Texarkana Moonlight Murders
Also known as: Phantom Killer, Texarkana Phantom Killer
- Active
- 1946–1946
- Region
- Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas, USA
- Kind
- Serial
- Status
- Unsolved
- Victims
- 5
Between February 22 and May 3, 1946, an unidentified attacker the Texarkana Gazette called the "Phantom Killer" attacked eight people at night on weekends around Texarkana, on the Texas-Arkansas line, killing five. Most of the victims were young couples in parked cars on secluded roads in Bowie County, Texas; the last attack was on a farmhouse in Miller County, Arkansas. Police on both sides of the state line, the Texas Rangers under Captain Manuel T. Gonzaullas, the Arkansas State Police and the FBI investigated hundreds of people, but the killer was never identified. The case is unsolved.
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Victims
We remember the people whose lives were taken.
- Richard Griffin, 29 · March 24, 1946
- Polly Ann Moore, 17 · March 24, 1946
- Paul Martin, 16 · April 14, 1946
- Betty Jo Booker, 15 · April 14, 1946
A teenage saxophonist who had played at a VFW club performance that evening.
- Virgil Starks, 37 · May 3, 1946
Timeline of locations
- February 22, 1946Lovers' lane near today's Central Mall, Texarkana, Texas (Crime scene, approximate area)
Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jeanne Larey were attacked in their parked car on a secluded road just outside Texarkana, Texas. Both survived.
- March 24, 1946Lane off US 67 West, Bowie County (Crime scene, approximate area)
Richard Griffin and Polly Ann Moore were found shot dead in Griffin's car on a lovers' lane about 100 yards south of US Highway 67 West in Bowie County, Texas.
- April 14, 1946Spring Lake Park area, Texarkana, Texas (Crime scene, approximate area)
Paul Martin's car was found at Spring Lake Park. His body was found by North Park Road, and Betty Jo Booker's almost two miles away.
- May 3, 1946Starks farm, Miller County, Arkansas (Crime scene, approximate area)
Virgil Starks was shot through a window of his farmhouse off Highway 67 East, about 10 miles northeast of Texarkana. His wife, Katie, was shot twice in the face and survived by running to a neighbor's house.
Watch, listen, read
Watch
- The Town That Dreaded Sundown (film, 1976, Charles B. Pierce)
Read
- Lone Wolf Gonzaullas, Texas Ranger (1998, Brownson Malsch)
Sources
- Texarkana Moonlight Murders (Wikipedia)
- Texarkana Moonlight Murders (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
- This Day in Arkansas History: February 22, 1946 (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.