Investigating the Vicious Washington D.C. Serial Killer Known as the "Freeway Phantom"

In 1971 and 1972, an unknown serial killer abducted and murdered at least five young girls in the D.C. area. Hindered by sloppy police work, the case remains open

Between 1971 and 1972, an unidentified serial killer abducted and murdered at least five young women and girls in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Dubbed by investigators and the media as “The Freeway Phantom,” this elusive killer has never been officially identified.

Murder of Carol Denise Spinks

On April 25th, 1971, on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., near the Maryland state line, a 13-year-old girl was walking alone. Carol Denise Spinks was on her way to purchase groceries from a convenience store at the request of her older sister.

Carol made the half-mile journey to the store, purchased her groceries, and began her walk home. However, she would never make it back to her family. On her way home from the store, Carol was abducted on the roadside by an unknown person.

Six days later, Carol’s body was found behind a nearby hospital, lying in the grass. The young girl had undergone significant physical and sexual abuse, and she was found fully clothed, save for her shoes.

Medical examiners determined that she had been killed a few days prior to the discovery of her body, and bruising suggested she’d been asphyxiated.

This began a series of abductions and murders that would rattle the community.

Photo of Carol Denise Spinks (Vocal Media)

The Freeway Phantom

Less than three months after Carol Denise Spinks’ body was found, another young girl went missing. Darlenia Denise Johnson, aged sixteen, was on her way to work at the Oxon Hill Recreation Center on July 8th when she was abducted.

Eyewitness accounts placed Darlenia in an older black vehicle driven by an adult black male. Unfortunately, Darlenia and her kidnapper were not located in time.

Eleven days after she disappeared, Darlenia’s body was found in almost the exact location where Carol’s body was dumped. Due to the summer heat, Darlenia’s body had decayed significantly, and investigators were unable to determine an exact cause of death or if the young girl had suffered sexual abuse.

There was some evidence that she had also been strangled. Darlenia, like Carol, was also found clothed but without her shoes.

While it only took six days for Carol’s body to be discovered, Darlenia was not found for eleven days despite being dumped in the same area.

Perhaps most frustratingly, law enforcement had received an anonymous call nearly a week before the discovery of Darlenia’s body, in which the caller described the location of her corpse and provided details that would only be known to her killer.

Police sat on the information for nearly a week, doing nothing. This led to the community becoming justifiably upset. It seemed that law enforcement was not taking these disappearances seriously.

Photo of Darlenia Denise Johnson (Blaine Pardoe)

Reign of Terror

Less than ten days after Darlenia’s body was found, another girl went missing. On July 27th, Brenda Faye Crockett, aged ten, was sent to the store at her mother’s request. When Brenda did not return home, her parents began to search the neighborhood.