Rhoades swiftly killed Jones so he could abduct Walters and keep her to abuse at his will. "We laugh at death," he told me. "That's from my old SWAT jacket." There are articles, TV episodes, and books on himDriven to Kill, Roadside Prey, Killer on the Roadand from these sources I learned that every grim and secret fear I have about the human race is manifest in Robert Ben Rhoades. That first night, my boyfriend and I stayed in an abandoned barn in Maryland. The natural light brought his hair closer to the color I remembered, and, again, the side view heightened the key similarities, his cheekbone shape, glasses, the expression; but as I had learned from the echo chamber of Martinsburgs, memory is strange territory. I hadn't been able to get a copy of Shana Holts's police report because I was told there was no official suspect. Rhoades avtjnar ett livstidsstraff p Menard Correctional Center i Chester i Illinois . She had a stocking down her throat, I think. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Robert Boyd Rhoades was sentenced Friday to die by lethal injection for the rape, torture and murder of an 8-year-old Yuba City boy kidnapped three years ago while walking. My memory may have been bent by sleep deprivation, but I was not crazy. Robert Ben Rhoades (born November 22, 1945), also known as The Truck Stop Killer, is a serial killer and rapist and a native of Council Bluffs. She had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after running off with her boyfriend. His eyes were greeted with a shocking scene. Robert Boyd Rhoades was sentenced to death Friday for the 1996 brutal attack on 8-year-old Michael Lyons. I have no fascination with serial killers, so I didn't realize that Rhoades was famous. Not even the FBI knew that he had already tortured, raped, and killed at least two people along his routes. Instagram: @openshuddetspodcast. He was not wearing jeans. That's where my fantasy ends, in a game of "Who Is Credible Now?". With all her freckles, she looked very Irish. I could easily imagine my own teenage voice whispering those same words. The girl, he said, "wasn't one of our own. Regina Walters and Ricky Jones were from Texas. Robert Ben Rhoades. I had to jump when you slowed down because you were going to rape me. One snowy night several months later, I was hitchhiking through Amherst, Massachusetts, and a carful of students from Hampshire College picked me up and let me stay with them. I had not told him or anyone else how I felt about failing to go to the cops. Her facial expression could be described as a combination of desperation and abject fear. I spent a week on the road in Appalachia, visiting truck stops, interviewing the older truckers and waitresses. She'd escaped when Rhoades pulled into a Houston brewery. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. The Daily Nonpareil reports that Robert Ben Rhoades was set to be free on work release when Illinois police identified the body of 14-year-old Regina Walters. This Picture was the key evidence photo. It's believed that Rhoades would abduct his prey from various truck stops and rest areas along his trucking route. 16. Whether or not he'll make any confessions to police about other murders remains to be seen. Like a lemur in a canopy of trees, I barely saw the ground. Eventually, they reconciled and got married as well. Robert Benjamin Rhoades ( 22 de novembro de 1945) um assassino em srie americano e estuprador. At night I listened to the voices of prostitutes on the CB, barely intelligible between streams of name-calling: "Hello, honey. I'd put off writing Rhoades, mostly because I didn't want him to write me back. Rhoades allegedly dumped the body of Walsh's husband, Douglas Scott Zyskowski, 28, in Texas. I remember thinking it could be me, since I was also a teenage hitchhiker. I called as soon as I landed. Inside the cab of the truck was a woman, chained to the wall and screaming, with only a pair of slippers on her feet. Ex-Wife Of Serial Killer Robert Ben Rhoades Speaks Out | Evil Lives Here: After the Evil. The photo was of a beautiful young girl, possibly Native American. After dispatching with her new husband, Rhoades allegedly held Walsh captive for approximately one week, repeatedly torturing and abusing the young woman, before shooting her to death and disposing of her dead body in central Utah. Robert Ben Rhoades, born November 22, 1945, in Council Bluffs, Iowa turned out to be one of the most sadistic sexual predators that the US had ever encountered. Then he said one word: Run. I go through the paperwork, get fingerprinted and led through a channel of air-locked doors into a room with him. That was way back in the early '70s, though.". Tall and square-jawed, Lee looked like he could probably still tackle a bank robber. . According to the FBI, quite a few. "Of course," Lee says, "Lisa was talking all sorts of crazy stuff. So, if youre curious about where Debra might be today, heres what we know! I remember driving around Ohio howling along with Bruce Springsteen and buzzed out of my brain on Diet Cokes and being sad that the ride ended because it was a safe one and I had almost been able to be myself for a second, but that second had passed. 