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The Masked Killer Who Terrorized Texas and Vanished Forever
Sep 28, 2025
Texarkana, 1946. A couple sits in their car under the moonlight when footsteps approach. A flashlight beam cuts through the darkness. But this isn't a police officer—it's someone wearing a white pillowcase with crude holes cut for eyes. For four terrifying months, the "Phantom Killer" hunted couples in the dark, transforming a peaceful Texas border town into a fortress of fear. Five people died. Three survived to tell their horrifying stories. Despite one of the largest manhunts in Texas history involving the Texas Rangers and FBI, the killer vanished without a trace, leaving behind one of America's most haunting unsolved mysteries. This documentary reveals the complete timeline of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, the investigation that created one of the first criminal profiles in U.S. history, and the prime suspect who may have gotten away with it all. From lovers' lanes turned death traps to a town where movie theaters sat empty and parents stood guard with shotguns, discover how one masked figure forever changed an entire community. Who was the Phantom Killer? Why did the attacks suddenly stop? Could an elderly man somewhere still be harboring these dark secrets? Share your theory in the comments below. Subscribe and hit the notification bell for more true crime mysteries that remain unsolved to this day. Timestamps: **[00:00] The Night Terror Begins** - A couple's romantic evening turns into nightmare **[00:36] The Phantom's Reign of Terror** - How one masked killer paralyzed an entire town **[01:44] Act 1: A Town on the Border** - Texarkana's unique geography and culture in 1946 **[03:35] The First Attack: February 22** - Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jeanne Larey survive brutal assault
View Video Transcript
0:00
Tex Arcana 1946. A young couple sits in their car on a
0:06
lover's lane under the full moon. The radio plays soft music. Then footsteps
0:12
crunch on gravel. A flashlight beam cuts through the darkness. But this isn't a
0:19
police officer. It's someone wearing a white pillowcase with crude holes cut for eyes. How does a small town on the
0:27
Texas Arkansas border become paralyzed with fear for months while a masked
0:34
killer hunts couples in the dark? How does someone commit five brutal murders, terrorize an entire region, and then
0:40
vanish without a trace, leaving behind one of America's most haunting, unsolved mysteries? Between February and May
0:47
1946, the Phantom Killer struck five times, attacking eight people and
0:52
killing five. The murders were so shocking that residents barricaded themselves indoors after dark. Hardware
1:00
stores sold out of locks and ammunition and teenage boys formed vigilante
1:05
patrols. The Texas Rangers descended on the town. The FBI got involved. Movie
1:12
theaters sat empty. Lover's lanes became death traps. But despite one of the
1:18
largest manhunts in Texas history, the killer was never caught, never identified, never explained. So get
1:26
ready to dive into the terrifying true story of the Tex Arcana Moonlight
1:31
Murders. A case that inspired horror films, haunted generations, and remains
1:38
unsolved to this day. Act one, A Town on the border. The truth is, we don't know
1:45
much about who the phantom killer really was, but we know exactly where he hunted. Tex Arcana in 1946 was a unique
1:53
place. A twin city straddling the Texas Arkansas state line with Stateline
1:59
Avenue literally dividing the town in half. Population about 50,000.
2:06
It was a railroad town, a military town with Camp Maxi just 40 mi north. World
2:12
War II had just ended. Soldiers were coming home. Life was supposed to return
2:18
to normal. The town had two of everything. Two mayors, two police
2:24
departments, two sets of laws. A criminal could commit a crime on Sixth
2:29
Street in Texas, and walk 50 ft to Arkansas, creating jurisdictional
2:35
nightmares. During Prohibition, bootleggers exploited this geographic quirk
2:41
ruthlessly. Gambling houses operated on one side, speak easys on the other. The town had
2:49
developed a tolerance for a certain level of lawlessness, but Texarana was also deeply traditional. Church
2:57
attendance was high. Most businesses closed on Sundays. Young people
3:03
socialized at soda fountains, church socials, and school dances. Dating
3:09
followed strict protocols. Boys picked up girls at their homes, met the
3:14
parents, promised to have them back by curfew. Yet, teenagers still found ways
3:20
to be alone. The rural roads surrounding Texacana were dotted with secluded spots
3:27
where couples could park and enjoy privacy. These lovers lanes were an open
3:33
secret. Everyone knew about them. Parents worried about them, but they were part of growing up in 1940s
3:40
America. February 22nd, 1946, a Friday night. The weather was mild for
3:48
February, around 50°. Jimmy Hollis, 25, and Mary Jean Lar, 19,
3:55
had been on a double date to the movies. They had seen Scarlet Street, a film
4:01
noir about obsession and murder. Grimly ironic given what was about to happen.
