← Going West: True Crime
Going West: True Crime
The Pittsburgh Phantom // 536
00:45:32
In the late 1970s, suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lived in the fear as an apparent strangling serial killer hunted young women - walking to school, leaving work. With so many other murders occurring in the area at the time, police originally didn’t know if any of these cases were connected. But soon, DNA would pin at least two of them together, and a consistent MO would help pool a collection of these horrific murders under the same umbrella. This is the story of the Pittsburgh Phantom.
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Pay off early or cancel Contact Us.
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Saturday.
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A
It's gonna be okay. Who would do this to me?
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B
A Lifetime Original Movie A Husband to Die for, the Lisa Aguilar Story.
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A
Do you know where your husband was.
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B
At the time of the attack? He's been wrong.
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A
Fleet Charged.
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B
Sometimes betrayal wears a familiar face.
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A
No one could have expected this.
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B
Don't miss A Husband to Die for the Lisa Aguilar Story Starring Mary Lou Henner, Kiana Lynn Bastidas and John McLaren. Saturday at 8, only on Life time. What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, Teeth.
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A
And I'm your host, Daphne.
- [01:50]
B
And you're listening to Going West. Sorry, I was. I was laughing because I made a face.
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A
You always make that damn face. And I don't know why, but it's so freaking funny. Which you guys could see it. Maybe you make a TikTok.
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B
Yeah, maybe I'll have to do that anyway.
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A
Hello everybody. Wait, did I say me? Did I say who I am?
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B
Oh, yeah, you did say that. You're Daphne.
- [02:10]
A
All right. You guys know that. Thank you everybody for tuning in. Big shout out to Megan for recommending today's case. This one's actually often referred to as the Washington Strangler, but I find that name to be a little ambiguous. And also when you Google that, multiple things came up. Also didn't happen in Washington. It happened in Washington County. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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B
Yeah, so not Washington State.
- [02:35]
A
I just felt like way too confusing. So we're calling this case the Pittsburgh Phantom, which is something that it is sometimes referred to as well.
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B
And on top of that, we got to Let you guys know that we have a couple bonus episodes for you guys to check out. We've got the cases of Sydney Sutherland and Sophie Hook, and that's over on our Patreon. You can subscribe there on Patreon or you can just subscribe on Apple. It's very, very easy.
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A
Yes, we're gonna have some really interesting ones coming up. This is my favor of year to do this show. Oh, yeah, because we're getting into all the moody, mysterious stories. If you guys have any recommendations, please send them in. Going west podcastmail.com.
- [03:16]
B
All right, guys, without further ado, this is episode 536 of Going West. So let's get into it.
- [03:53]
A
In the late 1970s, suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, lived in fear as an apparent strangling serial killer hunted young women walking to school, leaving work. But with so many other murders occurring in the area at the time, police originally didn't know if any of these cases were connected. Soon, DNA would pin at least two of them together, and a consistent MO Would help pool a collection of these horrific murders. Under the same umbrella is the story of the Pittsburgh Phantom. In the span of just 18 months, over 30 murders took place in suburban Pittsburgh, Washington. Not all that we're going to talk about today. This is just in general. How many murders are occurring across the board in this area?
- [05:16]
B
Oh, you said Pittsburgh, Washington. I think you meant.
- [05:19]
A
Are you serious?
- [05:20]
B
I think you meant Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- [05:22]
A
You're lying.
- [05:22]
B
No, you did.
- [05:23]
A
I seriously?
- [05:24]
B
Yeah, you did.
- [05:24]
A
Okay. Sorry, guys.
- [05:27]
B
I don't know what's going on today.
- [05:30]
A
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The only Pittsburgh I freaking know of. So the demographic of the victims were varied, hence why it's not believed these were all. I mean, they really. They were not, I'll tell you right now, not all committed by the same person. Some of the victims were young girls walking by themselves. Some were couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. So it seemed that nobody was safe from this random violence that left families of sort of so many victims without answers. But today, like I said, we're going to focus on a fraction of those victims who all seem to be killed by the same person from November of 1976 to June of 1977. So we're talking about about 8ish months here. Six young women between the ages of 16 and 30 were targeted, five of whom were strangled. And law enforcement couldn't help but draw a connection between them. Five of the six victims of this purported serial strangler took place in either Allegheny or Washington counties, again in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- [06:40]
B
I think it's funny that I was.
