James Freeman, a 16-year-old friend of Tennison from Texarkana, came forward and talked to a deputy prosecutor after hearing that Tennison confessed to being the Phantom. Freeman explained that on the night of Virgil Starks' death, they were together at Tennison's house playing cards or checkers between 7 p.m. and midnight. That night, they both heard the news of Starks' death. Tennison's brothers, J. D., Jr. and Craig, said the confession and suicide were "fantastic things" induced by reading too many comic books. They both stated that he did not know guns, and did not care for weapons, hunting, or shooting. None of the guns that Tennison would have had access to matched the bullets used in the Phantom murders. Furthermore, Craig said that he had not taught Tennison how to drive a car until the summer of 1947.