Finding the Phantom

Texarkana native Peyton Sims’ podcast, Devilish Deeds, explores the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders
By Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker

Texarkana native Peyton Sims became interested in the region’s most famous crime as a teenager when she wrote an article about Texarkana’s Moonlight Murders for the Texas High School student newspaper. Peyton, who is now 20, ultimately took her investigative reporting skills—and her fascination with this story—with her to The University of Texas at Austin, where she studied journalism. A casual conversation with a professor gave her a chance to use a new platform to explore an old case.  

Peyton Sims

“I was in my first semester of college at UT, and I was looking for an internship,” Peyton said. “I was very eager, and my professor was looking for new podcast ideas for The Drag [a UT podcast channel]. We had coffee, and when he found out I was from Texarkana, he asked if I had heard of the Phantom Killer. I told him I had actually written an article about it for my high school newspaper, and ultimately, it led to me getting hired as a podcast host.”  

The Drag Audio Production House is a podcast channel created by UT’s Moody College of Communication and provides hands-on experience for students. Peyton’s work can be heard in season two of The Drag’s Devilish Deeds podcast. There are five episodes covering the murders, which were committed by the person known as the Phantom Killer and involved the deaths of five Texarkana residents over a 10-week span. Three other victims were attacked and survived. The case has remained unsolved since the 1940s. 

“I feel like this case is intriguing because of its complexity,” Peyton said. “I’ve had so many questions about what actually happened. When a crime like this happens in the town you grew up in, it’s only natural to be curious. Even though this happened more than 70 years ago, things will slip through the cracks, and new details will emerge.”  

She has put in a lot of work to produce a quality production and make her hometown proud. 

“Texarkana will always be home for me, and I miss it more than I thought I would,” Peyton said. “I have put my whole heart into this project, and it’s really about trying to get the story right.” 

Like any good reporter, she has done her due diligence to do just that. Peyton has spent endless hours researching newspaper articles and combing through previous interviews. She read Dr. James Presley’s book, The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders, and she interviewed him about his research. She spoke with former law enforcement officers and web sleuths. She also interviewed family members of the victims, who she said were the main inspiration for her work.

Dr. James Presley was instrumental in Peyton’s research for the podcast.

“The purpose of this podcast was to shine light on the innocent victims,” Peyton said. “Oftentimes, the victims’ names are lost to history.” 

Those victims were Richard Griffin, Polly Ann Moore, Paul Martin, Betty Jo Booker, and Virgil Starks, all Texarkana residents whose lives ended tragically at the hand of the Phantom Killer. 

“You hear so much about the different attacks or different murders, but I wanted to highlight the people whose lives were lost,” Peyton said. “I don’t think that’s been done before.” 

Doing things that have never been done before seems to be Peyton’s style. In high school, she was a stand-out journalism student, and when she graduated in 2021, she held the title as the most award-winning photographer to come out of the THS program. Her former teacher, Clint Smith, said Peyton was exceptional.  

“The big thing about Peyton is that she never gave up,” Smith said. “She started to show her chops as a sophomore, and by her senior year, she became a very potent young student journalist.” 

That tenacity allowed her to take the lead as the editor-in-chief of the Tiger Times, and when Smith knew she was researching the Phantom Killer, he even offered a personal connection.  

“When I was a kid growing up, I was always told that my grandfather’s house was one of the places where one of the victims was shot,” Smith said. “I put her in contact with my great-uncle, and he gave her some information.” 

Building on the solid foundation offered by the journalism program at Texas High, Peyton said she was able to develop new technical skills through her work with the podcast. 

“This is the first time I have done anything with audio,” Peyton said. “I learned how to operate audio equipment, record in the studio, and set up mics. Now I can interview people with confidence. I am very grateful for that.” 

Peyton finished her bachelor’s degree in journalism in August and is currently living in Austin until she decides where the next chapter will open for her. Wherever it leads, Smith has no doubt big things are ahead.

“She has something that not a lot of students possess these days,” Smith said. “She will push through anything to reach her goals. A lot of kids will freeze when faced with challenges, but she learned to move past them, and it has served her extremely well.” 

Those interested in listening to Peyton’s podcast about the Phantom Killer can search for Devilish Deeds through any podcasting platform.