The next murder was another double-homicide, occurring exactly three weeks from the Griffin/Moore murders. On Saturday night, April 13, Betty Jo Booker, age 15, was playing her alto saxophone in her regular weekly gig with her band, The Rythmaires. They had gig at the VFW Club. She was picked up about 1:30 Sunday morning by a 16 year old friend named Paul Martin. Paul vbisiting Texarkana after moving away two years prior. He was to take her to a slumber party across town. Booker’s classmates said that earlier that day she told them that she did not want to go out with Martin but felt obligated since he was an old friend. Sometime after that both were killed.

Paul Martin’s body was found at about 6:30 a.m. A passing motorist found the body lying on its left side by the northern side of North Park Road. Officers would find blood further down on the other side of the road by a fence. He had been shot four times—once through the nose, again through the left fourth rib from behind, a third time in the right hand, and finally through the back of the neck.

Betty Jo Booker’s body was not found until approximately 11:30 a.m., almost 2 miles away from Martin’s body. Searchers from a search party found this body behind a tree 25 yards off the north side of Morris Lane. Her body was lying on its back, fully clothed, with the right hand in the pocket of the buttoned overcoat. An unknown assailant shot Betty Jo Booker twice, once through the left fifth rib from the front and once through the left cheek by the nose. The weapon used was the same as in the first double murder, a .32 automatic Colt pistol. The newspaper reported that the bodies were not abused, but other  reports claimed that Booker had been raped. Paul Martin had a 1946 Ford Club coupe. Searchers would find his car parked with the keys in it just outside the Spring lake park. This was over one mile away from Paul Martin’s body and 3 miles away from Betty Jo Booker’s body. The officers could not figure out a timeline as to who was shot first nor how the bodies ended up where they found them. The authorities did claim the evidence showed the kids had put up a terrific struggle. Betty Jo’s alto saxophone was missing. Over six months later, two local men were repairing a fence and they discovered Booker’s missing saxophone still in its black leather case. It was located in the underbrush, across Morris Lane and about 140 steps east from where the body was found.

A radio news bulletin announced that a young male teen was found shot to death at Spring Lake Park. Hundreds of people flocked to the area. Throughout the day, cars jammed the highway and roads in the park as people tried to view the crime scenes. Shocked by the news, several hundred residents assembled around the sheriff’s office to be on the spot in case a suspect was apprehended.

The Texas Rangers came in to investigate, including the famous M. T. “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas.

The Tuesday night after the second double murder, rumors had already spread that the killer had been caught. On Wednesday, rumors suggested a local minister had turned in his own son as a suspect in the killings of Martin and Booker. Captain Gonzaullas and Bowie County Sheriff Bill Presley discounted these allegations. Surprised at the credence locals gave them, Gonzaullas also stated that it “hindered the investigation because of the time it was necessary to consume tracking it down. The spreading of the rumor certainly was an injustice to the family and the boy, because it absolutely is not so. We do not have any minister’s son in custody at this time, nor have we had one in custody or questioned a minister’s son relative to this crime.”

The murders sent the town of Texarkana into a state of panic throughout the summer. At dusk, city inhabitants heavily armed themselves and locked themselves indoors while police patrolled streets and ne...