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Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Our story for today brings us to April 1st, 1990.
Highway patrolman Mike Miller is driving down the long stretch of I-10 in the town of Casa Grande, Arizona. It had been a pretty uneventful night, but at around 12:15 AM, he spots a semi truck parked on the shoulder of the interstate. Note during Mike's 23 years as a police officer, he had seen dozens of semis parked a little too close to the road.
And although this one did have its hazard lights on, there weren't any orange triangles placed around it like the driver is supposed to do. So Mike decides to pull over and check and make sure the driver is okay. He approaches the passenger side door, but he doesn't see anybody inside of the cab.
However, there is some movement coming from the sleeping quarters, which are separated by a curtain directly behind the driver's seat. So Mike hoists himself up on the metal steps to get a better look inside, and he suddenly sees a nude woman with what appeared to be a brace on her neck. The woman quickly looks up at the officer and she starts screaming at the top of her lungs with the most terrified look he had ever seen.
From here, Mike can tell that she is handcuffed and chained to the wall. But before he can do anything, the curtain flies open and a man quickly climbs into the front seat, acting as if nothing was going on. So Mike orders him out of the truck and as soon as he steps outside, the man says, "It's all right, officer. Everything's fine." But nothing about this situation seems fine.
There's a bound and naked woman in his truck screaming for help. So Mike calls for backup and he confiscates a .25 caliber pistol from the man's back pocket and a set of handcuff keys. He then places him in the back of the patrol car so he can go back and help this woman, whose screams are only getting more intense.
And once he returns back to the truck, he can't believe what he's looking at. This woman is begging for help, and she has these deep purple welts across her legs and chest. And around her neck was not a brace, but a horse bridle. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, and another set of cuffs were around her ankles. And then there was this long chain that secured her to the truck with a padlock.
This woman would have never gotten away if Mike wouldn't have pulled over on the side of the road. And as he helps her out of her restraints, she tells him that she hitched a ride from this guy thinking he was completely normal. She said she fell asleep in the cab and the next thing she knew she was being tied up, tortured, and raped.
After searching the truck, investigators would find a makeshift torture chamber. There were chains and restraints, an 18-inch dildo, whips, nipple clamps, and needles that were used to pierce through his victim's genitals. No one knew it at the time, but Mike Miller had just captured one of America's most sadistic killers, a man named Robert Ben Rhodes.
Luckily, this victim would make it out alive, but many others did not. And although he was only convicted of a few murders, investigators believe there could be up to 40 people who died at the hands of America's truck stop killer. So, this is his story. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. ♪♪
Robert Ben Rhodes was born on November 22, 1945, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. His mother, 33-year-old Faye Rhodes, was your typical 1940s housewife who looked after Robert and his three siblings. And his father, 32-year-old Ben Rhodes, was a private in the United States Army. When Robert was born, his dad was actually stationed overseas, so he sadly missed his birth and was mostly raised by his mother.
but he did have his siblings to keep him company. Now, Robert was the second youngest of the four siblings, and it's reported that he wasn't that close to his older brother and sister, but he did hold a close bond with his youngest brother. And from what everyone could tell, they were your average respected family. Of course, it was sad that their father was stationed in West Germany for the majority of their childhood, but he was serving our country, and they seemed to have a lot of respect for him.
But things started to change when Robert was in elementary school. His dad was discharged from the army and could finally be home with his family. But they quickly learned that he had a bit of a temper. Robert would later say that his father was violent and abusive, but no one outside of their family knew that.
Upon returning, he would get a job with the local fire department, and everyone thought very highly of him. The city of Council Bluffs even wrote an article about Ben Rhodes and how he was this great firefighter who gave to charities, and how everyone seemed to love him. However, his reputation would later sour, which we'll get into here in a little bit. But as for Robert Rhodes, his son and future serial killer, he was your typical midwestern boy. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School and was pretty popular amongst his classmates.
He participated in many activities including wrestling and football and he was also active in the French club, the Boys Glee Club and was also a member of the school's choir. By all accounts, Robert was a decent kid who had a lot of friends and he made good grades in school. In a lot of stories we see with serial killers, there are usually a ton of warning signs throughout their childhood.
But that really wasn't the case here. He wasn't antisocial. There was no abuse of animals. He was pretty normal. But that isn't to say he was perfect. In 1961, during Robert's sophomore year of high school, he was arrested for tampering with a vehicle. And then in 1964, during his senior year, he was arrested again for fighting. But none of these offenses scream serial killer in the making.
And despite these run-ins with the law, the Rhodes family were very respected in their community. By this point, Ben Rhodes, Robert's dad, had even been promoted to captain of the fire department.
But things were about to take a turn for the worse. In the spring of 1964, just two months before Robert was set to graduate from high school, his dad was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl. And it's reported that this girl was his niece. So as you can imagine, this was huge news within their community. Robert Rhodes was a respected veteran, captain of the fire department,
And now it's revealed that he was a predator lurking in the shadows. Following this, he was immediately fired from his job and on May 4th, 1964, he pleaded guilty to the charges against him. But Ben was only placed on probation, a slap on the wrist for ruining a little girl's life.
And this entire incident was very hard on Ben's children. They were ashamed of their father, and everywhere they went people would stare and whisper. So in June of 1964, Robert decided to leave Council Bluffs and enlist in the United States Marines. He needed a break from all the small town chatter, and he had always wanted to serve his country.
But sadly, just months into his father's probation, Ben Rhodes would be arrested again for molesting another little girl. He clearly hadn't learned his lesson. After his arrest, he would post bail and unfortunately, before it ever got to trial, Ben Rhodes would die by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. So by killing himself, he never really had to take responsibility for his actions.
Now, Robert never spoke publicly about how his father's suicide affected his life, but everyone that knew him said he was a completely different person afterwards, and he started acting out. In 1967, nearly three years into his military career, he was arrested on the East Coast for robbery, and because of that, he was dishonorably discharged from the Marines. Following this, he really didn't know what to do with his life, so he came back home to Council Bluffs. Then it was here where he met a young woman and got married.
