Investigators would find defensive marks on her hands and arms, indicating some kind of struggle that ensued between Brenda and the culprit. The most notable thing about the discovery was that the body was dressed except for the missing shoes. This was beyond the date of the known killer's crime spree, and was ruled out as a possible connection due to a lack of evidence, but remains a real possibility. The killer may have military experience due to the skill displayed during the abductions and the lack of evidence at the crime scenes. It was around 9:20 PM that this call came in, approximately two or so hours after Brenda had left for the store. 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 neighbor had thought nothing of it at the time, since one of her family's friends drove a similar car. 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. A witness apparently saw her getting into a blue Volkswagen, and although investigated, the lead led nowhere.[5]. Union. Police had openly speculated that the Freeway Phantom was a black man, and James Groom was white. They would be called back later on, but by that time, the case had grown stagnant. She reluctantly agreed, only to discover that the the man had no intentions of taking her to her destination. The conversation carried on like this for a moment, with Brenda not seeming to have any real information to give. 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. 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. The remains of this young victim were brought in for an evaluation and autopsy. "You never forget. "My family was separated and weakened by that loss," said Crockett, who will attend today's service. saving. 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. Authorities could never conclusively link Edward and Tommie with the other killings and mark them as the Phantom Freeway killer. These were the type of cases that her male colleagues tried to avoid. Edward Emerson Simmons (October 27, 1852 - November 17, 1931) was an American Impressionist painter, remembered for his mural work. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, the son of a Unitarian minister. Like the other two victims, she had been strangled. No physical evidence was obtained and Askins was not charged in connection with the Freeway Phantom killings. 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. 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. You see, not only was he a current employee of St. Elizabeth's Hospital - a psychiatric facility that focused on mental health. The Phantom also most likely lives in the Washington area, as he seems to have knowledge of the region, especially the local stores. He denied any role in them, adding that he did not have "the depravity of mind required to commit any of the crimes."[28]. Investigators analyzed the notes handwriting to determine that Brenda herself wrote the message, and the writing showed no signs of distress. Logical investigation and intimate knowledge of the modus operandi of the Green Vega Gang brought them to the forefront. View the profiles of people named Edward Sullivan. This stood out, because he didn't live with any women - so where had he gotten these scarves? In attendance was a local resident named Glendora Thomas, who stated: "The police are committing crimes by not taking care of our children.". While at home, anxious and slightly unaware of the situation's severity, the phone rang. 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 There is no closure," Williams said. [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. The Freeway Phantom is a self imposed nickname for an unidentified serial killer who was active in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. Likely, the inmate he was implicated in the Freeway Phantom murders. 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. 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. She was asking for some groceries - all of which could be picked up from a 7-Eleven convenience store just down the street. 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. Crockett was on the other line, crying. Freeway Phantom 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. The inmate who provided the information said he was not involved in the homicide, and provided an alibi which was found to be verifiable. 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. Askins remains one of the most popular suspects in the media, and many of the original detectives heavily favored him as the Freeway Phantom. Carolyn Spinks Morris - the identical twin sister of Carol Spinks, the first victim - recalls the day that her family learned of Carol's murder. insensititivity [sic] to people The other victims had had their shoes taken from them. Shockingly, this person discovered that the body was still there - roughly a week after they had originally called it in to police. Why do they think the person was black? They were all of a similar build - small and petite - which led investigators to believe that the killer might have mistaken all of them for being in the same age range. Through the 1960's and 1970's, more than 70% of the region's population was African American, who had had to endure an entire lifetime of racial tension and struggles. Sellman and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. If that is the case, it perhaps explains the next development in the story. Police believed that the culprit of this violent death had fed her in the interim few days. [22] Members of this gang were collectively responsible for numerous Washington D.C. and surrounding Maryland vicinity rapes and abductions that occurred near the Washington Beltway. 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. For close to six months - stretching from April to November - the Freeway Phantom had struck almost regularly. 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. Like the first victim, Carol Spinks, experts were able to find small green fibers on the clothing, which hinted at some link between the two cases. Namely, the fact that this was the first case that the victim had been stabbed multiple times, but investigators excused this with the notion that the victim was much older - the killer had almost exclusively targeted children prior to Brenda Woodward. 