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Just a hop, skip and a click away. And bot no better feeling than when everything just clicks. Buy your car today on car delivery fees may apply. Hello delicious friends, and welcome to. To who did what now, the history podcast that is not your history class. With me, your host, Katy Charlewood, history harlot and reader of books. And welcome one and all to the very first episode of 2026. Oh, yes, I very nearly said the 2026 season, but that is incorrect because I like my ass, just don't quit. So, yeah, I am. I'm really excited for this year. I've got so much more plans and I'm better organized this year. So those of you who are relatively new to the podcast, if you have joined in recent months, first of all, you may be wondering, what was that music that, my friends, as long time listeners. No. Was the original theme song for the podcast. I really wanted something a bit older. And initially I had also considered a variation of Green Sleeves, right. But every version I found of it just kind of sounded really sad. And I couldn't get it to work with how I wanted it to go because I did not want this to be a very depressing history podcast. But that being said, I managed to find this sort of 1920s song that I was really, really excited about because I really love 1920s as, as a whole, because from a sociological and historical standpoint, it is this beautiful pocket, this interwar period, which is very exciting and odd. And there's art and there's just so many weird and wonderful things happening in this, like, pocket of time. And you have music and art and fashion and a whole lot of, like, social change happening. And it's wonderful and also awful. But I, I just, I really love it as a general, as a general rule. And I found this song by the Rhythmic 8 and I loved it because it was called Kansas City Kitty, which I'm fairly certain is a euphemism for something. But I really, really enjoyed this song and I mistakenly assumed it was in the public domain. It was not. It is, however, now in the public domain. So I can now use it again because all the 1920s music is available now. Ha cha. So I can finally, I can finally use it again without having my content taken down now. I was always worried about Using the word content because it feels a bit, I don't know, like I'm reducing what I'm doing. But that's, that's silly. It's just another word for the thing I make. Right? So I teach history on the Internet and I do it this way now, circling back, as we were, to this whole situation about what this year is going to have now, from about August last year, I started doing like month long themes and I found that this works so much better for me and I think it works better for you. So, like, research is actually taking slightly less time because I have the historical context for each setting, which is so much easier when you're trying to explain it to other people to have understanding yourself. Because I jump between locations and time periods and that in itself can be quite daunting and difficult to then jump between. And it made researching a lot more difficult on, on my side, let alone trying to then gather all that information and then produce this. But also when it came to the social media side of things, to also create it in digestible chunks. But I have a full fun year ahead and this month we are starting with one of my just like favourite little pocket topics, 1940s crime. Now, am I choosing 1940s crime specifically so I can do this voice? Yes, but also so I can dress in your cute vintage outfits when you're making your social media videos? Also, yes, but also because I'm genuinely very interested in it and I wanted to start the year with something like, I could have gone for a bit more positive stuff, but history is depressing as a general rule. So I thought let's just jump right in to a bunch of muddles. Like let's go with 1940s crime, folks. But I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, katie, it's been over five minutes, quit your jibber jabber and fact me, in fact you. I will. But first we've got to get our source on. Our sources are Federal Bureau of Investigation file number 628-0864, Federal Bureau of Investigation file number 877089. Yeah, you know what? You know what? There was a lot of reading in this. There was a lot of reading in this. So I'm naming them. Okay, this was not fun. We also have Texas Ranger Files, the U.S. bureau of Prison Files. We have number 52857L. We also have articles from the Arkansas Democrat, the Arkansas Gazette, the Dallas observer, the Dallas Times Herald, the Dallas Morning News, Kansas City Star, Texarkana Daily News, the Texarkana Gazette, New York Times and USA Today. On top of that, we also have Sexual Homicide Patterns and Motives by Robert Ressler, Anne Burgess and John Douglas. The man who Caught the Phantom Killer by Blair Case Most Evil by Steve Hodel still at Large A casebook of 20th century killers who Eluded justice by Michael Newton. Moonlight Murders in the Town that Dreaded Sundown by Vic Dellinger. Serial Killers the Moonlight Murderer of Texarkana by Brett Hartle the Phantom Killer Texarkana Moonlight Murders by Joseph Gehringer. The Phantom Killer Four Months of Terror in Texarkana by John Sanchez Texarkana Moonlight Murders, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture The Texarkana moonlight the Unsolved case of the 1946 Phantom Killer by Michael Newton. A Real Life Horror The Texarkana Moonlight Murders by Tim Reynolds. Also in addition, furthermore, in the name of transparency, I did, I did listen to several podcasts on the topic. I wish I hadn't, but I did. Now, first of all, and that's