Now, there isn't much information out there about this woman, but they were married for four years, and they did have a son together. At the time, Robert was trying to be a family man and better his life, so he enrolled in college. But by 1972, he would drop out, divorce his wife, and from what we could tell, he never had a relationship with his son. From here, he even tried becoming a police officer, but because of his checkered past, he thankfully wasn't hired.
So by this point, Robert is 27 years old. With a failed marriage, he's living with his mom, and he has no job. Things weren't looking up for him, so in an effort to find some meaning in his life, he decides to uproot his life and move to Houston, Texas.
It isn't clear why Robert chose Texas, but after arriving he worked a number of different jobs including work in warehouses, restaurants, retail stores, and supermarkets. But he never enjoyed going into work. That is until he got a job as a truck driver.
In 1973, at age 27, Robert began working as a driver for a newspaper company and he quickly grew to love it. Spending hours driving along the interstate with no coworkers, no one to bother him, it was surprisingly nice. But it's also along these roads where Robert really discovered a lot about himself. By his late 20s, he found himself deeply immersed in the BDSM community.
It's unknown what exactly sparked this interest, but soon enough, he would even introduce himself to other truckers as his infamous name, Whips and Chains. Now, if you don't know this, truckers communicate with each other through a CB radio.
And I didn't really know much about it until I looked it up, but apparently it's a way where you can inform others about weather conditions or reckless drivers, or even just to have a friendly conversation on the road. And most drivers don't go by their real name, they will make something up. A few that I read online were Tractor Shadow, Witty Expert, and Vigilante Underdog.
And that's what people will call you when they talk to you over the radio. And everyone knew Robert Rhodes as Whips and Chains. It was a name he created for himself after discovering his love for BDSM.
Now, just as a little background on BDSM, it stands for Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism. And typically in BDSM relationships, someone takes on a dominant role where they're the ones in control and the other person is more submissive. But a very crucial part of BDSM, as well as any other sexual relationship,
is that both parties are consensual. And oftentimes there is pain involved, but they usually set code words so that they're respectful of one another and their limits. But it can be anything from hair pulling and spankings to the more extreme end like whips. And although it's not for everyone, there is a big community of people out there that really love BDSM.
and Robert Rhodes was one of them. Now, it's around this time when Robert would marry another woman, and again, we don't know her name or even how long they were together, but that marriage would also end in divorce. And because they never spoke with the media, we don't really know their experiences with Robert in the bedroom. But there is one woman who Robert met that has spoken with the media, and her name is Deborah Davis.
In the summer of 1983, 26-year-old Debra was having some issues in her personal life. She and her husband were separated, but they couldn't afford to divorce, so they were still living together with their three children. It was an awkward situation, but there wasn't much she could really do about it.
So, to lift her spirits one night, Debra decided that she was going to go out and have some fun. It had been a while since she had gone dancing at her favorite western bar in Houston, so she decided to go, all by herself. It was later in the night when she walked into the bar, country music was playing, and everyone was dancing, drinking, and having a good time.
Deborah glanced around the bar, taking everything in, when she suddenly saw a handsome man in a pilot's uniform. He was staring right at her, and she couldn't help but blush. The next thing she knew, the man got up from his seat and was asking her to dance. So they did, all night long. The mysterious yet attractive man introduced himself as Dusty Rhodes.
A name Robert would often go by throughout his life. He also told her he was a pilot. And although they didn't exchange a lot of words that night, Debra knew she wanted to see him again. So the next weekend, she went back to the bar hoping to see the handsome pilot. And she did, but this time he was dressed in western clothes. Like the previous weekend, the two danced all night long.
She even asked him if Dusty was his real name and he responded, "The only way I'll tell you my real name is if you marry me." Debra laughed. She really liked his witty and playful personality. It was refreshing. And over the course of the next few months, she and Dusty would spend a lot of time together. Debra would later say he was the perfect example of a good man. Patient, honest, responsible, and kind.
When the two went out, he showered her with compliments and he made her feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. And something she really liked about him was that they had spent nearly every weekend together for months and he never once made any sexual advances towards her. He was extremely respectful, which only made her even more attracted to him.
Debra also opened up to Dusty about the stressful living situation she was in with her ex-husband. Like we mentioned, they were going through an active divorce, and he was in the process of moving out, so Debra had a lot of bills coming in that she couldn't afford. She wasn't expecting a handout from him, she just really wanted to vent about what she was going through.
But without hesitation, he immediately pulls out some money and tells her to take as much as she needs to pay her bills. Debra was so grateful for his generosity and she accepted the money, but she also noticed something when he pulled out his wallet. There was a check from a local trucking company, and the name on the check read "Robert Ben Rhodes" and Debra was a little taken aback. The entire time she thought he was a pilot named Dusty.
when really he was a truck driver named Robert. But Debra was so grateful for his help, she didn't feel like confronting him just yet. Over the next few weeks, Dusty continued to shower Debra with gifts and flowers, doing everything he could to let her know that he was serious about taking their relationship to the next level. On one occasion, he picked her up and took her out to eat at an exclusive fancy restaurant. The setting was perfect, an intimate candlelit table for two.
After dinner, the two went back to Dusty's apartment and they made love for the first time. Debra would later say that she was the one to make the first move and that their first sexual experience was gentle, tender, and loving. It was everything she wanted in a relationship and she felt as if she had finally met her perfect match. However, something lingered in the back of her mind. She still hadn't confronted him about his real name or about how he wasn't really a pilot. So, one day she sat him down and asked him. At first,
He was a little on the defensive, but he eventually admitted that he always enjoyed an air of mystery surrounding his identity. So that's why he told everyone his name was Dusty. Debra then asked him if he was really a pilot. And again, he admitted that that was a lie. He wasn't a pilot. In reality, he was Robert Ben Rhodes, a truck driver from Iowa. When Debra asked why he lied, he said that women love a man in uniform, and he was only trying to impress her.
