The Phantom Killer: The Unsolved Texarkana Moonlight Murders

Criminalia

Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts

True Crime, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

Texarkana was a bit of a bustling town back in 1946, but it wasn't a particularly dangerous town. But beginning in February that year, a series of brutal attacks occurred over a span of 10 weeks. Three victims were seriously wounded and five were killed; and they were all attacked at night. Let's talk about who they were and the investigations that led ... no where.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with IHeartRadio.
0:10.5	A series of murders and related violent crimes involving four couples was committed in the Texarkana region of the United States between February and May of 1946, and remain
0:23.1	unsolved. Before we begin, please note that this story will include discussion or mentions of
0:29.7	sexual assault, violent physical assault, suicide, and some truly terrifying bits in general. Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tramarky.
0:42.3	And I'm Holly Fry. Texarkana is one city that's located on the border of two states, and it
0:48.8	forms two metropolitan constabularys. Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas.
0:56.2	In 1946, the year we're traveling back to, it had a population of almost 50,000 people.
1:02.7	It was a bit of a bustling town, but it wasn't a dangerous town.
1:07.0	But beginning in February that year, a series of brutal attacks occurred across a span of
1:13.2	10 weeks. Three instances were violent attacks on young people, parked in secluded areas, on the
1:20.6	Texas side of town. The fourth was the shooting of a middle-aged couple in their rural farmhouse
1:26.2	on the Arkansas side of town.
1:29.1	Three victims were seriously wounded and five were killed, and they were all attacked at night.
1:35.7	So let's talk about who they were and their crime scenes.
1:40.0	The first victims were Jimmy Hollis, age 25, and Mary Jean Lorry, 19.
1:47.4	On the night of February 22nd, the pair had seen a movie and then driven just outside of town to a kind of makeshift lover's lane.
1:56.3	Just before midnight, Jimmy noticed someone approaching them, motioning for them to get out of the car.
2:01.9	They were wearing a mask and shining a flashlight through the window. At gunpoint, the
2:06.9	perpetrator forced them out of the car and instructed Jimmy to, quote, take off your expletive
2:12.0	pants. Jimmy complied and was severely beaten, but despite several injuries, including a fractured skull, he survived.
2:21.3	The perpetrator ordered Mary to run and then, terrifyingly, chased her.
2:26.4	He ordered her to change course, and when he caught up to her, like she was his prey,
	...

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