The Phantom Killer /// Part 1 /// 887 | Forensic Files

Luck is just when preparation meets opportunity. >> HBO [music] Max presents a new comedy
series. I Love LA. >> Did you guys see the Louiswis Hing campaign? I mean, I'm successful. I can
do it for other clients. >> You should [ __ ] her. >> Starring Rachel Senate. >> Those kind of people that want success
[music] and money and all these things. >> I am addicted to deals. It's going to
[music] be epic. >> The HBO original series I Love LA. Sundays at 10:30 p.m. [music] on HBO
Max. >> Hey neighbor, celebrate the holidays with Birch Lane. Our timeless furniture
and decor are delivered for free in days, not weeks. It's classic style for joyful living. Shop Birch Lane, a
Wayfair specialty brand at birchlane.com. Heat. [music] Hey, Heat. [music] Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever
you are, whatever you are doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick. And to my immediate left or to my extremely
far right, [music] the one, the only, the captain. >> Either way, I'm here in the garage with
you. [music] It's good to be seen. Good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling
a friend. This week and once again, we are very happy to be drinking Truth IPA by the
awesome folks down at Rygeist Brewery. For some, and especially for the folks at Rygeist Brewery, Truth is found in
the brilliance of hops. Truth IPA is brewed with a nod to the Pacific using hops that sizzle with tropical fruit
aromomas. We have grapefruit, we have mango notes, and a dry finish. ABV 7.2% garage 4 and a half bottle caps out of
five. And let's give some thanks and praise to our good garage friends for helping us out with this week's show.
First up, a shout out to Tanya from Cincinnati. >> And a big we like your jibby [music] jib
jib goes out to Karina in Copenhagen. >> And here's a cheers to Roxanne who says
she's in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. And last, but certainly not least, I want to send out a very special Ron
Swanson. Please and thank you to one of my favorite listeners, Janelle from Round Lake. And here's another thank you
that goes out to all of our great first responders and er personnel. [music] Everyone we just mentioned went to true
crimegar.com and helped us out with this week's beer fun. And for that we thank >> yeah bw
beer run. [music] Make sure you check out true crimegar.com. And while you're there, sign up on the mainland [music]
list. And Colonel, that's enough of the B has nas. >> All right everybody, gather around, grab
a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. >> [music] [music] >> The devil's going to get you in your
sleep. [music] The devil's going to get you in in your sleep. The devil's going to get you in your
sleep. >> [music] >> you in your sleep. [music] This week's true crime story is one that
is as scary as any true crime case. In fact, in many ways, it is far more scary than any other unsolved murder
case that we have covered. This true story at its core is about double murders committed
seemingly at random and in the dead of the night by a phantom killer. This is the eerie tale of the Tex Arcana
moonlight murders. A case that resulted in several double homicides and multiple attacks that left a town in
fear for decades. The murders were committed by a mass gunman. The killer remains unidentified
to this day. Who was the man stalking his prey in the night? And will his real identity ever
be revealed? This is the story of the town that feared sundown. A series of homicides
today referred to as the Tex Arcana Moonlight murders committed by the one that they call the Phantom Killer. This
is True Crime Garage. >> [music] >> The devil's going to get you in your [music] sleep.
The killer [music] >> known to those of Tex Arcana and the surrounding towns and cities in both
Texas and Arkansas as the Phantom Killer was responsible for multiple attacks. He
was never caught and the case remains one of America's most chilling and haunting mysteries. This case is not
just incredibly frightening and undeniably chilling, but a truly haunting mystery that has taken hold of
many over the decades. This is the absolute triple threat of a real life true crime story. It's a slasher film, a
ghost story, and a murder mystery all wrapped up into one homicidal maniac with a hooded mask and a gun.
But with this one, it's not so easy to say when the murders began or when they ended. For us, we will start where most
folks do when discussing the Tex Arcana Moonlight murders or the Phantom Killer.
We will start on a dark night and Tex Arcana back in 1946 when, as they say, the Phantom Killer
struck for the very first time. So, let's go to Tex Arcana, Captain. This is a twin city. There is Tex Arcana in the
state of Arkansas and just across the state line you will find Tex Arcana in the state of Texas. How cute. How cute.
Together they are the principal cities of the Tex Arcana metropolitan area. Carlton Stoers a great writer for the
Dallas Observer called the story the Phantom Menace. And as he writes, the enduring legend began not with death,
but with a frightening and vicious attack on two young lovers. This attack took place on a February night in 1946,
when two young romantic partners, 24year-old Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend Mary Jean Laray, aged 19,
attended a downtown movie. After the movie, as sometimes young folks do, they decided to prolong the evening with a
romantic visit to a secluded lane on the edge of town. They stopped off at, according to legend, a lover's lane not
far from a neighborhood. In fact, it is stated that the two were parked approximately 300 ft from the last row
of city homes. Now, in that spot today sits a mall. According to police reports, they had
been parked for no more than about 10 minutes when a man, his face hidden beneath a white hood, approached the
car. This terrified the two. Obviously, the victims were caught off guard. The masked man was pointing a flashlight and
pistol at them. The attack occurred in a very dark and seemingly quiet area. The
day and date, it's Friday night, February 22nd, and the time is just shortly before midnight. Jimmy Hollis
and Mary Jean Larie are parked on a secluded road just outside of Tex Arcana, Texas, terrified and alone and
at the mercy now of this masked man with a gun. And they're trying to understand
exactly what is happening. So neither of them could grasp the reality of the unknown asalant approaching their
vehicle in the dark. And it was only when the figure got closer that they could tell it was a man physically fit,
menacing, and wearing, as we said, a white cloth mask. The record states that the cloth mask resembled a pillowcase
with eye holes cut out and a slit for the mouth. But because our victims are seated and the aggressor standing, even
with the holes for the eyes and the mouth, they could not make out a single detail beyond the mask. This is in part
due to the shadows and the darkness. Of course, the masked man quickly made his way to the driver side door of the
vehicle. He's blinding Jimmy Hollis with the beam of his flashlight. >> Complete boner killer.
