TEXARKANA MOONLIGHT MURDERS
I remembered overhearing talk of drunken brawls at Chaylor’s Starlight Club, and we all giggled about who would put “We Give S&H Green Stamps” signs on the three brothels that lined West Fourth Street. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. While the Phantom was on the loose, Texarkana was like a city under siege. Residents armed themselves and curfews were set for local businesses. In spite of the involvement of the Texas Rangers, no conclusive arrest was ever made in connection with the Moonlight Murders.
The couple, who had only been dating six weeks, had had dinner with Griffin's sister and her boyfriend earlier in the night. Griffin, 29, was a veteran who made his living in carpentry and painting. Moore, only 17, was living in a nearby boardinghouse with her cousin. In 1946, the town of Texarkana, which straddles the state line between Texas and Arkansas, was rocked by a series of brutal attacks that ultimately left five people dead and three gravely injured. What the media quickly dubbed the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, carried out by a shadowy figure the local paper called the "Phantom Killer," sent the small southern city into a panic. Though it purported to be based on the true story of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, many people dispute its accuracy.
The first film is frequently referenced but setting the story aside, the two have little in common. The original could sit comfortably in the video nasty genre, while the 'remake' is a stylistic tour-De-force with sound and photography that give off an art film vibe. The acting is solid in part thanks to veteran character actors Ed Lauter Gary Cole . Although using a few genre tropes, this is not your average slasher flick.
Though Hollis and Larey both survived, the next couple wasn't as lucky. Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore, who parked in a similar area but closer to the main road, were brutally shot in the back of the head, execution-style. Dean Corll was a sadistic pedophile true crime responsible for the murder of at least 28 boys over a span of three years. Some even believe that he may have killed as many as 47, taking car and house keys from each victim as a trophy. There are a lot of duplicates and people reusing the same photos.
Women of means packed up their clothes and children and checked into downtown’s Hotel Grim when their husbands were away on business. Others rigged Rube Goldbergesque security systems, attaching pots and pans to wire that was strung around their property. People who had never owned guns slept with loaded pistols on both sides of the bed and made pallets on the floor so their children could sleep beside them. Lawmen from Arkansas and Texas and members of the national press overwhelmed the town in pursuit of the assailant, who was dubbed the Phantom Killer by the Texarkana Gazette. Texarkana is a sleepy town that is split between both Texas and Arkansas.
Am surprised to see a hand bunch of good actors gathered here, just check out the list, you'll see what I'm talking about, so you can expect good acting. The story moves slow, but the killings go on and on, no gore, a little nudity, still powerful images come with every kill. Those looked indeed like authentic psychopath murders with psychopath reason behind them. Texarkana is still affected by the gruesome lovers lane murders some sixty-five years after the burlap masked figure terrorized the Arkansas/Texas area.
Between the 1940s and 1950s, the population on both sides of the Texan divide increased dramatically, with the majority choosing to live on the Texas side, but both areas received an influx of new residents. Psychiatrists and doctors who were consulted stated she had nothing to run away from but had rather enthusiastically looked forward to the future. It was also suggested that her body could have been weighed down and sunken in Lewisville Lake , which was too large and too deep to be dragged. Carpenter knew three of the victims who were murdered by the "Phantom Killer" credited with the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, leading to speculation as to whether that case was linked to her disappearance. In May 1998, the police were tipped by a man in his 70s claiming that he knew who killed Carpenter and where she was buried. He stated she was buried on the grounds of the TSCW campus.
Catherine Knight – The story of a female murderer that shocked Australia. Meanwhile, Katie Starks – the third survivor – is widowed following the murder of her husband Virgil Starks. She survived the injuries to her face and made a full recovery.
Too young to understand, Carpenter was given internal medicine, a diet, and the task to sunbathe on the hospital's tar roof for two hours a day for two years. She was able to walk better with the use of a steel brace that fitted into the heel of her shoe which then came up to a leather-rolled "saddle" around her hip. Mrs. Carpenter admitted to making the mistake of placing Virginia in kindergarten while she was still in the brace. Virginia soon became self-conscious and lost weight due to a loss of appetite. She was taken out of school but returned a year later when the brace was removed. She was announced "completely cured" by a specialist when she was 12.
