Youell Lee Swinney (February 9, 1917 – September 15, 1994) was an American criminal and the only major suspect in the Phantom Killer case in Texarkana in 1946, although he was never officially charged with any of the murders.
Swinney grew up in rural Cleveland County, Arkansas, the son of a Baptist minister.
However, he was released from prison in 1973 following a habeas corpus proceeding which found that a prior conviction in 1941 used for sentence enhancement purposes was void because Swinney had not been represented by counsel.
He was linked to the crimes by detailed descriptions of the Booker-Martin murders from his wife and accomplice, Peggy, who refused to testify against him in court.
[5] Two of the lead investigators in the case, Max Tackett and Tillman Johnson, believed for the remainder of their lives that Swinney was guilty of the murders.