Zodiac Killer = Texarkana Phantom Killer

[eas07]

Ok so I need to solidify the facts but I just wanted to put this out there. There is enough evidence here to make a theory. The similarities between the two killers are unremarkable. Their timelines match up. Also, there was someone in Texarkana who had a cousin from California staying with them at the time of the Texarkana murders. They have a similar M.O. Let me know what y'all think. Also, keep using profiles of the copycats.
xo

 

[lonewanderer]

Can you post the details?

There are lengthy threads on WS and entire books written about how Zodiac may be BTK, Dennis Rader.

 

[eas07]

Why I feel like Zodiac isn't BTK:
I feel like the profile for BTK and Zodiac don't match- BTK was too involved with his victims for me. Also, Zodiac showed a clear escalation in his MO, so it wasn't like the lover's lane shootings were his trial run. If it was, and he was BTK, there would have been more signs of sexual experimentation and escalation- even if it started after the first kill. He wouldn't have stopped on his own. Also, he wouldn't have changed MO's and continued active through 1991 killing differently. A killer like Zodiac is too methodical and driven by fantasy to switch from lover's lane shootings to BTK's M.O.

Why I feel like Zodiac could be the Phantom Killer:
They have the same MO. The Phantom killings were at the perfect time to be Zodiac's trial run while away from home so the murders would not get traced to him. Also, they are convinced the Phantom killer had to be an outsider who didn't live in town because it was a tight-knit community. Also, the Phantom killer was obviously motivated and wanted to continue killing, but he stopped after a year despite there being no arrests (besides Youell Swinney, who obviously didn't do it). He would have continued if he was in the same place. Some people discredit this theory because the Texarkana Phantom killer interacted with his victims sexually. This was only in one of his early attacks and if the events did not fit his fantasy and help him to achieve a release he would have tried a new method after having a cooling-off period. An example of a new method of release could be continuing lover's lane killings but getting off instead by TAUNTING THE COPS. Also, the Zodiac couldn't have been a copycat of the Phantom Killer, he had too much of an ego not to develop his own MO and a copycat would have been too devoted to the Phantom Killer to "upstage" him by adding ciphers and trophies from previous victims.

Here's my idea of a timeline:
1946: goes to stay with family in Texarkana.
1947: returns home and has a cooling-off period
1950's: tries to suppress his urges in order to have a normal young-adult life but his fantasies become too strong, the people around him probably noticed he became more withdrawn and obsessive-he is now living a double life. This double life isn't hard for him because he is smart but reclusive and very private. People around him might think he is a little quirky or weird, but he appears nonthreatening. He begins to adjust his killing method to fit his surroundings and develops a code for his ciphers.
1960's: Zodiac killings
1970's: stops for who knows what reason (I haven't figured that part out yet lol)

keep digging guys!!

xo

 

[Coloredstone8221]

Warning long read.

Bolded sections=possible ties to zodiac
Asterisks=suspect

Good morning websleuths hope you enjoyed independence day. There has been some new suspects in the texarkana case and one very promising lead that will be highlighted. I'll start with the least likely suspect the Atoka county man who on May 10th of 1946 in Atoka county Oklahoma assaulted a women in her home ranting that he might as well kill her because he's already has 3 or 4 victims & that he planned to rape her then he fled. There was a manhunt for the guy involving 20 police officers and 160 residents. 2 days later police arrested a man but didn't believe he was the suspect due to his story he could not have been the suspect.

Fair enough though I would've put him through some questioning before definitively ruling him out.

Then we have someone who went by the name of Sammie. It was a psuedonym given to a longtime texarkana resident with a good reputation who the police didn't want to name as a suspect because of reluctance. His vehicles tire tracks where close to where martin corpse was. He failed a polygraph exam so the police had him hypnotized by psychiatrist Travis Elliott. He concluded that Sammie had no criminal tendencies and that he had pulled his vehicle to the side of the road in order to urinate, and that he subsequently visited a married woman with whom he was having an affair with at the time concealing this caused Sammie to fail the polygraph test. Afterwards police verified the details and concluded that sammie wasn't a suspect.