Now, clearly, this was a little concerning, but Debra decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he hadn't shown any other red flags, and in her eyes, he truly was the man of her dreams. But like with every relationship, Robert would soon start to show his true colors. One evening, after going out country dancing, the two went back to Robert's car that was sitting in the parking lot.
They had just had a great night together and he turns to her and says that he has a surprise. "Close your eyes and give me your wrist," he says. Now, Debra is thinking that he got her a nice bracelet or something, so she closes her eyes with a big smile on her face and something does indeed go around her wrist, but it's not a bracelet. She felt cold metal wrap around her
followed by a clicking sound. And when she opened her eyes, she saw that Robert had put handcuffs on her. Debra felt a little uncomfortable, and she quickly asked him to take them off, but he wouldn't. Robert kind of laughed it off, but Debra wasn't joking. "Take them off now!" she yelled. Finally, Robert gave in and unlocked the cuffs, telling her it was just a funny joke.
But he could tell that it bothered her, so he promised to never do it again. Debra would later say that she didn't know why it bothered her so much. After all, this was her boyfriend, and she trusted him. But maybe deep down, she could see the darkness within him. Unbeknownst to Debra, her boyfriend would place handcuffs on many women throughout his life, and many of them would never be lucky enough to have them unlocked.
On December 26th, 1983, Debra returned home from a date with Robert and ended up getting into a heated argument with her ex-husband. During the argument, Debra called Robert and he could hear a ton of commotion over the phone. So he immediately drives to her apartment to get her. And over the course of the next few weeks, she and her three young children basically move into Robert's apartment.
And for a while, things were surprisingly perfect. Robert would go to work during the day driving trucks, and then he would come home at night and they would spend time together as a big happy family. For Debra, it felt like all of her dreams had come true. But trouble was right around the corner.
In early 1984, Robert told Debra that he wanted to take her out somewhere special. Usually on their dates, she would wear a t-shirt and blue jeans. But for tonight, Robert wanted her to wear a dress and high heels. Now, Robert wouldn't tell her exactly where they were going, but in her mind, it was probably a nice steak dinner. So, they drive through Houston and soon enough they pull up to this big building that clearly wasn't a restaurant. It was a club.
The two walk up to the front entrance and are met by a bouncer who's asking a pretty hefty cover charge. Debra was a little confused, but she was also excited. She loved a good surprise. Once they paid the cover charge and stepped inside of the dimly lit club, Robert started making his way around as if he had been there hundreds of times. There was a huge dance floor in the middle of the room, surrounded by these little tables.
Off in the corner, there was a DJ playing slow and sensual music, and there were couples all around. Debra and Robert were quickly sat down at a table, and soon enough, a woman sitting next to her struck up a conversation. Have you ever been here before? She asks. Debra told her no, she hadn't. And the woman says, well, this is the best swingers club in all of Houston. Debra was shocked.
A swingers bar. She had no desire to sleep with other men. And she definitely wasn't okay with Robert sleeping with other women. So why the hell would he bring her here? Especially without asking. So Deborah quickly turns to Robert and it's obvious by the look on her face that she's pissed. She even runs to the corner trying to hold back tears.
and Robert follows close behind saying, "I'm sorry, Debra. I wanted you to experience life. There's so much out there for you to explore, and you'll never know if you like it if you don't give it a chance." He then tells her that they don't have to do anything with anyone that night, and to just wait it out and have a few drinks. So, Debra agrees, and they go back to the table. But at around midnight, things started to get a little weird.
Women all around the club started taking their clothes off. And when people started switching partners, that's when she knew it was time to leave.
As Debra and Robert drove home that evening, she could tell that he was upset. And after a while, he broke the silence by calling her naive and uptight. On the rest of the car ride home, he pouted because he didn't get the experience he wanted that night. Which was really upsetting for Debra. And even worse, was the fact that for the next few weeks, he kept pressuring her to go back to the swingers club.
but she just didn't want to. And in return, Robert became more cold and withdrawn. Debra started to wonder if he even wanted to be with her anymore, which caused a lot of anxiety because by then he had isolated her from a lot of her friends and family. He was really the only person in her life.
So after a while, Debra told him that she would try to have more of an open mind about it. Eventually, Robert even gave her a book titled Games People Play for Debra to recognize when someone wanted to pursue her sexually. And that first experience would come around the summer of 1984.
That night, she and Robert were invited to a house party by another couple. And in the beginning, it seemed like a normal dinner party with people drinking and talking in the living room. Debra sat down and started a conversation with someone, and by the time she looked up, Robert was gone. So she got up and went room to room throughout the house looking for him.
Soon enough, Debra approached a back bedroom and opened the door. And inside, on a bed, she saw her boyfriend, completely nude, on top of another woman. He turned around and saw Debra standing in the doorway. And through a panted voice, he said, "I'll be through in just a minute." Debra was horrified, and she immediately rushed out of the house.
For months now, she had tried to be open to the idea of swinging, but in her mind, Robert should have at least asked her permission before sneaking off with another woman. It was extremely disrespectful, and she was understandably upset.
After a few minutes, Robert came out of the house visibly angry. He shouted at Debra to get in the car, and from there, they made their way home. The entire car ride, Robert was yelling at her about how she embarrassed him in front of everyone. So Debra screams back, I've tried to be understanding about all of this, but you're forcing me into something that I'm not comfortable with.
and if you really need to have sex with other women, then maybe I'm not the right girl for you." Suddenly, Robert slams on the brakes, opens the passenger side door, pushes Debra out of the car, and speeds off down the road, leaving her all alone in the middle of an intersection. At this point, Debra was sobbing. She couldn't even believe what was happening. And to make matters worse, she didn't have shoes on.
Now, clearly, this was back in the 80s where people didn't have cell phones, so she was left with no choice but to start the 30-mile walk back to her house. But interestingly enough, after a few minutes, she suddenly saw two sets of headlights coming down the road. One was Robert's.