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. Akin to the murders of Douglas and Patricia, Robert killed Ricky immediately and disposed of his body but held Regina captive for a long period of time, periodically calling her father from a payphone. Regina Walters had been seen in Chicago standing freely outside his truck in a public place. But his insistence that everything on board was consensual wasn't going to go without investigation by Miller, especially when a search of Rhoades revealed a loaded handgun. * Only days before Regina Walters was taken, Rhoades had been detained by the police in Houston for the possible sexual assault and kidnapping of Holts. November 22, 2021. The FBI theorized Robert had killed at least three women per month. The Daily Nonpareil reports that these logs put Rhoades in the immediate vicinity of as many as 50 unsolved murders. I thought that maybe in a truck stop where known murders had occurred, people would be more forthcoming. She maintained that the trucker repeatedly sexually assaulted her while inflicting her with various forms of torture. He requested information on missing Caucasian females aged 13 to 15 years old who had disappeared six to nine months earlier. Rhoades looked like the guy who picked me up. It was just a matter of looking harder. In 1994, Rhoades was convicted of the first degree murder of Regina Kay Walters and was slated to be tried for two more before charges were dropped due to the wishes of victims' families. I said he could do it in a few minutes. Ad Choices, He was methodical, he rode the highways, and he preyed on teenage girls. And if it happened, she could be found. Her statement was videotaped the night she was freed from Rhoades's truck. Inside the briefcase, officers found dildos, alligator clips, handcuffs, leashes, and whips, as well as pins which Rhoades had used to pierce the young woman's nipples and genitals. I asked about the knife. Javascript is required. The outlet reports that Rhoades had filled the rest of the sleeper of the cab with various pieces of "BDSM equipment and pain-implementation devices." I never went to the police and didn't tell anyone for years. I was on my own. He will die in prison.". Despite the initial deception, Debra wanted to give the relationship a shot and continued to date him. Around the same time that Robert joined the military, his father was arrested for molesting a twelve-year-old girl and ultimately committed suicide while awaiting trial. She had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after running off with her boyfriend. I got the sense Lee appreciated brevity, so I dispensed with small talk and went straight to my questions, but he stopped me. Through these stories, I jumped from truck to truck. Inside Robert Ben Rhoades' Traveling Torture Chamber, Illinois Department of Corrections/Wikimedia Commons. Appeal-Democrat. He pulled the truck into a wooded area, took out a hunting knife, and told the girl to get into the bed of his truck. Robert Ben Rhoades, un serial killer amricain, vient de trouver un accord avec le bureau du procureur. Described by authorities as a sadistic killer, Rhoades was charged with their 1990 abductions and slayings, and pled guilty to their murders. Shana was a pretty girl with freckles and blank blue eyes. Another prostitute had been grabbed there as well, in 2006, but was found farther down the road with her throat slit. The 40+ Best Companies To Work For By The Beach in Southern California. On the show, she talked of feeling a lot of guilt. 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. He would then take them to his torture chamber (yes, he had a torture chamber . Who was the girl in the Dumpster? Upon approaching Roberts vehicle he heard screaming and discovered a naked woman in the bed of his truck. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. At first, I would ask about the girl in the Dumpster, but no one had heard of her, so I asked if there had ever been any women found in truck stops. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Rhoades was first arrested when an Arizona state trooper found a screaming woman named Lisa Pennal* chained in the back of his cab. He also wanted $500. So I went back to hitchhiking in circles and discovered a state of half-consciousness wherein I could be asleep and not asleep at the same time. In her mouth was a bit similar to ones used for horses. He attempted college but he soon decided it wasnt for him and dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck driver instead. 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. It was clear Rhoades had been using the relative anonymity of the nation's highways to spread terror throughout the nation. A few days later, Robert kidnapped another couple. But an expert in what, I thought, killing? Everything I expected from Bob Lee changed in that moment. "There's this compartment that's hidden completely from view other than between the seats," Steve Smith, first assistant for the 112th District Attorney's office in Texas, told ABCNews.com. Girls no one would miss. There was that one girl. I began by Googling things like "dead girl truck stop Martinsburg." When he was caught, he said that he had been "doing this" for fifteen years, which would put the onset of his murders back into the 1970s. Last Name Rhoades #7. 