robert ben rhoades

He was sentenced to death for the crime. It made sense. They are more like habits, he said, and can adapt to circumstances or mood. "We laugh at death," he told me. Robert Benjamin Rhoades (born November 22, 1945), also known as The Truck Stop Killer, is an American serial killer and rapist. The trucker went to pay for gas, and my boyfriend and I went to use the bathroom. Last Photo Taken of Regina before she was killed by Robert Ben Rhoades in Bond County IL Barn. At the time, she was out with friends when she came across Robert in a pilots uniform. If there was any way to connect my story to Rhoades, it would be through the body of the girl in the Dumpster. While I was hitchhiking, he was driving. Described by authorities as a sadistic killer, Rhoades was charged with their 1990 abductions and slayings, and pled guilty to their murders. Even so, it still wasn't safe to sleep. I was accepted, and that provided a thin strip of pride on which to stand while I made contact with my family. Please enable javascript before you are allowed to see this page. By her own account, she had been raped at least twenty times and had already had a baby. 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. Microchips in her brain. Rhoades must have just picked her up, because he hasn't cut her hair yet. 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 1989near El Paso, Texas. 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. The trucker bought us chicken-fried steak, chatted amiably, and let us nap in the cab while he drove. Movie Actor. I asked around until I found someone who had been there in 1985. He may be right, but certainly not because he's innocent. Javascript is required. Wikipedia External References People don't leave home because things are going well; they leave because they feel they have to, and right or wrong, that's how I felt. I only ran about a hundred yards before I turned and hid, because I didnt know if I was being chased. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. I had a guitar and a knapsack full of souvenirs of my girlhood: notes from friends, earrings, and song lyrics. Some of these were women left in Dumpsters. "They don't use that emblem now. Investigators from various law enforcement agencies along his route poured over his driving logs. When it turned, when it downshifted, when it drifted toward the shoulderI woke. Being up high, warm, and looking out over the traffic was a great improvement. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I remember coming down through the Blue Ridge Mountains in a truck with its brakes on fire and dropping over Chester Gap in the middle of the night when it was still hot and the air was loud with the chirping of bugs. In that one, driven by penis envy, a woman's inner child taunts a man into seducing her so that she can be freed from guilt for her own "sadistic fantasies." A man from the restaurant ran out and started yelling for everyone to stay away as a small crowd gathered around the Dumpster in the rain. I never went to the police and didn't tell anyone for years. It's actually from a Halloween party in Houston where he went as a "slave," led on a chain by his wife, who was dressed as a dominatrix. Prosecutors say the trucker kept a mobile torture chamber in the cab of his long-haul rig. November 22, 2021. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Everywhere I looked, evidence of these girls was disappearing. While we were asleep, he pulled into a small truck stop, and I woke to his hand down my shirt. It brought her back to that terrifying night in 1985. I didn't tell him about my recent inquiries at first; I just asked where he'd dropped me off. She attested that she was pressured to perform acts to satisfy his masochistic fantasies. She's shown sitting in Rhoades's truck wearing a gray hoodie. Lee told me that the final lines of Holts's police statement read, "I don't see any good in filing charges. Records on her would provide a date and a place that could then be checked against Rhoades's trucking logs. The driver reached the cab, swung up behind the wheel, and said we should get going. His bearing shifted. I asked. March 30, 2012 — -- A Texas trucker who kept a traveling torture chamber in the cab of his rig pleaded guilty to murdering a newlywed couple more than 20 years ago. This tells me that he liked manipulating through terror. I needed visibility to stay alive. 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. "The hairs on my arm stand up right now talking about it.". A few minutes later, I got up like nothing had happened. She also had children from another marriage. 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. My memory may have been bent by sleep deprivation, but I was not crazy. He then forced her to wear heels and a black dress before taking several photos of her, strangling her with baling wire, and leaving her body to decompose in the barn. She brought the police right back to Rhoades's truck but then balked at pressing charges, so they had to let him go. And they're right. I said it was his choice. Investigation Discovery's ' 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. The sun is coming down on her long hair, and she's laughing. "No," she said, "I never heard of anything like that anywhere.". Just a few months after she left Robert, he was taken into custody for a kidnapping. Rhoades kept Regina for at least two weeks. I'd heard of at least one who got hung up on a meat hook in the back of a refrigerated trailer because a trucker thought she'd given him VD. Knowing the capacity of his sadism made this unbearable. 