Title: The phantom killer : unlocking the mystery of the Texarkana serial murders: the story of a town in terror /
Authors: Presley, James, 1930-
Publisher: Pegasus Crime,
Year: 2014
Subjects: Serial murders Texas Texarkana History; Serial murders Arkansas Texarkana History; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Texas History; Arkansas History
Abstract: "The salacious and scandalous murders of a series of couples on Texarkana's 'lovers lanes' in seemingly idyllic post-WWII America created a media maelstrom and cast a pall of fear over an entire region. What is even more surprising is that the case has remained cold for decades. Combining archival research and investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize nominated historian James Presley reveals evidence that provides crucial keys to unlocking this decades-old puzzle. Dubbed 'the Phantom murders' by the press, these grisly crimes took place in an America before dial telephones, DNA science, and criminal profiling. Even pre-television, print and radio media stirred emotions to a fever pitch. The Phantom Killer, exhaustively researched, is the only definitive nonfiction book on the case, and includes details from an unpublished account by a survivor, and rare, never-before-published photographs. Although the case lives on today on television, the Internet, a revived fictional movie and even an off-Broadway play, with so much of the investigation shrouded in mystery since 1946, rumors and fractured facts have distorted the reality. Now, for the first time, a careful examination of the archival record, personal interviews, and stubborn fact checking come together to produce new insights and revelations on the old slayings."--Publisher.
Contents: Stranger in the dark -- Conflicting perceptions -- Double death in a car -- A baffling case -- A boy, a girl-- and a gunman -- Palm Sunday horrors -- Rising terror -- A legendary Ranger -- Fear stalks by night -- Murder strikes home -- Nobody is safe! -- A media invasion -- Law and disorder -- Behind a serial killer's facade -- An accidental break -- Incriminating revelations -- The primary suspect -- Tightening the noose -- Mounting pressures -- A quiet "solution" -- Behind walls again -- Back in court -- On the witness stand -- "Beyond belief and incredible" -- Life after "life" -- Cracking a cold case -- Epilogue.