In 1946, years before the phrase “serial murder” was coined, a masked killer terrorized the town of Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border. Striking five times within a ten-week period, always at night, the prowler claimed six lives and left three other victims wounded. Survivors told police that their assailant was a man, but could supply little else. A local newspaper dubbed him the Phantom Killer, and it stuck. Other reporters called the faceless predator the “Moonlight Murderer,” though the lunar cycle had nothing to do with the crimes.

Texarkana’s phantom was not America’s first serial slayer; he certainly was not the worst, either in body count or sheer brutality. But he has left a crimson mark on history as one of those who got away. Like the elusive Axeman of New Orleans, Cleveland’s Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, and San Francisco’s Zodiac Killer, the Phantom Killer left a haunting mystery behind. This is the definitive story of that mystery.

Michael Newton is an award-winning author of numerous books on topics ranging from cryptozoology to civil rights and organized crime. He lives in Indiana.

Michael Newton
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7325-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0578-4
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1

1. Lover’s Lane 3

2. “Texarkana: Twice as Nice!” 8

3. Rich Road 17

4. Last Dance 26

5. Lone Wolf 35

6. Rampage 52

7. Madhouse 68

8. Prime Suspect? 83

9. Poison Pens 104

10. No Stone Unturned 116

11. Still at Large? 155

Conclusion 177

Chapter Notes 189

Bibliography 201

Index 205

“Newton, who has been researching the case for 30 years, synthesizes the known facts and indentifies several suspects”—Reference & Research Book News.

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