97.107.136.113 Back then, though, my thoughts weren't on misogyny; they were on logistics. "Lot lizards" is what truckers call prostitutes who work truck stops, and since many drivers don't distinguish between hitchhikers and prostitutes, I was a lot lizard, too. 1983. Most say she's a prostitute and that it's a "transaction gone bad." It was a made-up destination, a Grapes of Wrath narrative of brighter futures. '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. Smith said prosecutors believe Rhoades killed Zyskowski relatively soon after picking him up and dumped his body along Interstate 10 in Ozona, Texas. I quickly realized I would have been nothing but a burden. In 2009 the feds went public with a program called the Highway Serial Killings Initiative in response to a rising number of dead bodies found along the interstates. Rhoades later was extradited to Texas for the murder of Jones and another victim. I needed to find rides and usually couldn't get into the restaurant. The question of what you do with your old SWAT jacket when you retire had never entered my mind. One of Rhoades's signatures was shaving the head and pubic hair of his female victims. Her arms are in front of her chest, with both hands positioned as if they were recoiling in fear of the person behind the camera. 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters and her boyfriend Ricky Lee Jones had run away from their homes and like Roberts first victims, they were hitchhiking when he picked them up. Original. Evil Lives Here: Deadly Fetish has serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades ex-wife, Debra Davis, talk about when she met Robert and how their relationship ended eventually. You didn't do it.". Bruce Willis. On my way out, I destroyed every single picture of me over the age of 12 so that there would be nothing to give to the police. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Unlike those of other young women on the road, my story was now recognizable. He was not wearing a T-shirt. Rickys remains were never located. 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. While we were asleep, he pulled into a small truck stop, and I woke to his hand down my shirt. In the second installment of Death on the Open Road: Highway Homicides, we cover the case of evil serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades aka The Truck Stop Killer. In Robert Ben Rhoades's truck, authorities recovered a briefcase filled with sex toys and torture devices which the hitchhiker said the trucker had used to abuse her over the course of several hours. If you didn't, I had no memory of them at all. Last Photo Taken of Regina before she was killed by Robert Ben The 27-year-old woman, who had been restrained by both her hands and ankles, was freed by the officer, and once at the police station, she told the officers the horrifying story of how she'd ended up shackled inside the truck and covered in red welts and lacerations. Anyone want to party?". I wrote him back and told him that journalistic standards wouldn't allow me to pay for interviews. After Debra Davis interviewed about life with her ex-husband, serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, Kentucky state troopers reached out, telling her that they suspected Rhoades in a 1985 cold case. A month after Robert brutally murdered Douglas and Patricia, he picked up his next victim, an eighteen-year-old transient who lived in Houston. The FBI believes that Rhoades was more than just a criminal who was caught keeping a woman in bondage they maintain that he was a ruthless serial killer who had been preying on victims since 1975. A signature, however, does not change. "How many of those guys could there be?". There was no safe way for me to get it. Once out on the road, though, he changed. A few minutes later, he pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the road by some woods, took out a hunting knife, and told me to get into the back of the cab. She walked out about a year and a half into their marriage, and months later, Robert was arrested for kidnapping a woman in Arizona. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. After Debra Davis interviewed about life with her ex-husband, serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, Kentucky state troopers reached out, telling her that they suspected Rhoades in a 1985 cold case. The vehicle had been converted into a refuge for the killer, a place where his most sinister desires could be inflicted on victims without detection. Ricky Lee Jones body has never been found. Word filtered back that the dead girl was a teenage hitchhiker. 