He wasn't nervous, angry, or excited. And I remember being in the woods off I-95. Rhoades was a sexual sadist. He would only have been 39 at the time, and I remember the trucker as an older man with light brown or graying hair. Defendant Robert Boyd Rhoades was convicted of the first degree murder of Michael Lyons, with special circumstances of murder in the commission of forcible sodomy, murder in the commission of a lewd act on a child, and murder by torture. The girl, he said, "wasn't one of our own. It was a made-up destination, a Grapes of Wrath narrative of brighter futures. Stowing his paperwork, he released the brake. He was convicted for three murders, and slated to be tried for two more before charges were dropped due to the wishes of victims' families. Could Debra help solve an active investigation? An FBI agent who reviewed the contents of the briefcase dubbed it a "rape kit," and he claimed it was one of the most "refined" kits he'd ever seen, leading him to conclude Rhoades had been torturing and abusing victims for a very long time. "How many of those guys could there be?". Debra Davis and Rhoades met in the early '80s at a Houston bar called Chipkikkers. There was a Martinsburg truck stop somewhere in my story, and there was a dead 17-year-old hitchhiker. There was no safe way for me to get it. Similarly, Rhoades' hometown newspaper also noted that he was suspected of the torture, rape, and . Women couldn't really get on the "zoo channel," as they called it then, because the sound of their voice would trigger twenty minutes of crass chatter. Robert Ben Rhoades, who already is serving a life sentence for killing a 14-year-old girl in Illinois, pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder when he appeared before a West Texas judge . You called and left a message a day or so after I dropped you off, saying I was going to read about a dead 17-year-old hitchhiker they found in a truck stop and that it wasn't you.". I looked at the letter. At night I listened to the voices of prostitutes on the CB, barely intelligible between streams of name-calling: "Hello, honey. A report from 2012 stated that Debra lived in College Station, Texas. People Also Viewed . One of serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades's last victims, Regina Walters, was found in a barn in Illinois. Walters, however, did not have such a quick and painless death. Candace however was not so lucky. The sentence of death had been a possibility because on May 6, 1992, the State had filed a notice that it intended to seek the death penalty. Rhoades in Bond County IL Barn. Rhoades, in exchange for dropping the death penalty, pleaded guilty to their deaths . On April 1, 1990, a state trooper made a shocking discovery when he stopped to investigate a semi-truck that was parked off Interstate 10 in the city of Casa Grande, Arizona. He picked up two of his other victims in Texas. According to the FBI, quite a few. ", I had a vision of Lisa Pennal as a truck-stop Kali roaming the back lots in her denim skirt and fuzzy slippers with an ozone hole for a halo. That forced me into asking for rides in the hallway by the showers. Most Popular #231965. "There was that hitchhiker. It is glossy black and long. The stores were dimly lit and filled with smoke, radically different from the family travel plazas of today. Young was a profiler for the bureau as well as a field agent. The 40+ Best Companies To Work For By The Beach in Southern California. This meant that several of the photos she was the subject of were taken during her last moments alive. Even so, it still wasn't safe to sleep. On the show, she talked of feeling a lot of guilt. ", "That sure sounds like Bob. Six weeks later, though, we parted ways. He requested information on missing Caucasian females aged 13 to 15 years old who had disappeared six to nine months earlier. Officers later discovered this was the name Rhoades, who had been involved in BDSM for years, went by when he used his CB radio to communicate with his fellow truckers. This gave me a screen behind which to observe drivers when they thought I was distracted. Lee still uses the tape when he trains police detectives in interrogation. It was agent Young who recognized the small gap in Regina's teeth and noticed that a few freckles were in the same place. Why didn't I go to anyone? Several months before Walters and Jones climbed aboard Rhoades' big rig,Patricia Walsh and Douglas Zyskowski had the misfortune of crossing paths with the killer. Rhoades saw what Debra was looking at. I could rest but not dream. Rhoades had been arrested in early 1990 for a similar kidnapping in Houston, in which he kept an 18-year-old girl in the cab of his truck for two weeks, shaving her pubic hair . I don't remember much about him except that he was taller and leaner than most truckers and didn't wear jeans or T-shirts. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). This tells me that he liked manipulating through terror. Rhoades immediately exited the cab of his truck and attempted to give a hasty explanation of what the patrolman was seeing. Debra stated that he seemed like a nice guy, and they eventually started dating. I lived among artists in the Lower East Side squats. In Roberts truck, the authorities found his murder kit which contained cords, chains, whips, leashes, and fishhooks. I'd put off writing Rhoades, mostly because I didn't want him to write me back. (Robert Ben Rhoades) Years later, Veselka read a news story about a serial killer who had been a long haul trucker named Robert Ben Rhoades. And then you were still a prostitute. Robert is believed to have tortured, raped, and murdered over fifty women between 1975 and 1990 during truck stops, but because most of his victims were sex workers and hitchhikers it is difficult to confirm exactly who and how many people he has killed. The morning I left, I asked him to take me to the closest truck stop so I could get a ride going toward California. Rhoades was born to his middle name sake, Ben and his mother, Betty Rhoades, on November 22, 1945 in Council Bluffs Iowa, and was reportedly raised by his mother for most of his childhood. Girls no one would miss. He came around behind her and grabbed her shoulders. I said I knew he didn't want to do it. She walked back out onto the road and hitchhiked south. She brought the police right back to Rhoades's truck but then balked at pressing charges, so they had to let him go. Robert was immediately arrested and charged with unlawful confinement, and sexual and aggravated assault. 