*Some of the victims names have been changed. We had $60 and a Smith Wesson five-shot with one bullet in it, which we accidentally fired off in a field in Maryland during a discussion about whether the safety was on. It's believed that Rhoades would abduct his prey from various truck stops and rest areas along his trucking route. 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. When officials searched the trucker's apartment a few days later, they discovered evidence that caused officials to believe Rhoades was even more dangerous than they had assumed. Regina Kay Walters 14 years old died by the hands of Robert Ben On Monday, Rhoades pleaded guilty and was charged with two counts of capital murder in Sutton County, Tex. After his eventual arrest for murder, this ex-spouse told the FBI that Rhoades would often organize orgies. Robert Ben Rhoades known as The Truck Stop Killer, is an American serial killer and rapist. Instagram: @openshuddetspodcast. He sent me a text just as I was leaving Texas saying that "Debbie" was ready to talk. However, shortly after they accepted a ride from Rhoades, the middle-aged trucker shot Zyskowski and dumped the 28-year-old's corpse near a Texas highway. Between the seats in the rear of the cab was a woman bound by chains. But beyond that, it was the man's demeanor that was so chilling. Unlike those of other young women on the road, my story was now recognizable. Robert Ben Rhoades Is A Member Of . What is known about him in the 1980s is murky. The trial began in 1994 and Robert was ultimately convicted of the first-degree murder of Regina Kay Walters. ", 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. I could easily imagine my own teenage voice whispering those same words. The dungeon-like compartment was described in "Roadside Prey" by Alva Busch, a book written about Rhoades. Word filtered back that the dead girl was a teenage hitchhiker. I did a search on towns named Martinsburg. Over lunch at a local sushi place, he taught me the difference between a mode of operation and a signature. The photo was taken by serial rapist, torturer and murderer, Robert Ben Rhoades, who dressed the young teen in a black dress and heels, forcibly cutting her hair for the occasion. There was talk of me going to live with my dad in Virginia, where I had traditionally spent my summers. The sun is coming down on her long hair, and she's laughing. He immediately killed Doug and dumped his body in Texas. If we went missing, months could pass before a report was filed, and by then there was little to connect the missing person in one state with the decomposed remains in another. Read More: Where is Robert Ben Rhoades Now? With all her freckles, she looked very Irish. Even the guys who were trying to help had used it. 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. We drove up to Ohio drinking Diet Coke and listening to Bruce Springsteen. They were both deeply religious, and they had intended to preach about Christianity when they reached the east coast. Rhoades liked to think of himself as an "expert," and now Rhoades suggested he be paid as one. She was a drifter." Debra said she looked about 18 or 19 and desperate. Why didn't I go to anyone? This obviously doesn't recommend the waitress's judgment, but at least some of the credit has to go to Rhoades. I kept my eyes closed, stayed still, then rolled away from him, pretending I was still asleep. Last Photo Taken of Regina before she was killed by Robert Ben Rhoades in Bond County IL Barn. Rhoades is currently serving life sentences in Illinois for three murders. She had been missing from the Houston area since early 1990 after running off with her boyfriend. His trucker handle on the CB radio waves was "Whips and Chains," a reference to his kink. ", Pennal was the woman chained into Rhoades's truck when they arrested him in Arizona. I lived in that gap. 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. Rhoades, for instance, used guns and ligature strangulation and probably knives, too. "So was the trucker I met a true psychopath?" She knew how to survive. Could Debra help solve an active investigation? "He liked people to think he was in uniform," she said. That it turned him on, just like Rhoades.". Like me, she left home with her older boyfriend. I spoke to a woman who had worked there a long time and told her about the dead hitchhiker while she fingered the gold cross on her neck and listened. She occasionally speaks on domestic violence at conferences and in classrooms at AM. It was just a matter of looking harder. After all, it's just going to be his word against mine. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations. Tall and square-jawed, Lee looked like he could probably still tackle a bank robber. Police photo. 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. "Bob was fascinated by secret societies.". "I've been a prosecutor since 1979 and it was one of the rare occasions when I was in the court where the defendant walked in and you felt the evil," Smith said. TV-14. I asked to speak to any senior officer who might have been there at the time. 