Little bit of a funny story for you guys.

On May 7 a hitch hiker armed with a pistol carjacked and robbed a man who threatening to kill him stated that he had killed five people in Texarkana naming Martin and Booker. The hitchhiker told the man that he was not finished with killing people. Gonzaullas stated that police were doubtful that this man was the Phantom Killer noting how that the killer had gone to lengths to conceal his identity while the hitchhiker boasted to a living witness. There also was another hitchiker who threaten to shoot a motorist in kilgore texas confessed to the killings though it is unknown if this is the same guy.

Faceplam emoji* (In head, wow how stupid can you be I would've investigated ALL leads regardless of the differences.) Did they ever confirm he had a mask?

*A day later it was announced that an escaped german pow was being hunted by police as a matter of routine was considered a suspect. He was a stocky 24 year old man who weighed 187 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. He had stolen a car in mount Ida Arkansas & attempted to buy ammunition in some eastern oklahoma towns. The police kept searching for the pow but he had disappeared into thin air never to be recaptured.*

I would eliminate earl mcspadden as a suspect because the same man was found in florida around 6 months later who had shot a couple named Elaine Eldrigde 24 and Lawrence O Hogan 23 where found dead without a single clue. Lawrence was crumpled beside his car and Elaine was found sprawled on the Beach several yards from where her mate was shot.

This is where we draw some similarities to the zodiac. Dr. Anthony Lapalla a psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana stated during a newspaper interview that he believed the killer to be a white man between the ages of 30 to 50 years old. He also considered the killer to be motivated by a strong sex drive and a sadist while at the same time being a cunning planner and a clever, intelligent, shrewd and dangerous individual who remained at large.

The only thing I disagree with here is where he states the killers age being between 30 to 50 years of age because that contradicts what the police had stated on may 8th.

He also believed the killer knew at all times what was being done in the investigation as well as knowing that the lonesome roads were being patrolled as it would explain why he chose to attack the Starks home. He also added that the killer was planning to continue to make unexpected attacks such as that of Virgil Starks on the outskirts of town.

He also believed that it was the same man who murdered all 5 residents and that such criminals in some instances will divert attention to other distant communities where it is believed the crimes are committed by a different individual or manage to overcome the desire to kill and assault women.

That last part is false when referring to his desire to stop killing because of the florida shooting. This is a stretch but with moving all over the place is it possible that the zodiac's description of being a drifter correlate to what was being said here and that with overcoming his desires he couldn't keep it at bay for too long leading to his sadist behavior and zodiac murder spree?

He also believed that the murderer could have been leading a normal life appearing to be a good citizen. He also said the killer wasn't a veteran or else his maniacal tendencies would have been apparent while on duty. The Phantom was not necessarily a resident of the area despite his knowledge of it as he could well have been a resident of another community whom acquainted himself with Texarkana's surroundings. Due to the strenghtening of police force the killer would willingly leave because of the difficulty of committing a crime in those circumstances. The Phantom may have also reasoned in past crimes that the only way to remain unidentified is to kill all persons at the scene.

Where he states he wasn't a veteran that shoots down the los angelos war vets claim. The only thing I disagree with here is that he would have been unfamiliar with the area despite knowledge of it that is 2 contradictory statements in the same sentence it's either one or the other. though going off of the may 8th report I would lean more towards the former than later but that he had learned after the first go around to not leave any victims alive so as to not be caught.