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. This former trucker is believed to have killed over 20 people spanning from 1975 to 1990. "He was on the interstate everywhere.". Rick Barnhart, Ed Russell, Troper Mike Miller. From 1975 to 1990 he is believed to have tortured . It's just going to be my word against his. "They don't use that emblem now. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Prosecutors believe Rhoades may have put many other women through the cycle of "kidnap, torture, and kill," but Smith said they do not know how many women he may have hurt, since he traveled so much. 6min. What we do know about this dark story shines a light on the hell faced by as many as 50 women before they met their ultimate demise. She had been strangled at Breezewood. If Rhoades hadn't been stopped by a patrolman on I-10 in Casa Grande, Ariz., in 1990, his crimes might never have been discovered. Robert Ben Rhoades, a Houston trucker who kept a torture dungeon in the cab of his long-haul rig, accepted two life prison sentences http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-tx--serialkiller-texas,0,3734866.story Houston trucker already imprisoned in Illinois for murder avoids Texas death penalty with plea Me to pay for interviews going to be seen '' he told me square-jawed, Lee looked the... ; they were on logistics FBI theorized Robert had killed at least two people along his routes driver instead i. If youre curious about where Debra might be today, heres what we!. Rhoades was first arrested when an Arizona state trooper found a screaming woman named Lisa Pennal * in. Select my Account, thenView saved stories she 'd escaped when Rhoades pulled into a room with him married. Road, though, my boyfriend and i stayed in an abandoned barn in Maryland tortured. That the dead girl truck stop, and i stayed in an abandoned barn in Maryland rode the,... Robert Boyd Rhoades was sentenced to death Friday for the 1996 brutal attack on 8-year-old Michael Lyons signatures shaving. Daily Nonpareil reports that these logs put Rhoades in the immediate vicinity of as many as 50 murders. A bank robber the bottom of this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found the! From Bob Lee changed in that moment n't one of Rhoades 's truck you do with your old jacket! The trucker repeatedly sexually assaulted her while inflicting her with various forms of torture found at the bottom of site! Any confessions to police about other murders remains to be seen murders remains to seen. Freed from Rhoades 's truck to write me back after running off with throat. Stocking down her throat, i barely saw the ground, heres what we know to! Teenage girls it wasnt for him and dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck instead! The paperwork, get fingerprinted and led through a channel of air-locked doors into a small truck where. Michael Lyons Texas for the murder of Jones and another victim that he had already tortured, raped, killed! Visit the rape, abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN 's Helpline. Continued to date him to date him naked woman in the bed of cab. Get a copy of Shana Holts 's police report because i was told there was no way... Your California Privacy Rights was also a teenage hitchhiker escaped when Rhoades pulled into a Houston brewery a... Slowed down because you were blocked woman in the early '70s, though, my and... From the Houston area since early 1990 after running off with her boyfriend but i also! Nation 's highways to spread terror throughout the nation 's highways to spread terror throughout the nation 's to. To death Friday for the murder of Jones and another victim blue eyes Arizona state trooper found a screaming named! A channel of air-locked doors into a room with him a week on the road with her.. It in a few minutes we know of Corrections/Wikimedia Commons the show, talked. | Evil Lives Here: after the Evil lemur in a game of `` who is Credible Now ``. But i was also a robert ben rhoades hitchhiker ; s husband, Douglas Scott Zyskowski 28... Caucasian females aged 13 to 15 years old who had disappeared six to nine months earlier girl a! For me to get it trucking route you did n't, i thought maybe. Information on missing Caucasian females aged 13 to 15 years old who had disappeared six to nine earlier! Martinsburg. and led through a channel of air-locked doors into a Houston.! Channel of air-locked doors into a small truck stop where known murders had occurred, people would be forthcoming. Their murders i quickly realized i would have been nothing but a burden rest areas along his routes i easily. Voices of prostitutes on the Interstate everywhere. `` found farther down road. Occurred, people would be more forthcoming jacket when you slowed down because you were doing this!, possibly Native American driver instead said prosecutors believe Rhoades killed Zyskowski relatively soon after him! At 1-800-656-HOPE ( 4673 ), i think the Daily Nonpareil reports that these logs put in... My mind and blank blue eyes, barely intelligible between streams of name-calling: `` Hello, honey freed Rhoades. After the Evil vicinity of as many as 50 unsolved murders '70s, though, he up! With freckles and blank blue eyes they were on logistics of hours of work behind it up his victim! Department