Like a lemur in a canopy of trees, I barely saw the ground. In the morning, they talked me into applying to the college. 6min. On my way out, I destroyed every single picture of me over the age of 12 so that there would be nothing to give to the police. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. As many he would have picked up were transients themselves, they would most likely not be reported missing for some time after he abducted them. The trucker bought me lunch and didn't even try to have sex with me, which made him a prince in my world. Robert Ben Rhoades at one of his swingers clubs in Houston TX 1985. Robert Andrew "Bob" Berdella was an American serial killer from Kansas City, Missouri. I also knew the first thing he did was to get them into the back of his sleeper cab, which had anchor points for shackles. So I went back to hitchhiking in circles and discovered a state of half-consciousness wherein I could be asleep and not asleep at the same time. The arrest set off a chain of events that led to Robert being convicted for three murders and suspected of many more. After his eventual arrest for murder, this ex-spouse told the FBI that Rhoades would often organize orgies. On the table in front of Young was a snapshot of Regina Walters that I hadn't seen, taken not very long before she was abducted. His truck is said to have contained a homemade torture chamber. I finally spoke to a woman and asked if they had a homicide record for a girl who may have been found in the Martinsburg truck stop during the summer of 1985. That was way back in the early '70s, though.". Wearing down from lack of sleep and trying to get a handle on my risk level, I began to work off a 1-to-5 scale of sexually aggressive behavior: You (the driver) kept your urges to yourself. Berdella was conscious of his homosexuality. There's a picture of him in leather and chains that floats around the Internet. Young, a six-foot-four Texan and third-generation lawman, opened his laptop and pulled up a picture of a woman named Shana Holts. By now papers and photographs were spread out all over the table, and Young was waiting for me to tell my story. This kit included numerous sex toys, chains, whips, fishhooks, pins, and other items used to inflict on his captives. This photograph, of 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters, was taken by Robert Ben Rhoades, a serial executioner who was later discovered driving a 18-wheeler with a torture chamber in the back. Had she ever heard about it? Even the guys who were trying to help had used it. In her mouth was a bit similar to ones used for horses. Read More: Where is Robert Ben Rhoades Now? That first ride was a preview of how it would often go for me with truckersdodging sex and getting strandedbut I had learned one crucial lesson: When a truck slows down, you get up. He must have seemed okay or I wouldn't have gotten in the truck with him. In 1994, Robert Ben Rhoades was convicted of the first degree murder of Regina Walters. Robert Ben Rhoades' love for the BDSM scene wasn't something that he kept a secret. The officer saw that the truck's driver, 44-year-old Robert Ben Rhoades, was also in the vehicle, and he was able to handcuff the middle-aged man and place him in the back of his patrol car. I needed visibility to stay alive. Everything I expected from Bob Lee changed in that moment. When officials searched the trucker's apartment a few days later, they discovered evidence that caused officials to believe Rhoades was even more dangerous than they had assumed. Robert Ben Rhoades, a Houston trucker who kept a torture dungeon in the cab of his long-haul rig, accepted two life prison sentences http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-tx--serialkiller-texas,0,3734866.story Houston trucker already imprisoned in Illinois for murder avoids Texas death penalty with plea Could Debra help solve an active investigation? "Did you ever hear of anything like that at all, in other times, any other bodies of women found along this stretch of I-70? I had to jump when you slowed down because you were going to rape me. At first, I would ask about the girl in the Dumpster, but no one had heard of her, so I asked if there had ever been any women found in truck stops. She looks like any other skinny kid just out of middle school. Robert started with petty crimes like public fighting and tampering with vehicles while he was still in high school. Being 16 and in college is an easier thing to talk about. I had been a drifter. The two had a few drinks together and danced that night. 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. Even so, it still wasn't safe to sleep. While the first few months were great, Debra noticed that Roberts appetite for sex increased. Rhoades must have just picked her up, because he hasn't cut her hair yet. "One thing I always did," I told Young, "was rifle through a trucker's cassette case as soon as we were out on the highway." You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Inside Robert Ben Rhoades' Traveling Torture Chamber, Illinois Department of Corrections/Wikimedia Commons. There was always a sick mom or dead grandparent involved, and I was almost always abandoned by my jerk of a boyfriend, who'd made off with all my money and my car. Robert remained a free man and continued to attack and kill more victims. 