The Mystery of the “Phantom Killer” of Texarkana

The Mystery of the “Phantom Killer” of Texarkana

The Phantom Killer of Texarkana: (1946) Five dead, three wounded, zero arrests. February 22: Masked man pistol-whips Jimmy Hollis, assaults Mary Jeanne Larey with gun barrel. Both survive.

March 24: Dick Griffin and Polly Ann Moore dragged from car, shot kneeling, bodies posed inside.

April 14: Paul Martin shot four times, dragged 200 feet. Betty Jo Booker tortured two miles away—sax in ditch.

May 3: Virgil Starks shot through window reading paper. Katie crawls 200 yards, survives.

Clues: .32-caliber Colt slugs match three attacks. Size 10 footprints. Red flashlight at Starks'. White pillowcase mask. Prime suspect: Youell Swinney, car thief. Wife Peggy confesses: 'He shot Martin four times... dragged Booker... burned bloody clothes.' But: Marries him, recants. 'I lied to save an innocent man.' No fingerprints, no gun. Life for theft. Dies 1994. Murders stop—coincidence?

Texarkana 1946: Guns sold out. Tin-can alarms. Drive-ins closed. Reopened 1960s-2010s: No DNA matches. Still unsolved. Inspired The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976). Halloween patrols lit the dark.

Available Now!

Because every case deserves answers—and every victim deserves justice.

Subscribe now to Ontario Cold Cases: Canada’s True Crime Podcast. Episodes available wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow us for updates and more: @OntarioColdCases

Ontario Cold Cases - Wordpress https://nicollinvestigations.wordpress.com/

Ontario Cold Cases - Substack https://substack.com/@ontariocoldcase

For more videos subscribe to: https://www.youtube.com/@OntarioColdCases?sub_confirmation=1

@PlayMorePods

#OntarioColdCases, #NicollInvestigations , #ColdCasePodcast , #PodcastMystery , #truecrimepodcast , #unsolvedmysteries, #truecrime, #PodcastsOnAmazonMusic, #Murder, #Homicide, #Missing, #ColdCases,#PhantomKiller, #TexarkanaMoonlightMurders, #Unsolved1946, #ColdCaseFiles, #SerialKillerHistory, #HalloweenHorror,