4:07
After dropping off their friends, Hollis drove to a secluded spot on Richmond
4:12
Road about 100 yards off Highway 67. It was around 11:45 p.m. They'd been there
4:20
maybe 30 minutes when they saw the flashlight. According to court documents and police reports, a man approached
4:27
their car. He wore what Larry would later describe as a white pillowcase or
4:33
sack over his head with rough holes cut for eyes and mouth. He carried a pistol.
4:40
Hollis thought it looked like a 32 automatic. "I don't want to kill you,
4:45
fellow, so do what I say," the masked man said. His voice was muffled by the
4:51
mask, but sounded young, maybe late 20s or early 30s. He ordered them out of the
4:57
car. What happened next was brutal, but strangely methodical. The attacker told
5:04
Larry to run down the road. When she hesitated, he struck her with the pistol. Then he turned to Hollis. "Take
5:11
off your [ __ ] pants," he ordered. Hollis, confused and terrified,
5:18
complied. The attacker then beat him savagely with the pistol, striking him
5:23
repeatedly in the head. The blows fractured Hollis's skull in three places. Blood poured from the wounds.
5:31
But the attacker wasn't finished. He called Larry back, sexually assaulted
5:36
her, then struck her with the pistol hard enough to knock her unconscious.
5:41
Both victims lay bleeding on the cold ground. Yet, here's where it gets strange. He didn't kill them. The
5:49
attacker took Hollis's pants and wallet, but left Lar's purse untouched. He
5:55
disappeared into the darkness, leaving both victims. Holl, despite his severe
6:00
injuries, managed to stagger to the highway and flag down a passing car. The
6:06
driver, horrified by Hollis's bloodied appearance, rushed them to Michael Marker Hospital. Larry regained
6:13
consciousness on route. Sheriff WH Bill Presley and Bowie County deputies
6:20
investigated the scene. They found blood, Hollis's shoes, and tire tracks,
6:26
but no fingerprints. No clear evidence pointing to a suspect. They initially
6:31
classified it as robbery. Hollis's wallet was missing after all, but something bothered investigators. The
6:37
mask, the sexual assault, the choice to let victims live. This didn't fit the pattern of typical robberies in the
6:43
area. Most stickup men didn't wear masks. They either killed their victims or simply fled. This attacker had taken
6:50
time to terrorize, to dominate, to hurt. Nevertheless, police had little to go
6:57
on. Hollis and Lar gave descriptions, but they conflicted on details. The mask
7:04
made identification impossible. The attacker was white, medium build, maybe
7:10
5 10 in to 6 ft tall. He wore dark clothes that described hundreds of men
7:16
in Texakana. The local newspaper, the Texacana Gazette, buried the story on
7:22
page six. Couple attacked on Richmond Road. No mention of masks or sexual
7:29
assault. Such details weren't printed in 1946. The town went about its business unaware
7:36
that a predator had found his hunting ground. Act two. The Phantom emerges
7:42
March 24th, 1946, exactly 1 month and 1 day after the
7:48
first attack, Palm Sunday. The day had been warm and pleasant with families
7:55
attending church services and enjoying Sunday dinners. As evening fell, young
8:01
couples began their traditional Sunday night dates. Richard Griffin, 29, had
8:06
recently returned from the Navy. He'd survived the Pacific theater, seen
8:12
combat at Okinawa. He was working at a welding shop, saving money, planning his future. Hollyanne Moore, 17, was a
8:20
senior at Texas High School, pretty popular with dreams of becoming a nurse. The age difference raised some eyebrows,
8:26
but Griffin was wellliked, considered a good catch. He drove a maroon 1941 Oldmobile sedan, a nice car that he kept
8:34
immaculate. They had been dating several weeks. That night, they went to dinner,
8:39
maybe caught a movie. Around 1000 p.m., Griffin drove to Rich Road, a secluded
8:45
dirt road about a mile from the first attack site. Local teenagers called it
8:50
Lover's Lane, or the slow. Cars parked there most weekend nights, but by
8:57
morning, Richard Griffin and Polyanne Moore were dead. George Weaver driving
9:03
to work at 6:30 a.m. noticed Griffin's Oldsmobile parked oddly, blocking part
9:10
of the narrow road. He stopped to investigate. Through the rain streaked windows, he saw bodies. Blood. He raced
9:18
to the nearest phone. Sheriff Presley arrived within minutes. What he found
9:24
made his blood run cold. Griffin lay crumpled between the front and back
9:29
seats, shot twice in the back of the head. Moore was in the back seat, also
9:35
shot twice in the head. Both were fully clothed, but Moore's dress was torn,
9:41
suggesting sexual assault. The killer had been methodical. Both victims were
9:46
shot with a.32 caliber weapon, likely a cult automatic. The shots were precise
9:54
execution style. No signs of struggle inside the car. The killer had
10:00
apparently ordered them out, assaulted more, then forced them back into the car
10:05
before shooting them. But he had made mistakes. Or maybe he just didn't care.