- [06:41]
A
Like, this is not Washington. Then I slip up. So let's dive into the first story here. On November 19, 1976, just four days after her 30th birthday, Barbara Lewis body was pulled from a dumpster in the Blackridge neighborhood of Pittsburgh, just east of downtown. That cold autumn morning, Barbara had left her family home where she lived with her parents on Long Road in the Pen Hills township of Pittsburgh. And Long Road is a single lane highway, so one lane on each side. Still a main road though, with a tree lined hill on either side. So it's kind of like a somewhat rural road I guess you would say. Now she headed out early around 6:15am to catch the bus that would take her downtown to her job as a word processing technician. And although the bus stop was just outside her home on Long Road, it is so close to her house, she wasn't waiting outside when the bus arrived. Meaning that at some point in the minutes between leaving her home and the time when the bus arrived, 30 year old Barbara had either been abducted or gotten into a vehicle with a predator thinking that she was safe.
- [07:59]
B
And I mean this must have been super crazy because also on top of that her family, some of her family members were home at the time. So like just to come out and be like, oh, did she, did she catch her bus? They see the bus arrive and it's like she's not getting on the bus, she's not there.
- [08:15]
A
Yeah, I actually looked at the, the Google street view again. This is in the 70s. I'm looking at it from, you know, 50 years later. And it does look like a really weird place for something like this to happen. But also maybe not a super weird place because it may be a good opportunity because there's this kind of cluster of houses and then like I said, lots of tree lined hills on either side. So maybe a decent place for somebody to pull over. But why she would get into a stranger's car when she's waiting for the bus, we don't know, which is why maybe she was abducted.
- [08:50]
B
And then on top of that it gets even crazier because her family and friends and co workers, before they could even realize that she was missing, she was actually found partially nude and deceased, discarded in a dumpster about a mile or about 1.6 km down the road from her house where she had gone missing from. So it's like within that very short period of time, her body was already found.
- [09:14]
A
Yeah. And that is even, it feels like even more horrifying and more confusing really, to not even have that period of, oh, I wonder if they're here, but then just suddenly they're deceased. And in such a horrific way as I'm about to get into. But yeah, that's how we know she didn't get on the bus, because there's no reports of her getting on the bus, which means that something had to have happened before it arrived. And then she was taken only a mile away because Barbara was found near the grounds of the Churchill Country Club in the dumpster behind the Blackridge Civic Association. So picture like, lots of trees because this is backed up to a wooded spot and it's a very tree lined area in the city, just like pretty much where she went missing. Now, the clubhouse that was right there had been rented out for the evening prior, which was Thursday, November 18th, for a square dancing event. So the next morning, two of the organizers for this event, this is Charlene and Donald Cromer, headed to the clubhouse to clean up. And Charlene actually spotted Barbara's discarded body in the dumpster while she was taking out a box of trash. Which is amazing that she found her because Barbara's body could have been taken to the dump and never been found, like, easily, and then she would just be perpetually missing.
- [10:35]
B
Yeah. And I'm sure that that is how a lot of bodies have gone missing, you know, somewhere in the. In the landfill in the city.
- [10:42]
A
Absolutely. So, notably, Barbara's body was actually still warm, but there was unfortunately no sign of her killer at the scene, as it was obviously very clear that she had been murdered. But her cause of death hasn't been released. So earlier I said five were strangled. We don't know if she was strangled or not. But it's very possible in the fact that police connect her case to the other ones that we're going to talk about today might be a clue in itself that she was, or at least there was signs that she was. Maybe that wasn't her cause of death. I don't even know if they know. They just haven't made that information public. But I'm mostly bringing up that we said five out of the six, somebody else we're going to talk about today was not strangled. So that makes me even, you know, the fact that she is discussed as one of the five that was means that she was, you know. But again, she was found partially nude. But six days later, Barbara's shirt, coat and purse were found discarded in the woods about a mile and a half or 2.4km away. So this scene spans out. She Went missing from over here, then her body is around here, and then all the way over here, all of her stuff is found.