And the other was a police officer. Apparently, Robert had been pulled over for speeding. And when the policeman saw Debra's shoes and purse, he had to explain the argument they just had. And luckily, the officer made him turn around so that Debra wouldn't have to walk home.
Now, over the next few weeks, it seemed as if Robert was on his best behavior. He apologized for his actions and promised Debra that it would never happen again. And she believed him. But unbeknownst to her, her boyfriend had a sex addiction, and it would indeed happen again. It was clear that Robert was never going to be happy with her unless she let him have these swinger experiences.
So, the next swingers party they went to, Debra tried to go into it with an open mind. She even went off into a bedroom with the man, while Robert disappeared with another woman. The man tried to convince Debra to loosen up and just relax, but she still couldn't allow herself to do it. And soon enough, she heard laughing from the hallway. It was Robert. He told her, "Come quickly, I want you to see this."
Robert then led her into a bedroom where the woman was passed out on the bed. Robert climbed on top of her and said, "Watch this," and then proceeded to have sex with the unconscious woman. Deborah screamed for him to stop, but he wouldn't. She knew Robert was into some weird sexual stuff, but this was criminal.
and seeing this side of him scared her. But despite everything, Debra would never leave him. By the fall of 1986, Robert and Debra had been a couple for four years. They'd fallen into a nice routine, but Debra couldn't shake the behavioral pattern she noticed about her boyfriend. And the longer that they dated, the more violent he became in the bedroom. Whenever Robert wanted to have more sex, they had sex, no matter how much she protested. He also started introducing more BDSM into their relationship, where he was the dominant one.
At first, things weren't so bad. It wasn't necessarily Deborah's cup of tea, but she did it for him because he liked it. But as time went on, Robert just got more and more violent. And something else she noticed was that whenever Robert would come home from his long work trips, where he was on the road for days on end, he wasn't as violent in the bedroom. Little did she know when she wasn't being used as his sexual property. Someone else out there was.
Now, the company he was driving for had actually been receiving a ton of complaints about Robert regarding the aggressive way he drove his rig. There appeared to be multiple altercations with people, accidents in his work truck, and citations from the police because of speeding and reckless driving. So, the company was forced to remove Robert from his position and he was placed inside the manufacturing shop where he was put in charge of the wire rolling machine.
But then, in November of 1985, Robert fractured his arm after it got caught in a machine, so he was placed on disability for several months. And during that time, he was more violent with Debra than ever. It became painfully obvious that he had a pretty bad sex addiction. Debra claimed that Robert would watch porn all day long, and then when she came home, she would have to endure very painful and violent sex with him.
It became so bad, there were even times where she feared for her life, which only riled him up more. You see, Robert was a sadist, which means he enjoyed inflicting pain on others. Debra would later claim that there was a period in her life where she suffered from debilitating migraines, and he would just lay there, watching her, relishing in her pain. On another occasion, Debra was hospitalized, and we couldn't figure out why, but while she was in the hospital, Robert would force her to have sex with him, in her hospital bed.
The violence and sexual abuse got so bad, Debra and her children eventually moved out. She just couldn't take it anymore. But soon enough, Robert would come crawling back with his love bombing. He would send her roses, write her sweet little notes, and he begged for her forgiveness. Then two weeks later, she got a call from Robert telling her that his house had burned down.
He said that he was making dinner when a pan of grease spilled into the oven and started a fire. Debra felt horrible for him and eventually she would take him back.
However, soon after, she found a note from Robert's attorney that the fire department had found him responsible for the trailer fire. Now, I couldn't find anything that said Robert got in any trouble from this fire, but I think it was clear to Debra that he did it on purpose so she would feel sorry for him and take him back.
So this was yet another bump in their tumultuous relationship. That Christmas, Deborah and her kids spent the holidays by themselves, away from Robert. And while he was away, he sent them many postcards and letters. At one point, he even sent Deborah a book. And written on the first page read,
To my love, I've read every word in this book yet no one word or all the thousands of words in it can describe the sweet pain in my heart and total lack of rational thought in my brain or the loss of my ability to walk without stumbling. It's true that there are other things in my life, but for the life of me, I can no longer find any value in them with your warmth. The nights are dark without your fire. Too many times in the past I have taken your presence for granted, but only because your presence made time stand still for me, and it seems like we'd been together for an eternity.
Now I know what an eternity is. There was no beginning with us and for me there will be no conclusion. With my last moral breath and the first breath my eternal soul shall take, I will tell you I love you. The time has come when you can be my wife, and with every beat of what is left of my poor heart, I pray that you will tell me that you will be mine and mine alone. I ask you now, will you marry me? Hoping against hope that you will so I can end the years of hellish waiting. My one, my only, I love you. All my love forever, Bob.
So, as you can see, he had a way with words. Robert Rhodes was manipulative and he always knew exactly what to say to reel Debra back in. And unfortunately, she would accept his hand in marriage. Debra and Robert would get married on Valentine's Day in a small intimate wedding with only a few of their closest friends and family members. But almost immediately after they tied the knot,
She noticed a huge change in him. He was already violent beforehand, but now it was even worse. He even started placing ads in swingers magazines, asking if someone wanted to come and be their personal slave. Debra said she would receive pictures and letters of men dressed in strange clothing. One of the men had ropes and clothespins attached to his testicles.
Then one evening when she returned home from work, there was a man waiting for her in her living room. Apparently he had answered the personal ad from Robert and he promised to fulfill her every desire. Debra was disgusted. This wasn't what she wanted at all. Eventually the man left and Robert brushed it off as another joke.
But that wouldn't be the only disturbing incident in their marriage. Soon enough, Robert started introducing different sex toys. But they weren't even toys that Debra enjoyed. One in particular were nipple clamps that were extremely painful. Debra told him that she didn't like it, but that only made him more turned on. He liked the fact that she was in pain.