10:11
Griffin's wallet was missing, but Moore's purse sat untouched on the front seat with $2 inside. A bloody palm print
10:20
marked the car's exterior, but rain had degraded it beyond use. This time,
10:27
Sheriff Presley knew he needed help. He called the Texas Rangers. Captain MT
10:33
Lonewolf Gonzalez arrived like something from a western movie. He wore handtoled
10:39
boots, a white Stson, and carried two ivoryhandled45
10:44
revolvers. He'd been a ranger for 26 years. worked hundreds of cases,
10:50
consulted on Hollywood films. If anyone could catch this killer, it was gone
10:55
zorless. But even the legendary ranger found himself frustrated. The crime
11:01
scene had been contaminated by rain and curious onlookers. No shell casings. The
11:08
killer had picked them up or used a revolver. No clear tire tracks. No
11:13
witnesses. Gonzalz interviewed everyone who'd been on Rich Road that night.
11:18
Several couples admitted to parking there, but had left before 1000 p.m. One pair reported seeing a man walking along
11:26
the road around 9:30, but couldn't provide details. Another heard what might have been shots around midnight,
11:32
but assumed it was hunters. The Texican Gazette couldn't ignore this story. Couple found slain on Lonely Road. The
11:39
article mentioned the February attack, noting similarities. The word maniac appeared for the first time. Fear began
11:46
to spread. Gun sales increased 300% that week. Hardware stores sold out of door
11:53
locks, window bars, and ammunition. The American Legion announced it would
11:59
provide armed patrols of rural roads. Parents forbade teenagers from going out
12:05
after dark, but teenagers still snuck out. Love and hormones proved stronger
12:11
than fear. They just took precautions. Baseball bats in back seats, friends
12:17
following in separate cars, earlier curfews. The lover's lanes still had
12:22
visitors, though fewer than before. Captain Gonzalez understood he was hunting a new type of
12:29
killer. Not a robber, the money left behind proved that. Not a typical sex
12:35
criminal. The methodical execution suggested something else. This was
12:40
someone who killed for the thrill, for power, for reasons that made sense only
12:46
in his twisted mind. The ranger established a command post at the Bowie County Sheriff's Office. He brought in
12:54
additional rangers, coordinated with Arkansas State Police, and requested FBI
13:01
assistance. They compiled lists of known sex offenders, recently released mental
13:06
patients, discharged soldiers with violent records. Yet weeks passed
13:12
without progress. Then on April 14th, the Phantom struck again. Paul Martin,
13:18
17, was a popular kid at Kilgore College. He played alto saxophone in a
13:25
band called the Rhythm. Betty Joe Booker, 15, was a sophomore at Texas
13:31
High, an honor student who sometimes sang with local bands. Despite their
13:37
youth, they moved in sophisticated circles, playing clubs and VFW halls
13:43
where teenagers mixed with adults. That Sunday night, the Rhythm played a dance
13:50
at the VFW Hall on West Fourth Street. The dance ended at 1:30 a.m. Martin had
13:57
borrowed his friend's 1946 Ford coupe to drive Booker home. They left together.
