Saturday 10 May 2014

Charles Albright - "The Eyeball Killer"

This man, currently incarcerated in Clements Units, Amarillo in Texas, is also known by two other names; The Dallas Ripper & The Dallas Slasher.  He has been diagnosed as a psychopath by medical experts, but though he is suspected of three gruesome murders, he has only been convicted of one, and that was only on circumstantial evidence.  He has been deemed as too dangerous to ever be released, despite his age and use of crutches.  Albright`s notoriety was due to the murder victims having their eyes surgically removed, but people should be aware of Albright`s obsession with eyes.  It is a subject that he truly exudes controlled excitement.  His demeanour is also very controlled.  So who is He?

    Charles Frederick Albright was born on August 10th 1933 in Amarillo, Texas, but he was adopted by school teacher Delle Albright and her husband, Fred.  She was strict and protective to him and also helped him advance two grades at school.  As a teenager, he acquired a gun and liked to shoot animals.  His mother helped him stuff the animals but they were unable to afford the proper taxidermists glass eyes so used buttons instead.  He graduated into petty crime, which included forgery, as he forged documents that helped him get into North Texas University, where he expressed an interest in medicine and surgery.  He never finished his stint at NTU.  He was caught stealing cash and had firearms, which landed him one year in jail.  When released, he made it into Arkansas State Teacher College, but he could not contain his criminality when he was again caught stealing.  He had majored in pre-med.  He was expelled, so he put his forgery skills to work and with documents he had stolen, wrote numerous Masters and Bachelors degrees for himself.  He married and had a daughter but the couple split in 1965 and eventually divorced in 1974.  Albright had a knack for getting put on probation whenever he was caught committing crime.  He again stole, this time from a store which earned him 2 years 6 months, but he was out after just six!

    Now, in a neighbourhood he moved to, he was able to charm his neighbours into thinking he was very dependable and so they asked him to babysit their children.  One day, he repaid this kindness by molesting a nine year old girl.  This offence, again, earned him probation.  By 1985, he had befriended a woman named Dixie and persuaded her to move in with him.  Soon, she found herself paying all the bills, he was unable to keep a job or just did not seem to try.  He did get a job as a newspaper delivery man but that was just a ruse for him to visit prostitutes.  December 13th 1990, prostitute Mary Lou Pratt aged 33, known to work the Oak Cliff district of Dallas, was found wearing only a t-shirt that had been pulled up.  She had been shot in the back of the head. The Medical Examiner discovered that both eyeballs had been surgically removed.  Forward to February 10th 1991, prostitute Susan Peterson was found shot to death in South Dallas.  Her t-shirt had been pulled up, exposing her breasts, like Mary Lou, and her eyes had been removed.  The next month, 18th March, prostitute Shirley Williams was found naked.  She had been shot in the head and face.  Her eyes had been removed.  Three days later, Albright was arrested and charged.  The evidence was very circumstantial but the jury was swayed by it and convicted him.  He was only convicted for killing Shirley Williams, as the only evidence they had, tied him to Shirley.

    Naturally, Albright claims he is innocent but an interview with top forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Stone, showed his true demeanour.  He calmly denied everything, but when Dr Stone touched on the subject of eyes, Albright lit up.  You could see the excitement in his eyes and face but he was very controlled.  It was a topic he absolutely relished.  Scary!  He is said to have his cell walls covered in pictures and drawings of eyes.  Have they got the right man?  After seeing his interview with Dr. Stone, no doubt in my mind.

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