>> Jimmy could hardly see the man at all. The attacker is all but a silhouette at
this point. But what he could make out very clearly was the barrel of a gun pointed directly at his face.
So Jimmy tries to tell this guy, the mass man, "Hey, you've got the wrong guy." To which the Phantom responded, "I
don't want to kill you, fella. So just do what I say." Now, this mass man captain gave loud, clear, and direct
orders. He demanded that the two of them get out of their vehicle, and he growled
at Jimmy commandingly, telling him to take off your goddamn britches. Then, with Jimmy standing now only in
his boxer shorts, the mass man, the phantom menace, struck Jimmy in the head, fast and ferocious with a solid
and likely metallic object. Jimmy stepped back, stunned and phased, unassure of what he was hit with and
wondering what had what he had said or did to provoke such a violent strike. But before he could sort that out, sort
that equation, he was hit once again in the head and this time even harder than the first. So
instantly, Jimmy, everything goes black. His body goes limp. He collapsed. He didn't even feel
his body and his head hit the ground as he fell face first into the pavement. Right. So now, Captain, we have a very
bad situation here. The young woman, Mary Jean, just 19 years old. It's midnight. She's now alone. Her boyfriend
knocked out lying helpless in the street. And now making his way from the driver's side of the vehicle over to her
is a man in a mask with a gun. and what he wants and expects of her is unknown, right? She tries to get in front of it
maybe if she could just communicate clearly to the man that she might be able to deescalate this situation, stop
the violence, and get the man to spare them and leave so she can get medical help for her boyfriend. So, she's
thinking, I've got to get to Jimmy. She needed to know if he was still breathing. I would think that she has to
be hoping, right, that the man is just an armed robber. All he wants is money with the mask hopefully being some form
of confirmation that he gets what he wants and you get what you want, right? He gets the money, can't be identified,
and you get to keep your life. >> Well, if you're planning on killing them, there's no need to wear the mask.
The mask is almost a a a hopeful sign. >> Do you have any thoughts on why he would
have Jimmy take his pants off? I guess if you're going to rob somebody, hey, just give me your pants and your wallet
and everything's going to be in there as well. I think often times when I've seen
when a perpetrator, regardless of what the motive is or what they're they're attempting to achieve, a lot of times
when they're having a victim remove their clothing, it is to deter them from fleeing,
>> right? >> So, that could be the situation here. I have a lot of thoughts about this killer under the
hood here. a lot of thoughts that we can get to once we get through the different
crimes that are going to take place because this is our first crime scene. So, right now in this very scenario, if
I'm Mary Jean, I have three goals. One, check on Jimmy. Two, distance myself from the man with the gun. And three,
give him money or prove that we have none and send him on his way. Hopefully, this is just an armed robber with poor
targeting skills as these are young folks parked. Not much reason to assume that they would have a large sum of
money on them or even in the vehicle. >> Right. >> So, Mary Jean makes her way over to
Jimmy and she tells the gunman, "We don't have any money." And by this time, she's so terrified and afraid for
her boyfriend that she is crying. She even pulls Jimmy's wallet out from his his trousers to show the man, look,
there's no money. >> Yeah, but this phantom menace doesn't make a lot of sense cuz he says uh what
was the quote again? Did he say I don't want to kill you. >> I don't He says, I'm don't want to hurt
you or yeah, I don't want to kill you, fella. So, just do what I say. >> Right. But then
>> then but then he beats him over the head. >> Right. And in a lot of these reports
that you'll read, it's Jimmy says he doesn't know what he was hit with, but we can we have to make the assumption,
right? It's either the butt of the gun or the flashlight. The the phantom is could be a lot of things, but he doesn't
have three hands or three arms. And he's holding a flashlight and gun when he approaches the vehicle and when the two
step out of the vehicle. >> And let me tell you something that you might not know. Both of those items
would hurt. So, at this time, Captain, she's showing him, "Look, we we don't have any money, right? He's she's got
the wallet." And then the attacker, he then hits Mary Jean very hard, seemingly with probably the same object. She falls
to the ground. The attacker then orders her to stand up. She believes that the man told her to run, so she does.
She's running, fleeing from the scene. And now Mary Gene Larie, she spots an old car parked off of the road. So she
runs up to this vehicle, but unfortunately she finds the car empty. Before she can make her next move, she's
caught by the attacker. He seems even more angry and unsettled than before. He says to her, "Why are you running?" When
she said that he had told her to do so, he calls her a liar. He then forced her to the ground, down to the ground, and
then he sexually assaults her with the barrel of the gun. Some accounts of this portion of this story say that that
assault happened in a wooded area or some nearby woods. After the assault, Mary Jean, she flees on foot. We can
surmise that the attacker likely is making his getaway at the same time. All right. Do we have any thoughts on how he
got there? Did he walk there? Did he motorcycle car >> fall from the sky? I think I think the
most likely scenario is the the empty vehicle that she ran up to was probably his.