14:03
Martin carrying his saxophone in its case. They never made it home. When
14:09
Betty Joe didn't arrive by 2:30 a.m., her mother called police. Martin's
14:15
parents were also frantic. An allnight search found nothing. Dawn brought the
14:21
terrible discoveries. Martin's body was found on North Park Road, three miles
14:26
from the VFW Hall. He'd been shot four times in the hand, chest, and twice in
14:33
the head. His body lay face down in a ditch, fully clothed, but missing his
14:39
saxophone. 2 hours later, searchers found Betty Joe Booker 2 mi away on Morris Lane. She'd
14:48
been shot twice in the face. Her body showed signs of sexual assault. She was
14:54
fully clothed, but her undergarments were missing. But here's what chilled investigators. The killer had moved the
15:01
bodies. Blood evidence showed both were killed elsewhere, then transported. This
15:07
required planning, a vehicle, knowledge of back roads. The missing saxophone
15:14
suggested a trophy, something the killer kept to remember his victims. Captain
15:19
Gonzalez brought in blood hounds from the state prison. They tracked scent from Martin's body to a spot on the road
15:27
where tire tracks suggested a vehicle had parked. The dogs lost the trail
15:33
there. Similar tracks near Booker's body indicated the same vehicle. The medical
15:38
examiner determined both died around 200 a.m. The killer had struck quickly after
15:44
they left the VFW hall. But where? How did he intercept them? Did he follow
15:50
them from the dance? Was he waiting at a predetermined spot? These murders changed everything. The victims weren't
15:56
parked on a lover's lane. They were driving home. They were younger than previous victims. The killer had
16:02
transported bodies, showing increased confidence and planning. He was evolving. Panic gripped Texana. The city
16:10
council held emergency meetings. They authorized hiring additional police,
16:15
offering a $500 reward that quickly grew to $7,000 as businesses and citizens
16:22
contributed. The American Legion's patrols expanded to 50 armed men
16:28
nightly. The Gazette ran daily updates. Radio stations broadcast warnings.
16:35
Phantom Killer strikes again. Maniac loose in Tex Arcana.
16:40
Lock your doors and stay inside after dark. Movie theaters reported 70% drops
16:47
in attendance. Restaurants closed by 8:00 p.m. The spring formal at Texas
16:52
High was cancelled. Teenagers who did venture out traveled in groups, never
16:58
pairs. Parents took turns standing guard with shotguns. But the fear went deeper
17:04
than precautions. This wasn't just about a killer. It was about the shattering of
17:09
small town innocents. Texarana had always felt safe, insulated from big
17:16
city crime. Now evil walked their streets and no one knew its face.
17:22
Captain Gonzalez worked 18-hour days. He interviewed hundreds of suspects. Every
17:28
strange loner, every man with a history of violence, every person who'd made threatening remarks. They arrested
17:36
dozens on various charges hoping to find their killer among them. The ranger also
17:42
did something innovative. He brought in Dr. Anthony Lapala, a psychiatrist from
17:47
the Federal Correctional Institution in Texana. Together, they created one of the first
17:53
criminal profiles in American law enforcement history. The profile
17:58
suggested white male, 25, 35 years old, likely single or unhappily married,
18:06
sexually inadequate, possibly impotent, using violence to assert dominance,
18:11
familiar with the Texana area, possibly a native, owns or has access to a
18:17
reliable car, works irregular hours, or is unemployed, allowing him to hunt at
18:23
night. of average intelligence, but cunning. Collects trophies from victims.
18:30
Will continue killing unless stopped. But profiles don't make arrests.
18:35
Evidence does. And evidence remained frustratingly scarce. Then came a break.
18:42
Or so they thought. A man named Ralph B. Bowman was arrested in Los Angeles for
18:48
car theft. Under questioning, he claimed to be the Texacana killer. He knew
18:53
details about the murders, details that had been in the newspapers. Gonzalez
18:58
flew to California to interview him. But Bowman's story fell apart quickly. He
19:04
couldn't provide information not published in papers. His whereabouts
19:09
during the murders were verified elsewhere. He was just another attention
19:14
seeker, one of dozens who would falsely confess over the years. As April turned
19:20
to May, Texar remained under siege. The Phantom had struck three times, each
19:27
attack more violent than the last. Patton suggested he'd strike again soon.