- [11:58]
B
Well, on the same day that Barbara's belongings were found. So November 25, 1976, which happened to be Thanksgiving, another young woman was found dead, this time in the back of her own car. 21 year old Susan Rush is remembered as devoutly religious. And according to her family, she was sheltered and innocent, shy and quiet too. She had never really dated anybody, but she had recently worked to lose 90 pounds and according to her friends, had been feeling really good about herself and just the direction that her life was heading in for the very first time in a very long time. And she was opening up to the idea of putting herself out there romantically. Now, before her death, Susan was working as a cashier at the Murphy's Mart, which is a department store inside the Washington Mall southwest of Pittsburgh. She and her family lived in South Straban, which is a small nearby suburb located in Washington County. Just three weeks prior to her murder, Susan had received her license in cosmetology and she was really looking forward to starting her new career. So in general, she had a lot of really great things going on in her life. She's feeling excited and she's just very happy. On the night Before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1976, Susan left the mall after work. But she was never seen alive again. As the hours passed, her family grew more and more concerned about her whereabouts. Early the next morning, as they were driving the vicinity of the mall looking for any sign of her, Susan's brother spotted her car parked on a side street about a quarter of a mile or just under half a kilometer from the Washington Mall where she worked. It had been left locked and inside the trunk was Susan's body. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled with what was believed to be a shoelace. In an attack which had been so brutal that her larynx was fractured. Her bra and underwear were discarded on the front seat as well. She was dressed in, but her clothing had been put back on her body haphazardly and inside out. So it was very clear that somebody had clearly sexually assaulted her, redressed her in a, in a hurry, in a rush.
- [14:22]
A
Why?
- [14:23]
B
Just to make it seem like if somebody found her, I mean, I don't really know, like if somebody had spotted her in some way, that she was in the trunk.
- [14:31]
A
I don't know, maybe, maybe they did that first and then they, they had another plan. But it makes me wonder too, how this even happened. Was somebody in the backseat of her car. Sorry, if you're driving right now, was somebody following her and they pretended to pull her over? Actually, we're going to talk about a police theory later on, but my mind kind of goes to those two possibilities.
- [14:53]
B
Well, we do know that she was leaving work that night. So it's possible that. It's possible that somebody, you know, put a knife to her, to her back and said, hey, get in the car, drive to this side street.
- [15:04]
A
Right.
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B
Then sexually assaulted her, killed her, and then wanted to kind of COVID his tracks by putting her in the trunk.
- [15:10]
A
Right, Definitely possible. Well, three months later, yet another young woman turned up murdered. But this time she hadn't been strangled. So this is what I was talking about earlier, the one that concretely was not so. 16 year old Mary Jancy was a sophomore in high school when she went missing. She left her home in North Charleroi, which is a Southern Pittsburgh Suburban, around 6:30pm on February 13, 1977, bound for Isaly's restaurant, where she would frequently meet her friends for a Coke. I didn't know what Isley's was. I looked it up. It's kind of like a classic diner. It's also a company that's known for its chip chopped ham and for inventing the Klondike bar.
- [15:56]
B
Oh, interesting little fun fact. Yeah, I mean, this seems like the perfect thing for a sophomore to do. Go meet up at this cute diner and go get a Coke with her friends.
- [16:05]
A
Yeah, per literally perfect. So it was supposed to be like any other night for Mary hanging out with her friends at this little diner. Like you're saying, a really chill night. Probably something she did a lot. But when she didn't return home afterwards, she was reported missing. And then, horrifically, there was eight days of just panic. But then a pair of brothers out deer hunting were traipsing through a field near Gun Club Road in Fallowfield Township, which is a rural part of Washington county, about 4 miles, or 6.4 kilometers from where Mary disappeared. And it was there that the brothers spotted her body discarded in some brush. So in the winter cold, remember this is February, her body was actually frozen and she had been left nude. Her autopsy determined that she had been beaten to death, likely hit in the head with a hammer, and that she had been sexually assaulted before her murder. In the autopsy, they also made a shocking discovery when they found that Mary had been pregnant, which was, of course, additionally devastating, but particularly because of how brutal this crime was. Again, she was beaten to death. And I mean, the county coroner at the time, Farrell Jackson, reported that her murder was, quote, the most brutal I've seen in my 18 years as a coroner.