how I learned about the topic is I was listening to one of my short form podcasts like last year and it was one of those episodes that's between like 18 and 35 minutes long. Don't remember which one it was actually, but I'd heard about it and I was like, oh, that's interesting. I must write the name down in my book and I'll talk about it at a later date. And so here we are. But I, I was like, let me listen to some podcasts about it because one, I'm a true crime girly and two, sometimes I can get a better understanding of a location or a community. You know, if I'm listening to something about the area by someone from the area. And so it's always good to get that perspective. Now unfortunately, near enough every podcast I manage to listen to seem to be more focused on being dramatic and flowery as opposed to, you know, factually correct. But I digress. I will be covering discrepancies throughout this just. Yeah, because that's, that's who I am and what I do. So without further ado, are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then let's begin. The Texarkana moonlight murders were a series of double murders, slayings, allegedly is perpetrated by one man, the Phantom killer who stalked so called lovers lanes for his victims in the twin town of Texarkana. Now before I go on, consider this your blanket trigger warning for this episode and the next. I shall be discussing violent crimes, assaults, attacks and murders against women, men and children. As usual, I will be as clinical as possible when discussing these attacks, both. But I will be providing accurate information. If you feel that this is going to cause you any distress whatsoever, feel free to exit stage left and we will see you the next time around. And with that, let's slip into some context. In 1946, Texarkana was in fact two cities connected by name. Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Arkansas. Is that like Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, or am I conflating the two concepts? Anyway, Texarkana was connected not only by name, but by culture, sharing a community and history. And with that, let's slip into some context. In 1946, Texarkana was in fact two cities connected by name, Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Arkansas. Now, is that. Is this. Is this like Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. Is it like one city over two state lines? Yes. No, Maybe. Anyway, Texarkana was connected not only by name, but by culture. They shared a community and they shared a history. Right. So from about the 1850s, railroads were pushing their lines through the states. Right. And they were big business. Now, we've all heard about the railroad barons. Like, we've seen the Gilded Age. Yeah, like, and I will cover that at a later date now. So I'm going to say there were what we would call keen rivalries, See, competition between these railroad builders. So you've got the Cairo and Fulton railroad, it's making its way across Arkansas. And then you've got the Texas and Pacific Railroad, it's laying track across Texas up to the state line with Arkansas. Right. So and this area, the state line between Texas and Arkansas is like the most practical place for these different railroads to connect with each other. Like, you've got a river, a bridge comes later on. Like, builders of the Texas and Pacific Railroad began selling lots from this site from the 8th of December, 1873. Right. And with the opening of the Red River Bridge, the aforementioned bridge, the following year. So 1874, that was, well, less than four months later, actually. Right. And this allowed a link up with the Iron Mountain railroads track. So up to Little Rock and the Cairo and Fulton railroads track, which brought them over to like St. Louis, Missouri. So you've got these railroads meeting up in this location. It's a really good hub. There's natural resources, it's a decent place to be. So they're selling lots and they're like towns, I guess. Now, the thing is, you might be wondering yourself is why is it called Texarkana? Well, there are three stories. Right. Again, near enough. Every podcast to listen to. Said just one. But anywho, three, the first being was that there was a Red river steamboat named the Texarkana. And they were like, yep, that'll do. Sort of like when a character has to think of a name quickly in a movie and they look at an empty glass and they're like, George Glass. You know, like that. The second story of how the town got its name is that there was a man called Swindle, I shit you not. And he owned a store in Redland, Louisiana who made a drink called Texarkana Bettles. And also people were like, yeah, that'll do that. That's a good name. Gonna, gonna take that. But the most popular theory, the one that gets banded around the most, is that of a Surveyor of the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, right, Colonel Gus Noble. And so when the railroad was being constructed, allegedly he nailed a placard to a very, very old tree reading Tex Ark, Ana, Tex Arc Anna. This is the name of a town to be built here. Like that's all on the placard, right? Texarkana. This is the name of a town to be built here. Cause Texarkana is a portmanteau of Texas, Ark and Saw and Louisiana. Although this was a place where two states connected, good old Gus here mistakenly thought that the Louisiana northern border was only 2 to 3 miles south of the town, when in fact it was about 30 miles south. But either way I the name stuck. So this twin town had been growing steadily since then. You know, it had some crime, to be sure. I mean what town hadn't at some point? Although a lot of the more prominent crimes over the years had