>> That makes that makes a lot of sense. >> I think he saw the vehicle. I picture
this a couple ways because it's it's reported this story. I think because it's sort of and forgive
me for saying so because this is a true story. These are real victims here that were terrified and came very close to
death. >> That's your spoiler alert. They both survive. But >> well that's how we have an account of
what happened is they survived. >> This story is so action-packed that I think that we get many different
tellings of this story. I think that a lot of it's based in fact. But one thing that I find
interesting is that in some of the versions of the story, keep in mind we're talking about 1946. So there's
been a lot of years, a lot of decades that have passed. And that probably plays to why we have
slight variance with with the different stories here, the different versions, >> right? Some of those versions include
that headlights, somebody was driving, a vehicle showed up in the area and that is what spooked that's what they believe
may have spooked the attacker. So, he may have carried out if his intent was to murder, he may have carried that out
that night, but because of the vehicle showing up on the scene, he didn't. Other versions of that story leave the
vehicle out, the headlights out. A lot of the people at the time, Captain, the law enforcement seemed to be of the
belief that either the attacker didn't really want to kill the couple, >> right? Mary Jean, her statement and her
opinion of the events and what maybe the killer was thinking, attacker was thinking was that she thinks that the
mass man thought that Jimmy was dead. >> Yeah. And in fact, she thought that Jimmy was
dead because she said when he hit Jimmy the second time, struck him over the head. He was hit so hard that she
thought that the man shot him. She thought that the gun went off that that he shot Jimmy in the head.
>> That's brutal. >> And he had some severe severe skull damage. >> Yeah. >> Head trauma. it. I mean, it was it it
basically cracked his skull open. And and I don't know. I think the noise that she heard was a combination of the butt
of the gun striking his head and his head popping at the same time. >> But I think it makes these cases more
haunting when there's survivors because we get to hear the details of the attacks. You see this in Zodiac and Ted
Bundy and and so many others where there's a survivor, John Wayne Gasey. There's a survivor and they tell you
what happened that was basically leading up to their death and they were lucky to survive.
>> Well, and you bring up a interesting question. I was glad that you asked about how did the attacker get there
because they don't see a car, right? They never reference a car in their statements that they end up giving to
police. We got to keep in mind here though when we examine Jimmy Hollis's statement,
>> right, >> that he while he does come to. So, let me give you the the rest of the story
and we'll circle back to this. So, >> okay, >> Mary Jean, she says that she ran or at
least the report says that she ran about a half a mile to a nearby home. I think
that that might be that distance might be exaggerated because remember we had said earlier that they were only 300
feet or 300 yards depending on the reports you read from the last row of city homes. So I don't think she had to
run half a mile to a nearby home. But we do know that she did run to a home and she pounds on the door. She's wakes up
the folks that live there and the people there call the authorities. Meanwhile, Jimmy Hollis, he managed to regain
consciousness. He's able to get back to his feet or at least kind of pull himself up a bit. And he alerted a
passing motorist who would also call the police. That's some grit, right? >> True, true grit. I like the cut of that
guy's jib. to have the grit to to pull yourself up like the Undertaker rising up.
>> But he's hurt so badly that once the police we we have the Bowie County Sheriff's Department, they arrive on the
scene. The the officers there said that Jimmy was in such bad shape that he was going in
and out of consciousness. Like he kept he kept falling out. He kept falling out and falling out and coming to and
falling out and coming to. Right. >> And so I I wanted to make sure we included that
when we are talking about Jimmy's statement because how much anybody that's been knocked out or even hit on
the head real hard, fainted, I think most folks would tell you about the same thing. like I don't know that I
fully trust my memory or I have there's there's black spots there's blank spots in my memory of what led up to that.
Mary Jean's going to be able to give us a better idea of what happened. But again, she was hit too over the head.
So, both of these folks are in bad shape. The police are on the scene. The sheriff's department's on the scene, but
of course, the masked gunman is nowhere to be found. Both victims were sent off to the hospital. Mary Gene for an
overnight stay and Jimmy Hollis was in far worse shape and forced to be hospitalized for an extended stay to
recover from multiple skull fractures. Jimmy was hospitalized for several weeks and he was in and out of a coma during
that time. We talked about this part in our coverage back on True Crime Garage episode one, the Phantom Killer. That
are two victims, Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jean Laray. I keep saying Larie Laray. I've heard it pronounced about three
different ways, so I apologize to >> and we pronounced it five different ways on episode one.