- [17:32]
B
I mean, that's how you know that it was truly tragic and disturbing.
- [17:37]
A
Especially because, like I said, like the first thing I said today in this episode was that over the span of 18 months at this time, over 30 murders took place in Pittsburgh alone. So in eight across 18 years, not even 18 months. This guy probably has seen a lot.
- [17:54]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [17:55]
A
So naturally, especially with the news of her pregnancy, the focus first turned on her ex boyfriend, 20 year old Robert or Bobby Irwin Jr. Who had broken up with her very recently. But surprisingly, Bobby and his family were very active participants in the search efforts. Like, it seemed like they really wanted to get justice for her. His father, Robert Irwin Senior told the press, quote, she was like a daughter to us and we have to do all we can. The only reported sighting of Mary after she left her home for the diner, Isaly's on February 13th was in the car of a friend named David Devoli, who had also been friends with her ex boyfriend, Bobby Irwin. Though multiple people confirmed the sighting, David maintained that he had not seen Mary that evening nor driven her around in his car. So he. We've got some conflicting reports here, Heath.
- [18:53]
B
Yeah, who are you gonna believe?
- [18:54]
A
Right? And it didn't seem police really believed him either because of the witness sightings, you know, and he's really the only lead that they have in this case. So David was arrested four months after Mary's murder and was considered the main, if the only, suspect. However, he was begrudgingly released when there was not enough evidence to build a case against him at the time. So the charges were dropped on July 21, 1977, and Mary's case went unsolved for decades. So we're just going to put a little pain in Mary's story for now.
- [19:32]
B
Yes, we are going to come back to Mary's story now. About a month after Mary vanished and was murdered, fellow teenager Deborah or Debbie Capiola was abducted as well. 17 year old Debbie was on her way to school in Findlay Township in southwestern Allegheny county and was found 10 days later on March 27, 1977 in a wooded part of Washington County. So on the day that Debbie was abducted, she was heading from her mom's house to the bus stop where she would be picked up for school. Now, typically, she and her brother headed to school together, but that particular day her brother was sick, so he stayed home from school. So she left the house by herself. At 7:45am but when the bus arrived just eight minutes later, Debbie was gone.
- [20:24]
A
So another. Another abduction before a bus arrives.
- [20:27]
B
Yep. It sounds so similar, right?
- [20:30]
A
Yeah. Actually, let's put a pin in that one, too.
- [20:33]
B
Well, later, when her mom, Kathleen, drove by the bus stop, she spotted what she recognized as Debbie's smock for her nursing class, as well as books of hers on the ground, which seemed to prove that there was some sort of struggle that may have happened. But we'll mention that Debbie had been running a little bit late that morning for the bus because her mom, Kathleen, usually drove her to the bus stop, but she needed to run an errand that morning, and she hadn't been able to do so. So, originally, assuming that Debbie had dropped these items because maybe she had been running to catch the bus, Kathleen stopped to pick them up and drove them to Debbie's school. You know, she had no clue at this point that her daughter was missing and that that area could have essentially been the first crime scene. So Kathleen headed to school, being a very supportive and helpful mom, but she was immediately told that Debbie never made it to school that day. So worry set in straight away. Now, Debbie was kind of butting heads with her stepfather at this time, and it was known in their house that she was hoping to move out and stay with her grandparents due to this. So initially, her family wondered if maybe she had just run away and that she'd possibly be back. But as the days began to pass with no word from her, it became clear that the truth was much more sinister.
- [21:57]
A
And then again, her items were by the bus stop just, like, dropped on the ground. It's like, why would she leave those behind anyway?
- [22:05]
B
Well, they actually found a few more of her items because they found her coat, shoes, and purse discarded in the woods near her home. So at that point, foul plays seemed to be the inevitable conclusion. Investigators scoured the area, including a pond near where her belongings were found, which they half expected to find Debbie in. But again, it wasn't until 10 days later that her remains were found. Raped and strangled near the opening of a pit mine. She was found in her bra, which was torn, and her pants were tied around her neck, Leading investigators to believe that she had been strangled with her own pant leg. Only one suspect, a man by the name of David Robert Kennedy, was ever investigated by police in her murder.
