This regional employee called D.C. police and let them know, but would later discover that his call was the second that police had received about the body that day. Brenda Faye Crockett was a 10-year old girl that lived with her family in Northwest, about a block away from Cardozo High School. 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. The details of this confession were leaked to the press by P.G. Tom Sullivan in Ohio. That ended up being 13 years later, in 1952, when he was re-indicted and convicted of the murder charges. "This is tantamount to insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. She had been sent to buy sugar, flour, and paper plates, and all indications would point to her having done so. They would be called back later on, but by that time, the case had grown stagnant. The body was found by a 16-year old hitchhiker, that had stumbled upon it through mere happenstance. He ultimately let the victim go without harming her any further, and the incident was reported to police. 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 most notable thing about the discovery was that the body was dressed except for the missing shoes. They were identified as rookie cops who had resigned from the force during their one-year probationary period. But ours have been forgotten.". While at home, anxious and slightly unaware of the situation's severity, the phone rang. Her education policy was cashed in to bury her.". They made appearances at public events, and tried to keep up with the investigation, hoping to bolster one another and present a brave face. Jim Henson's Muppets made 25 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show between 1966 and 1971. It was Crockett again, and she merely repeated what she'd said in the last telephone call, adding "Did my mother see me?" The FBI profile of the Phantom Killer stated that the killer would likely: - Have at least a high school education, with either "average or above-average intelligence", - Be a charming young man, who often struggled to maintain healthy relationships, - Likely lived alone or with an older woman (creating some kind of resentment towards females), - Having known the neighborhood that he committed his crimes in. Like the other victims, Diane Williams had been strangled to death, but an autopsy would find no sign of sexual assault. The inmate being interviewed stipulated that he would provide the information only if he could remain unidentified, which was agreed upon. According to at least one person familiar with the family, this unknown caller even made the claim: In the days after the disappearance of Darlenia Johnson, it became apparent that police didn't seem very interested in the case. 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. 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? 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. Police were unable to uncover much evidence other than what I've just described, but noted that the victim had been strangled to death, just like the first two cases. insensititivity [sic] to people This semen sample would remain untested for several decades, but needless to say that would come up much later. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Another witness would state that they had seen Johnson driving around with an older African-American male, in the time period after her supposed abduction. Throughout the summer, Diane had fallen in love with her boyfriend, and she had spent a good chunk of the time off from school with him. The search for Brenda Crockett was - thankfully - not a long way. Described as both shy and petite, Carol had just cracked five feet tall, and was near the end of her seventh grade year at Johnson Junior High School. All but one are still considered victims of the "Freeway Phantom Murderer. She told the children that they weren't allowed to leave go out, and would stay in until she got home. Mr .. Tommie Simmons in Connecticut 34 people named Tommie Simmons found in Hartford, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and 2 . 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, at least, provided investigators with some kind of a lead, but finding the driver of a blue Volkswagon - in 1971 - was like finding a needle in a haystack. Now-retired, Musgrove was willing to speak to the Washington Post in 2006, in which he decried the way the victims had been treated in the years since: "Those black girls didn't mean anything to anybody - I'm talking about on the police department. Infuriated, this caller called their boss and let them know about the police inactivity. Investigators would theorize that the phone calls made to Brenda's family were facilitated by the kidnapper, who wanted to feed false information to the police. A couple of beat cops would be sent out to investigate the scene, but made very little attempt to locate the body. With current evidence and any information of the case from when it happened, no leads produced sufficient evidence for prosecution. 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. One of the few pieces of evidence that police would find, during a thorough examination of Carol Spinks' remains, were small green fibers that were found on her clothing. 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. In 1983, Harper and Helen B. Collins wrote and published a book called "The Mystery of the Freeway Phantom," which details the killings. Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. 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. 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. Maryland State Police have not admitted they have the evidence, but they also refuse to comment about it outright. The most intriguing testimony they could obtain was that of a neighbor, who saw Neno Yates getting into a blue Volkswagon. Like the first four victims, Woodard had been strangled but it appeared that her end had been a much more violent one. There is no closure," Williams said. She reluctantly agreed, only to discover that the the man had no intentions of taking her to her destination. She recalls her mother's devastating sobbing, and the gloom that fell upon the entire neighborhood. We found 15 records for Tom Sullivan in Maumee, Holland and 10 other cities in Ohio. Four victims had their bodies left in Prince George's County, Maryland, while another two were disposed of inside Washington D.C. Investigators believed that this might have been done intentionally, with the killer trying to muddy the waters of the investigation by overlapping jurisdictions. Numerous investigative tips came from the general public by a telephone hotline operated by theMetropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia(MPDC) and information also came by way of the mail. Which, as you can guess, has played a major role in the reporting of this story over the years. A store clerk would later recognize the girl from photographs, and state she had purchased the items that evening, just after 7:00 PM. They dedicated many more man-hours to political scandals and dealing with Vietnam protests - and to the loved ones left without any answers - it seemed like detectives cared very little about six dead black girls. 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. Despite all of the tentative connections investigators had made between Askins and the Freeway Phantom crimes, there was no direct evidence connecting him. In addition to this . She ended up managing the child abuse squad for several years, hoping to make life better for children around the D.C. region. The bottom of her shoes bore her first name, "DIANA," in big bold letters. 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. A witness apparently saw her getting into a blue Volkswagen, and although investigated, the lead led nowhere.[5]. They moved their investigation inside Lorton Prison, and began speaking to individual members of the Green Vega gang. Among those individuals considered suspects were members of a gang known as the Green Vega Rapists. 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. This hints at some kind of urgency, such as the killer being rushed. At the time, they assumed it had come from her boyfriend - whom she had visited just before going missing - even though the boyfriend insisted they didn't have any kind of sexual activity that night. Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons Sullivan and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. Why was this case never solved? wheN you cAtch me iF you cAn! Why do they think the person was black? The remains of this young victim were brought in for an evaluation and autopsy. 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. Investigation Discoverys People Magazine Investigates: The Freeway Phantom chronicles the crimes of a serial murderer self-proclaimed as the Freeway Phantom. The cause-of-death, though, appeared to be strangulation. An aspiring model, she had just started her senior year at Ballou High School in Washington D.C. She didn't blink. 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. Angelas body was also wearing her shoes which did not fit the bill of the victims of the concerned serial killer. Want to Read. It's the story of six black girls, who were all abducted and brutally murdered over the span of a year-and-a-half. Modus Operandi Detectives John Moriarty and Roy Lamb were called to the scene, amidst Vietnam War protests, and began canvassing the neighborhood. The killer might have been someone nearby that wanted to dispose of the victim's remains as soon as possible. The same coroner would state that she had been sexually assaulted before her death. 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. West Point. 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. [16] She was last seen boarding a bus at 11:20 pm near his house. 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. Jan, 19, 2023; cemu android apk 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.". [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. Most of the people in the homicide unit now would know nothing at all about the Freeway Phantom." 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. A 1975 memorandum order by D.C. Superior Court Judge Fred B. 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