been specifically alcohol related. Are we surprised? No, we're not. So like Prohibition was a thing, so you've got that as part of it and then you've got just drunken related escapades, so on and so forth. But in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution repealed the ban on selling alcohol and ended the, quote, noble experiment of Prohibition. However, several counties still fond of the temperance movement chose to stay dry anyway. Bowie county was one of them. It was, yes, one of the 46 Lone Star counties that continued to prohibit the sale of alcohol. Now, banning booze in Bowie county is all fine and dandy, but it does well to bear in mind that on the other side of Stateline Avenue in Miller County, Arkansas, one could legally purchase an alcoholic beverage any day but Sunday. Of course, by the time 1946 rolls around, Texarkana was a enjoying the fruits of the post War economic boom with a population of about 40,000. All in all, with both sides, it was relatively unscathed by war, at least on the surface, as they had only lost 196 souls in various battles throughout the Second World War. Those who did return were lucky in the fact that they had jobs to return to. The twin city thrived from the economic boost of the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant, both of which had provided gainful employment during wartime. Texarkana also boasted natural resources, with timber, rockwool, sand and gravel being great exports, and of course, the utilising of those railways. On top of this, there was a strong economy from agricultural crops like corn, rice, soybeans, cotton and pecans. So Texarkana, whose motto is, unsurprisingly, twice as nice, had a host of routes pumping jobs and money into the local area. Now, I know that I said that veterans of war returned relatively unscathed, but there were invisible wounds of trauma, of war, like now, what we would call ptsd. But at the time, let's face it, there was a notion of don't ask, don't tell, squash those emotions down into the deepest, darkest depths of yourself. Because why carry so much emotional baggage when you can compress it down to a conveniently sized grief case? But of course, I digress. If you did happen to show that you were affected, it wouldn't be therapy. No, no, no. The best you could hope for was some gossip around the corpse cart or a trip to the sanitarium with your very own special jacket for self hugs. And these fellas returning home, they, I mean, they were looking at the fact that they not only had employment opportunities, but they also had leisure activities, right? There was so much to do in 1946 Texarkana because it could afford to do it. You had drive ins, community dances like those hosted by the Veterans of Foreign wars hall, the vfw. They had bands playing swing music so that returning soldiers could jitterbug with their hometown sweethearts. And let's not forget the moving pictures with movie theaters showing stars on the silver screen. And lest we forget that out on the fringes of town there were road houses, some that even had gasp burlesque shows. Now, like, it's funny because, like, whenever I was reading the reports on it, it was like girly shows. They have girly shows? Do they? Do they have girly shows? Is it. Is that because a lot of burlesque performers, they would travel around and do shows in these sort of locales on the fringes of town like this was this, this was, this was, I'm not saying big business, but it was a business, you know. So all in all, Texarkana was a very typical small southern town and war was over. Everyone, well, everyone white, felt safe. But that comfort blanket, that sense of safety, it is about to get torn to shreds. All on one fateful February night. It was 22 February 1946, and a couple were getting cozy in a car that Friday night, getting some spring special alone time. Earlier that evening, James Hollis, or Jimmy to his friends and his recent paramour Mary Jean. Larry had been out on a double date with his brother Bob. And Bob's special lady friend, whose name I could not find. The couples had gone to see the latest Universal creature feature, the House of Dracula, starring John Carradine as the titular count. Now I think actually that the film had been released 10 or so weeks earlier because it was released the previous year. And isn't it nice when films are in the cinema and you can still go see them more than three days after release? Yeah, you know what? Sidebar, actually, because I thought this was interesting. John Carradine, who plays Count Dracula in the movie, he claimed to have tested for the original Dracula film, a fact that has been denied by absolutely everybody else involved. Right. He's like I was going to be Dracula. And everyone was like, no you weren't. Because the role of the count in the original version went to the incredible Bela Lugosi. Now I'm, I'm just saying, going to pop it in here now that neither of them had a patch on Christopher Lee. And that is all I'll say on the matter. Now back to Jimmy and Mary Jean. After seeing the monster mash moving picture, Jimmy dropped his brother and unnamed gal off before taking a detour with mary jean. The 24 year old insurance agent had promised to return his father's Plymouth, that's a car before midnight, as he pulled onto a dirt road about a mile away from Texarkana, Jimmy was ready to break that promise for some one on one time with the 19 year old divorcee in the passenger seat. See Jimmy, he had recently separated from his wife. The what's and wherefores, I do not know. What I do know is that on Lovers Lane, under the half Moon, Jimmy and Mary Jane were ready to get down to business, 1940s style. The couple