- [22:54]
A
Which is crazy, because we often talk about police interviewing hundreds of people, and they actually only spoke to one potential suspect.
- [23:05]
B
Well, luckily, it did seem like a good and possibly fruitful tip. Because a neighbor had reported seeing a car that matched the description of David's car, which was a maroon sedan, as well as someone who resembled him driving the car that day. They were also able to take down a partial license plate number which matched his so someone is placing this man at the scene. Basically. Thus, David was brought in for questioning and admitted that he often passed through Debbie's neighborhood, but claimed that on that particular morning he had not been in the vicinity, despite what the witness said.
- [23:43]
A
Which is funny, because that's exactly what the other David said, right?
- [23:47]
B
However, when this account was cross referenced with his timesheet from work, it turned out that he was 27 minutes late to his job on the morning of Debbie's disappearance.
- [23:57]
A
That never looks good.
- [23:59]
B
So but of course, you know, David had an explanation for this. He said that he had been looking at a car that he was considering buying and that he had just simply lost track of time. And even though this felt flimsy and like he had been caught in two potential lies, law enforcement were unable to detain him for the crime. With no concrete evidence, and although he remained a person of interest, no arrests were made at this time. For years, everyone thought Verizon had the.
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- [28:44]
B
Yeah, because there's a dude out there killing people.
- [28:46]
A
Which is freaking nuts because you know, obviously she's about to become a victim of a murderer. So Brenda's parents were actually equally nervous about her being out driving by herself after dark. You know, none of the murders thus far that that seem to be connected to this string of murders in particular happened where somebody was in a home Invasion or somebody was abducted from their house. These are all like women, young women out by themselves, either driving or walking. So they specifically were being additionally cautious and keeping in the know of where Brenda and her sisters were at this time. So they knew at some point to expect Brenda home that evening from her boyfriend Larry's house. But like a freaking horror movie, a storm blew through Pittsburgh, knocking out the phone service. So when Brenda didn't come home, her parents didn't totally panic right away because they thought, oh, maybe she stayed the night at her boyfriend Larry's house, you know, because they couldn't receive any calls. So they're like, maybe she's trying to reach us and she can't, she's fine.
- [29:52]
B
Yeah. And that's kind of like the conclusion that you would have to come to is like, we have no way of reaching each other because remember this is in the 70s, cell phones don't exist yet.
- [30:03]
A
And also, what are the chances that she would be a victim? You know, it's never you, it's never somebody you know. So I'm sure in their mind they're like, yeah, she's probably fine. Yeah, that's like a crazy conclusion to come to, even though it does of course happen. And that is what happened. So the following day, May 19, 1977, her car was found abandoned on a rural country road in the opposite direction of her home. The driver's side window was partially rolled down and her belongings, likely the contents of her purse, were found scattered on the seat next to her. However, her license and her wallet were gone. So those two things, and of course, Brenda were missing. Her car, which was found near the intersection of Rankin Road and Zedeker Station Road in Washington county, turned out to be less than a mile or about one kilometer away from her remains. Because while they were looking for her after they found her car, a police helicopter soon spotted her naked body from above again, since it was so close by. And when police arrived down on the ground at the scene, they found 18 year old Brenda almost completely nude, clothed only in her socks and shoes, and the rest of her clothes were left 50ft away. Her killer had sexually assaulted her and then used her underwear and a stick to fashion a garrote around her neck in order to strangle her. So we know Susan was killed with shoelaces, Debbie was killed with pants, her pants. And now we have Brenda killed with her underwear, like all strangled with clothing items, which is just so strange.
- [31:58]
B
Yeah. And it feels like, I'm sure police were feeling at the time that because of these. The way in which this killer was killing his victims, that somehow they had to be connected.
- [32:08]
A
Yeah, of course. Like, the similarities are absolutely there. So near her car, there were footprints, and near her body, there was a men's bracelet with the name Jack on it found close nearby or close by. Sorry. Which is really interesting because, like, was that from a different situation? I just feel like, if you're a serial killer, why are you wearing a bracelet with your name on it?
- [32:29]
B
Yeah, that's true.
- [32:30]
A
Her name or your son's name or whatever. I don't know. Why would you have that? That feels really stupid.