1 of 3 DNA26C-C-24JAN00-EZ-HO --- Convicted murderer Robert Boyd Rhoades was linked to the 1984 slaying of eighteen year-old Julie Connell through DNA records. 'Truck Stop Killer' Robert Ben Rhoades is thought to have tortured, raped and killed more than 50 women during a reign of terror lasting from 1975 to 1990. Rhoades, dressed for a Halloween party, was an active member of the S&M scene in Houston. She looks happy. Over lunch at a local sushi place, he taught me the difference between a mode of operation and a signature. Roberts relationships didnt last very long, he had been married three times. It would appear that crime was in Roberts blood. By now papers and photographs were spread out all over the table, and Young was waiting for me to tell my story. I got the sense Lee appreciated brevity, so I dispensed with small talk and went straight to my questions, but he stopped me. "Did you ever hear of anything like that at all, in other times, any other bodies of women found along this stretch of I-70? In one, he relaxed on the grass in a park. I'd never heard the word "drifter" used in earnest. ", Vanessa Veselka is the author of Zazen (Red Lemonade), which won the 2012 PEN/ Bingham Prize for fiction, Apply Bed Bath and Beyond Coupon and save 25% Off your entire purchase, Target Circle: up to 50% Off with Target promo code, With Asos Promo Code you take 70% OFF Select styles, Michael Kors Promo Code: sign up for KORSVIP + Get 10% Off on First Order, 2023 Cond Nast. That first night, my boyfriend and I stayed in an abandoned barn in Maryland. His clothes were gray or blue, but that may have been the light. But Holts, 18 years old, had been on the street since she was 12. creator of The Wicked Truth - a true crime blog https://ko-fi.com/fatim. This was 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters just before she was sexually assaulted and murdered. From 1975 to 1990 he is believed to have tortured . Wearing down from lack of sleep and trying to get a handle on my risk level, I began to work off a 1-to-5 scale of sexually aggressive behavior: You (the driver) kept your urges to yourself. Behind the tragic elements of Regina's story, like some kind of pentimento, I saw my own. Even at the time, I'd wondered if my running was part of the game. Law enforcement eventually learned that in addition to BDSM, Rhoades was a swinger who regularly had sexual liaisons with other married people in his hometown of Houston, Texas. She was on a trip with her husband, Bob, the last she ever took in his truck. Douglas remains were identified in 1992. Rhoades intentionally chose women who lacked credibility. Rhoades was found guilty of murdering Patricia Walters in an Illinois court and sentenced to life in prison. We drove up to Ohio drinking Diet Coke and listening to Bruce Springsteen. Rhoades didn't live a double life as much as a shadowed one. She had existed enough for me to call my dad all those years ago and warn him about what he would read. On the show, Debra talked about a point in the relationship where she found Robert with another woman at a party. That was way back in the early '70s, though.". 76 Year Old Criminal #4. Robert Ben Rhoades Is A Member Of . In the morning, they talked me into applying to the college. A few minutes later, I got up like nothing had happened. "Do you remember what he was wearing?" Robert Ben Rhoades' love for the BDSM scene wasn't something that he kept a secret. The more I learned about Rhoades, the more I saw parallels between us. I would file charges and sue him.". The body was found in 1990, but not identified until 1992. She also claimed that Rhoades was bringing men into their home to act as her sex slaves. "I just want you to know," he said, looking me squarely in the eye, "that what Rhoades did to women, he did to women. "We don't have any records," she told me. This obviously doesn't recommend the waitress's judgment, but at least some of the credit has to go to Rhoades. Her statement was videotaped the night she was freed from Rhoades's truck. When I got home from West Virginia, a letter from Rhoades was waiting. Walters and Walsh had been held captive by Rhoades while he traveled the interstate highways in his truck. I thought that maybe in a truck stop where known murders had occurred, people would be more forthcoming. The memory was twenty-seven years old, and nothing in it was actionable. She had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after running off with her boyfriend. Word filtered back that the dead girl was a teenage hitchhiker. Richard Speck, A New Kind of Mass Murderer, Henry Howard Holmes, The Devil in the White City, Charles Ng & Leonard Lake, Family Slayers, Timothy Jay Vafreades, The Vampire Trucker, Highway Horrors: Robert Ben Rhoades, The Trucker With A Mobile Torture Chamber. The photos stayed in my head, though, and with them came questions: What if the man who pulled the knife on me really did murder the hitchhiker? 16. Somewhere in Arizona we had a fight in a gas station off I-10, and we each climbed into separate trucks, and that was it. Like Young and Lee, she had never heard of the Laughing Death Society, and since it had featured so strongly in my experience, I thought it salient. Rhoades in Bond County IL Barn. She was wearing those slippersbut she was telling the truth. Could Debra help solve an active investigation? I had not told him or anyone else how I felt about failing to go to the cops. Sometimes they're threatening, sometimes cajoling, but always manipulative. 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