You see, not only was he a current employee of St. Elizabeth's Hospital - a psychiatric facility that focused on mental health. Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons Sullivan and Simmons, two ex-cops, were arrested for the murder of Angela Denise Barnes. Bertha recalls her sister crying on the other end of the phone, and sounding somewhat distracted. To residents, the murder of six girls in their community was a travesty. Brenda's 7-year old sister, Bertha, had remained at-home while the rest of her family was out scouring the neighborhood. Her body was discovered behind St. Elizabeths Hospital on a grassy embankment next to the northbound lanes of I-295, about 1,500 feet south of Suitland Parkway. It had been more than two months since the discovery of Brenda Crockett's remains off of U.S. Route 50. Unfortunately, an autopsy of the remains wouldn't be very efficient at locating any specific details. [3] On her way home from the store, Spinks was abducted; her body was found six days later at 2:46 pm behind St. Elizabeths Hospital on a grassy embankment next to the northbound lanes of I-295, about 1,500 feet south of Suitland Parkway. Why was this case never solved? She was found wearing the clothing she had disappeared in, but her shoes had been removed. Angela Denise Barnes was a 14-year old that disappeared on July 12th, 1971, just days after Darlenia Johnson had gone missing. The victim, a 17-year old waitress, had been waiting at a bus stop when a young white man pulled up in his vehicle and asked for directions. He wanted to tout his record for voters, and announced to the media that he was closing in on an arrest for the Freeway Phantom cold case. The investigation was conducted by a law enforcement task force that included Detectives from the MPDC Homicide and Sex Squads, investigators from Prince George's County and Montgomery County, Maryland, Maryland State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case files had been lost by DC police in the years since, and were nowhere to be found. hugh o'brian estate; senior analyst job description accenture. After the 1978 rape charge, Askins' home was searched by police in connection with the Freeway Phantom murders. They moved their investigation inside Lorton Prison, and began speaking to individual members of the Green Vega gang. Various conspiracy lovers later alleged that some of the sympathetic police officers had covered up the evidence; no proof of it was ever recovered. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, her body dumped about 200 yards south of the Suitland Parkway near Interstate 295. One such suspect was the rookie police officers duo Edward Sullivan and Tommie Simmons. This case is open as a cold case in the MPDC Homicide Division as of September 2018. She was heading home from a friend's home late at-night, in the middle of the summer, and her body was discovered the following morning, out in Waldorf, Maryland. It appeared to be in her own handwriting, written in pencil, and seemed to be written on a piece of paper that had been torn out from her notebook. All but one are still considered victims of the "Freeway Phantom Murderer. She was especially absorbed with the picture of a thin brown girl with a big Afro and big brown eyes. Parents, siblings, and other loved ones have passed away in the years since, but those that remain continue to hope that the case can be solved if not now, then one day. Want to Read. [16] She was last seen boarding a bus at 11:20 pm near his house. That was when she learned of her 18-year old daughter's brutal murder. Investigators hypothesized that the killer left her shoes because her name was inscribed on the pair. It wasn't until the following day that her absence was truly noted, and suspicions began to be raised about her whereabouts. Note: The note left in Woodward's pocket claimed that the Phantom killed additional victims. Quitman. This was just a stone's throw away from the first two abduction scenes - those of Carol Spinks and Darlenia Johnson - from more than a year beforehand. Organized In this meeting of more than 100 people, residents expressed their disdain for the police response to the murders. Now, on the other side of town, another child found themselves walking along the side of the road as evening approached. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Why don't they investigate whites as well?". Edward Emerson Simmons (October 27, 1852 - November 17, 1931) was an American Impressionist painter, remembered for his mural work. No. Police were unable to uncover much evidence other than what I've just described, but noted that the victim had been strangled to death, just like the first two cases. This boogeyman would become known as the D.C. region's "first profiled serial killer," and their crimes continue to haunt investigators and loved ones close to half-a-century later insensititivity [sic] to people Barnes, 14, was at one point thought to be a victim of the serial killings. I will Admit the others The case of the Freeway Phantom remains open in the MPDC Homicide Division, but it is considered a cold case with no active lines of investigation. Her thoughts seemed to be scattered, and she gave concerning details about her whereabouts. Jenkins believes that the killer was either in the military, or lived some kind of transient lifestyle. Romaine Jenkins, the retired homicide detective that I detailed in this episode's introduction, has maintained a lifelong obsession with the case. He died in April of 2010, at the ripe old