But he began working his way backwards, hoping to recreated the investigation that had long since remained inactive. 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. This was a vote on "cloture" in the Senate, which means to end debate so that an up-or-down vote can be taken. After having dinner with a high school classmate on November 15, 1971, Woodard,[10] 18, from Baltimore boarded a city bus around 11:30 pm to return to her Maryland Avenue home. Why was this case never solved? So he began scouring for anything that fit the bill and, surprisingly, found something. Yazoo City. In 1980, the Washington Post wrote an article about the case, which included statements from two of the victims' family members. insensititivity [sic] to people Perhaps he was a Vietnam veteran suffering with some untreated PTSD, or perhaps he was someone with a vicious grudge against law enforcement. He didn't want to risk being exposed to the other gang members, for fear of retribution. Why do they think the person was black? Post author: Post published: January 28, 2023 Post category: kennings for tree kennings for tree 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. In the early 1970's, a mysterious killer targeted young black girls along the Washington Beltway. Despite more than 25 D.C. police officer being handed over to the investigative effort at one point, this sentiment is shared by at least one high-ranking police officer - who worked for the department at the time of the murders. Morbidly, the body of Brenda Woodard had been disposed off of another busy road, near a bus-stop that Brenda's mother used almost every single day. A 17-year-old Ballou High School senior, Williams cooked dinner for her family and then visited her boyfriend's house. Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. When Brenda left, she was wearing curlers in her hair and did not seem to be wearing shoes. Both girls went missing just blocks away from one another, and both of their bodies were found just feet away from one another - likely dumped off of a road overlooking the grassy embankment they had been found in. One of the issues I haven't really touched on so far is the topic of race. All of these victims had a number of traits in common. Join Facebook to connect with Edward Sullivan and others you may know. They were a small gang that had operated in the region around Washington D.C. - primarily along the Washington Beltway, but extending out into Maryland. She was the one of the few people to speak to Brenda after her abduction, and hear her crying on the other side. As he later recalled: "I shined my flashlights into her eyes to see if there was life. And, over the next several years, it seemed to the community that the police weren't taking it seriously. Detectives John Moriarty and Roy Lamb were called to the scene, amidst Vietnam War protests, and began canvassing the neighborhood. Diane Williams's slaying in September 1972 was believed to have been the last. especiAlly women. Of those effected by the Freeway Phantom crime spree, none were hit harder than the loved ones - whose children and siblings were taken by the unknown killer, and their lives ended way too prematurely. The police later recovered one of the .38 caliber pistols reported stolen by the two police officers. Were Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons Freeway Phantom? Read More: Are Green Vega Rapists Freeway Phantom? The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland,Maryland State Police, and theFederal Bureau of Investigation(FBI). On the evening of November 15th, 1971, Brenda met up with a male classmate of her's, and the two had dinner together at a D.C. staple named Ben's Chili Bowl. 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. She had also been fully clothed, minus her shoes (which were missing). In the cases of all the Freeway Phantom victims, the girls were stabbed or strangled, and in some cases had been sexually assaulted, according to police. 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. Logical investigation and intimate knowledge of the modus operandi of the Green Vega Gang brought them to the forefront. Brenda then told her younger sister that she was in Virginia, before the call came to an abrupt end. The body also had a coat on its chest, in the pockets of which was a note with a poem , this is tAntAmount to my The police solved Angelas killing after they arrested two individuals named Edward Leon Sullivan and Tommie Bernard Simmons. At least, this is what the victim had claimed, and was reported in the Afro American at the time. These family members banded together in 1973, to form the Freeway Phantom Organization - a grouping of loved ones, who wanted to support one another in the wake of this tragedy. Brenda's 7-year old sister, Bertha, had remained at-home while the rest of her family was out scouring the neighborhood. The first victim was 13-year-old Carol Denise Spinks, whose body was found May 1, 1971. This case, which has been closed and opened a number of times over its history, is currently open as a cold case in the MPDC Homicide Division. 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. However, in all of these cases, one kept Romaine Jenkins up at night. The Phantom also most likely lives in the Washington area, as he seems to have knowledge of the region, especially the local stores. Many of the original detectives had been long-retired, or were even deceased, when Trainum took on the case. 