The SHOCKING case that baffled detectives

And some went out to look for the killer, and not all of them working for the law. They hung around after concerts at diners and at the movies. And they had furtive sex where they could, including  on piney back roads in the pitch-black darkness. Larey staggered away from her attacker, and the man turned his attention to stomping Hollis’s body. In heels, Larey ran half-blind through the dark, desperate to find help. Eventually, the man in the mask caught up to her, and struck her again, before brutally sexually assaulting her with his weapon.
At that time – April 1946 – the term ‘serial killer’ did not exist. But the second double murder, and the third attack in as many months, tipped off police that someone was specifically targeting the young couple in lovers’ alleys. Bowie County handled the investigation into the double murder of Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore, as the crime occurred again on the Texas side of Texas. Virgil and Katie Sparks, aged 37 and 36 respectively, were home on the evening of May 5, 1946 when they were both shot.

It is unfortunate that my first cousin, once-removed, H. Yet, there is an obvious public interest in wanting to appropriately weigh evidence for any suspects in any of the 1946 Texarkana-area killings. As a forensic psychiatrist and first cousin, once-removed to H. B. Tennison, I believe I am in a unique position to assist in the presentation of helpful information about H. B. Tennison and to offer a better analysis of evidence related to H.
McGee, the owner of the house he was rooming in] for letting me stay with her during my college career, and to Belva Jo [Mrs. McGee's 12-year-old daughter] for putting up with me the way she did, she had to I know, but I Organized crime fell in love with her about a week ago, if she was older I would have asked her to marry me, but that would be impossible. Youell's fingerprints did not match any of the latent prints at the Booker/Martin crime scene.

The Texarkana Moonlight Murders consisted of four violent attacks which occurred over ten weeks from February to May 1946. The murders occurred in and around Texarkana, twin cities at the border of Miller County, Arkansas, and Bowie County, Texas. All four attacks targeted heterosexual couples in isolated locations, on weekend nights.
As of October 2015, new interchanges had been completed at the junctions of I-30/US 59, and I-30/I-49. Interstate 49 had been extended south to Shreveport with its northern extension planned into Kansas City along the U.S. Multiple projects were under construction to relieve the strain on local roadways, including continuous access roads and the expansion of area highways and bridges. Texarkana Regional Airport is located inside the northeastern city limits and is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Texarkana began as a railroad and lumber center, and developed in the 20th century as a regional agricultural processing, retail, wholesale, and service center.

The man hunt for the phantom has been called the most extensive in the history of the Southwest. The sheriffs said the youth was never a suspect in the killings in which hundreds were grilled, but added without elaboration that a detailed investigation will be made into all aspects of the case. Tennison, 18-year-old Texarkana freshman at the University of Arkansas, ended his life in a Fayetteville room Friday and left a note saying he was the Phantom Killer who terrorized Texarkana in 1946. Irregular class attendance was noted by all the teachers. Tennison attended only his English class regularly up to the time of the four weeks examination.
A .32 shell casing, maybe from a Colt, was found inside the blanket. The 2 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer Phantom Killer. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline. In 1946 Phantom Killer started his/her killing spree, during his/her crimes as a serial killer he/she was known to murder his/her victims. The whole town was put under a curfew, and businesses closed early.
The killer's distinct pattern emerged – young couples targeted in remote areas during the night. The Town That Dreaded Sundown True Story sheds light on one of America’s most perplexing and terrifying crime sprees. The unsolved nature of the Texarkana Moonlight Murders continues to captivate the imagination, leaving us wondering about the true identity of the Phantom Killer. As we remember the victims and pay homage to their memory, may their tragic stories serve as a stark reminder of the resilience and strength of communities faced with unimaginable fear. Apart from the 1976 film “The Town That Dreaded Sundown,” the true story also served as inspiration for a 2014 remake with the same title. The Phantom Killer’s reign of terror marked an important turning point in crime reporting.

The little northeast Louisiana town of 4,000 slept fitfully in lighted rooms behind double-locked doors, with loaded weapons close at hand. Mrs. Tennison was visiting in Parsons when notified of her son's death. She hurried here, where she was joined by Craig, and then returned to Texarkana, after conferring briefly with Sheriff Bruce Crider of Washington county. These three deaths and two others had been attributed to the "Phantom" who kept the Texarkana community in a state of "nerves" for weeks. Arkansas and Texas officers were to check the fingerprints of the student, H. B. Tennison, 18, Texarkana, Ark., with prints they had that might have been left by the mysterious slayer.
In 2014, a meta-sequel to The Town That Dreaded Sundown with the same name was released. The director of the Texarkana Parks & Recreation Department, Robby Robertson, advised in 2009 that many people had requested DVD copies of the movie. Robertson said, "It's still shown only on VHS tape and those aren't even available anymore." The free event is sponsored by the Texarkana Department of Parks & Recreation. This showing of the movie has been a tradition since 2003.

By the evening of Virgil Starks’ murder, the reward fund for the Phantom Killer investigation had exceeded $7,000. On May 29, 1946, the Texakiana Gazette ran a front-page story about a new lead investigators were looking for, and it was about a flashlight. But in an instant she had the shocking realization that there was nothing she could do. She ran to the telephone, intent on at least trying to call the police.
Over the course of about three months in 1946, a masked killer stalked young couples on lovers' lanes attacking 8 people and killing 5. There are many theories on who the killer might have been, none were ever proven. The lack of technology and the hush-hush standard of the time perhaps may have been why the killer remained so-long elusive.

Severed heads break windows, blood coats sedan windows, and bullets penetrate eye sockets that look like rotten raw meat. We know what’s coming because the Phantom Killer retraces steps rewatched year after year by Texarkana residents — that’s why there’s such a spiteful aesthetic upgrade. Sidney Prescott references Woodsboro, California as being "the town that dreaded sundown" in the original Scream . The fourth film also pays homage to Texarkana, Arkansas, which has a screening of The Town That Dreaded Sundown around Halloween every year, with Stab-a-thon.