- [32:36]
B
But is it possible that, you know, during a struggle, Brenda had ripped it off of the killer's?
- [32:42]
A
Yes. Yeah. You know, that's why it's like. But I don't know. It's. Is this connected? Is it not? That would make sense absolutely if it happened during a struggle. But aside from that, no clues or developments came along in her case. And because of Brenda's missing license and this. This is what I was hinting to earlier and the fact. So missing license, and we have her window partially rolled down. And because of these two things, speculation actually remains that she was killed by a police officer. Because, remember, there was a storm that night, so why would she be driving with it down? Unless she had been pulled over, and then her. The contents of her purse were spilled over the front seat, as if she's.
- [33:26]
B
Possibly digging through her purse to find her license to show the police officer.
- [33:30]
A
Yeah. And that would make sense. And then maybe. Oh, license, please. And then. Oh, here it is. And I don't know why they would take her wallet, too. But. So, again, going back to Susan. So many Susan parallels going back to Susan, the fact that she was found in her own trunk, that made me wonder if she was pulled over, too, and she was killed by a police officer. Is there a police officer behind all this?
- [33:53]
B
Well, you're about to explain to us why people even more so believe that it could possibly have been a police officer.
- [34:00]
A
Yes. Okay. So basically, just days after Brenda's murder, County Sheriff Hannah Johns took his own life. Now, there is no evidence to support this conclusion concretely that he was involved, but many have speculated that he killed himself because of what he did, as a note that he left behind allegedly hinted at him being at fault for the murders. Plural.
- [34:28]
B
Yeah. So not just one, but he's kind of talking about all of them, I guess.
- [34:33]
A
Yeah. And we don't know what the note says. This is just what is said surrounding the note. Um, but I will add, just two days before his suicide. He lost the bid for the nominee for sheriff that election cycle. And he was apparently so despondent at the loss that he took his own life because of this. Or perhaps it was a combination of both. Maybe this is just a theory that popped into my head. Maybe not to disrespect his memory if he is not a killer, but maybe if he was the killer or if he had killed anybody, he knew that continuing to be the sheriff could help keep him out of the, you know, the suspect pool. And he was like, well, shit, now I'm just totally screwed. And now I, now I'm not gonna be sheriff. So what do I have?
- [35:17]
B
Yeah, like potentially he could have been investigated because he's not like the top dog in the department.
- [35:23]
A
Yeah, that's what I mean. I mean, I'm pulling that out of literally nowhere.
- [35:26]
B
Yeah, who knows?
- [35:27]
A
So whether or not he was involved in Brenda's disappearance and murder or the others is still unknown.
- [35:35]
B
Now, though the next victim, sometimes associated with the other five girls, was not actually killed in Pennsylvania, her murder is so similar that it has been grouped in. So 26 year old Roberta Elam was devoutly religious, so much so that she was a nun in training who was preparing to take her vows. Like, Roberta had devoted her whole life to the church, pursuing both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology. Originally from New Jersey, Roberta had moved to Mount St. Joseph in Wheeling, West Virginia, which is a 30 minute drive southwest of Washington County, Pennsylvania. So just over the state line.
- [36:16]
A
I mean, that's really close.
- [36:18]
B
Yeah, it definitely is. Now, on the day of her murder, which was June 13, 1977, Roberta, known at her convent as Sister Robin, was deep in prayer on a park bench just 300ft from one of the houses on this property. The monastery was also near the Ogle Bay Golf Club. And yet no one heard anything when she was violently murdered. But what seems to have happened is. So during a moment of prayer in the midst of a silent retreat, an unknown man approached the bench she was on and dragged her through the grass, raped her, and then strangled her with his bare hands and left her there to be found. She was still clothed when her body was found, but her shirt had been pulled down. Now, according to those in the vicinity at the time, an unidentified man had been seen lurking around the convent in his car days prior to her murder, potentially stalking his next victim. And ironically, a few people noted having seen religious bumper stickers on this guy's.
- [37:24]
A
Car, which also put a pin in.