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. On July 8th, 1971, Darlenia said goodbye to her mother, and began walking to work. She remained permanently scarred after the death of her sister, and later became a Washington D.C. police officer as a result. Signature Investigators would later theorize that this note was written by Brenda herself; with the FBI later linking it to other writings from her. The investigators that were handling the case at the time would continue to believe that the Green Vega's were responsible for the Freeway Phantom murders - many of them, until the day they died. Abduction and rapeManual strangulationLigature strangulation (once)Stabbing (once) There, she was sexually assaulted and beaten, before being freed by her kidnapper. Read. You have a whole generation of family members who would like to see someone brought to justice.". "You never forget. As you can guess, this early nickname would stick and soon, the killer himself seemed to embrace it. chicken of the woods ottawa; how tall was prophet idris; how much money did hercules in new york make In March, 1977, a 58-year-old computer technician, Robert Elwood Askins, was charged with abducting and raping a 24-year-old woman inside his Washington, D.C. home. The children knew that failure to comply would result in a severe punishment - such as being hit with a switch or a belt - but that did not deter young Carol Spinks. He was able to get close to his victims, and then overpower them. This linked it to the Carol Spinks and Brenda Crockett murders. For close to six months - stretching from April to November - the Freeway Phantom had struck almost regularly. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. For the next twenty or so years, Askins seemed to make a conscious effort to become a productive member of society. REAL CRIMINAL Many theorize that the Maryland State Police have since lost the evidence, but are unwilling to admit it providing an already-aggravating story the most unfortunate ending possible. 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. The most notable thing about the discovery was that the body was dressed except for the missing shoes. It was after this murder that the "Freeway Phantom" moniker was first used in a Daily News article describing the murders. In her teenage years, as a result of her sister and best friend's tragic death, she ended up turning to drugs as an escape - a rabbit hole she would struggle to escape over several years of her life. They didn't even get out of the car to look for the remains, before using their radio to call in "10-8" (aka "nothing to see here"). One of the known acquaintances of the Green Vega's was interviewed by police. Death Notices and Obituaries in the Buffalo News 2010 by Name While she remains hopeful the killings eventually will be solved, Jenkins believes the passage of time already has diminished the chances of closing the case. Investigators believed this suggested some kind of connection, so they continued to look into this lead. In another striking similarity to the other crimes, green fibers would be found on her clothing. Edward Sullivan et Tommie Simmons Freeway Phantom taient-ils ? She reluctantly agreed, only to discover that the the man had no intentions of taking her to her destination. Shockingly, this person discovered that the body was still there - roughly a week after they had originally called it in to police. Crockett was on the other line, crying. No. Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. Members of this gang were collectively responsible for numerous Washington D.C. and surrounding Maryland vicinity rapes and abductions that occurred near theWashington Beltway. The killer may have military experience due to the skill displayed during the abductions and the lack of evidence at the crime scenes. From this, the detectives hypothesized that she might have known her killer, which led to her not being under compulsion while writing the note. [21] Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. She still regrets not going to the store with her older sister, believing that if they had been together, things might have ended differently. As the group of kids were playing in this area, just off of Interstate 295's northbound lanes, an 11-year-old boy wandered off. Not only were the case files lost - they were altogether missing. However, it's end was just as tragic as the first two abductions. The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland, Maryland State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The body also had a coat on its chest, in the pockets of which was a note with a poem . Regardless, both of these retired homicide detectives continue to stick to their guns. [5] About two hours later (around 9:20 pm) the Crocketts' phone rang and was answered by her 7-year-old sister, who had waited at home while her family searched the neighborhood. They didn't believe him to have any real insider information, and remain doubtful that this gang of perverts was responsible for a serial murder spree. While there, he broke free of his restraints and assaulted three orderlies with a chair before being subdued. Well, I'm him.". They would be called back later on, but by that time, the case had grown stagnant. When she failed to return home in a timely manner, her family began conducting a search for her throughout the neighborhood, knocking on doors and making calls to anyone that Brenda knew. The most notable case, which police had originally attributed to the Phantom, was the murder of 14-year old Angela Barnes. 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. One of which began talking: Morris Joseph Warren, who had begun to grow fearful that another member of the gang would turncoat before he did. Perhaps she knew her abductor, and wasn't too far away from her family's home at the time of the call. By that time, FBI agents had been distracted and called off to assist with the ongoing Watergate scandal, and the attention of almost everyone was diverted elsewhere. Now-retired, she always dreamed of being the one to crack the Freeway Phantom case, hoping to be the one to personally handcuff him. Police were called to the scene, and it was immediately theorized that Diane was a victim of the dormant Freeway Phantom. The first of which was from Leon Williams, the father of Diane Williams - the sixth and final murder victim of the Freeway Phantom. Her thoughts seemed to be scattered, and she gave concerning details about her whereabouts. An aspiring model, she had just started her senior year at Ballou High School in Washington D.C. 