In another incident just a couple of months into their marriage, Debra was fast asleep when she woke up to her arms and legs being tied to the bed. She started to panic and pull at the restraints when suddenly she heard the sound of Robert maniacally laughing in the corner of the room. She begged him to untie her, but he refused. He said he wanted to see how long it would take her to free herself.
So as you can see, Robert Rhodes was a sadistic man who thrived off of inflicting pain on others.
And unbeknownst to Debra, she was not Robert's only victim. In the late 1980s, she noticed that her husband was withdrawn, and every time he would come home from his work trips where he spent hours and hours on the open roads, something was just off about him. So on one occasion, Debra decided that she would help him out by cleaning his truck. She got to work picking up all the trash and empty drinks when suddenly she found a pair of women's panties.
Now, clearly she was angry and jealous, and when she confronted Robert, he just blew it off. He told her that he let someone else borrow the truck and that the guy must have left them in there. And this time, Debra believed him. However, the next time she went into his truck, she found something else concerning. It was a locked briefcase. She brought it to her husband and asked him to open it up, but he refused, telling her it was full of trucking logs and POs.
Debra, who knew nothing about the profession of truck driving, accepted his answer and let it go. But week after week, Debra couldn't shake the inkling that something was going on with her husband while he was at work. On other occasions, he noticed that Robert would come home from his trucking trips with deep fingernail scratches on his arms and back.
and sometimes he would come home with bruises and swollen knuckles. But every time Debra asked him about his injuries, Robert always had an excuse. He would say that he was doing work under the truck when he got scratched, or that he got into a bar fight.
But by October of 1989, Robert's mood swings and violent temper were at its worst. So much so that when he would come home from work trips, their family dog would start growling at him. Debra also noticed that their recent phone bill had skyrocketed because Robert had been calling phone sex hotlines while he was away. With everything going on, Debra felt very disconnected from her husband.
One night, she decided to go to bed early, which really upset Robert because he wanted to have sex. But Deborah refused. She didn't want to. But Robert wasn't going to take no for an answer. Trigger warning on this next part, but from here, Robert pushed Deborah down on the bed and anally raped her. He then forced her over and raped her vaginally. And once he was finished,
He didn't even care that Debra was sobbing on the bed next to him. He got what he wanted. So the next morning, Debra packed up her belongings and put them in her car. She just wanted to get as far away from him as she could. But unfortunately, her car wouldn't start. And Robert refused to help her, so Debra decided to call her ex-husband.
When Robert found out about this, he began to beat Debra, hitting and kicking her as hard as he possibly could. Once Debra was beaten to a pulp, he walked inside of the house and began throwing things. This whole situation was very eye-opening for Debra. In less than 24 hours, she had been raped and beaten by the man that was supposed to love and protect her.
So it was here when she finally decided to leave.
She and the kids would stay at her ex-husband's apartment until she could find a place of her own. And deep down, she always hoped that Robert would call her. More than anything, she wanted an apology for everything he had put her through. But that wouldn't happen. In fact, for nearly seven months, Deborah didn't hear a word from him. That is until April of 1990.
One morning, Debra woke up to her phone ringing. It was from one of her relatives calling to let her know that Robert was in an Arizona jail. Earlier that morning, an officer had happened upon his truck on the side of the road, and when he went to investigate, he found a nude woman screaming at the top of her lungs in the sleeper of his cab.
Robert had tied her up. He then brutally raped and tortured her. Luckily, officers would place Robert under arrest, and he was in big trouble. Both he and his victims would be brought back to the police station for questioning. And unbeknownst to everyone, including his estranged wife, Deborah, Robert Rhodes was about to be exposed for the monster he really was.
The woman that Robert Rhodes had tied up in his cab was 27-year-old Lisa Pinnell from Pittsburgh, California. And as soon as she was brought to the police station, detectives asked her if she wanted to press charges, to which she said, hell yes. From here, Lisa sipped on some coffee while she laid out everything that happened to her.
She told the investigators that she was at a truck stop in California when Robert randomly approached her and asked if she needed a ride. And she did. Lisa needed to get to Texas. And luckily for her, he was headed in that direction. Now, Lisa admitted that she was a drug user, but on this night, she was not using drugs.
She even told the detective, quote, "It was one of the nights I wish I had done drugs." According to her, once she got inside of the cab, she crawled back into the sleeper and drifted off to sleep. But hours later, she woke up to the driver, Robert Rhodes, on top of her. Lisa was terrified. She had heard horror stories of girls getting raped by truck drivers, but she never thought it would happen to her.
She said she fought as hard as she possibly could. She even scratched him and bit his arm. She said she tried to bite his neck, but she wasn't able to reach it, and Robert quickly overpowered her. The next thing she knew, she was in handcuffs, and Robert pulled out a black leather briefcase. The same one his wife, Debra, had found months earlier. As it turns out,
It wasn't where he kept his truck logs. Instead, it was Robert's torture kit. As Lisa recounted what happened, she lifted her shirt sleeves to show the deep red welts around her wrists. Robert had tightened them so much, they cut off her circulation and left bruises.
Lisa told the detectives that after he put the handcuffs on her, he put a horse bridle around her neck and in her mouth, and then he attached it to the truck's air vent so she couldn't escape. And from here, she was brutally assaulted. Robert whipped her in the back several times, leaving these crisscross welts on her skin. He also threatened to rip her nipples off after he placed metal clips on them.
He also put these clips around her genitals. And all of these different tools were taken from his infamous briefcase. Lisa said that she screamed out in pain, but that only made Robert more turned on. She told the detective, quote, that bastard better not get out. He told me that he's been doing this for 15 years. That sentence stuck with Detective Bernhardt.
It was obvious that this wasn't Robert Rhodes' first time abducting someone. So how many other victims were there? Detective Barnhart then asked Lisa if she had been raped since she was found naked. But she admitted that Officer Mike Miller intervened just in time, so luckily she wasn't. Now after Lisa recounted everything, she started going off on this strange tangent.
She told the detectives that Robert worked for the CIA and that he was taking her to the White House to be microchipped and placed in an underground prison. And it was here where it became clear that Lisa suffered from some mental health issues.
