The Freeway Phantom
The next serial killer who has evaded capture, had a killing spree that only lasted a year and a half but they managed to take the life of six young girls in the Northeast neighborhood of Washington, D.C. between 1971 and 1972. However, like with most serial killer who have never been caught, the numbers involved could always be bigger.
The modus operandi was the identifying factor as all six victims were black girls between the ages of 10 and 18, abducted while walking to the store, to school, their job, or home. The killer would rape and strangle each victim before dumping the bodies, much like the Highway of Tears case, along the highway.
And as with the Zodiac killer, the person responsible would eventually taunt the police and give himself his own moniker. When the authorities found his then fifth victim, the gruesome discovery was accompanied by a letter that read “This is tantamount to my insensitivity to people especially women. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can!” It was chillingly signed “Free-way Phantom”.
Police wrestled with the theory that perhaps a local gang had been involved but nothing would come of that supposition but sadly and more frustratingly, it is highly unlikely that the perpetrator will ever be caught as the case files have inexplicably been lost.
