Rhode Island State Police said Thursday that they arrested 62 people in a sweeping investigation into welfare fraud. ", Following this development, it was announced that the FBI would be getting involved in the investigation. Five months after being released in April 1952, Askins strangled 42-year-old Laura Cook to death. 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. 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. Neno's stepmother had actually just given birth, so the girl's father ended up juggling his time between being at the hospital (to be with his wife and newborn baby) and being at home (to take care of Neno). 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. This is the story of Washington D.C.'s first known serial killer, the Freeway Phantom. Immediately, the case showed some prominent similarities to that of Carol Spinks, another teenager that had been murdered a few months prior. Support Center. Are Green Vega Rapists Freeway Phantom? In 1971, Carol Denise Spinks was a thirteen-year old that lived in Washington, DC. Bertha Crockett, the younger sister of Brenda Crockett, had been the one to pick up the phone on the night she was abducted. Maryland State Police have not admitted they have the evidence, but they also refuse to comment about it outright. Court documents were found in a desk drawer in which a judge had used the word "tantamount," an uncommon word that had appeared in the note dictated by the killer of Brenda Woodward. During her time as a homicide detective, Jenkins mainly investigated the deaths of children and babies. Perhaps she knew her abductor, and wasn't too far away from her family's home at the time of the call. Her education policy was cashed in to bury her.". Join Facebook to connect with Edward Sullivan and others you may know. The Phantom would abduct them, usually when they were on their way to or returning from work or an errand. While there, he broke free of his restraints and assaulted three orderlies with a chair before being subdued. 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. ng bi lc Thng Mt 19, 2023. Hairs of two unknown males were found on the clothing of Brenda Woodward, hairs whose origin is unknown. 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. In fact, Maryland police claimed there were no similarities between Angelas death and the murder of six other girls in D.C. Investigators would find defensive marks on her hands and arms, indicating some kind of struggle that ensued between Brenda and the culprit. [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. He didn't want to be left in the dust, but agreed to speak to investigators only if they kept his name out of it. Winona. Detectives John Moriarty and Roy Lamb were called to the scene, amidst Vietnam War protests, and began canvassing the neighborhood. Ed Sullivan's show, which aired on CBS from 1948 to 1971, was straight out of old vaudeville, featuring brief acts of every description, from slapstick comedy to operatic arias. Females Vanished in the 70s, The Washington Post - Killings Unsolved 25 Years Later, Ivan Reports - DNA test in Freeway Phantom cold case not confirmed, Washington City Paper - Why the Freeway Phantom Still Hasnt Been Caught, The Washington Post - D.C. 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. insensititivity [sic] to people 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. 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. It was Crockett again, and she merely repeated what she'd said in the last telephone call, adding "Did my mother see me?" Unfortunately, an autopsy of the remains wouldn't be very efficient at locating any specific details. An aspiring model, she had just started her senior year at Ballou High School in Washington D.C. [6] Eleven days later, her body was located only 15 feet (4.6 meters) from where Spinks had been found[4] even though police had been notified of the location of the corpse nearly a week earlier by an anonymous caller who had details only her killer could have known. [5], On July 8, 1971, Johnson, 16, from Congress Heights was abducted while on route to her summer job at Oxon Hill Recreation Center. "From that moment on, our lives were never the same," said Williams, 40, who is a police officer. Likely, the inmate he was implicated in the Freeway Phantom murders. The conversation carried on like this for a moment, with Brenda not seeming to have any real information to give. Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. 43 Winn Street Burlington, MA 01803. The American Jack the Ripper later became known simply as the Atlanta Ripper. January 26, 2023 by by He would probably be masked and not want to show his victims his face. The girls' bodies were dumped near or along freeways in the District and Prince George's County, more than two decades ago. Ph: (781) 272-0050 The first of which was from Leon Williams, the father of Diane Williams - the sixth and final murder victim of the Freeway Phantom. No physical evidence was obtained and Askins was not charged in connection with the Freeway Phantom killings. 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. However, it's end was just as tragic as the first two abductions. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. 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. The other, which Detective Romaine Jenkins believes might be related, was the murder of Teara Ann Bryant, who was killed in November of 1972 - two months after the last known Freeway Phantom murder. "Signature details," they called them - intimate details that would be known only by the responsible parties and investigators. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. The FBI had begun assisting in the investigation following the fourth murder - that of Nenomoshia Yates - when it became clear that this was a repeat offender targeting multiple young victims. That ended up being 13 years later, in 1952, when he was re-indicted and convicted of the murder charges. 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. Most unusually, investigators would discover that Askins loved to use the word "tantamount." Danh mc . A missing persons report was filed, and Darlenia Johnson's case was tentatively labeled an abduction. 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? Police had openly speculated that the Freeway Phantom was a black man, and James Groom was white. 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. 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. edward sullivan and tommie simmonsmark anthony ontario. 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. 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. Unfortunately, their questions regarding her fate would be answered less than a week later. That was when she learned of her 18-year old daughter's brutal murder. Nonetheless, doubt continues to linger over the case, and the potential involvement of the Green Vega Rapists. Despite our law enforcement agencies being given so many resources, this piece of evidence seemed to sit in a perpetual backlog, where both local and federal agencies were either unable or unwilling to test it. You see, not only was he a current employee of St. Elizabeth's Hospital - a psychiatric facility that focused on mental health. This was less than two miles away from Diane's home. especiAlly women. 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. Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons Sullivan and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. There were also cuts to various parts of her body: in particular, her face, torso, and arms. All of these victims had a number of traits in common. fisher funeral home portsmouth, va obituaries ABOUT US; IFR WORKWEAR. Follows the Sullivan family during the Second World War. Criminal profiling was still in its infancy, but the FBI was eager to help solve this case, which they had labeled the work of a "repeat offender.". She read the case notes and offered insight whenever possible, but that was really all she could do. 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. This hints at some kind of urgency, such as the killer being rushed. Read. Some had been sexually assaulted, and some of whom were found with very little evidence for investigators to chew over. 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. "She had the shape and the beauty to be that. According to most behavior analysts - such as John Douglas, the grandfather of the study of serial killers, who wrote the popular book "Mindhunter" - most serial killers tend to target those in their own racial demographics. In the middle of July 1971, an employee of the D.C. Department of Highways and Traffic began experiencing car troubles. The cause-of-death, though, appeared to be strangulation. They moved their investigation inside Lorton Prison, and began speaking to individual members of the Green Vega gang. Brenda said, "Well, I'll see you," and the call came to a sudden end. especiAlly women. 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. Tom Sullivan in Ohio. Authorities could never conclusively link Edward and Tommie with the other killings and mark them as the Phantom Freeway killer. Askins remains one of the most popular suspects in the media, and many of the original detectives heavily favored him as the Freeway Phantom. He would receive a life sentence, and ended up spending several decades inside a penitentiary. After that announcement, the inmate who provided the information declined any further interviews, and denied that he had ever provided any information. Homicide detective Lloyd Davis proceeded to question Askins and learned that he had been charged with murder on several previous occasions. In 1980, the Washington Post wrote an article about the case, which included statements from two of the victims' family members. and Montgomery Counties, the Maryland State Police, and the FBI itself. So, Detective Trainum then took back the evidence, and re-submitted it to the Maryland State Police. Robert Askins would be sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital shortly thereafter, until he was mentally fit enough to stand trial. 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