>> We'll put our own spin on it. >> Yeah. The two victims, as we said, gave what authorities would later say is a
slightly different description. Right? They're giving slightly different descriptions of their attacker. So,
let's start with what they both agree on. They agree that the asalent was about 6' tall and thin. So, athletic
build, 6 foot tall. Neither of them had recognized his voice, right? And what they mean by that is it wasn't a voice
that they had heard before. They couldn't place the voice. It wasn't somebody that they believed that they
knew. And both of them did say, "Look, we didn't see the face hidden behind the mask." Some reports say that they both
believed the attacker to be approximately 30 years old. Now, here's the differing accounts, right? We have
Mary Jean claimed that she could see under the mask. And I'm guessing when she says this that it might be through
the the eye holes in the in the mouth, the slit for the mouth. And and I don't want to go too far down this road
because it the brutality of the attack, but obviously by our description of the events that took place, she was would
have had a better angle uh a better vantage point to at a chance of seeing who this guy was,
>> right? She says that she thought the man to be a light-skinned Africanamean and Jimmy Hollis says that he thought
the attacker was a tan white man or a dark complexed white male. Again, it would be hard to tell in the dark and
and and plus, you know how your eyes have to readjust when you see a bright light and then you look into the
darkness. >> And that's part of what Jimmy says too here, Captain. He says he did say like
look this is my opinion. This is what I think that I saw but conceded that he could not distinguish the features of
this man and that for the majority of the time when he was being attacked or was face to face with the attacker he
was blinded [music] by the flashlight. Cold mornings, holiday plans. This is when you just want your wardrobe to be
simple. Stuff that looks sharp, feels good, and things you'll actually wear. That's where Quint comes in. And the
bonus, Quint pieces make great gifts, too. This season's lineup is simple, but smart and easy with Quint. $50 Mongolian
cashmere sweaters that feel like an everyday luxury and wool coats that are equal parts stylish and durable. I love
quint.com. I go there, I shop there, I get the things that I need to stuff my closet full of great classic styles that
I want to wear. Just picked up the cotton PK knit over shirt. I love this shirt. It's become my favorite shirt in
my closet. I'm looking forward to cold evenings, chilly evenings, so I can put on my new shirt and get out there and
have some fun. It comes in three different colors. Check out quint.com. You're going to love the classic styles.
Give and get timeless holiday staples that last this season with Quint. Go to quint.com/g
for free shipping on your order and 365day returns. Now available in Canada, too.
That's qui nce.com/g. Free shipping and 30065day returns. quint.com/g. Most holiday gifts end up in a drawer.
Not this one. Mintmobile is offering unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month. That's their best deal of the
year. aka the only holiday gift you'll actually use every day. I love Mint Mobile. Why? It's simple. I hate paying
more for things than necessary and I love getting great wireless service for less. Sometimes you have to lead a horse
to water. Teach your friends and family how they can save money with Mint Mobile
and get great wireless service. Don't get them socks. Get them premium wireless for $15 a month. Shop
mintmobile unlimited plans at mintmobile.comtcg. That's mintmobile.com/tcg. Unlimited time offer upfront payment of
$45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12 months. Plan required $15 per month equivalent. Taxes
and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 35 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Capable device
required. Availability, speed, and coverage varies. cmintmobile.com. As the weather cools down, pets get just
as excited as the rest of the family, which means you need toys that last, treats they love, and all the essentials
to keep them happy and healthy. Chewy always comes through with fast delivery. Great deals and everything in one place.
Food, treats, toys, even supplies for horses, farm animals, birds, fish, reptiles, and other small pets. Chewy
has it all. And it all shows up at your door in a day or two. I love Chewy. I've
been a customer of Chewy since before True Crime Garage even started. That's because I have dogs that have specific
needs and a specific diet. And sometimes that means that food is hard to find. Chewy has the selection that I need.
They have the stuff that my dogs require. And I don't have to drive a million miles away to go and get the
stuff that my dogs love and need. I just get it from chewy.com and it's so convenient. It shows up right at my
door. It could not be easier. This season, keep your pets happy, healthy, and part of every celebration. Find
everything you need at Chewy. Go to chewions.chewy.com/tcgnic to get $20 off your first order. That's
chewions.cgnic to get $20 off your first order. chewupions.chewy.com/tcgni. chewy.com/tcgnic.
Is your home actually safe if you have old school home security? Traditional security systems respond after someone
breaks in. Simply Safe is different with their active guard outdoor protection. You can prevent crimes before they
happen. AI powered cameras detect threats while they are still outside your home and alert real security
agents. They confront the intruder, letting them know they're being watched on camera and that police are on their
way and even sounding a loud siren and triggering a spotlight if needed. I love my Simply Safe home security system.
When I'm at home, I feel safe and protected because of this system. And with a quick lookie, I can see what's
going on outside of my home. It's very easy to use. I always arm the system when I leave. And Simply Safe gives me
peace of mind when I am not at home, when I am gone, especially for extended periods of time like vacations. Don't
miss out on Simply Safe's biggest sale of the year, 60% off. Right now, our listeners can save 60% off on a
Simplysafe home security system at simplysafe.com/g. That's simplysafe.com/g. There's no safe like Simplysafe.
[music] you in your sleep. [music] >> All right, we are back. Cheers, mates. Talk hands in the air. And cheers to the
people in the back. Talks in the air. And dear God, fix the internet. Please, God. That's all we ask of you. And happy
Thanksgiving to everybody out there, too. Please have a a wonderful Thanksgiving, a safe Thanksgiving. It's
my favorite long weekend of the year. I mean, food, family, friends, football. Doesn't get any better than that, my
friends. So, make sure you you you soak it all in and and enjoy every second of it.
This is I always catch myself when I have to say this, Captain. I always go, this is the strange part of the story.