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. [22] [23] Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. Thomas E. Sullivan portrayed Nathaniel Malick in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 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.". However, following the murder of Brenda Woodard, the so-called "Freeway Phantom" would disappear for close to an entire year. Read More: Are Green Vega Rapists Freeway Phantom? When she failed to return home in a timely manner, her mother called the police and was able to file a missing persons report that night. As the decades have gone on with no answers, the number of participants in this group have continued to dwindle. It wasn't until 2001 that the case was officially re-opened, when Detective James Trainum took it on as a personal challenge. Likewise, Lewis Crockett - Brenda's father - states that he was never able to emotionally recover from the death of his daughter. [5] Her body was found within three hours of her abduction, just off the shoulder of Pennsylvania Avenue in Prince George's County, Maryland. They operated in Washington, D.C., between April 1971 and September 1972 and claimed at least six victims. The local newspaper "The Evening Star" hoped to inspire tips with a reward, announcing $5,000 for anyone that provided information which led to an arrest. Various conspiracy lovers later alleged that some of the sympathetic police officers had covered up the evidence; no proof of it was ever recovered. 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. A couple of beat cops would be sent out to investigate the scene, but made very little attempt to locate the body. She read the case notes and offered insight whenever possible, but that was really all she could do. This case is open as a cold case in the MPDC Homicide Division as of September 2018. However, in all of these cases, one kept Romaine Jenkins up at night. 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. Three of the victims had been sexually assaulted, including one that was sodomized. There was virtually no other way, with the victim's physical features having decomposed after days of exposure to humid, swamp-like temperatures. They had cataloged the evidence, and kept it all in-storage. During her time as a homicide detective, Jenkins mainly investigated the deaths of children and babies. Like several of the other victims, she was known for her incredibly tiny frame - standing just 4.5 feet tall and weighing around 75 pounds. Follows the Sullivan family during the Second World War. "Signature details," they called them - intimate details that would be known only by the responsible parties and investigators. James Trainum - the retired homicide detective that resurrected the case more than a decade ago - continues to believe that the killer lived in the neighborhood of the first two victims: Carol Spinks and Darlenia Johnson. A search of Robert Askin's vehicle the next month ended up raising some more alarms, when police found two buttons and a gold earring underneath his back seat. They said they had arrest warrants for another 26 people. At 5:50 am the next day, a hitchhiker discovered Crockett's shoeless body in a conspicuous location on U.S. Route 50, near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Prince George's County, Maryland. Infuriated, this caller called their boss and let them know about the police inactivity. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Police would eventually rule her out entirely, when they solved the case and arrested two ex-police officers for the crime - who were both later convicted. Coroners would later note that the strangulation was excessive, with the girl's esophagus having been broken. One of its pockets contained a note from the killer:[12], this is tAntAmount to my Some had been sexually assaulted, and some of whom were found with very little evidence for investigators to chew over. Which, as you can guess, has played a major role in the reporting of this story over the years. The other, they claimed, belonged to an African American man. After that announcement, the inmate who provided the information declined any further interviews, and denied that he had ever provided any information. Remember when I told you that police had initially found semen on Diane Williams' clothing, and ruled it out as her boyfriend's? Despite police attempting to link several other cases to the Freeway Phantom, they were unsuccessful in doing so. especiAlly women. January 28, 2023 tim o'neill goldman sachs net worth . If the killer fit this profile, and was in his 20's or 30's, it is possible that he is still alive. and Montgomery Counties, the Maryland State Police, and the FBI itself. 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. 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. On December 30, only two days later, he stabbed to death another prostitute, 26-year-old Elizabeth Johnson, at the same location. 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. During this encounter, the man also told the victim that he had recently returned from Vietnam, was lonely, and was sick of no one understanding him. The same coroner would state that she had been sexually assaulted before her death. This was also felt by Patricia Williams, the sister of Diane. Carol, who knew that she was risking punishment if it was discovered she had left the family's apartment, walked briskly along Wheeler Road. Carol was allowed to continue her small grocery run on this Sunday evening. One suspect that I haven't seen discussed in any major publications was a young man named James Groom, whose name was mentioned in the October 21st, 1972 edition of the Baltimore Afro American - a regional newspaper. Currently Reading. 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. During their correspondence, Askins continued to deny having any part in the Freeway Phantom murders, stating that he did not have: " the depravity of mind required to commit any of the crimes.". [25][26] Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders.[12]. This was also supported by the contents of her stomach, which included some kind of citrus fruit. Barnes's slaying, originally thought to be linked to the Freeway Phantom killings, was later solved when two former police officers, Edward L. 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