Robert Ben Rhoades
| Robert Ben Rhoades | |
|---|---|
 Rhoades' mug shot by the Illinois Department of Corrections. | |
| Born |
November 22, 1945 Council Bluffs, Iowa |
| Other names | The Truck Stop Killer |
| Criminal penalty | Life without parole |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 3-50+ |
Span of killings | 1989–1990 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Texas and Illinois |
Date apprehended | April 1, 1990 |
| Imprisoned at | Menard Correctional Center |
Robert Ben Rhoades (born November 22, 1945) is an American serial killer and rapist. From 1989 to 1990 he is believed to have tortured, raped, and killed more than 50 women,[1] although he has only 3 confirmed victims. He is best known for taking a photo of his last known victim, Regina Kay Walters, moments before killing her in an abandoned barn in Illinois.
Early life
In the early years of his life, Rhoades was raised by his mother alone, though his father returned from overseas when Robert was still in school. Rhoades' high school years were notable only for an arrest at age 18 for tampering with a vehicle. After graduating in 1964, he immediately joined the Marine Corps. That same year, his father was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl, and subsequently committed suicide. In 1967, Rhoades was arrested again for theft; in 1966, he was dishonorably discharged from the military.
After his dismissal, Rhoades married three times, having a son with his first wife, and became a truck driver.[2]
Murders
Rhoades became notorious for the truck he drove. He converted the sleeper cab into his own personal torture chamber.[1][3] Rhoades is believed to have first killed in November 1989, though he was only accused by one unnamed victim of kidnapping and torture. Even then, when Rhoades was detained, the victim denied that he was the perpetrator. It was later asserted that she was fearful of Rhoades after enduring two weeks in his torture chamber.
Rhoades' first confirmed victims were Candace Walsh and her husband Douglas Zyskowski in January 1990. The couple were hitchhiking when Rhoades picked them up in his truck while on a long-haul journey. He immediately killed Zyskowski and dumped his body in Texas, where it was later found (but not identified until 1992). Walsh he kept for over a week. During this time, he tortured and raped Walsh multiple times before dumping her body in Millard County, Utah.
A month after Walsh's death, 14-year old Regina Kay Walters and her boyfriend Ricky Lee Jones, runaway teenagers from Texas, disappeared. Like with Zyskowski, it is believed that after being picked up by Rhoades, Jones was killed and disposed of while Walters was kept. Photos seized during a search of the home of Rhoades when he was later arrested confirmed that he held Regina Walters for a long time, based on the degree of hair growth and bruising. The body of Ricky Lee Jones was found on March 3, 1991 in Lamar County, Mississippi. He was not identified until July 2008.
In the early morning of April 1, 1990, Arizona state trooper Mike Miller found a truck at the side of I-10 with its hazard lights on. When he investigated inside the cab, he discovered a nude woman, handcuffed and screaming.[4] There was also a male present who identified himself as the driver of the truck. After failing to talk his way out of the situation, Rhoades was arrested and later charged with aggravated assault, sexual assault, and unlawful imprisonment. After further investigation, the arresting detective, Rick Barnhart, was able to make a connection to the Houston case and noticed a pattern stretching over the course of at least five months.
In executing a search warrant for Rhoades' home, police found photos of a nude teenager who was later identified as Walters, whose body was found in September 1990. Also present were photos of another female (Walsh), whose body was discovered that October.
Conviction
In 1994, Robert Ben Rhoades was convicted of the first degree murder of Regina Kay Walters[5] and sentenced to life without parole at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, IL. He was extradited to Utah in 2005 to be tried for the deaths of Candace Walsh and Douglas Zyskowski; however, per the victims' families' requests, the charges were dropped in 2006 and he was returned to prison. Rhoades later pleaded guilty to those crimes as well.[4]
Media
Books
- Busch, Alva (1995). Roadside Prey. Pinnacle. ISBN 978-0786002214.
References
- 1 2 Cooper, Greg (2007). "Murder-One Jurisdiction at a Time: The Case of Robert Ben Rhoades". Forensic Examiner 16 (4): 66–68. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ "Robert Ben Rhoades" (PDF). murderpedia.org. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ↑ Reavy, Pat (June 25, 2008). "Texas town to try case involving Utah body". Deseret News.
- 1 2 "'Torture chamber' trucker sentence to life in prison". The Telegraph. March 30, 2012.
- ↑ The People of the State of Illinois v. Robert Ben Rhoades,, 259 Ill (1994).