However, no suspect has ever been apprehended in the over forty years since the attacks occurred. Today, some people believe that the ghosts of Sloan and Benham haunt Ten Mile Flat. Juan Castillo, 37, was put to death by lethal injection at the states death chamber in Huntsville, a prisons official said. Weiss had been shot in the head, while Hajek had been stabbed seven times in her upper torso. They were attributed to an alleged unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom of Texarkana or simply the Phantom Killer or Phantom Slayer. They were never seen alive again. Lovers' Lane Murders TV Series 2021- IMDb RATING 4.8 /10 56 YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 2:57 4 Videos 2 Photos Crime Chilling and eerie connect similarities to four brutal double murders between 1986-1990. When Hollis hesitated, the unknown attacker pistol-whipped Hollis repeatedly before sexually assaulting Larey. In the concluding episode, when Annamaria Phelps and Daniel Lauer turn up dead in a lovers' lane area close to the Colonial Parkway, many in law enforcement are convinced that this fourth double murder in three years proves the work of a serial killer. But they are also engaging in more serious intimacies, often for the first time. He is aconsulting producer and the brother of the first victim Cathy Thomas. Oxygen's two-night true-crime special Lovers' Lane Murders focuses on the slaying of eight men and women at the Colonial Parkway in Virginia The double homicides took play over a four-year. On May 11, 1970, the search party found Sloans abandoned car near a wooded ravine in an area known as Ten Mile Flat. Dr. Ramsland is the author of 69 books, mostly in the genres of crime, forensic science and the supernatural. According to their testimony, a man had approached Holliss Plymouth with a flashlight, which had led the pair to believe that he was a police officer. They had also been shot to death. The stranger then forced McBane and Mann to get into the trunk of his car, which he then promptly drove down a more secluded dirt road. It was at a lovers' lane in Benicia, California in December of 1968 where the still-unknown Zodiac killer apparently murdered his first victims. Naval Academy graduate and her girlfriend are . Cathy Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Dowski, 21, were strangled and had their throats cut in 1986; David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were shot in 1987; Keith Call, 20, and Cassandra Hailey, 19, disappeared after a college party in 1988 and are still missing; and the remains of Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were found by hunters in 1989. Police also caught another breakballistic evidence that the same .38 gun had been used in both attacks. It is a mixture of fact and folklore, of fears of both growing up and of dying before you get the chance to. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. to a serial killer. Swinney died in 1994, and no evidence has come out to unequivocally prove whether or not he was the Phantom Killer. Prosecutors said sources pointed law enforcement to the suspects and that Castillos co-defendants told authorities he was the person who shot Garcia. [2], It wasn't until late March when police revealed to the public that the three shootings were linked. The Colonial Parkway murdersbegan herein Hampton Roads nearly 35 yearsago. On the night of December 22, 1989, he parked his Mercedes down a well-known lovers lane in Epping Forest in Greater London so that he and 32-year-old Maxine Arnold could have some time alone. They thought that if the killer was following the three-week schedule, then he would strike between the 6 and 8 of April. There is this allure of serial killers, said, Steve Spingola, former homicide detective and author of. I see the killer evolving, she said, not just in his methods but in his motives., Theory: A Serial Killer Was (Or Posed As) Law Enforcement, Stoking this belief is the fact that victims car windows were found rolled down at crime scenes, according to. In fact, the killer is not believed to have ever struck again. This man would come to be known as the Texarkana Phantom. He believes itcame down to chance, he said. The bullets were tested and it was determined the gun used by the killer was a .38 caliber gun. And so the legend of lovers lane continues in horror films today. Terry Gooderham lived in the fast lane. It was known, not only by the homosexual community, but by the haters of the homosexual community, he said. But it isnt right to call it a legend. According to Texas Monthly, however, local journalist James Presley's book The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror presented a compelling case for Swinney's guilt in 2014. The next attack came almost a month later. The next double murder took place on a remote dirt road in Texarkana. In 1986, a 23-mile scenic road run by the National Park Service in Virginia became indelibly linked with a series of double homicides that came to be called the Colonial Parkway murders. A day later, a police officer looking for stolen cars found Peytons corpse inside of his car, which had been left with its doors open. Peyton had been stabbed 23 times. At the same time, Gilley blamed another former police officer, Brian Butch Green, who was himself the victim of a double homicide in 1971, for the murders. He did manage to send another letter, this one detailing an elaborate espionage caper involving the Red Diamond of Russia. While this letter did state that the 3X Killer was now finished because he had returned all of the mysterious stolen documents, a later unsolved double homicide brought the case back into the publics mind. San Antonio "Lovers' Lane" Killer Set