- [37:26]
B
Yeah, but Neither this man nor his vehicle were ever identified. Now altogether, hundreds of people were questioned in relation to the slangs of these six women. But it would take decades before any of them would see resolution because with the advancements in DNA testing, two of them actually have been solved. And the perpetrators of these two murders are not believed to have committed any other crimes. Meaning if a serial killer, that is the Pittsburgh Phantom, also known as the Washington County Strangler, is behind some of these murders, two of the cases that we've talked about today are not believed to be included in that series of murders. But since for years they were believed to be, we mention them today and actually law enforcement believes that those two women were targeted by men who knew them and wanted them dead.
- [38:20]
A
Well, let's talk about which two those are. So in the case of the murder of pregnant 16 year old Mary Gencey, not one but two arrests came along over 33 years after her death. And though the charges against David Devoli and Bobby Irwin were dropped for lack of evidence, her clothing was retested and revealed seminal fluid in her underwear. And guess what? The DNA profiles matched both David Devoli and Bobby Irwin. And for those who don't remember, I'm going to go back for a sec. This is exactly what we said about these two men earlier when we were talking about Mary. The only reported sighting of Mary after she left her home for the diner, remember on February 13, 1977, was in the car of a friend named David Devoli who had also been friends with Bobby Irwin, who was Mary's ex boyfriend, the one who searched or who joined the search for Mary alongside his parents. And remember it was sketchy because multiple people confirmed the sighting of David in a car with Mary. But David maintained that he had not seen Mary that night nor driven her around in his car. So police just didn't have enough after they arrested him, they had to let him go. But Fast forward over 30 years later, in 2009, the men were interviewed again and continued to maintain that they had not had sexual contact with her that day, nor had they even seen her despite those witness sightings. So they are holding on to their decades long story. Now, David the friend also protested that he had never slept with Mary. You know, that's his buddy's ex girlfriend. And Bobby claimed that they had been broken up for about a month and that he hadn't slept with her since. However, because of the DNA matches especially they're saying yeah, I didn't sleep with her ever. David saying, and Bobby saying it's Been over a month. Well, then we know you're lying because your DNA, both of your DNA, is found in her underwear. So they were both found guilty. In 2011, Bobby was convicted of third degree murder and sentenced to 10 to 20 years. And he remains in prison today. David Devoli pleaded guilty to charges of tampering with physical evidence and hindering apprehension and offered up his retelling of the events on the night that Mary Jancy was murdered in exchange for a lighter sentence. So David alleged that both of them raped Mary before dragging her out of his car and hitting her on the back of the head multiple times with a heavy tool which fractured her skull. For his cooperation and his testimony against his co conspirator, he received just two, four years in prison. But get this, despite the evidence against him, Mary's family believe that Bobby is innocent and they have called for his release. But I will say his appeal was denied in 2019, despite the misstep of the judge.
- [41:39]
B
And I wonder if that's because, like, they knew him and felt like he couldn't have done something like this or what. But the DNA evidence that they had is pretty damning.
- [41:48]
A
I feel like you're right because looking back when Bobby's parents said that Mary was like a daughter to them.
- [41:55]
B
Right.
- [41:55]
A
So I'm sure they were all very close. And to Mary's family, they're like, Bobby, no, he would never do this. But again, then why is his DNA there?
- [42:02]
B
Yeah, it's kind of, you know, it explains the whole story here. Well, years before Mary's case received some justice. In the year 2000, the case of 17 year old Debbie Capiola, who was kidnapped on the way to the bus stop, was Saul. And it turned out to be the very man that police expected was responsible, David Kennedy. Remember, the only guy who was questioned in her case, the one who was seen driving in the area, which he denied, is believed to have been stalking Debbie up until her murder. And it's likely that he waited until Debbie was approaching the bus stop without her brother and wouldn't have anybody looking out for her. Assistant District Attorney Mark Tranquilli explained Kennedy was waiting for the day Debbie's brother was sick. This was not a random incident. And when that happened, he struck like a cobra. David was arrested for the rape and murder in December of 2000 after the seminal fluid found on Debbie's remains was determined to be a match for David's DNA. So it's like, I mean, they have this guy pinned way back in the 70s.
- [43:12]
A
That's probably why? They never questioned anybody else. They're like, we know who did it.
- [43:15]
B
We just couldn't prove it, you know, until years and years later.
- [43:18]
A
And they couldn't release all that information out into the public at the time. So that's why we were left questioning, why nobody else was questioned.