After the interview, Detective Barnhart couldn't get the image of Lisa's whip marks out of his mind. He didn't understand what type of person would do that to another human being. So it was now time to interview the trucker to get his side of the story. But Robert Rhodes was not interested in having the conversation. He even looked bored and annoyed that he had to be there. As the detectives asked him questions, he let out a yawn and stretched his body before lighting up a cigarette.
He introduced himself as 44-year-old Robert Ben Rhodes. The next thing out of his mouth was, "Are you familiar with the term 'lot lizard'?" The detectives had never heard of it, but lot lizards are what they call people who hang out around truck plazas. They often ask people for money or rides, and they usually offer sexual services in return. Robert then said, "That is what this woman is. You just don't screw around with them broads. If I would have known this broad was so fucking loosely wrapped, you don't screw around with the women on the road.
Not unless you want your dick to drop off, okay? Robert said that after Lisa got into his truck, she started taking her clothes off, asking him for sex But when the detective asks what happened next, Robert says, I think that's about as far as I better go He was no longer interested in talking about what happened But he did say, I can tell you this, that girl is not playing with the full deck
Robert appeared extremely confident when he started talking about Lisa's mental state. He repeated the story she told the detective about how she kept talking about going to Washington DC, the microchips, and the underground prison. He was doing his best to make it seem like Lisa's story wasn't credible because she was crazy.
But even if she struggled with mental health issues, the evidence was still right there. Lisa had severe injuries. Officer Mike Miller physically saw her naked and tied up. Even further, Robert had scratches and bite marks on his arm, so he was not going to talk his way out of this. From here, Robert was charged with aggravated assault, sexual assault, and unlawful imprisonment.
Later that night, Debra would learn that her estranged husband was in jail. And through relatives, a message from Robert was relayed to her. And it was: "Tell Debra to go to my apartment and clean everything out." When she heard this, she was shocked. Deep down, she always knew her husband had secrets, but clearly this was bad. Now, she was not going to help Robert, but she was curious about exactly what he was hiding. So she did try to get into his apartment, but because she wasn't on the lease anymore, the landlord wouldn't let her inside.
But back in Arizona, Detective Barnhart couldn't shake the thought that Robert Rhodes had other victims. And he was right. After searching his truck, they found a Canon camera that appeared to have film in it. So he immediately takes it to get developed and from here he makes a few phone calls. The first was to Robert's trucking company that he worked for. The owner told the detective that Robert wasn't the best employee. He said, "In fact, there was a very strange incident that happened just a few months back. So let's walk you through it."
It was January of 1990. Robert and Deborah hadn't spoken in months and he was ready to find a victim, someone he could control. And he knew he could always find them at the truck plazas. The easiest victims were the ones he called lot lizards. So on this particular work trip, while he was in California, he sat at the plaza's restaurant and he scanned the room for a young woman.
and he eventually found one. She was 18-year-old Shanna Holtz, a pretty girl with reddish blonde hair, freckles, and blue eyes. Shanna was familiar with truck drivers because her father was one. However, he left the picture when she was 13, and she hadn't seen him since.
And from then on, Shanna's life was hard. She was a runaway, and she often spent her time in the Trucks Plazas, finding rides to different cities around the US. Through no fault of her own, Shanna was the perfect victim. Not only was she young and beautiful, but she also didn't have family that she spoke to often.
No one would come looking for her if she disappeared, and Robert took advantage of that. After spotting Shanna, he would walk over and sit beside her at the bar. He looked friendly, wearing a flannel shirt and blue jeans. And as the two struck up a conversation, Shanna couldn't help but think that he reminded her of her father. "'Where are you headed?' he asked."
Shanna told him that she was trying to find a ride to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Robert replied, well, I wish I could help, but I am going to Texas if you want a ride there. Shanna considered the offer.
After all, Texas is about halfway to where she was going, so once there, she could just find another trucker to take her to Arkansas. And Robert seemed like a charming and harmless guy, so she ultimately agreed. But Shanna couldn't have been more wrong. After they finished the coffee, she jumped into his cab and sat on the long brown leather seat.
Robert roared the diesel engine and soon enough they were on the San Bernardino Highway towards Texas. Now after a while Shanna drifts off to sleep but a few hours later she wakes up to Robert exiting the truck. They were parked on the side of the road and it was pitch black outside.
And for whatever reason, Shanna immediately feels uneasy. She goes to reach for the door, but before she could, she feels Robert grab her arm. When she turns around to look at him, he slaps her across the face and brandishes a gun. And he's smiling as he tells her to get into the back. Shanna cautiously crawls into the sleeper, with her heart pounding out of her chest.
And as soon as she steps back there, she notices shiny metal objects hanging from the roof. Robert quickly reaches up and grabs one of them, and he pulls down two sets of handcuffs. One goes around her right wrist, and the other goes around her left. From here, he handcuffs her to the truck. Shanna began to scream and kick and fight, but she is no match against Robert.
He manages to take her pants off and from here he pulls out two other sets of handcuffs, one for each ankle. She is now fully exposed, spread eagle in the sleeper of his truck. And it's here where he pulls out his black leather briefcase. There's a disturbing smile across his face as he opens it and carefully chooses what tool he will use first.
"Don't make a sound. Be a good girl," he says. Shanna is sobbing, begging him to let her go, but she knows deep down that he won't. From here, he grabs a horse bridle and shoves it into her mouth. The bar on the bridle pushes her tongue down so that she can't speak. Next, he reaches into his briefcase and grabs some needles.
Trigger warning on this next part, but as he straddles over her, he inserts the needles through both of her nipples. And as if that wasn't painful enough, he then pulls at them and he twists them. Meanwhile, Shanna is screaming in pain. Over the next few hours, she would be brutally tortured by Robert. At one point, he even puts a chain around her neck and pulls her outside.
