Midwest USA: The Truck Stop Killer Hunt
Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast
Shane L. Waters, Wendy Cee, Gemma Hoskins
4.5 • 992 Ratings
🗓️ 4 October 2023
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Listeners will be taken through a chilling narrative that includes Rhoades's beginnings, from his unsettled childhood marked by his father's suicide to his drift into the world of long-haul trucking, where he found an outlet for his sadistic impulses. The episode paints a sinister portrait of Rhoades's life, revealing the disturbing duality of his existence and his ventures into the underground scenes that possibly fed his cruel fantasies.
As the episode unfolds, we learn of the tragic fate of Regina Kay Walters, the young girl whose brutal end was discovered in a secluded barn, and the close call that led to the capture of Rhoades, as recounted by an Arizona Highway Patrol Trooper. The description leads up to the anticipation of further investigation into the depth of Rhoades's crimes in the following episode, promising more insights into the exhaustive efforts to bring him to justice. This account serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of those who cross paths with such hidden predators.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello friend, and welcome to foul play. |
| 0:24.8 | This is the story of the truck stop killer, Robert Ben Rhodes, and how he prayed upon the |
| 0:31.3 | vulnerable, using the open road as his own personal hunting ground to commit horrifying |
| 0:37.3 | acts. Today we're going to delve into the twisted mind of this notorious killer and |
| 0:44.4 | explore the chilling events that led to his eventual capture. |
| 0:57.6 | It was a dark February night in 1990, when 14-year-old runaway, Lisa Pennell, found herself alone |
| 1:06.7 | and desperate for a ride at a truck stop in Oklahoma. Little did she know that the trucker |
| 1:13.6 | who would offer her a lift would be none other than the statistic predator, Robert Ben |
| 1:19.8 | Rhodes. As Lisa climbed into the cab of the 18 wheeler, she could never have imagined |
| 1:26.6 | the horrors that awaited her. Rhodes, a seemingly ordinary looking truck driver, had transformed |
| 1:34.9 | the interior of his vehicle into a mobile torture chamber, shackles, chains, and an array |
| 1:43.3 | of terrifying instruments, lined the walls, ready to be used on his unsuspecting victims. |
| 1:51.7 | For days, Lisa was held captive, subjected to roses pervasive desires and unspeakable |
| 1:59.0 | acts of violence. She was beaten, tortured, and eventually strangled to death. Her lifeless |
| 2:07.7 | body discarded, like trash, on the side of the road. |
| 2:19.2 | Robert Benjamin Rhodes, born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1945, experienced a relatively |
| 2:26.2 | unremarkable upbringing despite the absence of his father, a soldier in the US Army stationed |
| 2:32.0 | in West Germany. It wasn't until his elementary school years that his father returned from |
| 2:37.5 | duty and secured a job as a firefighter. Rhodes early-night seemed typical, though he faced |
| 2:43.9 | some unspecified social challenges. He engaged in a variety of school activities such as football, |
| 2:50.8 | wrestling, choir, and French club. His teenage years were marred by minor brushes with the |
| 2:56.4 | law, including arrests for tampering with a vehicle at 16 and public fighting at 17. |
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