were, and I quote, necking for about 10 minutes. This may shock you sidebar, but I had to look up necking just to see what it actually related to Physically, I say, as if I've lived my entire life in a convent. But to clarify for everyone, it was kissing and some over the shirt stuff, right? As far as I can ascertain from the descriptions that I had to look up. I had to look up necking. Oh, my goodness. So they had been smooching and whatnot for about 10 minutes, all alone on Lovers Lane, or so they thought. It's around 11:45pm and the amorous pair are disturbed by a flashlight blinding through the window, like on the driver's side. Unsurprisingly, the couple are startled. I mean, you see a flashlight beam in the window of your car, I would assume, like I would assume it was police, right? Wouldn't you? You'd assume if that's coming in, it's the cops. I mean, it's that or a really bad voyeur. Now, Jimmy, he looks out the window to see a hooded figure stooping beside the car. And with a gruff voice, the man said, I don't want to kill you, fellow. I don't want to kill you, fellow, so do as I say. The couple followed the hooded man's orders, both of them getting out of the car and standing on the driver's side, where they stood for a moment, a bit anxious and confused, presumably being sized up by the prowler, before he snarled at Jimmy too. Take off your goddamn britches. Now, baffled and alarmed by the order, Jimmy hesitated before his date urged him to comply with the frightening figure in front of them, brandishing a torch in one hand and a gun in the other. Now, he told him to take off his britches, which is trousers if you're in Europe or on this side of the Atlantic, and pants if you're over, like in America. So Jimmy dutifully unbuckled his belt and stepped out of his slacks. And he stood there, exposed and vulnerable. Why has this man forced this action? Was it a power play? Was it a way of showing authority? Was he getting satisfaction from being in control? Or was it even a distraction, a diversion for the male victim to focus on, either to buy the attacker some time or to have him focused elsewhere? Or again, like I said earlier, is it this idea of shame to have this power over this young fellow standing there in his boxers, Right? Because that's what he's doing. He's standing there in his boxers in front of this domineering figure in the semi darkness. Suddenly, the attacker lunged at him. And there was a noise so, so loud that Mary Jean thought it was a gunshot, when in fact it was the sound of Jimmy's skull cracking. The assailant had slammed the young man in the head with his pistol twice in quick succession. Jimmy Hollis dropped to the ground like. Like a sack of spuds. Believing that her date had been shot in front of her, the terrified teenager scrambled for Jimmy's trousers and pulled out his billfold wallet, frantically showing it to the attacker to show that Jimmy had no cash on him. Assuming that it was some kind of robbery, the man called Mary Jean a liar, insisting that she had a purse in the car. But she didn't. And again, was this. Was this a diversion tactic? A distraction? Was this him just playing with her for his own enjoyment? Either way, this man was bursting with rage or perhaps even excitement. Was he getting a thrill from Mary Jean's fear and confusion? Knowing that he had eliminated his primary obstacle, Jimmy. Fuelled by something, he swung at the lovely brunette, as the tabloids would call her, hitting her with such force that she crumpled to the ground. Mary Jane felt as though she had been beaten with a heavy pipe, although it was likely the attacker's flashlight or pistol. Dazed and discombobulated, she pulled herself back up onto her feet and. And the masked figure whose six foot plus frame lumbered over the five foot four teenager told her to run. And so she did. She trotted and teetered, trying to run away from the danger, encumbered by her high heels. She had been on a date, after all, and she had dressed for the occasion. Initially aiming for a ditch by the road, the attacker shouted for her to run down Lovers Lane towards Richmond's Road. Behind her, she heard the groans and grunts of Jimmy as the attacker let out a flurry of kicks against the young man who was curled up on the dirt. Her heart was racing, blood trickling from the wind on her head, and. And she ran. And her heart skipped a beat as she saw a moment of salvation. She threw herself on an old model car parked on the road, hoping whoever was inside could save her. But as she peered in the windows, no one was in there. Panicked, she thought it must be the assailant's car. And she tried to pick up speed again. And she had barely taken a few steps when she heard his heavy breathing behind her. And before she knew it, the masked gunman had overtaken her and stopped her in her tracks. There he was, blocking her path. As she caught her breath, he asked her why she was running. What? And may I add, the fuck. When the exasperated and fearful Mary Jane responded that he had told her to, he again Called her a liar and smacked her in the head again. And in those mere seconds between his accusation and his swing at her head, the 19 year old believed that she was going to die at this masked man's hands. And as she fell to the ground, he threw his body on top of hers. His hands reached up under her skirt and ripped off her underwear. He then sexually assaulted her. Now, four separate Texas Ranger files describe Mary Jean's assault as attempted rape. And lest we forget, this is the 1940s understanding the criminal mind and motivations and the language pertaining to certain criminal acts and attacks was not yet understood or