But they're true crime stories, Nick. every part of it there. There's all there's strange business strewn
throughout these stories, right? >> See, after the Phantom Menace said he didn't want to kill me, and then he hit
me really hard with a gun or a flashlight, I would have replied, "I thought you said you didn't want to kill
me." >> Mhm. Yeah. And I think that was a clever play on words by that writer uh Stowers
because he wrote an extensive article for the Dallas Observer on this case. His article came out around the time the
Star Wars Phantom Menace movie had come out. So I think he was doing a clever play on words there with with titling
the the article. But one thing that is regularly reported in this story, regardless of where you get your
information from, is that it seems like law enforcement didn't fully believe the
couple's account of the events and the attacker. In fact, they publicly said that they
believed that the couple that was attacked, Jimmy and Mary Jean, knew the identity of the attacker and were
covering for him. >> That's odd. >> Yes. That's a whole lot of crazy right there. So, let's try to un to unpack it.
Let's try to get into this bundle of crazy and unbundle. A guy cracks my skull open and I'm covering for him.
>> Well, okay. So, part of this does make sense once we get some more of the facts. Both Jimmy and Mary are married,
not to each other. >> Oo. >> So, from my understanding vu >> Well, from my understanding, they were
both well along their way into getting a separation, a legal separation. I don't
think that they were doing anything behind anyone's back, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't be upsetting
someone or aggravating somebody. Maybe to the point where there would be a threat or even an attack.
>> Well, not all separations are amicable. Maybe Jimmy's spouse is upset. Maybe her
spouse is upset. Who knows? >> I think that that was it would appear to me, Captain, that that is the suspicions
of law enforcement at the time, right? They dig into the background of these two and they're like, "Oh, these two are
out fooling around." Mary Jean's husband, even though might soon to be the ex-husband, he found them in this
car together and he attacked Jimmy. And I think part of that thinking, too, is that Mary Jean's injuries are far less
severe than that of Jimmy's. So, that probably plays into it a little bit for law enforcement. And guess what? It
wouldn't be the first time that a member of law enforcement has been lied to. I firmly believe that both of these two
are telling the absolute truth. I I I I've looked at this a million ways and I'm sitting here thinking like, who
cares if it was my ex who attacked my boyfriend? Even more reason to say that I knew who the guy was,
>> right? >> That's where my mind goes. To me, it's more I could see if I as law
enforcement, I'm I'm talking to the these witnesses. They've just been and they're not really just witnesses.
They're they're survivors, >> right? >> So, there would be a part of me that's going, "This is a vicious, violent,
brutal attack. Is there a possibility they're not saying something?" Not because they're covering, but because
they're afraid that this son of a [ __ ] is going to come back after them and to
finish the job. Because this attacker that shows up on this lover's lane might not know who these individuals are, but
this is not a giant town. >> There's about 40,000 people back there. >> That's not giant. And
>> well, no, it it doesn't matter either. Their names are in every newspaper. >> Exactly.
>> You don't have to know who they were when you attacked them. Their names are in every newspaper. Now,
I think though, and let's not stay on this too long because we have a lot to get to here in this case, but can you
imagine if you have if you are in one room or you're at the hospital with Jimmy, interviewing him, and I'm at the
hospital and I'm interviewing Mary. We're in separate rooms, I presume. And then we meet up after we've talked to
both of our victims, our survivors here. And you go, "Hey, he said the guy's white." And I said, "Well," she said,
"the guy's black." Right? Then I feel like our like the wheels are going to start turning and we're going to start
trying to piece this thing together and sort out, well, why do we have that conflict? That's a major conflict in
your witness statements. The reason for that conflict is simply they're terrified, they're afraid, the
flashlights in their faces, and the guy had a freaking hood over his head. >> But also, you don't know what you don't
know. That was a lover's lane attack. And as we said, thankfully Jimmy Hollis, age 25, and his girlfriend, Mary Jean
Laray, 19, parked on a secluded stretch of road after a movie, they survived. Now, in the wake of the traumatic
attack, Mary Jean, her attempts to sleep are routinely interrupted by horrible nightmares.
She was afraid, just like you had suspected here, Captain, she was afraid that the Phantom attacker would seek her
out. And I saw some reports stating that she'd left. Reports of her leaving Tex Arcana to go for an extended stay with
relatives in the state of Oklahoma. So, she left the state. Now, just after one month, just one month after Mary and
Jimmy were assaulted, the legend of the Phantom Killer began to take its ugly form. Jimmy Hollis warned police,
saying, quote, "If you don't find him, he's going to kill someone." End quote. And unfortunately, Jimmy was right.
Carlton Stoers writes in part, "More than a half century later, that event is looked back on as the precursor of a
nightmare that would long terrorize this quiet East Texas railroad center. In the
weeks following the attack on Hollis and Laray, five murders would occur in its rural shadows, prompting one of the most
intense manhunts in the state's history. Twice on moonlit nights, an unknown asalent interrupted young lovers,
leaving them brutalized and dead. On another evening, a farmer sitting in his living room was shot through a nearby
window. So, let's go to March 24th. This is March 24th, 1946. The Phantom killed for the first time.
We have a heavy rain that was falling early that Sunday morning when a motorist nearing the Tex Arcana city
limits noticed an Oldsmobile sedan parked on a dirt lane near US Highway 67. So thinking that someone was just
stuck in the mud, this vehicle stuck in the mud, the driver slowed and got close
enough to see that two people were in the vehicle and it looked as if they might be asleep. So again, the date was
March 24th, 1946. And on this day, Richard Griffin, 29, and Paulanne Moore, 17, were found dead in Griffin's car.
Parked on another lover's lane. Griffin, his body lay awkwardly slumped between the seats, pockets turned out as
if robbed. Polyanne Moore lay in the back seat, but investigators suspected that she had been killed outside. So,
they actually suspect that both were probably killed outside of the vehicle, >> then placed back into the vehicle.
