Labels

Killer Comparisons: John Eric Armstrong and Charles Albright

The case of this well-known serial killer has always fascinated me. The Eyeball Killer, as he's called. Known to have gouged out the eyes of his female victims. An interesting psychological study. So I knew I had to do an installment on him for this "Killer Comparisons" blog series, but I wasn't sure which of the two convicted Detroit serial killers I have researched would be best compared to him.

But just look at his nice-guy demeanor ... his ability to seem normal, personable, trusted ... holding down a regular job, having a wife, a child, other relationships in his life. Having a regular home. Sneaking out to commit his crimes in the early morning hours while he partner remained unaware ... Well, that to me said John Eric Armstrong. So here we go ...

Albright
Charles Albright was born in August 1933 in Amarillo, Texas, a whole 40 years before John Eric Armstrong would be born in New Bern, North Carolina. As a boy, Charles developed a hobby of taxidermy, encouraged by his doting mother (I can't help but think of A&E's "Bates Motel" -- have you ever seen it, about the younger years of Norman Bates? highly recommended by this author!). But as Charles practiced his hobby, recreating lifelike representations of this critter or that critter, the marble eyeballs for his creations were too expensive for his mother to buy, so he improvised with items like buttons. Thus began an odd fascination for him for the windows to the soul, so to speak.

Albright was a prankster as a student in school, and as a teen he got into some small crimes like theft. As an adult, he worked as a teacher after forging documents to get the job. His deception was discovered and he lost the job. He spent six months behind bars for theft in 1980. In 1981, his mother died, a big event in his life. He moved in with his dad, attended church, and was well-regarded by his neighbors. He got married, had a daughter, but then separated from his wife.

In February 1981, Albright sexually assaulted a young girl. He pleaded guilty in 1985 and was given 10 years probation. He served no time behind bars.

Armstrong
In 1990, he was 57 and delivering papers in Dallas. That's when things really started to go sideways. His first known victim, Mary Pratt, was found dead in December 1990. Like Armstrong, Albright hunted prostitutes, and like Armstrong, ethnicity or age did not matter to him. He found whoever was convenient, whoever would get into the car with him. Unlike Armstrong, though, Albright shot his victims. (Armstrong was not a gun owner, but he did tend to keep a knife in his vehicle.) And very much unlike Armstrong, Albright quite carefully removed the eyes of his victims for souvenirs. That detail has gained him a unique notoriety in the serial killer annals.

For both of these convicted killers, it was beat cops who investigated them and ended up bringing them in, and key to that was speaking with assault survivors. These uniform cops knew the streets -- and knew the girls who worked the streets, more importantly. In Albright's case, an assault survivor came forward to police with her story right after victim No. 1 was found. Then, in February 1991, another sex worker was found, also shot, her eyes also removed. She was posed, her arms raised above her head (another similarity with the girls Armstrong killed). In March 1991, a third victim was found, again shot with her eyes removed. This third vic was also beaten and stabbed, though. She was left in full view of an elementary school. Like Armstrong, Albright didn't make an effort to hide his victims. At this point, another survivor came forward. Albright had told this woman that he hated all "whores" and wanted to kill all of them, another detail his case shares with Armstrong's -- Eric told at least three of his five Detroit survivors that he hated prostitutes. (Why he had that hate is an interesting question from a psychological perspective.)

Both men had plenty of encounters with prostitutes that were non-lethal. Armstrong was a former Navy officer who traveled to various ports all over the world, and he later confessed to murders in these foreign ports that have never been corroborated. But it stands to reason that he picked up prostitutes he did not kill, as did Albright.

Albright was arrested in 1991. He was eventually linked to four murders, though the case against him at trial was not as strong as it could be. He did receive a life sentence, rather than Texas' death penalty, then died in prison at age 87 in 2020. Armstrong, convicted in the non-death-penalty state of Michigan, continues to serve out his multiple life sentences, for killing five (he assaulted five others who survived).

To learn more about the Shore case, see the "World's Most Evil Killers" episode in particular, but the case has been featured on several true-crime docs over the years.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Above photos:
Armstrong, from the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Albright, from the Dallas P.D.

See photos from the Armstrong case at the gallery on the WildBlue Press website.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment