A popular postcard in Texarkana in the 1940s.
Jim Hollis in 1947 after his beating the year before. Courtesy of Diana Burris.
Mary Jeanne Larey a few years after the incident. Courtesy of the Luann Cate Collection.
The Rythmaires on the VFW bandstand in 1946, with Betty Jo Booker playing the saxophone second from left.
Betty Jo Booker. Courtesy of Grace Guier.
Paul Martin as a younger boy. Courtesy of the Tom Albritton Collection.
This photo appeared in the Texarkana Gazette in 1946 following the Martin-Booker murders. From left to right: Jerry Atkins, band leader; Betty Ann Roberts; Sheriff Bill Presley; Sophie Anne White; and Texas Ranger Captain M. T. “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas.
Paul Martin’s body at the crime scene. Courtesy of Tillman Johnson Collection.
Betty Jo Booker’s body at the crime scene. Courtesy of Tillman Johnson Collection.
Map of the Booker-Martin crime scene. Courtesy of Andrew Lusk.
Richard Griffin in his Navy uniform. Courtesy of the David Griffin Collection.
Polly Ann Moore, in the last photo taken of her. Courtesy of the Mark Moore Collection.
Texas Ranger Captain M. T. “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas. Courtesy of the Tillman Johnson Collection.
James M. Hollis as a college graduate. Courtesy of Peggy Francisco.
Newspaper editor J. Q. Mahaffey. Courtesy of Prudence Mackintosh.
Bowie County (Texas) Sheriff W. H. “Bill” Presley. Courtesy of Billie Edgington.
As the pressure mounts on the unsolved murders in the spring of 1946, Sheriff Bill Presley (in felt hat) is flanked by Texas Rangers and Texas state troopers en route to the Sheriff’s office in Texarkana. Courtesy of the Billie Presley Edgington Collection.
Inside the Starks home, May 1946. Note the two bullet holes in the windowpane, through which two shots were fired per hole, indicating that an automatic weapon was used. The curtain was open. Photo courtesy of the Tillman Johnson collection.
This is the wall crank phone where Katie Starks tried to call for help but was shot. Photo courtesy of the Tillman Johnson collection.
Youell Swinney mug shots, (left) entering the Texas Prison system in 1944 for robbery by assault, (right) re-entering the Texas prison system for larceny in 1981. Photos courtesy of Texas Dept. of Corrections.
Peggy Swinney. Courtesy of the Robert Stevens collection.
Youell Swinney at his 1972 Evidentiary Hearing, as covered in the Texarkana Gazette.
Tillman Johnson and Max Tackett, with Byron Johnson, Tillman’s son. Courtesy of the Tillman Johnson Collection.
The arrest of Youell Swinney, July 15, 1946, Miller County, Ark., sheriff’s office: left to right, Miller County chief deputy Tillman Johnson, Arkansas State policeman Charley Boyd, suspect Youell Lee Swinney, Arkansas State policeman Max Tackett, Atlanta resident Hibbett Lee, Atlanta city marshal Homer Carter. Courtesy of the Tillman Johnson Collection, photo by Ted Dougan.
THE ARKANSAS PEACE OFFICER 1952 –
MILLER COUNTRY SHERIFFS OFFICE
W. E. DAVIS
Sheriff
TILLMAN JOHNSON
Chief Deputy
W. H. SCOTT
Deputy
Lawmen of the Miller County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Office. Courtesy of the Tillman Johnson Collection.
Tillman Johnson (left) and Mark Moore, Polly Ann Moore’s brother, reflect on the murders. Courtesy of the author.