19:33
But when and where? May 3rd, 1946, a Friday night. But this time,
19:41
everything would be different. Virgil Starks, 37, owned a small farm off
19:46
Highway 67 about 10 mi northeast of Texacana. He worked for the Gford Hill
19:53
Pipe Company, a steady job that supported his family comfortably. His
19:58
wife Katie, 36, kept house and tended their garden. They had two children who
20:04
were visiting relatives that night. The Starks didn't go out much. Virgil
20:09
preferred quiet evenings at home, reading his paper, listening to the radio. They felt safe on their farm,
20:17
away from the lover's lanes where the phantom hunted. They had good locks, a
20:22
watchdog, and Virgil kept a shotgun by the door. At 900 p.m., earlier than any
20:29
previous attack, Virgil sat in his armchair by the front window reading the
20:35
Texakana Gazette. The paper carried another story about the phantom murders,
20:40
warning residents to stay alert. Katie was in the bedroom getting ready for
20:45
bed. The first shot shattered the window and struck Virgil in the back of the
20:51
head. The second shot hit him in the face. He slumped forward dead instantly,
20:57
blood spreading across his newspaper, ironically staining the article about
21:02
the Phantom. Katie heard the shots and ran to the living room. Seeing her
21:08
husband, she rushed to the phone to call police. As she picked up the receiver,
21:14
two more shots crashed through the window. One struck her in the right cheek, the other in her jaw. She
21:21
collapsed, blood pouring from her wounds. But Katie Starks was tougher than the Phantom realized. Despite her
21:28
injuries, she crawled to the bedroom and grabbed Virgil's Point45 automatic from
21:33
the nightstand. She heard footsteps on the front porch. The killer was trying to enter through the front door, but it
21:40
was locked. Katie, bleeding profusely and barely conscious, managed to escape
21:45
through the back door. She staggered across their yard and through a cornfield to their nearest neighbor, AV
21:52
Pater, leaving a trail of blood in the darkness. She pounded on Pria's door,
21:58
her face a mask of blood, gasping out what had happened. Praa called police
22:04
while his wife tended to Katie's wounds. Within minutes, Sheriff Presley and
22:10
deputies raced to the Stark's farm. They found Virgil dead in his chair, the
22:16
newspaper still in his lap. The front door showed marks where someone had tried to force it open. Muddy footprints
22:24
led from the window to the door, then around to the back of the house. But the
22:29
killer was gone. This attack shattered every pattern. The victims were older,
22:34
married in their own home. The time was earlier. The weapon was different. A22
22:41
rifle, not the 32 pistol used before. There was no sexual element. No lover's
22:48
lane. No teenage victims. Captain Gonzalez arrived within the hour. The
22:54
crime scene offered more evidence than previous attacks. They found 22 caliber
23:00
shell casings outside the window. The killer hadn't collected them this time.
23:05
The footprints were clear in the mud showing a man's work boot size 10. They
23:11
even found a partial fingerprint on a window sill. But the biggest clue came from Katie Starks herself. Despite her
23:19
injuries, she provided crucial information. She had glimpsed the killer's silhouette at the window just
23:26
before being shot. Medium height, wearing what looked like a white mask.
23:32
She was certain this was the Phantom. The attack on the Stark's home sent
23:38
Texar into complete panic. If the Phantom could strike anywhere, kill
23:44
anyone, no one was safe. Not in lover's lanes, not driving home, not even in
23:51
their own living rooms. The randomness was terrifying. Gun stores opened at
23:56
midnight to serve lines of customers. Families packed up and left town,
24:03
staying with relatives elsewhere. Those who remained turned their homes into fortresses. They nailed boards over
24:10
windows, pushed furniture against doors, slept in shifts with loaded weapons. The
24:17
police response was massive. Texas Rangers, Arkansas State Police, FBI
24:24
agents, and local officers flooded the area. They set up roadblocks on every
24:30
major road. Any car out after dark was stopped and searched. They brought in
24:36
more blood hounds, even borrowed military search lights from Camp Maxi to illuminate rural areas. Captain Gonzalez
24:44
appeared on radio, trying to calm fears while urging vigilance. We will catch
24:50
this killer, he promised. But until we do, take every precaution. Travel in
24:56
groups, stay out of isolated areas. Keep your doors locked and weapons ready. But
25:03
privately, Gonzalez was frustrated. The Starks attack didn't fit the pattern.
25:09
Different weapon, different victims, different approach. Was this the same
25:14
killer adapting or a copycat inspired by the publicity? The partial fingerprint
25:20
didn't match any in their files. The bootprint was generic, sold in dozens of
25:26
stores. Then came the tips, hundreds of them. A neighbor heard screams. A store
25:33
clerk sold ammunition to a suspicious man. A woman saw someone in a white mask
25:39
driving past her house. Each lead had to be investigated, stretching resources
25:45
thin. One tip seemed promising. A black man named HB Dudy Tennyson told police
25:53
he'd been driving near the Starks farm that night and saw a white man walking along the road carrying what looked like
26:00
a rifle. The man wore dark clothes and seemed to be in a hurry. Tennyson
26:06
provided a description. White male, about 30, medium build, dark hair. But
26:13
when police showed Tennyson photos of suspects, he couldn't identify anyone.