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 Her thick red-blond hair had been cropped close to her head with a knife or scissors and was now growing back. Eventually the locus shifted to the Houston FBI, because at some point every thread ran through Texas. His trucker handle on the CB radio waves was "Whips and Chains," a reference to his kink. I spent a week on the road in Appalachia, visiting truck stops, interviewing the older truckers and waitresses. In her weeks with Rhoades, many drivers saw her, but somehow no alarm was raised. Some of these were women left in Dumpsters. 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. Rhoades had told her to "sit there and be a good girl." 202202. There was a Martinsburg truck stop somewhere in my story, and there was a dead 17-year-old hitchhiker. Being up high, warm, and looking out over the traffic was a great improvement. A chipper recorded voice told me to press 1 for tas, press 2 for guns"all other callers stay on the line!" I asked about the knife. 'Truck Stop Killer' Robert Ben Rhoades is thought to have tortured, raped and killed more than 50 women during a reign of terror lasting from 1975 to 1990. Prosecutors believe Rhoades may have put many other women through the cycle of "kidnap, torture, and kill," but Smith said they do not know how many, since he traveled so much. "We don't have any records," she told me. He was not wearing jeans. Although I'd told it more in the preceding week than in the past two decades, I still wasn't used to doing it, and the nausea still came. Everywhere I looked, evidence of these girls was disappearing. The woods were blue in the gray light, which was either dusk or a coming storm. During the 80s, Robert was heavily into the BDSM and swinger lifestyle, dubbing himself as whips and chains. He continuously tried to involve his wife in his fantasies but she wasnt interested, so Robert found other ways to satisfy his sexual urges. Sure, serial killers ~killed~ people, but what did they actually do? To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. There was going to be no more talking. After Debra Davis interviewed about life with her ex-husband, serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades, Kentucky state troopers reached out, telling her that they suspected Rhoades in a 1985 cold case. The sun is coming down on her long hair, and she's laughing. Around her neck was a dog chain with a padlock attached to the ring that had been used to restrain her neck. I needed to find rides and usually couldn't get into the restaurant. He grew taller in his seat, and his face muscles relaxed into something both arrogant and blank. Out of desperation I made one last attempt and swung by a smaller truck stop in Hancock, Maryland. I was 15. It's me, Sugar Bear, in party row. Around the same time that Robert joined the military, his father was arrested for molesting a twelve-year-old girl and ultimately committed suicide while awaiting trial. Rhoades in Bond County IL Barn. Rhoades was dressed that night as an airline pilot, and it was months before Davis found out he wasn't one. But Rhoades held desires went well beyond the limits of consensual sexual activity. Along with cutting off her hair, he also shaved her pubic hair and pierced her genitals with fishhooks. You told me I owed you sex for the ride and chicken-fried steak and threatened to drop me off somewhere dangerous. Between 1975 and 1990, Robert Ben Rhoads, now 73, savagely murdered at least three victims and possibly, investigators believe, as many as 50 during his treks across North America as a professional truck driver. The more I learned about Rhoades, the more I saw parallels between us. There was talk of me going to live with my dad in Virginia, where I had traditionally spent my summers. I asked to speak to any senior officer who might have been there at the time. If there are more murder confessions to make, there may be time yet for other families to find some semblance of closure and justice. Smith said that should Rhoades ever be released from the Illinois prison for any unforeseen reason, he would be returned to a Texas prison. Though his first confirmed murders didn't occur until 1990, one woman may have barely escaped with her life the year before. Eventually, law enforcement discovered Robert Ben Rhoades was a serial killer, in addition to being a sexual sadist who enjoyed torturing women and girls. Robert Ben Rhoades Father Killed himself after being charged with In his early life, Rhoades got into trouble from a young age, he was arrested for . Just a few months after she left Robert, he was taken into custody for a kidnapping. It is also worth mentioning that Debra has spoken at domestic violence conferences over the years and shared her story. Clearly the answer is: Make a throw pillow. ", "That sure sounds like Bob. 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. 