Nonetheless, doubt continues to linger over the case, and the potential involvement of the Green Vega Rapists. Edward Simmons in North Carolina We found 46 records for Edward Simmons in Charlotte, Tarboro and 29 other cities in North Carolina. The classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances. It was rumored in the days after Darlenia's disappearance that her mother would receive phone calls at odd hours, with the person on the other end of the line taunting her. Her body was found November 26, 1972, under a bridge in the 4000 block of Bladensburg Road NE. The Phantom also strangled her with a scarf. Crockett was on the other line, crying. Some leads were easily proven not to be viable, while others required substantial investigation. Follows the Sullivan family during the Second World War. especiAlly women. For close to six months - stretching from April to November - the Freeway Phantom had struck almost regularly. Danh mc . She, however, had been 18 years old, and likely much more aware of what was happening to her. Vicksburg. 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. 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. It is her sister, Diane Williams, who -- like the other girls -- was murdered. Remember, the note from Brenda Woodard's coat pocket had read: "This is tantamount to insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. 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. According to investigators at the time, Warren had begun providing details beyond what was reported in the media. As he later recalled: "I shined my flashlights into her eyes to see if there was life. "You never forget. The service, which comes 25 years to the month after Diane Williams's slaying, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Howard University School of Divinity. The inmate being interviewed stipulated that he would provide the information only if he could remain unidentified, which was agreed upon. She was found wearing the clothing she had disappeared in, but her shoes had been removed. The other, they claimed, belonged to an African American man. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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 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. There were long gaps between the crimes (sometimes as long as 2.5 months between each), but five young women had been killed over the span of 1971. Angelas body was also wearing her shoes which did not fit the bill of the victims of the concerned serial killer. With the cooperating inmate no longer speaking, this lead quickly wilted. Thomas E. Sullivan portrayed Nathaniel Malick in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's even possible to imply that Brenda's last words in the phone call - the reflexive "I'll see you" comment - were indicative of her being close to home. It was just about half-a-mile away from home across the state border, in Maryland's Prince George's County (also known as "PG County" to locals). 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. She was the one of the few people to speak to Brenda after her abduction, and hear her crying on the other side. and indicating she was alone in a house with a white male. Join Facebook to connect with Edward Sullivan and others you may know. Two shared the first name Brenda. She had been raped and strangled, and a scarf was knotted around her neck. When Brenda Woodard's body had been found, her coat had been found draped over her body. However, in the half-mile distance between the 7-Eleven convenience store and her family's apartment, Carol Spinks disappeared. 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. 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. chicken of the woods ottawa; how tall was prophet idris; how much money did hercules in new york make When investigators would examine this coat, they would find a handwritten note inside one of the jacket pockets. Homicide detective Lloyd Davis proceeded to question Askins and learned that he had been charged with murder on several previous occasions. Police believed that the culprit of this violent death had fed her in the interim few days. I don't believe that police followed the leads they had. Among those individuals considered suspects were members of a gang known as the Green Vega Rapists. She recalls her mother's devastating sobbing, and the gloom that fell upon the entire neighborhood. Yeah, that came back into play roughly 30 years later, in 2002, when Trainum submitted that piece of evidence for forensic testing. The Phantom after abducting his victims is assumed to have taken them to abandoned houses where he proceeded to rape the victims multiple times before killing them. Both were ex-cops that were arrested in relation to the 1971 murder of Angela Barnes. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The bail bond for the alleged perpetrators was set at $250,000. 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. Since then, the police department found the bodies of 6 more minor black girls, all of whom were strangled, assaulted, and shoes missing. This semen sample would remain untested for several decades, but needless to say that would come up much later. Brenda Faye Crockett was a 10-year old girl that lived with her family in Northwest, about a block away from Cardozo High School. The inmate who provided the information said he was not involved in the homicide, and provided an alibi which was found to be verifiable. Unfortunately, they would be unable to link these to any particular victims. Both Ms. Johnson and Ms. Crockett were victims of the so-called Freeway Phantom homicides.". Why was this case never solved?, The Washington Post - Would the Freeway Phantom case already be solved if the victims werent black?, The Washington Post - The Freeway Phantom Revisited (Youtube video), Washington Examiner - DNA discovery could solve 1972 Freeway Phantom slaying, The Washington Post - Freeway Phantom Slayings Haunt Police, Families Six Young D.C. Authorities could never conclusively link Edward and Tommie with the other killings and mark them as the Phantom Freeway killer. Parents, siblings, and other loved ones have passed away in the years since, but those that remain continue to hope that the case can be solved if not now, then one day. On April 25th, 1971 - a Sunday, which was described as being unusually warm for the springtime - Carol and her siblings were shut up inside their apartment, in Washington D.C.'s Congress Heights. January 19, 2023 . ", "(Wanted Poster) Up to $150,000 Reward 'Freeway Phantom' Murders", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freeway_Phantom&oldid=1139343201, CS1 Chinese (Taiwan)-language sources (zh-tw), Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from February 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 17:04. As you can imagine, both of this leads led nowhere. 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. [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. D.C. Phantom Murder", "Six black girls were brutally murdered in the early '70s. 