26:18
The description was too generic. It could have been anyone or no one. Maybe
26:24
Tennyson saw the killer. Maybe just a hunter. Maybe nothing at all. Days
26:29
passed. Then weeks Texarana held its breath, waiting for the next attack.
26:36
Police maintained their patrols. Families kept their vigils. The lover's
26:41
lanes remained empty. But the Phantom didn't strike again. Act three. The
26:47
Phantom vanishes. May turned to June. The spring of terror became a summer of
26:53
questions. Where was the Phantom? Why had he stopped? Was he dead, arrested,
26:59
or simply waiting? Captain Gonzalez refused to reduce security. He's still
27:05
out there, he told reporters. Killers like this don't just stop. He's
27:10
planning, watching, waiting for us to let our guard down. But maintaining that
27:16
level of vigilance was exhausting and expensive. Officers worked double shifts. The city budget strained under
27:22
overtime costs. Then on June 28th came what seemed like a breakthrough. A car
27:28
was stolen in Texarkana. Nothing unusual there. But when police arrested a thief in Oklahoma, his wife started talking.
27:36
Her name was Peggy Swinny and she claimed her husband Ule was the phantom killer. Ule Swinny, 29, was a career
27:44
criminal with arrests for car theft, burglary, and assault. He'd been in and
27:49
out of prison since his teens. More importantly, he'd been in Tex Arcana
27:55
during all the murders. Peggy's statement was detailed and chilling.
28:01
According to Peggy, Ule would leave at night, returning hours later with blood on his clothes. On the night of the
28:08
Martin Booker murders, he came home with a saxophone. When she asked about it, he
28:14
threatened to kill her if she talked. She described him burning bloody clothes, cleaning his weapons
28:21
obsessively. But there were problems with Peggy's story. She was an admitted drug addict with her own criminal
28:27
record. Her details sometimes matched published accounts too perfectly, as if
28:33
she'd read the newspapers. Most crucially, as Ule's wife, she couldn't
28:38
testify against him without his consent under Texas law. Nevertheless, police
28:44
investigated thoroughly. They found witnesses who'd seen Swinny near some of the crime scenes. A stolen car he'd sold
28:53
had blood stains in the trunk. He owned a.32 pistol, though it was never found.
28:59
His whereabouts on the murder nights couldn't be verified. Captain Gonzalez interrogated Swinnie for days. The
29:06
suspect was cool, arrogant, admitting nothing. "You got nothing on me," he
29:12
said repeatedly. "My wife's a junkie. She'll say anything." "Without Peggy's
29:18
testimony or physical evidence, they couldn't charge him with murder. But they could charge him with car theft."
29:25
As a repeat offender under Texas's Habitual Criminal Act, Swinny received a
29:30
life sentence. If he was the Phantom, he was off the streets. If he wasn't, at
29:37
least a dangerous criminal was locked away. The summer passed without more attacks. Gradually, Texana began to
29:45
relax. Businesses reopened normal hours. Teenagers returned to lover's lanes,
29:52
though always in groups. Now the rangers pulled back, leaving a small task force
29:57
to continue investigating, but questions persisted. Was Swinny really the
30:03
Phantom? The evidence was circumstantial at best. What about the Starks attack?