widely accepted. It would now be classified as a forcible sexual penetration with a foreign object. It is a form of sexual sadism and from my limited understanding can be a part of the desired scenario of a fantasy driven sexual assailant. In this instant, the assailant assaulted the victim by forcibly penetrating her vagina with the barrel of his gun. Now, before we go on, I would like to remind you all that rape is about power, about having control over another person. Sexual gratification is secondary, a byproduct, if you will. Power is the goal when it comes to sexual assault. The be all and end all of it is that it's an attack regardless of the tool involved. Whether by a foreign object, a weapon, a dildo or a penis, it's an attack. At the end of the day, it's an attack. Like if I stabbed someone with a pitchfork, you wouldn't be saying it's about farming anyway. When the gunman stood up, Mary Jean had no idea how much longer her ordeal would last or what else he was going to put her through. Bleeding, violated and in tears, she struggled to her feet. Deciding death would be a better fate than more of his abuse. She told him, go ahead and kill me. Fully expecting to be shot, she stood defiant, only for the masked man to turn his back on her, walk back in the direction of where Jimmy had been. He left her standing there alone in this rural, rather isolated dirt road at night. And I think, and this is my personal opinion, that her agency may have been what saved her. Now, there are several dramatic retellings of this crime and they often say that there were headlights in the distance and this spooked the assailant and so he turned and left. But there's nothing in any of the reports, in any of the witness statements. There is nothing to suggest this is the case. And I, and I don't know if this is just woeful thinking on my part, but, but that information isn't anywhere. It's as if someone pulled it to be more interesting to give a reason or justification. But the chasing, the cat and mouse, the power play, toying with her, like, that's what he was doing. Like, and this, this is no longer fun. If she's like, fine, do it right, Shoot me right, she's done. And that standing up, like, like it's not fun for him anymore. And as far as we know, as far as any of the information we have, this is his first known attack, right? We don't know if he's done it before. Like, this is an escalation. I mean, they tend to escalate and attackers tend to, because they're seeking especially fantasy based assailants, they tend to seek gratification. And he has walked away. And adrenaline must have been pumping through her veins because she thinks this for a game of soldiers. And as soon as he walks away, she absolutely legged it. She ran for a good half mile at least until she made it to a house. And when she got there, she did not swing and miss. She started wailing and whacking on that door, begging, screaming for help. And when she was waiting for someone to answer the door, someone to get up and open it, she saw a car pass by and she tried to flag it down, but it kept going towards Richmond Road. Now, later, when she's questioned, she would say it was a strange car, but not the same one that had been parked at the lane earlier. Right? Now, here's the thing. If, if you're driving at night and a woman just starts screaming at you from the side of the road, a 1940s Texarkana, I can understand that. Maybe that might be. That might be a weird thing. Also, drink driving laws weren't what they are. So, you know, or there is every possibility that this was her attacker. There's every possibility. But whatever happened, whatever car it was, it just went by. But there's also the possibility that it was the same car, because, remember, she's been assaulted, she's got a head injury, and also she doesn't name what type of cars they are. And back then there was not as many types of cars. And as someone who can rarely tell a type of car, I also get it. You'd be lucky if I'd be like, it's blue, round, it's a square car. Like, I wouldn't be able to tell you the majority of what cars look like unless. Unless they're very specific, like an Aston Martin DB5. And that's only because I watched a lot of James Bond movies. Sidebar. Anyway, now, after she tried to flag this car down and it just kept on going, right? Desperate, Mary Jane ran to the back door of the house and started banging on it, right? Eventually, you know, the residents, they get up, they come downstairs, they open the door, and shocked at the sight of this disheveled young woman on their porch, like, they. They suss it out for a minute. They don't. They don't just let her in straight away. It is a moment of going, what? But they do. They bring her indoors before calling the county sheriff's office. And just as he appeared, the assailant was gone. He had not gone back to finish Jimmy off, because Jimmy had already gone. So he had managed to stumble and stagger to the road, where he managed to stop a car that was going by. And again, there's a bleeding person waving at you from the side of the road. At night. It's, you know, after midnight. That's. That's kind of scary. Now, it's a relatively rural road, it's after midnight, and a beaten and bloody man in his underwear is on the road. Now, the driver, he pulls over, but he refused to let the clearly injured man into his car. Instead, he zoomed towards town, where he called the Texarkana Funeral Home. Now, before you think that's a bit pessimistic, the mortuary had an ambulance, and within 15 minutes, it was on its way to Lovers Lane, and the attacker was now, well, gone, leaving both his victims alive. A mistake he would not plan to repeat.