Now it is time for my personal thoughts All in all I think Anothony Lapalla has some very interesting leads while some of his points fit suspiciously well others can be outright refuted due to other legit claims. There was los angelos war veteran who was discharged for being a psychoneurotic and confessed he could've done it because he was in a coma and the story was convincing to the police although I doubt it because there is NO WAY you could be that smart while in a coma. I DO think it is the german pow who was never recaptured as his whereabout are unknown. So how do we identify this man? Suggested course of action look into german american pow records in the texas/Arkansas area and hope that they kept records of who was in custody and who escaped. The flashlight that was never identified, has anybody looked into german flashlights that where used at the time? I also find it very coincidential that the zodiac also used a flashlight. Could this phantom also had been studying astrology? The very last thing I would like to point out is that in the 340 cipher he mentions he has killed 37 people if we combine the phantom murders, the florida shooting, the nevada killing and the california murder spree we come to 15 dead 4 survivors so then who are the other 22?...

Rocket fuel ladies and gentlemen.

 

[Cultsandkillersblogwriter]

Ok so I need to solidify the facts but I just wanted to put this out there. There is enough evidence here to make a theory. The similarities between the two killers are unremarkable. Their timelines match up. Also, there was someone in Texarkana who had a cousin from California staying with them at the time of the Texarkana murders. They have a similar M.O. Let me know what y'all think. Also, keep using profiles of the copycats.
xo

My favourite theory.

 

[Cultsandkillersblogwriter]

This is my favourite theory for the zodiac killer. If you look at the ages, I am also convinced that the Texarkana murders were the perfecting of the crime in Zodiac's youth, hence the similar hood in the more rudimentary form. Zodiac was reported to look to be late thirties-forties. In my opinion that is remarkably late for a person to enter their serial killing phase, especially one as unidentifiable as the Zodiac's. He must have known that gunshots wounds would be less traceable than an up-close killing (this is a generalised statement, I am aware of some such as Cher Josephine Bates). Also, looking at the nature of the crime, it was purely to kill, he was not strangling the victims in the personal manner of the hillside strangler(s). It is unlikely that someone with such a compulsion to kill, even from afar, would wait until almost mid-life to start fulfilling the desire.

 

[CaMan60]

It is unlikely that someone with such a compulsion to kill, even from afar, would wait until almost mid-life to start fulfilling the desire.

Hi Blog writer
This crime has a lot of evidence, but also many missing facts. Its another reason why the case was not resolved at the time by many concerned people.
He did wait until almost midlife to start fulfilling the desire. One reason may be a regular person, who know's they have a problem could get help along the way even if its enough to get by. But this guy thought he was to clever. He could have been a small time problem child who was getting into worse things over the years.

 

[Cultsandkillersblogwriter]

Hi Blog writer
This crime has a lot of evidence, but also many missing facts. Its another reason why the case was not resolved at the time by many concerned people.
He did wait until almost midlife to start fulfilling the desire. One reason may be a regular person, who know's they have a problem could get help along the way even if its enough to get by. But this guy thought he was to clever. He could have been a small time problem child who was getting into worse things over the years.

Hi,
The escalation from problem, child to worse things makes sense, but can work alongside the theory. One escalation could be to killing away from home. The short space in which the crimes in Texarkana took place (all within a year) implies either a ravenous desire or a limited opportunity (or even both). This could have led to the period of satisfaction, but something was missing. The want to prove he could get away with it. The glory-hunting level of such psychopathy. I think that the main escalation to look at here is the use of ciphers. He wanted to boast because he had already killed and got away with it. The feeling became harder to satisfy (also shown in the change to stabbing for the college student to see if a more personal style helped, as well as the multiple stabbing on the shore of the lake after pretending to be the escaped prisoner).

 

[CaMan60]

The escalation from problem, child to worse things makes sense, but can work alongside the theory. One escalation could be to killing away from home.

Hi Blog writer
There are a few simple and careless things that the Zodiac did. Like you wrote He wanted to boast because he had already killed and got away with it.
Than he wrote in the dripping pen card I though(t) you would need a good laugh before you get the bad news. Did he really not understand that he was only making trouble for himself by sending letters with ciphers, Because he was by then a most wanted man.