Jennifer Holliday & The Servant Girl Annihilator

This week on Para(normal), we’re covering two terrifying true crime stories: Jennifer Holliday’s incredible survival and the unsolved Servant Girl Annihilator murders. In 2005, paramedic Jennifer Holliday was shot, abducted and trapped with Eric Stephen Parnell, the man who had just murdered her cousin, Anna Franklin. Critically wounded, Jennifer devised an unbelievable survival strategy: convince her attacker that he was actually her rescuer. She kept the lie going long enough to secretly communicate with 911, and ultimately lead police straight to her. Then, we head to Austin, Texas, in 1885, where an unidentified killer was attacking people in their homes as they slept. Known as the Servant Girl Annihilator, the killer primarily targeted Black domestic workers before the murders suddenly stopped. Eight people were dead, the city was terrified, and more than 140 years later, the killer’s identity remains unknown. Was this one of America’s earliest serial killers, and why has the case been largely forgotten while Jack the Ripper became infamous? Content Warning: Murder, gun violence, kidnapping, sexual assault, violence against women and children, racism, and graphic injuries. Sources & Further Reading: Houston Chronicle — Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Holliday: A Story of Survival in East Texas Travis County Archives — Mysteries of Travis County Servant Girl Murders — Austin, Texas 1885 CultureMap Austin — The Servant Girl Annihilator 🎧 Follow Para(normal) wherever you get your podcasts for more true crime, paranormal stories, unsolved mysteries and seriously strange history. Support Para(normal) Brought to you By: The Sonar Network