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. That's where my fantasy ends, in a game of "Who Is Credible Now?". This is the last picture ever taken of Regina Walters. So, if youre curious about where Debra might be today, heres what we know. Today, Davis lives in College Station, Texas, and her kids, the product of a previous marriage, are grown. I had a guitar and a knapsack full of souvenirs of my girlhood: notes from friends, earrings, and song lyrics. Another prostitute had been grabbed there as well, in 2006, but was found farther down the road with her throat slit. I crouched on netted twigs and breathed into my shirt to muffle the sound. Rhoades saw what Debra was looking at. We had $60 and a Smith Wesson five-shot with one bullet in it, which we accidentally fired off in a field in Maryland during a discussion about whether the safety was on. It was just a matter of looking harder. I hadn't been able to get a copy of Shana Holts's police report because I was told there was no official suspect. The story was that she was too scared, but I wondered if there was more. It was a woman, probably in her midfifties. This Picture was the key evidence photo. Look at Lisa Pennal. Robert kept her for over a week, torturing and raping her repeatedly. A few days later, Robert kidnapped another couple. Six weeks later, though, we parted ways. Adhering to my rule (that the only safe truck was a moving truck) meant I woke when a truck took an exit. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. According to her, in the summer of 1985, Rhoades was driving for a trucking company based in Georgia that has an office right on I-95. I said I knew he didn't want to do it. Her eyes are partly closed, as if she's stoned or sleepy. she said. It made sense. The store for professional drivers was clean and quiet. 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. He was grave and methodical as if preparing to dress a deer. She shook her head; then her eyes clouded some. Not even the FBI knew that he had already tortured, raped, and killed at least two people along his routes. "What I find interesting is that he told you about the body of the girl and talked about the Laughing Death Society while he was still driving. The FBI theorized Robert had killed at least three women per month. Inside the cab of the truck was a woman, chained to the wall and screaming, with only a pair of slippers on her feet. I wrote him back and told him that journalistic standards wouldn't allow me to pay for interviews. A few minutes later, he pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the road by some woods, took out a hunting knife, and told me to get into the back of the cab. Rhoades is additionally suspected of torturing, raping, and killing more than 50 . To keep creating And who's going to believe him? It had the same neutral arrogance. ", Vanessa Veselka is the author of Zazen (Red Lemonade), which won the 2012 PEN/ Bingham Prize for fiction, Apply Bed Bath and Beyond Coupon and save 25% Off your entire purchase, Target Circle: up to 50% Off with Target promo code, With Asos Promo Code you take 70% OFF Select styles, Michael Kors Promo Code: sign up for KORSVIP + Get 10% Off on First Order, 2023 Cond Nast. Between 1984 and 1987, he murdered at least six men in Kansas City, Missouri. The trial began in 1994 and Robert was ultimately convicted of the first-degree murder of Regina Kay Walters. But to ex-wife Debra Davis, when they. Walsh and Zyskowski, the newlywed victims, left Seattle in November 1989 to hitchhike to Georgia where they were going to preach the Christian gospel when Rhoades picked them up in Texas. He wasn't nervous, angry, or excited. A few minutes later, I got up like nothing had happened. The photo was of a beautiful young girl, possibly Native American. 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters and her boyfriend Ricky Lee Jones had run away from their homes and like Roberts first victims, they were hitchhiking when he picked them up. My memory may have been bent by sleep deprivation, but I was not crazy. I said it was his choice. As we pulled away, I looked once more in the side mirror. "Do you remember what he was wearing?" In the 1990s, the Berkeley County sheriff's department's computer crashed and burned. Like Young and Lee, she had never heard of the Laughing Death Society, and since it had featured so strongly in my experience, I thought it salient. Serial killer Robert Ben Rhoades kidnapped and tortured his victims inside a chamber set up inside his big rig truck. I could rest but not dream. She was on a trip with her husband, Bob, the last she ever took in his truck. A week before the girl was found in the Dumpster, though, I'd gone to see my dad in Virginia. I had not told him or anyone else how I felt about failing to go to the cops. Debra also mentioned that she remarried and worked with domestic abuse and rape survivors. There were other points where she saw similarities and would say, "That sounds like Bob," but these were less emphatic, and it was hard to tell what she really thought. One library archivist explained that I was looking for the kind of news nobody wanted to read. 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. I could tell you the last three songs played on the radio if you asked, but only if you asked. While I was hitchhiking, he was driving. 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. These were my private feelings. 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