- [43:29]
B
Well, finally, nearly 30 years after Debbie's brutal murder, David received life in prison. So none of the three men from these arrests are believed to be tied to the other murders. So while the other four strangulations remain a mystery, suburban Pittsburgh was still struggling under the shadow of dozens of other unsolved murders and disappearances as well. But there also seemed to be a killer that was stalking and murdering married couples, the culprit of which turned out to be a prolific serial killer who was thought to have over a dozen victims to his name. A man named Edward Surratt who grew up in Pittsburgh. And for some reason, he zeroed in on married couples with his signature attack being a home invasion, raping the wife and then murdering the couple the same time that these other murders were occurring in the late 1970s.
- [44:22]
A
So horrific.
- [44:23]
B
Yeah. I mean, some real shit was going on in Pittsburgh in the 70s.
- [44:27]
A
And it's in the 70s in general. Jesus.
- [44:30]
B
But with him confessing to many crimes after his capture in 1978 and his very particular MO and mostly targeting married couples or just men, there's not a ton of weight in him being involved in the four unsolved murders that we talked about today, which, again, is the murder of 30 year old Barbara Lewis, 21 year old Susan Rush, 18 year old Brenda Ritter, and 26 year old Roberta Elam. Remember sister Robyn? But in 2000, the same year that DNA helped find Debbie's killer. DNA from the scene of Susan Rush's murder. Remember, she was murdered after leaving the mall the day before Thanksgiving in November of 1976. And the scene of Sister Robyn's June 1977 murder were connected. Now, police don't have the identity of this person quite yet, but the same DNA being found at both of their crime scenes, seven months apart, tells police that the same killer claimed both of their lives.
- [45:31]
A
I'd say.
- [45:32]
B
And possibly all four were killed by this person.
- [45:36]
A
Well, I do think it's interesting that specifically, Susan and Roberta, I.e. sister Robyn, are described as devoutly religious. And that DNA found at their crime scenes was the same like. And. And then this is why I said put a pin in the guy. The guy that was kind of creepy driving around that people saw. Yeah, like. And he had the religious Stickers like maybe there's a creep in their particular community hunting women. That's why even though Sister Robin's murder happened in Wheeling, West Virginia, so a different area, they do seem like they were committed by the same person because again, Wheeling is only about a 30 to 45 minute drive away from Pittsburgh. So it's really close. I completely believe this.
- [46:20]
B
Yeah. So just to recap here, Susan Rush was strangled with no report of sexual assault and her body was found in the trunk of her own car. Roberta was also found strangled with evidence of sexual assault and she was found outside near a park bench next to her convent in a field. Then we had Brenda Ritter, who was strangled to death and sexual assault is suspected, but but not confirmed publicly, and she was found on a hillside off a rural road. And then lastly, we have Barbara Lewis, who was strangled with no public reports of sexual assault and her body was found in a dumpster by the Churchill Country Club. So there's definitely a lot of similarities within the MO the way in which the killer took their lives, but also some of these religious connections and things like that.
- [47:11]
A
Well, the strangulations of four of the six possible victims of the Pittsburgh Phantom, also known as the Washington Strangler, remain unsolved to this day. But we're hoping with the DNA found at Susan and Roberta's crime scenes, at least that there will be justice soon. If you have any information about any of these murders, please contact the Pittsburgh Police Department's tip line at 412-323-7800. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.
- [48:01]
B
Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. If you want to see photos from these cases, we're going to post them over on our socials. If you don't follow us, go on over and follow us. We're on Instagram @goingwest podcast. We're also on TikTok now and we're also on Facebook, so give us a follow.
- [48:20]
A
Yes, please do. And I want to mention something I haven't in a minute. Two months ago, from today or from yesterday actually, my debut thriller novel, Night Watcher came out. If you're looking for a fun, spooky read for this fall season, the book actually takes place in early November. So it'll be perfect if you want to pick it up and read something super creepy. It's about a masked serial killer called the Hiding man and a young woman named Nola Streets fight to end him. I think you guys would love it. It's called Night watcher. It's out now and it's by me.
- [48:54]
B
Yeah. So definitely go pick up a copy. Support our girl. Alright guys. So for everybody out there in the.
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