>> That the killer managed to place them back into the vehicle. >> That takes some strength.
>> Both have been shot in the head with a 32 caliber Colt pistol, and this would
end up being the same weapon that would be used in a later attack. The Phantom had escalated from assault to murder and
now fear was spreading faster in Tex Arcana than the ink in the headlines. And again, it goes back to the idea in
the first attack. If these two attacks are in fact connected, committed by the same attacker,
what was his intent in the first attack? Was it his intent to commit double homicide? Because that's the result
here. A little background here, Captain Richard Griffin was recently discharged from the Navy. Polyanne Moore, a
17-year-old employee at the Red River Arsenal, as said, they're both found dead. The way that they're positioned in
the vehicle, I apologize, but it's reported all over the shop, especially with Richard Griffin's body. Some of the
reports state that he's in the front seat, some state that he's uh between the seats, and then others state that
he's in the back seat. But with Paulam Moore, every account I could find, she's in the back seat. Griffin had been shot
twice in the head. And some of this might be a bit repetitive, but it adds some context to the double murder scene
and fleshes it out a bit. This says Moore's body lay face down on a blanket in the back seat. her open purse beside
her, a ring signifying that she had recently graduated from Atlanta High School, which is it's in Texas, is still
on her finger. Investigators noted a pool of blood about 20 ft away from the vehicle. So, investigators concluded
that she had likely been killed there and her body placed back inside the car. And then again, some reports state that
they believe both were killed outside of the vehicle and placed back inside the inside of the car. I wonder if the
placement of the victims in the car matter. And what I mean by that is, like I said, to put a victim back into the
car, that would take some strength. But if you're trying to set a scene or trying to stage the scene in some
manner, you'd think that you'd put both of the victims back into the front seat.
So that makes me wonder, did he just open up whatever door that they were closest to? And then again, that would
make me question how strong this individual was. I don't know how the vehicle was positioned in relation to
the the road that the motorist that eventually finds them because it may the the strategy there captain might lie in
the idea of if I'm going to take the time to put place them back in the vehicle. I'm doing that for very for a
very strong purpose, right? I'm not just doing that just for for the fun of it. I
think it may have been an attempt to conceal the bodies and delay discovery of the bodies. And if how many times do
we drive down a road and we see a vehicle that's just sitting off to the side of the road and nobody's in it and
we just keep driving. I think in this time >> Yeah. In this scenario, I think that the
the gentleman that approached the vehicle only did so because he assumed due to the rain that was falling that
they were stuck in the mud. He was just attempting to help some people. And then when he gets close, realizes,
"Oh, there's people in here. They look like they're sleeping. Wait a second. No, they're not. They've been shot and
they're dead." Aside from several shell casings from a 32 caliber pistol located
near the murder scene. Investigators found little evidence. Uh they had stated that the heavy rainfall that
continued throughout the day that the bodies were found had washed away, footprints that they were hoping to
find, shoe prints that they were hoping to find, and tire tread as well. >> And it made made it all but impossible,
they said, to locate any fingerprints on the exterior on the exterior of the vehicle.
>> But how do we know it's the same person? >> Well, that's a great question. I don't
think that we can 100% say that it is because again it goes back to intent. Do what was the intent of the first
attacker? Was he spooked? Was he scared by the car that was passing by as some of the reports say and then he flees the
scene? And and who's to say what he would have done had he not been spooked? Or did he just leave like some of the
reports state? Cuz some of the reports do don't have a mention of the vehicle. But also, it seems like there was a lot
of violence going on in this town. Anyways, >> like like what >> I think when we first covered this, it
seems like this sleepy no nothing town. It seems like there was criminal activity happening. Wasn't like this was
like Mayberry. Yeah, I I don't see any Look, this would be certainly be an uptick in violent activity, especially
of an extreme nature. And we don't know if it's the same attacker. We have this couple that was attacked, but they were
both Indian marriages, which was a way bigger deal back then. So, that could incite violence towards
the two individuals that were attacked. And then these two individuals, we we don't know who they were connected to
either and who who in their life did they possibly upset to incite violence against them.
>> Well, of course, and that's that's how any good detective would look at any scene. You don't go in there going,
"Hey, um, this you don't arrive on the scene going, "Hey, this attack is probably connected
to the one that the call that I got a month earlier." Right. >> And but >> but it's very similar.
>> Oh, it's it's extremely similar. >> And like you said, it's not a major road, but it's uh it's a it's a more
traveled road than the lever's lane attack. >> Oh, absolutely. This is near So this is
near US Highway 67 when the where the vehicle was spotted. Now, if you look at US Highway 67 on a
map, especially an old map, this is kind of heading out of town. So, it's look at
it like it's the opposite of the first attack. And what I mean is not the opposite of how things went down. It's
opposite in where that it falls on a map. So, if you have >> if you have the uh edge of town, this is
the opposite edge of town. both both on the edge of town, both of them in these lover lanes as reported. But one thing
too, and I I want to kind of point this out, and I know this might be difficult for some folks to wrap their heads
around with the regarding the statement from police about, oh, we don't fully believe their
story from the survivor story from the first attack. I have a suspicion that that not only
has to do with their marital status, that would make the most sense. But what also would make sense to me is if you're
saying, "Hey, you got to keep in mind this is 1946." All right, that that has to be in your
mind the entire time you examining examine this case. It's 1946. News flash, it was a different world back
then. segregation was alive and in most cities and Tex Arcana was no different. And I think that it would have been wise
because one thing that gets lost in the sauce in true crime stories is that the purpose of law enforcement, the police,
is to protect and serve. What is the first part of that? Protect. Protect. Their their number one job is not to
solve crimes. Yes, that's what they do. That's but if you can protect and set up
every scenario where a crime is never committed, >> you don't have to solve the crime.