Shanna was standing there nude on the side of the desolate highway as Robert pulled out scissors and began cutting her hair off. The haircut he gave her was extremely short and choppy. So not only did he like to physically torture, but he also liked to emotionally torture as well. Hair is important to women and cutting it short was a way of taking control and humiliating her.
Then, once he was finished cutting her hair, he pulled out another item from the torture kit. Robert whipped Shanna in the back so hard, she peed herself.
Eventually, after hours of torture, Robert chained her to the air vents and continued on with his drive. At some point, he had to stop to unload the truck, but he made sure to turn the radio up nice and loud so no one would hear her screams. Over the next few days, he continued to torture her along the drive to Texas. And when he was ready to violate her again, he would fasten the horse bridle around her head and put the bit in her mouth. Any attempts to scream only caused her to gag, so she stayed as quiet as she could.
but it was hard because he was only getting more violent. As Robert would rape Shanna, he would tell her she was worthless. Then, once he was finished, he would pull out his briefcase yet again. At one point, he pulled out an 18-inch dildo that had the head of a penis on both ends, and disturbingly, he would use it on her, putting both ends inside of her at the same time. Now, along the drive, Robert would make brief stops here and there to grab some food or coffee.
But at that point, Shanna had lost all sense of time. She was chained up in the dark sleeper for so long she never knew what time of day it was or even how long she had been there. And after about a week, she sadly became familiar with Robert's routine and how he worked.
For instance, when he would pull out the whip, she had to remind herself that the first couple whips were always the worst, but after that, her body would go numb. And the sooner she stopped screaming, the sooner he would stop whipping. If Robert ever pulled out a white towel, that meant he was going to shave her pubic hair. And shaving usually led to using needles on her genitalia.
Now, it's around this time when Robert actually began to trust Shanna. He even let her ride in the front seat at times, but she was never allowed to put on her clothes and she was always shackled. Shanna learned that if she was obedient, he would give her more privileges, and all she could think about was that if she could just do what she was told, he might even let her go. But with each passing day, her body grew weaker. She barely ate, and eventually, Robert even forced her to drink her own urine.
On February 5th, 1990, after nearly two weeks in captivity, Robert and Shanna finally arrived in Houston. Once there, he dropped the truck off and brought Shanna to his apartment complex. Now clearly, Debra, his estranged wife, has already moved out, so he could keep Shanna there for as long as he wanted with no interruptions. And over the next few days, she was again brutally tortured.
But soon enough, Robert would make a mistake. Anytime he would leave the apartment, he would bring Shanna with him. And on this day, he had to take his truck to a facility in town. So he loads Shanna up in the cab and he makes the stop. Now, usually, Robert always made sure she was securely tied up before he left her alone. But on this particular day,
The handcuff around her wrist didn't fully close. And just seconds after he walked away, she knew this was her opportunity to escape. Now, before exiting the truck, she grabbed the whip just in case he tried to come after her. And once the coast was clear, she took a deep breath, opened up the door,
and then took off running as fast as she possibly could. There was still a silver chain dangling from her neck as she tried to flag a car down, but no one would stop. Shanna frantically screamed on the side of the road, occasionally glancing behind her to make sure he wasn't coming back. She knew if he caught her, he would kill her. Eventually, she ran past a man who was in his front yard and begged him to call the police.
Luckily, he would. When the police finally arrived, Shanna did her best to give the trucker's description, but she didn't know his actual name. According to her, she only knew him by the name Dusty. She also knew many details about the truck he was driving, including the company that he worked for. So it wasn't long until the police narrowed down their suspect.
After locating the trucking company, the Houston Police Department called its owner and asked him which of his drivers went by the name Dusty. And soon enough, Robert Rhodes was being brought to the police station for a lineup. In the meantime, the police had to use a bolt cutter to cut off the chain that was around Shanna's neck.
She was then brought into a room where a female officer took pictures of her thighs, chest, and buttocks, all of which were covered in blood and bruises. The whip and horse bit were also confiscated and put into an evidence bag. And after recounting the horrors she went through over the past few weeks, Shanna was really shaken up. She was also terrified. What if this guy came back to kill her one day?
From here, the police brought her into a room, and from behind some glass, she watched as several men lined up against a wall. "Tell us which one of these guys did this to you," they said. Shanna slowly scanned each of the men, and then she saw him. Robert Ben Rhodes. But as soon as she looked into his vacant, glassy eyes, she became filled with fear. She knew what this man was capable of, and if he ever got out of prison, she was confident that he would kill her. So, she lied.
Shanna told the officers that they had the wrong guy. - But the investigating officers knew something was off. They could see the look of fear in Shanna's eyes when she saw Robert Rhodes. But without a proper identification, there was nothing they could do. So they let him go.
They did make sure to write down his name and address just in case they would need it in the future. And they would. You see, since Robert wasn't charged with anything here, he was free to terrorize other women around the US. And just a few months later, he would kidnap Lisa Pinnell, the woman found in his truck on the side of the road in Arizona. It's frustrating to think that if Shanna would have just identified him as her attacker,
Lisa would have never had to become one of his victims, but she did. And luckily, the detective investigating her case, Detective Bernhardt, knew that something wasn't right here.
This couldn't have been Robert's first offense. So like we mentioned, he started calling around. He first called Robert's boss at the trucking company who told him about Shanna's kidnapping. And after hearing this, Detective Barnhart knows that he's onto something here. So he calls detectives in Houston who worked Shanna's kidnapping case and they send someone out to go talk with her.
At the time, she was staying at a woman's shelter in Houston, and when the detectives approached her, she finally admitted that she lied. She said that Robert Rhodes, the man in the lineup, was indeed the man that kidnapped, raped, and tortured her. When they asked her why she lied, she told them she was terrified. No one understood the true horrors of what she went through over those two weeks.
and she was afraid that if she ratted on him, he would come back and kill her. But armed with this information, the detectives now know that Robert Rhodes is one of the most dangerous men they had ever met. And the fact that he kidnapped and tortured two women within just months of one another meant that he was no amateur and he likely had many other victims.