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. This case is open as a cold case in the MPDC Homicide Division as of September 2018. However, that changed in 1974, when Sellman and Simmons were arrested for the crime, and charged with murder. However, in an unusual twist of fate, they were resting right next to her body, as if they had been gently placed there by the killer after he disposed of her body. 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. 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. Post author: Post published: January 28, 2023 Post category: kennings for tree kennings for tree Despite these numerous sightings of a body along the interstate, police seemed very hesitant to dedicate time to the matter. Before her death, it appeared that the victim had been brutalized, having been hit in the face more than once. Detective James Trainum last worked on the case in 2009, and as far as he knew, Maryland State Police had received the evidence but done nothing with it. Robert Askins would be sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital shortly thereafter, until he was mentally fit enough to stand trial. Experts believe that it might have only been a tragic coincidence that Angelas murder loosely mirrored the victims of the Freeway Phantom. 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. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can! 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. There, she was sexually assaulted and beaten, before being freed by her kidnapper. In 1983, Harper and Helen B. Collins wrote and published a book called "The Mystery of the Freeway Phantom," which details the killings. Considr comme le premier tueur en srie de Washington, D.C., ce meurtrier qui n'a pas encore t identifi tait responsable du meurtre d'au moins 6 filles mineures Washington, D.C. d'avril 1971 septembre 1972. Coroners would later note that the strangulation was excessive, with the girl's esophagus having been broken. [8] "A white man picked me up, and I'm heading home in a cab," Crockett told her sister, adding that she believed she was in Virginia before abruptly saying, "Bye" and hanging up. The FBI profile of the Phantom Killer stated that the killer would likely: - Have at least a high school education, with either "average or above-average intelligence", - Be a charming young man, who often struggled to maintain healthy relationships, - Likely lived alone or with an older woman (creating some kind of resentment towards females), - Having known the neighborhood that he committed his crimes in. In another striking similarity to the other crimes, green fibers would be found on her clothing. 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. Sellman and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. Type 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 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. One of the issues I haven't really touched on so far is the topic of race. The other victims had had their shoes taken from them. The killer has been unidentified even after nearly half a century, though the police identified several suspects who might have been the said serial killer. It's not too late to say something. After the 1978 rape charge, Askins' home was searched by police in connection with the Freeway Phantom murders. ", Following this development, it was announced that the FBI would be getting involved in the investigation. . As you can imagine, this was as frustrating to the victims' loved ones as it was to the investigators. edward sullivan and tommie simmonsmark anthony ontario. Occupation His information seemed legitimate, albeit somewhat scattered, and investigators took his words seriously. Span of crimes Here was a lead, that was as promising as any thus far, which had now evaporated into nothing. Name I will Admit the others Holland, OH Leesburg, VA Ashburn, VA West Lafayette, IN Germantown, MD State College, PA. Mr .. Tommie Simmons in Connecticut 34 people named Tommie Simmons found in Hartford, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and 2 . [5], On July 8, 1971, Johnson, 16, from Congress Heights was abducted while on route to her summer job at Oxon Hill Recreation Center. Unfortunately, their questions regarding her fate would be answered less than a week later. He denied any role in them, adding that he did not have "the depravity of mind required to commit any of the crimes."[28]. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. Lets find out. She took it on in the mid-1980's, hoping to spark some kind of revival, but lacked the necessary resources and hours to do so. A search warrant was eventually obtained, and investigators dug through Askins' backyard. Why was this case never solved? Members of this gang were collectively responsible for numerous Washington D.C. and surrounding Maryland vicinity rapes and abductions that occurred near theWashington Beltway. This was less than two miles away from Diane's home. A 1975 memorandum order by D.C. Superior Court Judge Fred B. Ugast read: "On May 16th, Mr. Warren began to direct the government agents to the locations he had described to them regarding two Freeway deaths. ", "I remember the night that she didn't come home," Williams said, "how hard it was for me to go to sleep.". It was only now, following the murder of Nenomoshia Yates, that the deaths of these four young black girls was officially linked. 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. . On December 28, 1938, Askinsthen a 19-year-old student and member of the science club at Miner Teachers Collegeserved cyanide-laced whiskey to five prostitutes at a brothel, resulting in the death of 31-year-old Ruth McDonald. Askins, who died at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland on April 30, 2010 at the age of 91,[27] remained in prison for two D.C.-area abductions and rapes in the mid-70s, and had been contacted by both Davis and press regarding the Freeway Phantom slayings. If you may know anything, please contact Washington D.C. authorities or the FBI. Want to Read. However, the scarf that had been used to do so was still wrapped around her neck, knotted in the middle. Diane would spent the next few hours with her boyfriend, before the time came to head home. At the time, they assumed it had come from her boyfriend - whom she had visited just before going missing - even though the boyfriend insisted they didn't have any kind of sexual activity that night. 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. She, however, was sent by her mother to a nearby Safeway grocery store to pick up some bread and some food for the family's three dogs: Ringo, Rex, and Romeo. They both believe that the killer was a young black man, who was able to fit into the neighborhood he committed his abductions. 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. Due to the brutality of the crimes the police suspected the offender to be a psychopath. Brenda's 7-year old sister, Bertha, had remained at-home while the rest of her family was out scouring the neighborhood. The case files had been lost by DC police in the years since, and were nowhere to be found. It was a short walk that she had made dozens of times before. The Second World War - the Freeway Phantom homicides. `` when Brenda Woodard body! 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