>> You don't have to solve the crime, right? So their number one job is actually public protection to protect
the public and keep everybody in the public safe preventing anything from happening.
>> My number one job is public erection. But if you are keeping that in mind at all times that my number one job is to
protect the masses, it's beneficial to that goal that maybe, hey, I don't jump out in front of the public and go, guess
what, 1946 Tex Arcana, a black guy attacked two young white people in a parked car. That's not going to go very
well. That's not going to that's going to create other problems. And further, I don't think that this guy was
African-American at all, if in fact all these attacks and murders are connected.
>> Well, Colonel, let's get into the third crime. >> The third in the series here, Captain,
is on Sunday, April 14th, 1946. We have Paul Martin. He's 16 years old. He was found dead on North Park Road, shot four
times. His date from the previous night was Betty Joe Booker, age 15. She's discovered nearly two miles away. Shot
twice in the head and chest. She was actually shot in the heart and in the head. Betty Joe had been playing
saxophone at a local dance the night before. So, her plan here, Captain, was she was going to go to this dance
>> and perform, play the saxophone, >> and Paul was going to meet her at the dance, and he was to be her ride home.
So, this obviously happened as planned. However, before the young couple could get to their destination, someone, the
Phantom, had intercepted them, attacking, killing them, shooting them both. They
discover Paul Martin's body. So, his body's found around 6:30 a.m. that morning.
>> Yeah. What we do know is Betty Joe Booker, her parents did report her missing and
they were out actively looking for their daughter that morning. And it was during
that time that somebody else found Paul Martin's body. He's, you have to picture
this, he's essentially laying on the side of the road. So, he's found around 6:30 a.m. lying on the side of the
northern edge of North Park Road. Police say, the investigators say, "We found a
bunch of blood on the other side of the road by a fence." [snorts] And our victim here has been shot four
times. Once in the back, once in the hand, the right hand, right? Once in the back of the neck,
and then through the nose, through the center of the face. >> So, chances are he's not moving after
being shot. So, he's possibly moved by the killer. >> Well, that's that's interesting to
ponder here because I I think we could have a couple of different scenarios. So, we get that description of there
being blood on the road by a fence on the other side of the road, but what I think we're not getting is the full
description of the scene because I think a couple things could have happened here. either I think the the shot I want
to know with the hand if they were able to determine what position they think the hand was in when he was shot. So
what I mean by that is you say he shot four times. You tell me the locations of these four shots, but a hand is one of
those appendages that you could you could be you could place it up as kind of to block yourself to shield yourself.
Could could the shot to the face had simply was he trying to cover his face and he was shot in the hand through the
hand? I want to know was that a through and through shot with the hand. We don't
get that description, but what we do get is that he's shot also shot in the back
and the back of the neck. So, it could be he's facing his attacker when he's first shot. The the attacker thinks he's
dead and then now my victim starts to move and I plug two in the back. Another scenario is he's gunned down from
behind, shoots him in the face just for good measure, and then after the killer left
the scene, this young man somehow had the strength to try to pull himself to safety and he
kind of dragged himself across the street. I think either could play out and I think without more information, we
don't know exactly what happened. The strange part of this particular double homicide is the locations of the
bodies. Right? So, in the last scene, we are told that police have a lot of reasons to believe that the two victims
were killed outside of the car and then placed into the car for whatever reason,
>> right? So, victims were moved. >> You know what's think about this though? What does our attacker do in the first
case? He commands the two folks that are in the vehicle to get out of the vehicle.
>> Yeah. >> In the in the second attack, whether connected or not, what happens? The
victims are believed to have been killed outside of the car and then placed back
in. Now, the blanket, with there being a blanket, that throws a whole other wrinkle in it because I I kept examining
this and going, "Well, no shit." He commanded them to get out of the car, decided to shoot them outside of the
car, and then places them back in the vehicle for whatever reason. But the blanket being involved, I wonder if in
the second scene if the attacker arrives on the scene and finds them outside of the car. He didn't have to command them
to get out. They're out on a blanket fooling around. >> Yeah, because some cars are hard to fool
around in. >> But not blankets, my friend. Hey, you get on that blanket. It's easy to touch
the bathing suit areas. >> It's a ma It's a magic carpet ride. >> So, he places him back in the car to
conceal the bodies. This is a completely different scene. We have a victim lying
on the side of the road. And then we have the other victim who's found a great distance away, a mile and a half
to two miles, depending on on what reports you read. But also the victim, Paul Martin, his vehicle's found in a
completely different location. >> But it's the girl sexually assaulted. >> Well, try to follow me on this. So, the
young couple's driving home. We know that. What we do know that happened is Paul Martin successfully picked up Betty
Joe Booker at the dance and we can assume that they were in route to either go park somewhere, but being as late as
it was, they might have been in route to to go home and decided I'm guessing they
probably stopped for a bit and that's when the killer encountered them. So Paul Martin's body is found around
6:30 a.m. Later that morning, we have Betty Joe Booker's body is found by a second search party.