The first time the Phantom Killer struck, he attacked two victims at once, Jimmy Hollis and Mary Larey. Both survived but suffered severe injuries like skull fractures, and Larey was also sexually assaulted, but unfortunately neither could help identify the criminal. They were attacked on the city’s “lovers’ lane”, making them relatively easy targets for more than just a single victim.
The driver of the car, Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend Mary Jeanne Larey were ordered out of the car after being told by the intruder that he "did not want to kill them". After fracturing the skull of Hollis with the gun, Larey was also hit in the head but, bizarrely, also told to run away by the assailant. He caught up with her, sexually assaulted her, but let her go after the attack. The hooded perpetrator’s behavior, at times erratic, seemed to suggest an uncertainty in his actions. He would show none of these signs in his next three attacks. As it happens, Presley wasn’t the only person in my car who had a personal connection to the killings.
Freeman told officers he was with Tennison on the night Starks was killed. Winnsboro, La., -- A phantom killer who struck a week ago turn this town of 4,000 into an armed camp where residents sleep frightfully in lighted rooms behind double locked doors. However, authorities who investigated the cases doubted he was the killer or that the deaths of Miss Booker and Martin, slain on a lonely road, were connected with that of Starks. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Nov. 6 -- Authorities today checked the story of a University of Arkansas freshman who took his own life and left a farewell note admitting he was the "phantom slayer" of Texarkana. Folks in Tennison's home town said they found it difficult to believe that the quiet, slender, six-foot-four son of an old Texarkana family, actually committed the crimes.
The term "serial killer" wasn't around yet, but the town knew they were dealing with an unknown killer who was attacking couples on "lovers' lanes". The attacks became known as the "Texarkana Moonlight Murders" by the news media. Since the killer was never identified or apprehended, the description of the killer came from the only two survivors.
About young lust and young love, and the unseen forces that keep them at bay. Jimmy Hollis, 24, and his date, Mary Jeanne Larey, 19, were driving home from a double-date at the movies when they decided to stop at a local lovers’ lane. In 1946, a killer targeted teenagers in the border town of Texarkana. With little help from police, the kids decided to fight back. N 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared.
The couple, who had only been dating six weeks, had had dinner with Griffin's sister and her boyfriend earlier in the night. Griffin, 29, was a veteran who made his living in carpentry and painting. Moore, only 17, was living in a nearby boardinghouse with her cousin. In 1946, the town of Texarkana, which straddles the state line between Texas and Arkansas, was rocked by a series of brutal attacks that ultimately left five people dead and three gravely injured. What the media quickly dubbed the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, carried out by a shadowy figure the local paper called the "Phantom Killer," sent the small southern city into a panic. Though it purported to be based on the true story of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, many people dispute its accuracy.
The first film is frequently referenced but setting the story aside, the two have little in common. The original could sit comfortably in the video nasty genre, while the 'remake' is a stylistic tour-De-force with sound and photography that give off an art film vibe. The acting is solid in part thanks to veteran character actors Ed Lauter Gary Cole . Although using a few genre tropes, this is not your average slasher flick.
Though Hollis and Larey both survived, the next couple wasn't as lucky. Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore, who parked in a similar area but closer to the main road, were brutally shot in the back of the head, execution-style. Dean Corll was a sadistic pedophile true crime responsible for the murder of at least 28 boys over a span of three years. Some even believe that he may have killed as many as 47, taking car and house keys from each victim as a trophy. There are a lot of duplicates and people reusing the same photos.
Women of means packed up their clothes and children and checked into downtown’s Hotel Grim when their husbands were away on business. Others rigged Rube Goldbergesque security systems, attaching pots and pans to wire that was strung around their property. People who had never owned guns slept with loaded pistols on both sides of the bed and made pallets on the floor so their children could sleep beside them. Lawmen from Arkansas and Texas and members of the national press overwhelmed the town in pursuit of the assailant, who was dubbed the Phantom Killer by the Texarkana Gazette. Texarkana is a sleepy town that is split between both Texas and Arkansas.