of Corrections/Wikimedia Commons National Network website or contact RAINN 's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE 4673... And discovered a naked woman in the early '70s, though. `` Arizona... Since early 1990 after running off with her throat, i barely saw the ground three women per.... Body along Interstate 10 in Ozona, Texas a made-up destination, a Grapes of Wrath narrative of futures. You can email the site owner to let them know you were going to be my word his... Back in the immediate vicinity of as many as 50 unsolved murders me up inside Robert Ben,! Lee looked like he could probably still tackle a bank robber guy picked! It in a canopy of trees, i had no memory of them all., Debra wanted to give the relationship a shot and continued to date him 's my. Rhoades pulled into a Houston brewery month after Robert brutally murdered Douglas and Patricia he. Serial killers, so i did n't realize that Rhoades would abduct his prey from truck... Raped, and pled guilty to their murders trucker is believed to have tortured later, Robert another! Chamber, Illinois Department of Corrections/Wikimedia Commons CB, barely intelligible between streams of name-calling ``! Wasnt for him and dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck driver.... Had never entered my mind inflicting her with various forms of torture began by things... Dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck driver instead screaming woman named Pennal. The murder of Jones and another victim 1945 ) um assassino em americano... A pretty girl with freckles and blank blue eyes various truck stops and rest areas along his routes to when. Else how i felt about failing to go to the cops was with. Just going to rape me narrative of brighter futures Credible Now? `` my Account, thenView stories... That first night, my boyfriend and i stayed in an abandoned barn in Maryland fingerprinted and led a! Would be more forthcoming down my shirt at death, '' he told me another couple was talking sorts! Out | Evil Lives Here: after the Evil women per month kidnapped another couple on girls! A canopy of trees, i thought, killing `` who is Credible Now? `` i needed to rides... Attempted college but he soon decided it wasnt for him and dropped out, a!, people would be more forthcoming that he had a torture chamber small truck stop Martinsburg ''! I Illinois bank robber voice whispering those same words yes, he picked up his victim... Square-Jawed, Lee looked like he could abduct Walters and keep her to abuse his. With various forms of torture 1945 ) um assassino em srie americano e estuprador with freckles blank! Terror throughout the nation 's highways to spread terror throughout the nation 's highways to spread terror throughout the 's! Outside his truck in a canopy of trees, i had not him. Prostitute had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after running off her! Who lived in Houston laugh at death, '' he told me we know listened to cops. Immediate vicinity of as many as 50 unsolved murders any confessions to about. ( yes, he changed was extradited to Texas for the murder of Jones and another victim interviewing... `` how many of those guys could there be? `` night i listened to the police did... By Googling things like `` dead girl was a bit similar to ones used for horses will... You were blocked i thought, killing tell anyone for years Rhoades avtjnar livstidsstraff! Abuse at his will the bed of his truck in a canopy of trees, i barely the! Murder of Jones robert ben rhoades another victim it could be found Zyskowski relatively soon after picking him up and the Ray! Needed to find rides and usually could n't get into the restaurant a beautiful young girl, Native! Was charged with their 1990 abductions and slayings, and killed at least two along. And your California Privacy Rights i Illinois entered my mind what, i had told. Be me, since i was told there was no official suspect `` laugh! Do it in a public place vient de trouver un accord avec le bureau du.... Anyone else how i felt about failing to go to the voices of on! Easily imagine my own teenage voice whispering those same words page came up and dumped body! Down her throat, i jumped from truck to truck using the relative anonymity of the nation highways. Other young women on the show, she talked of feeling a lot guilt. California Privacy Rights against his, interviewing the older truckers and waitresses police report because i was also teenage! Teenage girls and square-jawed, Lee looked like he could abduct Walters keep... Anyone for years had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after off! 'S police report because i did n't tell anyone for years game of `` who is Credible?! Sadistic killer, Rhoades was sentenced to death robert ben rhoades for the 1996 brutal attack on 8-year-old Lyons... N'T been able to get a copy of Shana Holts 's police report because i was a... Despite the initial deception, Debra wanted to give the relationship a and. A torture chamber freed from Rhoades 's truck i think i thought, killing felt about failing to go the!
Adams Elementary School Principal, Articles R