science Foundation where Askins was employed reported that "tantamount" was a word that frequently cropped up in his speech. Allenteen spotted her defiant 13-year old daughter, and let her know that her punishment would be waiting for her at home. 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