Am surprised to see a hand bunch of good actors gathered here, just check out the list, you'll see what I'm talking about, so you can expect good acting. The story moves slow, but the killings go on and on, no gore, a little nudity, still powerful images come with every kill. Those looked indeed like authentic psychopath murders with psychopath reason behind them. Texarkana is still affected by the gruesome lovers lane murders some sixty-five years after the burlap masked figure terrorized the Arkansas/Texas area.
Between the 1940s and 1950s, the population on both sides of the Texan divide increased dramatically, with the majority choosing to live on the Texas side, but both areas received an influx of new residents. Psychiatrists and doctors who were consulted stated she had nothing to run away from but had rather enthusiastically looked forward to the future. It was also suggested that her body could have been weighed down and sunken in Lewisville Lake , which was too large and too deep to be dragged. Carpenter knew three of the victims who were murdered by the "Phantom Killer" credited with the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, leading to speculation as to whether that case was linked to her disappearance. In May 1998, the police were tipped by a man in his 70s claiming that he knew who killed Carpenter and where she was buried. He stated she was buried on the grounds of the TSCW campus.
Catherine Knight – The story of a female murderer that shocked Australia. Meanwhile, Katie Starks – the third survivor – is widowed following the murder of her husband Virgil Starks. She survived the injuries to her face and made a full recovery.
Too young to understand, Carpenter was given internal medicine, a diet, and the task to sunbathe on the hospital's tar roof for two hours a day for two years. She was able to walk better with the use of a steel brace that fitted into the heel of her shoe which then came up to a leather-rolled "saddle" around her hip. Mrs. Carpenter admitted to making the mistake of placing Virginia in kindergarten while she was still in the brace. Virginia soon became self-conscious and lost weight due to a loss of appetite. She was taken out of school but returned a year later when the brace was removed. She was announced "completely cured" by a specialist when she was 12.
The first time the Phantom Killer struck, he attacked two victims at once, Jimmy Hollis and Mary Larey. Both survived but suffered severe injuries like skull fractures, and Larey was also sexually assaulted, but unfortunately neither could help identify the criminal. They were attacked on the city’s “lovers’ lane”, making them relatively easy targets for more than just a single victim.
The driver of the car, Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend Mary Jeanne Larey were ordered out of the car after being told by the intruder that he "did not want to kill them". After fracturing the skull of Hollis with the gun, Larey was also hit in the head but, bizarrely, also told to run away by the assailant. He caught up with her, sexually assaulted her, but let her go after the attack. The hooded perpetrator’s behavior, at times erratic, seemed to suggest an uncertainty in his actions. He would show none of these signs in his next three attacks. As it happens, Presley wasn’t the only person in my car who had a personal connection to the killings.
Freeman told officers he was with Tennison on the night Starks was killed. Winnsboro, La., -- A phantom killer who struck a week ago turn this town of 4,000 into an armed camp where residents sleep frightfully in lighted rooms behind double locked doors. However, authorities who investigated the cases doubted he was the killer or that the deaths of Miss Booker and Martin, slain on a lonely road, were connected with that of Starks. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Nov. 6 -- Authorities today checked the story of a University of Arkansas freshman who took his own life and left a farewell note admitting he was the "phantom slayer" of Texarkana. Folks in Tennison's home town said they found it difficult to believe that the quiet, slender, six-foot-four son of an old Texarkana family, actually committed the crimes.
The term "serial killer" wasn't around yet, but the town knew they were dealing with an unknown killer who was attacking couples on "lovers' lanes". The attacks became known as the "Texarkana Moonlight Murders" by the news media. Since the killer was never identified or apprehended, the description of the killer came from the only two survivors.
About young lust and young love, and the unseen forces that keep them at bay. Jimmy Hollis, 24, and his date, Mary Jeanne Larey, 19, were driving home from a double-date at the movies when they decided to stop at a local lovers’ lane. In 1946, a killer targeted teenagers in the border town of Texarkana. With little help from police, the kids decided to fight back. N 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared.
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