This is just before noon. So at 11:30 a.m. approximately, 2 miles from where Martin's body was found. And her body,
it's reported, was behind a tree. She's lying on her back, fully clothed. And in
fact, the killer had put her coat or at least buttoned the coat up that she was wearing. She had been shot twice. Once
in the chest, once in the face, as we said, heart and face. Paul Martin's car was found about three miles away from
Betty Joe Booker's body, and a mile and a half away from Paul Martin's body. The
vehicle was parked outside of Spring Lake Park with the keys still in the ignition. I I've tried to make heads or
tails of this. The best I could come up with is today, and I'm assuming it's very similar back
in 1946, that park is surrounded by neighborhoods. Would would it be so easy for me to drop
the vehicle there and walk to my home? Police said that they couldn't figure out who was shot first,
who was killed first. They did say, this is the one where we do get confirmation
when we have no survivor, that there was a sexual assault. Investigators did openly say that they believe that Betty
Betty Joe Booker had been sexually assaulted. I say that because in the second case, in the first double
homicide, they weren't real open about if there a rape had occurred. Now, that might be
that they do not know. So, the the first double homicide, they're they're not firm on their statements of if a sexual
assault had occurred in that one. Now, I that could be for multiple reasons. As I
was saying, it could be because either they don't know, they can't confirm it 100%. Or two, it's simply holdback
information that they don't want to put that out there in case they have to interrogate
someone or they get a confession. But this movement with the vehicle in the bodies here, we don't see this in the
other scenes. I've heard people come up with great, and I want to be clear here,
I think a lot of the theories I've heard on why the bodies were found where they
were found and the vehicle found elsewhere, I've heard great theories on that. I've heard theories to suggest
that maybe he he was hunting, that the killer was hunting and wanted to hunt Betty Joe Booker down, like in the first
attack where Mary Jean believed that she she was told to run and then the guy tracks her down. But I don't know that
Booker ran this distance. I think whatever happened to Paul Martin happened first.
Just like telling Jimmy Hollis to take off his goddamn britches. I think that the attacker
took out Paul Martin first, either killing him or believing that he left him dead, and then he was going to do
whatever he was going to do to the female victim. Well, you have to eliminate the threat first and but also
all these old cases of Lover's Lane and maybe there's just not as many Lovers Lane anymore. But or maybe
there's just so much >> now the kids are smoking dope. >> Well, they're smoking dope and, you
know, jerking off. >> They're parking they're No, they're parking to smoke that. But but no, I
think you're on to something here that with with especially with the first attack. If you're aware of these lovers
lanes or this particular lover's lane and you're looking for some kind of sexually motivated homicide or attack,
>> right? >> And you're hoping to find a young woman to victimize. Well, you're going to go
there. I mean, that's one of that's going to be a place where you would go, you know what? probably on a Friday or
Saturday night I might be able to find someone. And and that's another thing that's interesting about this case with
the Phantom Killer. All of these attacks take place on a weekend. Be it a Friday
night, Saturday, Sunday, they all take place on a weekend. [music] [music] The devil's going to get you in your
sleep. >> [music] >> Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. Stick around for
part two. >> And until then, be good, be kind, and don't [music] [music] >> [music]
[music] >> Hey everybody, it's Rob Low here. If you haven't heard, I have a podcast that's
called Literally with Roblo. And basically, it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're
pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire
like Aaron Sorcin or Tiffany Hattish, Deme Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every
Thursday. So subscribe please and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

The Phantom Killer /// Part 1 /// 887 Part 1 of 2

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

Few of the True Crime stories we have covered become a legend. This story has. In part that might be because the murderous monster that committed several murders in Texarkana in 1946 seemed to come out of nowhere. The hunter quickly was named the Phantom Killer. Then 10 weeks after the attacks began, the Phantom vanished. The Phantom Killer stalked and hunted young adults and teens on the streets of Texarkana always on the weekend from February 22nd through May 3rd. Texarkana became the "Town that Dreaded Sundown." The killer truly was a phantom in every sense. To this day the folks in the Texas, Arkansas border town still talk about the Phantom Killer and the Texarkana Moonlight Murders.

Beer of the Week - Truth by Rhinegeist Brewery Garage Grade - 4 and a half bottle caps out of 5

For more True Crime Garage check out the TCG subscription show “OFF THE RECORD.” Available on Patreon and Apple Subscription. To stay up to date on new and exclusive True Crime Garage apparel and swag releases go to www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

Crime Con 2026 - Las Vegas May 29-31 - save some CA$H with our PROMO CODE - TCG

Cheers and Please Don’t Litter!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brief Summary

The episode details the Tex Arcana Moonlight Murders, a series of chilling double homicides in 1946 committed by an unidentified killer.

Key points

I Love LA. A new comedy series from HBO that promises to be epic.
The Tex Arcana Moonlight Murders. A chilling tale of double murders by a phantom killer that left a town in fear.
The Phantom Killer Emerges. Just a month after the initial attack, the Phantom Killer begins his reign of terror with a double murder.
The Phantom Killer Strikes Again. A young couple is brutally murdered, raising questions about the killer's motives.
A Shocking Discovery. The bodies of Paul Martin and Betty Joe Booker are found in separate locations.
The Investigation Deepens. Police struggle to piece together the timeline and details of the murders.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This true story at its core is about double murders committed seemingly at random.

3:58WatchNov 26, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Garage TV

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.