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 attempted college but he soon decided it wasnt for him and dropped out, becoming a long-haul truck driver instead. Robert Ben Rhoades Popularity . Like a lemur in a canopy of trees, I barely saw the ground. The rig was equipped with handcuffs on the ceiling, which enabled Rhoades to chain his female victims so that he could torture them before killing them. The dissonance between my emotional world and the one around me was still too great, and soon I left again, but in a more sanctioned way. The two had a few drinks together and danced that night. Once out on the road, though, he changed. And then you were still a prostitute. They found her near a Dumpster behind the restaurant at the Gateway Travel Plaza in Breezewood. So, if youre curious about where Debra might be today, heres what we know. Young was right. We have many The next morning, I drove to the Gateway Travel Plaza in Breezewood, Pennsylvania. I did a search on towns named Martinsburg. His operation spanned for over 15 years between 1975 to 1990 leading to the death of over 50 victims before he was convicted of several charges and . 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. Robert Ben Rhoades was a truck driver with a torture chamber attached to his semi. Who was the girl in the Dumpster? After receiving my friend's e-mail, I left messages with the FBI but was relieved when they were not returned. And who's going to believe him? In the end, Debra was able to escape Roberts fury and worked on moving on. VI, 11, subd. October 20, 2022. He sent me a text just as I was leaving Texas saying that "Debbie" was ready to talk. The prisms of Regina Walters, Shana Holts, and Lisa Pennal refracted into a set of iconsone in the backseat of a car laughing as she leans on the headrest, one with the shorn red-gold hair and an expression of resilience, one slightly crazy and ready to fighteach casting her own light, each a hologram of girlhood. If what he said was true, the trail I was on had disappeared into a field. As a true sexual sadist, Rhoades would have been interested in a level of submission requiring no chains. Robert Ben Rhoades will serve two life sentences without parole. Rhoades was from Texas. Instagram: @openshuddetspodcast. The whole thing seemed so uncanny. That's where my fantasy ends, in a game of "Who Is Credible Now?". Had I confused the state? It was clear Rhoades had been using the relative anonymity of the nation's highways to spread terror throughout the nation. Inside the cab of the truck was a woman, chained to the wall and screaming, with only a pair of slippers on her feet. The Daily Nonpareil reports thatRobert Ben Rhoades was set to be free on work release when Illinois police identified the body of 14-year-old Regina Walters. He stopped responding to my questions. "That's from my old SWAT jacket." Truck stops in the 1980s were closed worlds where what went on passed unnoticed on the outside. Behind the tragic elements of Regina's story, like some kind of pentimento, I saw my own. "That's him! Rhoades' attorneys did not respond to requests for comment from ABCNews.com. 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." Last Photo Taken of Regina before she was killed by Robert Ben Piercings around the breasts, bruising, and other signs of torture were also frequently found. Girls who'd run away. Rhoades was first arrested when an Arizona state trooper found a screaming woman named Lisa Pennal* chained in the back of his cab. Several days later, though, heading south on I-95 through the Carolinas, I got picked up by another trucker who was not fine. After that, she spoke of feeling inadequate and questioning if something was wrong with her. She walked out about a year and a half into their marriage, and months later, Robert was arrested for kidnapping a woman in Arizona. 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 . "You see that, Debbie," he whispered in her ear. 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. Looks too much like a target.". Along with cutting off her hair, he also shaved her pubic hair and pierced her genitals with fishhooks. Upon approaching Roberts vehicle he heard screaming and discovered a naked woman in the bed of his truck. I lived among artists in the Lower East Side squats. Robert started with petty crimes like public fighting and tampering with vehicles while he was still in high school. Robert Benjamin Rhoades (born November 22, 1945), also known as The Truck Stop Killer, is an American serial killer and rapist. Condamn la prison vie pour une srie de meurtres, il en a confess un nouveau . Then he said one word: Run. 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. 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. But beyond that, it was the man's demeanor that was so chilling. Robert Ben Rhoades, now 74, is currently serving his two life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois. She had a stocking down her throat, I think. Rhoades is thought to have killed Zyskowski while the young man slept. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). She was a drifter." 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. I lived in that gap. Rather, he would force them to accompany him all along his long-haul trucker route, killing them perhaps hundreds or thousands of miles from where they were last seen alive. 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. Roadside Prey. Movie Actress. He was charged with kidnapping and assault. Criminals. 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. TV-14. Viswa Vanapalli. She knew how to survive. I'd never heard the word "drifter" used in earnest. 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. "Well," said Lee, sitting back after I finished, "you're probably right. I needed to find rides and usually couldn't get into the restaurant. He was married. I expected that to be the end of it, but I got another letter. She started to . Rhoades saw what Debra was looking at. 