Arkansas's Oldest Cold Case: The Texarkana Phantom Killer Part Two: The First Double Murder.

Richard Lanier Griffin was born on August 31st, 1916, in

Linden, Cass County, Texas to Richard Hightower Griffin and Bernice Cameron Griffin.

He was a war veteran who was discharged from the Seabees in November 1945.

(Seabees is the nickname for the United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). During World War II they were plank-holders of both the Naval Combat Demolition Units and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs). They also provided the manpower for the top secret CWS Flame Tank Group.)

Richard was a carpenter and painter and handled his own contracting. He was living with his mother at 155 Robison Courts which was built for servicemen returning from World War II.

Polly Ann Moore was born on November 10th, 1928, in Bryans Mill, Cass County, Texas to George Sloan Moore and Lizzie Mae Melton Moore. She graduated high school in 1963, at the age of just 16. After graduation she worked for Red River Arsenal, as a checker. (I am pretty sure the Red River Arsenal was an army depot in Texarkana, Texas, in Bowie County.)

In 1946, Polly was living with her cousin at boardinghouse at 1215 Magnolia Street. She began dating Richard sometime in February. 17-year-old Polly and 29-year-old Richard were last seen alive on March 23rd at 10p.m. at a cafe at West 7th street in Texarkana, where they had visited with Richard's sister, Eleanor, and her boyfriend. After leaving the cafe they set off for the nearby lovers' lane.

The next morning was rainy. It was around 8:15a.m. when a motorist passed by Richard's 1941 Oldsmobile Sedan parked near a railroad spur a near Rich Road. He saw what looked like two people sleeping inside. He was concerned so he stopped and got of his car to investigate and soon realized the people were dead, slumped over in pools of blood. He quickly got back in his car and back to town where he alerted the authorities.

Bowie County Sheriff W.H. "Bill" Presley was again one of the first officers to arrive at the scene. He was joined by friend and the Texas City Chief of police, Jack Runnels. When they looked inside the car, they saw Richard between the front seats on his knees with his head resting on his crossed hands and his pockets turned inside out. He was identified from his car. Polly was sprawled face-down in the back seat. Both of them were fully clothed and both had been shot in the back of their head execution style. Polly was identified by the class ring she wore on her finger, which bore the inscription of her initials, "P.A.M." as well as her graduation year "'45." Later blood tests would confirm their identities.

There i have not found a record of a pathologist examining or analyzing the bodies, so it is unknown if Polly or Richard were sexually assaulted or anything of the sort.

The running board inside the car was covered in congealed blood, which had been pooling underneath the car door. A couple of .32-caliber shells and a bullet, most likely from an automatic Colt model pistol, were found at the scene. 

Despite the rain there was a huge patch of blood-soaked soil about twenty feet away or so away from the car. Unfortunately, the rain washed away possible footprints, fingerprint and blood smear evidence. No weapon was found either and there were no witnesses. It also didn't help that curious townsfolk were not kept away from the crime scene. When Texas Ranger Jimmy Greer arrived, he scolded the local police department for not securing the scene.

Besides the sheriff calling the Texas Rangers to come assist, he also called the Department of Public Safety, neighboring Miller and Cass counties, and even the FBI.

Somewhere between 50 and 60 witnesses were interviewed within 3 days of the double murder. Most of these witnesses were customers and employees of Club Dallas, a local bar near the crime scene. It was theorized that maybe Polly and Richard had stopped there after the cafe, but nothing useful from the interviews were found.

$500 reward was announced for information leading to an arrest. All this did was deliver over 100 false leads.

At one point, at least three suspects were taken into custody but were let go later.

Overall, 200 people were questioned in Polly and Richard's murder, but no one was charged with any crimes relating to the case.

                        
A plea was published on March 27th in the Texarkana Gazette. "Sheriff Bill Presley and his deputies have a difficult task ahead of them as they attempt to solve the shocking double murder discovered Sunday morning. Texarkana residents can help in this investigation and at the same time, if they are not careful, they can hinder the investigation and cause the officers to spend many hours following blind trails. Persons who have information which might furnish a clue to the identity of the slayer or slayers or which might indicate a motive for the crime should not divulge such information on street corners or at cold drink stands but should immediately make it available to the officers. Do not spread rumors regardless of how many bases for the fact there is in them. Do not say 'I heard' or 'they say' because the chances are that the person listening will repeat your information and enlarge upon it. Before long the story grows to such proportions as to necessitate a detailed investigation by the officers, thereby perhaps pulling them off the true trail and sending them up a blind alley. Stick to facts that you know of your own personal knowledge and relay those facts as quickly as possible to the officers."

Investigators were baffled and never considered they might be connected to the brutal beatings of Jimmy Hollis and Mary Leary. Locals were becoming uneasy and began patrolling lovers' lanes and shortening their children's curfews.

Richard's funeral was at the Union Chapel Methodist church in Cass county at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26th, that were officiated by former pastor Rev. Mr. Everett, assisted by Rev. Mr. Curtwright. He was laid to rest in Union Chapel Cemetery in Cass County.

Polly was laid to rest in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Bryans Mill, Cass County. Her headstone reads: "Thy life was beauty, truth, goodness and love."

Darkmatter: Arkansas's Oldest Cold Case: The Texarkana Phantom Killer Part One: The First Attacks. (darkmatter69.blogspot.com)