Earlier we mentioned that after Robert was arrested for kidnapping Lisa, investigators searched his truck and found a Canon camera with film inside. So they took it to get developed and on it were all these pictures of different women who were driving past him in his truck.
So, as Robert was driving down these interstates, he would see an attractive girl driving past him and he would snap a picture of her. Most of the girls probably didn't even know he took the photo, which is a little spooky. Some of the other pictures were taken of women outside of a chain link fence, and they were all dressed in a similar fashion.
short-skirted shorts and low-cut blouses. So as the investigators are looking at these, they can tell that Robert is a disturbed individual who liked to prey on innocent girls. And if this is what they're finding inside of his truck, there's no telling what they were about to find at his apartment.
So, on April 5th, 1990, Robert Rhodes' case file was taken to the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in Virginia. James Wright, a criminal analyst, reviewed the file and he knew that serial rapists tend to keep trophies of their victims, whether that be jewelry, clothing, identification cards, or any other personal items. So, from here, they get a search warrant for his apartment. As the investigators enter Robert's Houston apartment, they notice it looks exactly like Shanna described it.
Like she said, there was tan carpet and women's clothing scattered about. Investigators found multiple white towels stained with blood and torture paraphernalia including a bondage rack. Everything inside was photographed, dusted for fingerprints, and taken into evidence. They found bathing suits, pantyhose, and several different sized high heels.
There were women's underwear of all different colors, bras of all different sizes. There was jewelry, hair bands, dresses, and a plethora of sex toys. It was clear that Robert Rhodes had many trophies, a whole apartment full of them. But finding who these items belonged to would be very difficult. After all, Robert's job gave him access to nearly every state in America.
Based on Shanna and Lisa's story, we already know he found them in California and Arizona. So how many other victims were there?
The investigators were about to learn that there were many more. Inside Robert's apartment, they found disturbing photographs of unknown women who were naked and shackled. Many of them were posed in different positions, but all of them had a look of fear in their eyes.
Some pictures showed them tied up in the sleeper of his cab or outside of a lake. One girl was even in a barn.
As the investigators studied the photographs, they saw that many of the girls had bruises all over their bodies. And the bruises were in different stages of healing, meaning they too had been subjected to Robert's torture for weeks. And something else they noted was that most of the girls in these pictures had a short, choppy haircut, just like Shanna Holtz.
She told the investigators that Robert gave her that haircut to humiliate her and based on these photographs, that was clearly his signature. Now after taking everything into evidence, the FBI was sure that they had a serial killer on their hands. Luckily, Robert Rhodes was in jail so he couldn't hurt anyone else.
But they now had the huge task of identifying the women in these photos. They also needed to look at any Jane Does found around the US that matched Robert's signatures, including bodies that had whip marks, small puncture wounds on their genitals and breast, obvious signs of bruising around the wrists and ankles, and that signature haircut.
The investigation into these photographs would prove that Robert Rhodes was not just a serial rapist. He was, indeed, a serial killer. Likely one of the most prolific serial killers in America. Join us next week as we walk you through the investigation into these horrific murders and the long string of victims Robert Rhodes left in his wake.
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Hey, everybody. It's Colin here. Thank you again for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. Now, this story only gets more twisted and disturbing as we reveal some of the details of the actual murders that Robert Rhodes committed. And yeah, tune in next week because it's about to get wild. But until then, thanks for watching.
We want to thank all of our new patrons this week. I mean, we have so many that we're still catching up on. Aaron Brown, Ellie Benson, Ajikemi, Jodeh, Sarah DePlesis, Caitlin Garbutt, Alan Stevens, Jordan, Militia Laney, Kelly Stoneking, Laura Seltzer, Samantha Cyber, Mehdi Cabbage, Iza Asghari, Michael Verasso, Luis Garcia, and Angelique Wright-Vicnair.
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Hello, I'm Shelby Scott, the host of Scare You to Sleep, a podcast where I tell you spooky bedtime stories full of creepy sound effects and music that is soothing yet unsettling to help immerse you into a world of horror. This is a show for those of us who have realized that we are not alone.
Horror can be a strange but relaxing escape from reality. Speaking of escapes, sometimes I lead you through guided nightmares, like a guided meditation, but instead of flowery meadows, I take you on a journey through your own personal nightmare.
So come get lost in the terror with me. Listen to Scare You to Sleep wherever you listen to podcasts or find us online at bloody.fm. Sweet screams. Welcome to the All 80s Movies Podcast. I'm Bill. And I'm Jason. And this is the podcast where we talk about the blockbusters, the flops, and everything in between from one of the freshest decades for movies, the 1980s. So whether you're a brain, a jock,
a valley girl, or a Jedi, we've got some 80s classics for you. Do these movies stand the test of time? Are we discovering something new? Is there an 80s movie we are finally watching for the first time? Join us each week as we dive into the cinematic nostalgia that inspired and influenced a generation. From the hits to the cult classics, we'll discuss our earliest memories, favorite scenes, fun facts, and our not-so-favorite movie moments, too. You can find the All 80s Movies Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Please follow, and happy listening. Hey there, are you in need of a new weekly fix of horror gaming discussions? Then look no further than Saferoom, Bloody FM's horror video gaming podcast. I'm your host Jay Krieger, and I am the other one, Neil Boe. And every week, Neil, myself, and the occasional guest get together to chat about classic and contemporary horror games, and the elements that make them a standout amongst the hordes of horror games being released seemingly every day now.
In addition to celebrating anniversaries and new releases, we also interview influential horror developers such as Amnesia the Bunker's creative lead, Frederick Wilson, and even the maestro of lo-fi horror, Erdorf, the developer behind the Faith trilogy. And finally, on Thursdays, we release episodes of Horror Bytes, our bite-sized indie horror showcase in which Neil and I share a game that we discovered on Itch.io from an up-and-coming developer.
So if this sounds like the podcast for you, please consider checking out Safe Room on your preferred podcast platform and be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at Safe Room Pod for show updates.