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. : 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. The Daily Nonpareil reports that Rhoades had been married multiple times, and his third wife came forward to police with additional information about his bedroom hobbies. I'm a 30-something true crime writer living in North America with my hubby & two fur babies https://thewickedtruthblog.com/membership Follow More from Medium Fatim Hemraj 8-Year-Old Boy Solves His Own Mom's Murder Fatim Hemraj Teen Murders Her Best Friend for $9 Million Dollars Jonathan Harker Out of desperation I made one last attempt and swung by a smaller truck stop in Hancock, Maryland. It seems our profound fascination with serial killers is matched by an equally profound lack of interest in their victims. Bottles of isobutyl nitrite and rotgut aphrodisiacs like Locker Room and Spanish Fly crowded the counters by the register, along with the iconic bumper sticker ASS, GAS, OR GRASSNO ONE RIDES FOR FREE. One game in the book is called "Courtroom." Without fake ID, I couldn't stay in a shelter. I stuck to trucks because they were safer than cars. Recently, the New Jersey State Supreme Court handed down a statement on memory, describing it as complex and often unreliable. Going through the truck stops, I'd heard about women getting their throats slit or strangled. 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. 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. And while I was getting more adept at survival, he was very likely getting more adept at killing. Investigation Discovery referred to Rhoades' truck as a "rolling torture chamber," based on what was kept inside this enclosure. She was a prostitute. I found her in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later that night. They had to make up stories for me: "I got a beaver needs a ride to Flagstaff for her grandma's funeral don't want no trouble, c'mon back." Rhoades, dressed for a Halloween party, was an active member of the S&M scene in Houston. I remember thinking it could be me, since I was also a teenage hitchhiker. Your IP: She was the only person who asked me this, and of course I did. As the details unfolded, it was discovered that Walters and Ricky Lee Jones had been picked up while hitchhiking by a truck driver outside of Houston. 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. The victim began saying anything she could think of to try and save her own life. He would only have been 39 at the time, and I remember the trucker as an older man with light brown or graying hair. There's a picture of him in leather and chains that floats around the Internet. 97.107.136.113 When we came back, the truck was gone and every reminder of home with itmy guitar, my knapsack, everything except the Smith Wesson, which we sold later in New Orleans. Megan Fox. In her weeks with Rhoades, many drivers saw her, but somehow no alarm was raised. Between the seats in the rear of the cab was a woman bound by chains. Even in jail, his shirt and pants were always ironed and pressed.". She occasionally speaks on domestic violence at conferences and in classrooms at AM. Robert Ben Rhoades, truck driver, is a serial killer, and rapist. Rhoades avtjnar ett livstidsstraff p Menard Correctional Center i Chester i Illinois . Walsh's remains were found in October 1990 in central Utah, but not identified until 2003, with the help of dental records. The woods were blue in the gray light, which was either dusk or a coming storm. "Human memory is not like a video recording," they said. Robert shot and killed Douglas right away and dumped his body in Sutton County, Texas. she said. 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. I said he could do it in a few minutes. He welcomed me into his spacious living room. There was that one girl. Rhoades is additionally suspected of torturing, raping, and killing more than 50 . 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 . robert ben rhoades, serial killer, torture, trucker Caught by Accident Robert Ben Rhoades. But Rhoades was cunning and highly charismatic. Rhoades was a long-haul trucker, in jail since 1990, who had recently been convicted of a couple of new "cold cases." I didn't recognize him. There was only one word for woman on the CB, and that was beaver. As with Patricia Walsh, the trucker didn't murder Walters right away. Rhoades. Laying asleep next to her was the driver of the truck, Robert Ben Rhoades. The store for professional drivers was clean and quiet. It's just going to be my word against his. Brought her back to that terrifying night in 1985 visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest Network... 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After she left robert, he said, and let us nap in the of... 'S story, like some kind of pentimento, I drove to the Gateway Travel Plaza in Breezewood County Barn!, heres what we know at AM and quiet of it, but not identified until 2003 with! I looked, evidence of these girls was disappearing with vehicles while he was very likely getting adept! Recent inquiries at first ; I just asked where he 'd dropped me off was either dusk a..., was an active member of the truck stops in the back of long-haul... Right back to that terrifying night in 1985 two had a few minutes later I. At first ; I just asked where he 'd dropped me off together... Lemur in a game of `` who is Credible now? `` attempted college but he soon it. Into a small truck stop, and song lyrics be my word against his out with friends when she across... Conferences and in classrooms at AM `` no, '' she said, `` I never to. It, but I was getting more adept at survival, he also shaved her pubic hair and pierced genitals! 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In filing charges knapsack full of souvenirs of my girlhood: notes from,!
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