30:08
It didn't fit the pattern. Swinny had no known connection to rifles. Some
30:13
investigators believed the Starks were killed by a copycat, someone taking advantage of the phantom panic. Other
30:21
suspects emerged over the years. A mental patient who'd escaped from an Arkansas asylum during the murders. A
30:28
soldier from Camp Maxi who'd been discharged for violent behavior. A local mechanic who collected newspaper
30:35
clippings about the crimes. Each lead was investigated. Each suspect cleared
30:40
or dismissed. The case files grew thick with reports, interviews, false
30:45
confessions. Every few years when similar crimes occurred anywhere in the southwest,
30:52
people wondered if the Phantom had returned. When Swinny was parrolled in 1973, Tex Arcana held its breath, but no
31:02
new attacks came. Swinny died in 1994, taking any secrets to his grave. In
31:10
1976, filmmaker Charles B. Pierce released The
31:15
Town That Dreaded Sundown, a dramatization of the murders. The film mixed fact with fiction, creating new
31:23
myths about the case. It showed the killer as more monster than man, added
31:29
victims that never existed, invented dramatic confrontations, but the movie also renewed interest in
31:37
the case. Retired investigators came forward with theories. Journalists dug
31:43
through old files. Amateur detectives proposed new suspects. The internet age
31:49
brought forums and websites dedicated to solving the mystery. Modern forensic
31:55
experts have reviewed the evidence with 21 Saint century techniques. The partial
32:01
fingerprint from the Stark's home was run through modern databases. No
32:07
matches. DNA testing was attempted on surviving evidence, but degradation made
32:13
results inconclusive. Some investigators now believe there were multiple killers.
32:19
The Lovers Lane attacks, Hollis Laay, Griffin Moore, Martin Booker, show clear
32:25
patterns suggesting one perpetrator. But the Starks attack was so different, it
32:31
might have been someone else entirely, perhaps inspired by the publicity.
32:36
Others maintain it was one killer who evolved, changed weapons and tactics to
32:41
confuse police. Serial killers often experiment. They argue. The mask links
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all the crimes. The escalating violence fits a typical pattern. The sudden stop suggests the killer was imprisoned or
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died. But perhaps the most chilling theory is the simplest. The Phantom got away with it. He stopped because he
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chose to stop. Maybe the heat got too intense. Maybe he satisfied whatever dark urge drove him.
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Maybe he moved away, continued killing elsewhere under different circumstances.
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The impact on Texarkana was permanent and profound. The town lost its
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innocence in those terrible months of 1946. Parents who'd let children roam freely
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became protective, suspicious. Police departments modernized, adopted
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new investigative techniques. The murders influenced how law enforcement
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approached serial crimes for decades. For the families of the victims, there
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was never closure. Jimmy Hollis suffered permanent brain damage from his beating,
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dying young in 1956. Mary Jean Laray left Texarkana, rarely
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speaking of that night. The families of Griffin, Moore, Martin, and Booker
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mourned young lives cut short, potential never realized. Katie Starks recovered
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from her wounds, but lived with the trauma of seeing her husband murdered. She died in 1994, still hoping for
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answers. The lover's lanes around Texakana eventually filled again with
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young couples seeking privacy. But even today, locals warn teenagers about the
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phantom. On foggy nights when the moon is full, people still glance nervously
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at shadows, check their locks twice, keep weapons within reach. Because the
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Phantom Killer achieved something few serial killers manage. He became more
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than a criminal. He became a legend, a boogeyman, a permanent scar on the
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psyche of a town. His white mask appears in nightmares 75 years later. His
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footsteps still echo on dark roads. The case remains officially open. Somewhere
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in dusty evidence boxes sit shell casings, photographs, interview transcripts, pieces of a puzzle that may
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never be complete. Every few years, someone claims to have solved it. A
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deathbed confession that can't be verified. a new suspect who was conveniently deceased. A
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reinterpretation of old evidence, but the truth remains elusive. The Phantom
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Killer entered history on a February night in 1946 and vanished into legend
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that May. Five people died. Three survived to tell terrifying tales. An
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entire town lived in fear for months. And then nothing. No resolution, no
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justice, no answers, just questions that echo through the decades. Who was behind
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that white mask? Why did he choose those victims? Where did he go? Is he still
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out there? An old man with terrible secrets? Or did he die long ago, taking
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the truth to his grave? The Texana Moonlight murders remind us that not all
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stories have endings. Not all killers are caught. Not all mysteries are
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solved. Sometimes evil visits, does its terrible work, and disappears, leaving
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only fear, grief, and endless speculation in its wake? So, what do you
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think? Was UL Swinny the phantom killer, or did the real murderer escape justice
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entirely? Did one killer commit all the murders, or were the Starks victims of a
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copycat? Could the Phantom still be alive? An elderly man harboring dark
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secrets? Drop your theory in the comments. I read every single one. And
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if you want more unsolved mysteries that will keep you up at night, hit subscribe
36:55
and ring that notification bell. Because some stories never end. They just fade
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into the darkness, waiting to be remembered, waiting to be solved, waiting to remind us that monsters are
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real and sometimes they get away with it.