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. Lets find out. Police had long theorized that the killer had a tie to the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington D.C. - where half of the victims had been abducted from - and here was Askins, who not only fit the bill, but worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital where one of the bodies had been disposed of. This particular inmate was also serving a sentence at Lorton Prison for the Green Vega convictions. Hours after the body had been discovered, when police had roped off the scene, she would unknowingly stumble upon the commotion. Various conspiracy lovers later alleged that some of the sympathetic police officers had covered up the evidence; no proof of it was ever recovered. However, authorities would note that her feet seemed to be incredibly clean for someone that had been walking outside, become an odd footnote in the case-file. As a result, the Freeway Phantom case files have been lost, along with the associated notes, and all investigators assigned as primary or task force have either long retired, or are deceased. That signature information was correct. Sellman and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. 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). 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. They started a task force, which included more than 100 detectives and federal agents and had involvement from the following law enforcement agencies: the MPDC Homicide Division and Sex Squads, detectives from Maryland's P.G. The Phantom also stabbed his fourth victim and left a taunting note in her coat pocket. 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. In the aftermath of this most recent discovery, police struggled to come to terms with the idea that Brenda Woodard had been killed by the same person that murdered Carol Sprinks, Darlenia Johnson, Brenda Crockett, and Nenomoshia Yates. Rhode Island State Police said Thursday that they arrested 62 people in a sweeping investigation into welfare fraud. saving. The case files had been lost by DC police in the years since, and were nowhere to be found. They may be living somewhere else, doing it again. There were a number of noticeable differences that set it apart. The Freeway Phantom is an unidentified pedophilic and ephebophilic serial killer, rapist, and abductor active in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. They had cataloged the evidence, and kept it all in-storage. Tom Sullivan in Ohio. This is the story of Washington D.C.'s first known serial killer, the Freeway Phantom. Her father had put aside education money for college. However, other detectives that have handled or examined the case in the years since have pointed out that most of the information Morris Warren provided was all stuff he could have gotten from news coverage of the murders. episode Paradise . He graduated from Harvard College in 1874, and was a pupil of Lefebvre and Boulanger in Paris, where he took a gold medal. During his trial, it was revealed that he'd been a police informant, aiding law enforcement in the arrests of prostitutes. Police believed that the culprit of this violent death had fed her in the interim few days. Like the other two victims, she had been strangled. Investigators hypothesized that the killer left her shoes because her name was inscribed on the pair. Investigation revealed that the minor girl was sexually assaulted and strangled to death. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. This did inspire plenty of tips - primarily through telephone hotlines and mail correspondence - but none of them would prove useful to investigators. He replaced Joel Dabney Courtney, who portrayed Nathaniel Malick in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. West Point. and indicating she was alone in a house with a white male. Support Center. how many inches of rain did lincoln nebraska get; jojo script in japanese; 21 day weather forecast lanzarote puerto del carmen; With the cooperating inmate no longer speaking, this lead quickly wilted. The usage of the word 'tantamount' had often stood out to investigators, and here was a prime suspect that seemed to use the word regularly - as verified by his coworkers, who said as much. Robert Elwood Askins was a middle-aged black man that worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital as a computer technician through the 1970's. FRee-wAy PhanTom. If those girls had been white, they would have put more manpower on it, there's no doubt about that.". He ended up walking roughly 1500 feet south of Suitland Parkway, towards a grassy embankment along the Anacostia Freeway, where he discovered the body of a murdered young woman. Her body was discovered behind St. Elizabeths Hospital on a grassy embankment next to the northbound lanes of I-295, about 1,500 feet south of Suitland Parkway. These members included men such as Morris Joseph Warren, Paul Fletcher, John Davis, and Paul Brooks - whose exploits you can find in detailed newspaper archives. Before her death, it appeared that the victim had been brutalized, having been hit in the face more than once. Bryant, of Maryland, was the only victim not from the District. She recalls her mother's devastating sobbing, and the gloom that fell upon the entire neighborhood. 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. He identified the man who gave him the information, the date and location of the crime, and signature detail which was not provided to the public, but which was known only to the perpetrator, and to detectives. Ph: (781) 272-0050 All had been killed by a mysterious killer - or group of killers - who seemed to embrace the nickname that the media gave them. Some leads were easily proven not to be viable, while others required substantial investigation. The investigations resulted in 53 individual charges of selling heroin, and 43 individual charges of selling crack cocaine, among other charges. [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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Due to the brutality of the crimes the police suspected the offender to be a psychopath. Numerous investigative tips came from the general public by a telephone hotline operated by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) and information also came by way of the mail. 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