To Die Wednesday. The remains were too decomposed to reveal the manner of death. A shoeless Eldridge had been shot in the face and died several strides behind the car. Again, the victims were a couple of sweethearts out for a night of intimacy on a local lovers' lane, but this time the Phantom Killer didn't leave anyone alive. It was around midnight on February 22 that a man approached the couple as they were parked on the local lovers lane. Sixteen-year-old Paul Martin and fifteen-year-old Betty Jo Booker were killed on a remote road. or whoever approached them pretended to be a cop -- or was a cop, he said. Unlike his previous attacks, the Phantom attacked the Starks with a .22 instead of a .32, and the crime itself occurred outside of Texarkana in Miller County, Arkansas. Also nearby was the body of Frank J. Kaspar, a 28-year-old mechanic from Trenton who was found dead in his parked car. Investigators concluded that the killer had tried to chase after Katy by following the trail of blood she left behind. She'd been sexually assaulted and murdered. Myatovichs story was not believed by investigators. Her fianc was wounded in the head, but survived. Police were called after witnesses noticed the car occupants weren't coming out. Within seconds, youre dead. After hearing a scream in the darkness, another pair of parked lovers went to investigate. Series co-host Maureen OConnell, a former FBI special agent, sees telltale signs to support this theory. The Phantoms final attack was his most unusual. The killer could have been lying in wait specifically for them. The only decoded cipher the Zodiac sent authorities stated simply at its beginning:I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND ALL THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR MY AFTERLIFE. Described as a strong man who wore a white sack as a disguise (a look that was reproduced in the 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown), the Phantom Killer typically attacked young couples parked in remote lovers lanes with a .32 Colt. On October 9, 1946, Lawrence O. Hogan, a 21-year-old from Miami Beach, and Elaine Eldridge, a 24-year-old from Massachusetts, were shot with a .32 pistol while their car was parked along a desolate stretch of beach not far from Fort Lauderdale. My gut tells me that these cases are not connected, she said. [2] Both were still alive when found and they were rushed to the hospital, where both died of their wounds. Myatovich was rushed to a nearby hospital where she told police that a short, stocky, black man had held them up with a shotgun. "Lovers' Lane Murders," a new four-part Oxygen series, uses fresh interviews with criminologists and victims' family members as well as crime-scene reconstructions and analysis to puzzle out the still-unsolved Colonial Parkway murders. While it can be easy to pass The Hook legend off as just another precautionary warning about the dangers of premarital sex, theres always something true behind urban legends. See yall on the other side. Now, a team of former FBI special agents intends to bringing them to justice and providing answers to the victims' families. Whats that? you ask. In 1986, a 23-mile scenic road run by the National Park Service in Virginia became indelibly linked with a series of double homicides that came to be called the Colonial Parkway murders. Stars It continues to follow her where ever she goes, a slow walk, but a steady one that never ceases. It s a place where instead of love, the couple met a terrible fate. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. In 2014, retired Great Falls police Detective John Cameron wrote a book claiming Edward Wayne Edwards, a serial killer implicated in several murders similar to Kalitske's and Bogle's, had done the deed. Unlike OConnell, Coombs doesnt see the work of a serial killer. Another double murder followed suit. Cathy Thomas, 27, and Rebecca Dowski, 21, were strangled and had their throats cut in 1986; David Knobling, 20, and Robin Edwards, 14, were shot in 1987; Keith Call, 20, and Cassandra Hailey, 19, disappeared after a college party in 1988 and are still missing; and the remains of Annamaria Phelps, 18, and Daniel Lauer, 21, were found by hunters in 1989. The teens said they got a quick look at the shooter, but were only able to identify him as a tall black male. Texas executed an inmate on Wednesday dubbed the "Lovers' Lane" killer who was convicted of a 2003 ambush in which he tried to rob a man in a parked car on a remote road in San Antonio and then . In July of 1969, Darlene Ferrin, 22,and Michael Mageau, 19, were shot multiple times while parked in a secluded parking lot of the Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, CA. The victim, 26-year-old Noel Sowley, was shot while he and 20-year-old Elizabeth Ring were parked in a secluded area near Creedmoor, Queens. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, VICE, The Weekly Standard, Listverse, Metal Injection, and others. Over the next half century, detectives investigated about 35 potential suspects, including James (Whitey) Bulger, the notorious South Boston mobster who was convicted in 2013 of participating in 11. He was never caught, and in 1937 another double murder was possibly connected to him, but this time the victims were both found dead and with red lipstick circled on their foreheads. A man who committed a series of murders thirteen years ago begins to hunt down his victims' children. The term "serial killer" hadn't been coined yet (according to Refinery29, it entered the lexicon via a 1981 article in The New York Times), but authorities in Texarkana strongly believed that a single killer had been behind all of the attacks. A more micro look reveals that victims werent all killed in the same way. Since police could not locate any eyewitnesses, the case turned cold. McBane and Mann were found weeks later, which sparked a large-scale investigation involving local and statewide agencies. Virgil and Katie Starks were shot in their own home in May. Then thereis forensicexpert Dr. Laura Pettler, who does a crime scenereconstruction. The posters claimed that the killer still stalked the streets of Texarkana, and though neighboring cities protested to get the tagline removed, it remained, sparking a new wave of anxiety for the area. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The next morning, their bodies were found in a wooded area not far from the lovers lane. Daniel Plott, retired Virginia State Police, concurred. The same gun was used in all three, and the modus operandi was the same. Your date screams and scrambles out of the car, but its already too late. Coombs and OConnell reviewed commonalities and dissimilarities in terms of location, treatment of bodies, method of murder, time and date, victims, motive, and crime scene. Rather than strangle McBane and Mann quickly, the killer tightened the rope for stretches at a time, then let it go slack, thus causing his victims to go in and out of consciousness. Now, a team of former FBI special agents intends to bringing them to justice and providing answers to the victims' families. The brutal killings remain one of Houston's most infamous unsolved slayings.. It was at a lovers lane in Benicia, CA in December of 1968 where the still-unknown Zodiac killer apparently murdered his first victims. Critics have been quick to name the metaphor as an STD, as the loss of childhood, as time. On March 24, 1946, US Navy veteran Richard L. Griffin and his girlfriend Polly Ann Moore were found dead in Griffins car. Urban legends give narrative to our subconscious fears, and the fear of sexuality among teenagers is high on that list. It also fuels a theory about a possible copycat killer who used the 1986 Colonial Parkway slaying as a way to misdirect investigations into the 1988 double homicide. Both victims survived the attack and gave descriptions of a man who appeared to be under 30 years old. Kang Jae just happens to be the boyfriend of Mi Joo's pregnant neighbor, Yoo Jin. From January to March of 1977 the Lover's Lane Murder sought out couples and then shot them. They wereall lover lane-type couples. You then hear ominous music and dark images. The lover's lane murders just wouldn't be solved. -year-old Veronica Hill naked with gunshot wounds. Furthermore, the victim in the 1990 rape case had previously worked for Atkinsons father, so its very likely that the murderer knew his victims. Although it is compelling and plausible, there is no evidence that it was law enforcement, said, former prosecutor and series co-host Loni, Theory: Murders Are Linked By Location, Not One Killer. Atkinson was an aspiring model. He then caught up with Larey as she tried to escape. In the 1980s, the Colonial Parkway was known as a gay lovers lane, according to Spingola. [1] One attack caused two fatalities, another resulted in one fatality, and the other attack caused no fatalities. The Creepy Truth About The Texarkana Murder Mystery, The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror. The two-day event, "Lover's Lane Murders," is a four-episode series on the locally infamous Colonial Parkway murders. Gilley was ultimately acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland discusses serial killers, the fascination of true crime and the Colonial Parkway Murders with "Mind Over Murder" co-hosts Bill Thomas and Kristin Dilley in this brand new episode. February 5, 2021, 3:41 PM ET Cold Cases On The Colonial Parkway, The Mark Of Unsolved Murders Remains Thanks To Urban Legends Lovers' lanes have played a backdrop in urban legends for decades and there are real-life reasons for that. Sometime during the night, they were attacked and dragged from their car. Then theresThomashimself, whoworked on this project for fouryearsas a consulting producer and asubject matter expert. But as they drove him to the station, the young man asked a strange question for someone accused of car theft: "Will they give me the chair?" High school classmates David Faraday and Betty Lou Jenson had stopped on Lake Herman Road, a popular spot for parking at the time. Where to watch Lovers' Lane Murders? Based on this, it was determined that the two had been engaged in sexual intercourse at Adams Park, when an unknown individual walked up and opened fire through the front window screen of the car. Ifacilitatedall of the interviews with family members, and investigative journalists like yourself, he told WAVYs Andy Fox. The remains were too decomposed to reveal the manner of death. Investigators have spent decades puzzling out the Colonial Parkway murders. The killer has never been identified. Is there anywhere more casually vulnerable in American popular culture than a parking spot on a dark road meant for making out? Years later, Edwards became a convicted serial killer. See if Netflix, iTunes, Amazon or any other service lets you stream, rent, or buy it! The only solid fact found during the original investigation revealed that Benham and Sloan had been shot more than 10 times before their bodies were dumped into Sloans 1966 Pontiac GTO. This is, of course, one of the reasons urban legends tend to center lovers lanes as a nefarious location. Beckys wound isnt as deep as Cathys wound, Pettler added. The odds of four double homicides in as many years are extremely rare, which is why the slayings are often attributed to a serial killer. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The bullets the perpetrator fired were tested and it was determined that they came from the same gun that killed LaBrian Lovett and Veronica Hill a month earlier, which was a .38 caliber gun. Next to him was a bloody but still alive 15-year-old Mary Myatovich. Lovers' Lane Murders A former FBI profiler and former FBI special agents gain access to the family members of victims and track down new leads in an attempt to solve the 30-year old murders of four young couples along Virginia's picturesque Colonial Parkway. [1][2] Hill was in the backseat of the car under a coat. Darlene was married and engaged in an affair with Michael, and so initially police believed Darlenes husband to be the murderer. For its Blu-ray debut, Arrow Video has newly restored Lovers Lane in 2K from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative with original lossless stereo audio. Chilling and eerie similarities connected the four cases, but no one has ever been arrested for the crimes. In June of that year, police arrested Youell Lee Swinney, 29, for stealing cars. An accountant and auditor who primarily worked with drinking establishments in London, Gooderham had not one but two girlfriends. He shot six rounds in to the passenger side window, killing Collins. A man described as "shabbily dressed" and about 40 years old, attacked two . The Zodiac Killer, who terrorized Northern California between 1968 and 1969 and committed two double homicides wherein couples were shot to death while parked in lovers lanes, is often named as the man responsible for the deaths of Peyton and Allan. A suspect has never been identified in any of the murders. He works as a freelance writer and has been published in The Weekly Standard, The Atlantic, Listverse, and other publications. The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, as they had come to be known by the media, caused a hysteria so intense that gun stories sold out of weapons and ammunition, and the streets were completely empty by nightfall. He told Lovers Lane Murders that it suggests the driver was responding to authority. The trailer continues: Law enforcement,journalists have come to the conclusion that all four were done by a serial killer., But tome, thereareobviousdifferences,like thereareno fingerprints in common., There is no DNAincommon,noweaponsin common.. The pair was convicted and initially given long prison sentences, but they were released within a few years. Weiss had been shot in the head, while Hajek had been stabbed seven times in her upper torso. Desperate to solve the case, investigators relied on a collection of unreliable eyewitnesses and charged Eddie Jorgenson and Robert Brom with the double homicide. But before the end of 1971, the case had already gone cold. During the investigation, it was noted that the couple were seen heading to Adams Park, a notorious hang out spot for couples to be involved in sexual intercourse. About the Case Benjamin Welton is a West Virginia native currently living in Boston. Stoking this belief is the fact that victims car windows were found rolled down at crime scenes, according to Irvin Wells, retired FBI special agent. 2 The Atlanta Murders Of 1977 On January 16th 1977 he shot a couple in their car at Adams Park. My theory is that David saw something he wasnt supposed to see, Karl Knobling told Lovers Lane Murders. OConnells response: Wrong place, wrong time. Knoblings theory points to why innocent people become victims all too often. Theory: A Savage Hate Crime Set Off The Series Of Killings, In the 1980s, the Colonial Parkway was known as a gay lovers lane, according to, It was known, not only by the homosexual community, but by the haters of the homosexual community, he said. Andy was interviewed in the summer of 2019 to offer his recollections coveringthe Parkway murders since October1986, when hefirstreported theDowski-Thomas murders. The odds of four double homicides in as many years are extremely rare, which is why the slayings are. Although police initially believed that jealousy was to blame, later developments pointed toward organized crime. Lovers lanes have actually been host to a number of real murders, some as high profile as the Zodiac and Son of Sam. Although police arrested a habitual car thief named Youell Swinney after his wife accused him of being the Phantom, they could not try Swinney for the murders after his wife refused to sign her multiple confessions. DuringtheOxygen NetworksLovers Lane Murders, you will hear the Phelps-Lauer case is the odd one out the one thatdoesntfit in the sequence of the others. Currently, cold case detectives and amateur investigators are looking into two possible suspects, one of whom was affiliated with Watts Hospital in 1971. HOUSTON - Cold case detectives are trying a relatively new DNA approach to the notorious Lovers Lane murders. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. To everyone that has been there for me you know who you are, love yall. Their bodiesfound in woods at thenext exit. Seeing the similarities between their cases, Homer Garrison Jr., the Director of Public Safety for the state of Texas, contacted Sheriff Walter Clark in Florida to see if the Texarkana Phantom Killer was still at large. The gunman shot Mozynski and ordered May out of the car. The FBI was brought in, as well as the Texas Rangers. The series is based on the Lee Man-hee stage play Turn Around and Leave, the same work that inspired the 1998 blockbuster film A Promise starring Jeon Do-yeon and Park Shin-yang. After leaving a Valentines Day dance held at Watts Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, sometime around 11:30 PM, detectives believe that 19-year-old Jesse McBane and his girlfriend Patricia Mann drove to a rural lovers lane near Medford Road.