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. Young then showed me some photos of Rhoades in the 1980s that had come from his wife. The trucker went to pay for gas, and my boyfriend and I went to use the bathroom. So, if youre curious about where Debra might be today, heres what we know! "Wait a minute. 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. They were stringing crime tape around the Dumpster just as another state trooper rolled into the lot. Rhoades is currently being held in an Illinois prison where he will spend the rest of his days behind bars. They get more nuanced and elaborate, but the basic topography remains the same. On the show, she talked of feeling a lot of guilt. I knew in my body that it was over. In the end, Debra was able to escape Roberts fury and worked on moving on. He attempted college but he soon decided it wasnt for him and dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck driver instead. "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? Unbeknownst to Regina Walters or Ricky Jones, the man behind the wheel was Robert Ben Rhoades, also known as the Truck Stop Killer. That ride turned out to be fine. When I got to the part about the sudden switch in his behavior, she got excited. But an expert in what, I thought, killing? He could be the killer. . Her hair, long at the time of her abduction, had been clumsily cut short. Out of desperation I made one last attempt and swung by a smaller truck stop in Hancock, Maryland. Ex-Wife Of Serial Killer Robert Ben Rhoades Speaks Out | Evil Lives Here: After the Evil. She attested that she was pressured to perform acts to satisfy his masochistic fantasies. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. His first known murder victims were 28-year-old Douglas Zyskowski and his wife, 24-year-old Patricia Walsh, a couple he'd picked up as hitchhikers at the end of 1989 near El Paso, Texas. In his early life, Rhoades got into trouble from a young age, he was arrested for . Powered by WordPress.com VIP. This was 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters just before she was sexually assaulted and murdered. Even so, it still wasn't safe to sleep. He'd never heard the phrase. The remarkable thing is that when she did, she didn't dump him. Not even the FBI knew that he had already tortured, raped, and killed at least two people along his routes. Neither of us said anything about the dead girl. Young pulled out one last picture and slid it across to me. To her shock and horror, she realized Rhoades had converted the cab of his truck into a mobile torture chamber, equipped with chains, shackles, and handcuffs to help him restrain his victims. His favorite book was Games People Play, wherein each social encounter is treated as a transaction or "game." Robert Ben Rhoades. Rhoades is considered one of the most dangerous and notorious serial sex offenders and killers in the United States. Look at Lisa Pennal. He pled guilty to the first degree murder of 14-year-old Regina Walters in 1992 after investigators found haunting photos of the teenager in his apartment. Robert took Regina to an abandoned farmhouse. Murder Victim. Though his first confirmed murders didn't occur until 1990, one woman may have barely escaped with her life the year before. After she was rescued from Robert Ben Rhoades's vehicle, the woman told law enforcement that she had met the middle-aged husband and father at a truck stop, and he had agreed to give her a ride to her destination. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. Robert Ben Rhoades is a 71 year old white male, 6' 1" 175 pounds, and currently resides in the Menard Correctional Facility in Chester Illinois. 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. Everywhere I looked, evidence of these girls was disappearing. But Holts, 18 years old, had been on the street since she was 12. Robert Ben Rhoades, 66, is already serving a life sentence without parole for the 1990 murder of 14-year-old runaway Regina Walters in Illinois. 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. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help Rhoades avtjnar ett livstidsstraff p Menard Correctional Center i Chester i Illinois . The true number of victims of Robert Ben Rhoades may never be fully known, for a variety of reasons. Going through the truck stops, I'd heard about women getting their throats slit or strangled. But it was also a dangerous form of brinksmanship, because if a trucker was going to cross the line, the higher stakes meant he was going to do it for real. She also had children from another marriage. The trucker bought me lunch and didn't even try to have sex with me, which made him a prince in my world. "There was that hitchhiker. Eventually she was left unbound. Girls no one would miss. Most truckers occupied the middle of the scale, but the trucker who resembled Rhoades didn't have a place on it. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. There was going to be no more talking. Rhoades later was extradited to Texas for the murder of Jones and another victim. Regina Kay Walters 14 years old died by the hands of Robert Ben Rhoades. She had existed enough for me to call my dad all those years ago and warn him about what he would read. Patricia was newly married to Douglas Zyzkowski. Regina Walters and Ricky Jones were from Texas. On the table in front of Young was a snapshot of Regina Walters that I hadn't seen, taken not very long before she was abducted. In it, she's sitting in the backseat of a car. There was no safe way for me to get it. It was a cloudy day just before a summer storm, and everything in the truck is cast in gray. I pulled up a map of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, and that's where things started to get hazy. The trucker bought us chicken-fried steak, chatted amiably, and let us nap in the cab while he drove. Debra wanted to give her money or do something. 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." 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. She'd escaped when Rhoades pulled into a Houston brewery. He would then keep them alive, torturing and sexually assaulting them for weeks at a time before murdering them and disposing of their bodies. Young was right. Robert Benjamin Rhoades 19451122 - 32 1975199050 She'd been picked up in a truck stop, shackled into the back of the cab, tortured and raped for weeks. Debra had a difficult time coping with the news that Robert had tortured women and killed multiple people. Robert Ben Rhoades was a truck driver with a torture chamber attached to his semi. '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. He will die in prison.". I began by Googling things like "dead girl truck stop Martinsburg." Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1905de5cd6c356 He wore a cotton button-down with the sleeves rolled neatly up over his biceps and had the cleanest cab I ever saw. Mark Young said Rhoades likes to feel like an expert and that I should ask him to "educate" me, so while writing my letter I used permissive language, saying I wanted him "to teach me what I did right and what I did wrong" when I was traveling. Ted Bundy. My whole body relaxed. 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. He got over 900 matches. Whatever the man thought he had broken in her had already been broken and healed back stronger. I found her in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later that night. This is the last picture ever taken of Regina Walters. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The couple were traveling from Georgia to Seattle when they allegedly crossed paths with Rhoades, a long-haul trucker suspected of a decade of rape . I woke when it slowed for traffic. And who's going to believe him? Robert Ben Rhoades, dubbed the Truck Stop Killer is one of America's most prolific serial killers. In one, he relaxed on the grass in a park. When questioned by police, The Daily Nonpareil reports that Rhoades calmly told officers that the woman was "clearly crazy," and the officers believed him. From 1975 to 1990 he is believed to have tortured . At the time, she was out with friends when she came across Robert in a pilots uniform. Davis mentioned the case of Colleen Stan, a 21-year-old hitchhiker who had been kidnapped in 1977 by a couple who tortured her and kept her as a sex slave for seven years while she slept in a box under their bed. I asked. However, before he killed the 14-year-old, Rhoades took several haunting images of Walters that the authorities eventually recovered from his home. A remembrance before rape, torture and murder. I asked around until I found someone who had been there in 1985. Her facial expression could be described as a combination of desperation and abject fear. In a letter to his wife on the subject of psychological games, he wrote: "I always told you there were three things you could do: play, pass, or run." Wikipedia External References He narrowly avoided the death penalty, accepting a second life sentence. According to law enforcement officials, almost immediately after he picked up the hitchhiking runaways, Rhoades killed Jones and dumped his corpse in Mississippi. Robert Ben Rhoades Father Killed himself after being charged with The serial killer's name was Robert Ben Rhoades. Drew Peterson, former police sergeant, was sentenced to 38 years for the murder of his 3rd wife, Kathleen Savio. Robert Ben Rhoades, who is serving a life sentence in Illinois for killing a 14-year-old girl, pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder when he appeared before a West Texas judge . The picture was given to Young by Regina's mom. : r/pics r/pics 10 yr. ago Posted by punkindrublicrpp Before serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades killed his victims, he like to snap a photo of them. This Picture was the key evidence photo. I watched the truck idle on the side of the road until it finally pulled off. She hid there until she was sure she heard his truck leave. 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