Killer Legends Page #3

it's you know, just probably

a more modern version of it.

I've heard that the storyline

of the movie

is about a copycat

that comes out

from the screenings

that happened at spring lake.

Are you serious?

That's the first

I've heard about that.

Well, you know,

imitation of life, I guess.

Joshua:
While it may seem

shocking to some,

the screenings

at spring lake park

were especially appropriate

because it was here on April 14

where the phantom

turned larger than life.

from the entrance

to spring lake park...

they found

Paul Martin's car empty.

not only had the phantom

murdered two teenagers

in the center of town,

but their deaths

would incite a panic

that would grip texarkana

and never let go.

Betty Jo booker, age 15,

was a saxophonist

for a high school band

called the rhythmaires

that played weekend shows

at the local vfw.

At 1:
30 A.M.

that Saturday night,

she left with a childhood

friend named Paul Martin, age 16,

who was supposed to drop

her off at a slumber party.

Rachel:
Paul's body was found

lying on its left side.

on the other side of the road

by a fence.

Right over here,

Paul Martin's body was found.

and then he crawled

across the street, over to here,

and then whoever did it

shot him again twice.

They said he put up a struggle.

He had a bullet

through his hand...

Right.

probably begged

not to be killed, and then...

They found him

at 6:
30 in the morning.

Betty Jo booker

was nowhere around.

Joshua:

Although supposedly

in the town

that dreaded sundown,

one of the most egregious

fictionalizations

had Betty Jo booker

playing the trombone

instead of the saxophone,

the reason being to show

a more terrifying demise.

some people in town actually

think that's how she died.

( Grunts and groans )

The actual site

of where Betty Jo booker's

body was found,

along the edge

of a forgotten road,

had eluded many.

Lost in time

when a section of the park

was turned into housing,

this was one mystery

we were determined to solve.

Rachel:

She was found two Miles away

from Martin's body.

Joshua:

The road's closed.

Here's where we think

this road continues on.

See that line

between those two trees?

Totally.

That's the road

that's been overgrown.

( Whispers )

Keep that flashlight down.

Just turn it down.

Look at that.

This looked exactly like

the older road.

It is the old road basically

that we just went through

somebody's backyard to get to.

( Shrieks )

Rachel:

What is it?

Joshua:

It's a big spider web...

It's halfway between

the two ends.

This is Betty Jo booker,

15 years old.

Rachel:
Shot twice,

once to the left rib

and once in the face,

to the left cheek.

Joshua:
Well, she's fully

clothed...

Rachel:

Fully clothed, yeah.

Joshua:
Her overcoat

has been buttoned up,

and her hand

was put in her pocket.

Rachel:

Strange.

See that picture for a second?

Joshua:

Doesn't it look like it?

It must.

Joshua:
Like if you're

looking at it like that,

add 60 years.

Joshua:
It could be.

I feel bad, though.

You know, we're never going to

really know who killed her.

Joshua:
What happened to

Paul Martin and Betty Jo booker

out on these roads

over 60 years ago

was horrific enough.

Their deaths

didn't need to be rewritten

for more blood or Gore.

Coming out here, you realize

that real life is just as scary

as any horror film...

and sometimes even more.

This is Marc bledsoe,

a former probation officer

who was obsessed with the case

and conducted his own

investigation.

I developed a passion,

I guess in the '90s.

I saw the film, of course,

when I was a seventh grader,

and I was pretty scared

because of the way

the film ends.

and said he could still

be walking the town.

I wanted to know

what the truth was.

Joshua:
Bledsoe was one of

the only people

to interview youell swinney

in recent years.

Swinney, who was out of jail

and living in

a Texas nursing home,

had suffered a stroke

the year before,

making his speech

difficult to decipher.

Fifty... sixty years?

But she said you and her

were together

at spring lake park.

Hear that?

They drove out there together

at spring lake. What did he say?

Rachel:

No, I wasn't.

Mark:
Who do you think

was the main...

I don't know.

You wish they'd catch him.

Rachel:

Hm, interesting.

Hi. I just wanted

to check one thing.

They told me

you all were videotaping?

Have you all signed the thing?

Rachel:

Ugh!

( Background talk )

I feel like

there was more there.

( Groans )

( Background talk )

Joshua:

Despite being so close,

we still didn't have

an answer as to who

the phantom really was...

and we probably never will.

TV narrator:
What happened

to the phantom killer

no one really knows.

Some believe he was convicted

of another crime,

and today he is still serving

his term in a Kansas prison.

Joshua:

It's these lack of answers

that allows a legend to endure

for the teenagers in texarkana.

So, what do you think

the next chapter is

in that legend?

Probably more ghost stories,

maybe more kids

trying to scare other kids.

Do you think it will ever end?

I think eventually

it will fade out,

but I wouldn't be able to say

for how long.

I mean, legends

last for a long time.

Joshua:

So this is the tree where,

because of the movies,

some people think

Betty Jo booker was actually

killed with the trombone.

I think why this is so

kind of important

is because so many people

believed the fiction,

and the fiction became reality,

and in this town...

I really think

what's interesting is...

they can't separate the two.

Well, I think it's more

romantic, though,

than to have the facts

in front of you.

Joshua:
You have the

whole town coming out

and watching a fictionalized

version of that,

and that's just like little kids

telling a fictionalized version

of what really happened.

That's what an urban legend is.

Where does the truth end

and the fiction begin?

At this point,

no one quite knows.

Narrator:
Texarkana today still

looks pretty much the same,

and if you should ask people

here on the streets

what they believe happened

to the phantom killer,

most would say

that he is still living here

and is walking free.

So right now,

we're driving into Houston.

We're going to investigate

the urban legend

of the candy man.

Joshua:

The name candy man

has a lot of

urban legend references.

Obviously, one of the most

well-known is the film Candyman

based on the clive barker

short story

about an urban legend expert

investigating the boogeyman

who haunts the cabrini-green

housing projects in Chicago.

Voice:

With my hook for a hand,

I'll split you from your groin

to your gullet.

( Screams and grunts )

Joshua:
Here the Candyman

uses a hook,

just like the well-known

hook urban legend

where it was probably

appropriated from,

but the film's villain

wasn't the first candy man.

a very real monster behind

one of the most horrific crimes

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