age of 91, outliving his 1938 murder victim by close to a century. Authorities later determined that Barnes was not a victim of the Freeway Phantom and resumed their investigation on the murders. The investigations resulted in 53 individual charges of selling heroin, and 43 individual charges of selling crack cocaine, among other charges. During her time as a homicide detective, Jenkins mainly investigated the deaths of children and babies. He seemed to be an amiable man, who was known for his propensity to use the word "tantamount" - seemingly at random - but a further look at Askins revealed a bit of a sketchy past. In 1971, Carol Denise Spinks was a thirteen-year old that lived in Washington, DC. The police later recovered one of the .38 caliber pistols reported stolen by the two police officers. The serial killer dubbed the "Freeway Phantom" had strangled and stabbed five young black girls over the span of six months, before disappearing for the better part of a year. edward sullivan and tommie simmons. Angelas body was also wearing her shoes which did not fit the bill of the victims of the concerned serial killer. It was a short walk that she had made dozens of times before. However, the modus operandi of the homicide differed significantly from the other killings she was shot and not sexually assaulted, unlike the other six victims. james liston pressly; Tags . This leads us to the events of October 1st, 1971. A store clerk would later recognize the girl from photographs, and state she had purchased the items that evening, just after 7:00 PM. Of those effected by the Freeway Phantom crime spree, none were hit harder than the loved ones - whose children and siblings were taken by the unknown killer, and their lives ended way too prematurely. This time, the call would be answered by Brenda's mother's boyfriend, who had returned to the news of the first call. Diane would spent the next few hours with her boyfriend, before the time came to head home. No physical evidence was obtained and Askins was not charged in connection with the Freeway Phantom killings. The Freeway Phantom is a self imposed nickname for an unidentified serial killer who was active in Washington, D.C. from April 1971 through September 1972. Homicide detective Lloyd Davis proceeded to question Askins and learned that he had been charged with murder on several previous occasions. The same coroner would state that she had been sexually assaulted before her death. Brenda got off to catch a transfer, and said goodbye to her classmate. This inmate - Morris Warren - began feeding investigators information about the Freeway Phantom crimes, which he alleged were perpetrated by a member of the Green Vega's. It was only now, following the murder of Nenomoshia Yates, that the deaths of these four young black girls was officially linked. Through the 1960's and 1970's, more than 70% of the region's population was African American, who had had to endure an entire lifetime of racial tension and struggles. This, at least, provided investigators with some kind of a lead, but finding the driver of a blue Volkswagon - in 1971 - was like finding a needle in a haystack. ", "(Wanted Poster) Up to $150,000 Reward 'Freeway Phantom' Murders", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freeway_Phantom&oldid=1139343201, CS1 Chinese (Taiwan)-language sources (zh-tw), Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from February 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 17:04. In the first murder attributed to this spree - that of Carol Spinks - it was discovered that she had been held captive for some time before her death. She didn't blink. During this period, an election was being held in Maryland, and one of the candidates publicly announced to the press, that a break had occurred in the Freeway Phantom investigation, and provided that an inmate atLorton Prisonhad given the information. It's very possible that he had nothing to do with the Freeway Phantom crimes, but his name is one I haven't seen mentioned before, and thought it worth bringing up. Investigators would theorize that the phone calls made to Brenda's family were facilitated by the kidnapper, who wanted to feed false information to the police. If that is the case, it perhaps explains the next development in the story. This particular inmate was also serving a sentence at Lorton Prison for the Green Vega convictions. In the cases of all the Freeway Phantom victims, the girls were stabbed or strangled, and in some cases had been sexually assaulted, according to police. It was Crockett again, and she merely repeated what she'd said in the last telephone call, adding "Did my mother see me?" All these leads were investigated to their logical conclusion. It wasn't until 2001 that the case was officially re-opened, when Detective James Trainum took it on as a personal challenge. She still regrets not going to the store with her older sister, believing that if they had been together, things might have ended differently. And, over the next several years, it seemed to the community that the police weren't taking it seriously. [4] Examination revealed she had been both physically and sexually assaulted and strangled, was dressed but missing her shoes, and had only been killed a few days previously. Occupation A missing persons report was filed, and Darlenia Johnson's case was tentatively labeled an abduction. Scattered, and said goodbye to her classmate the pair that he had been sexually assaulted before death... 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