Charles Albright was a serial killer who murdered three prostitutes in Dallas, Texas, between 1990 and 1991.
He had a macabre and unique signature: he removed the eyes of his victims with surgical precision.
He was nicknamed “The Eyeball Killer” by the media and the police.
Albright had a troubled childhood.
He was adopted by an overprotective and strict mother who taught him taxidermy and gave him dead animals to stuff.
He developed an obsession with eyes and wanted to use glass eyes for his creations, but his mother refused to buy them.
He also had a history of petty crimes, such as theft, fraud, and forgery.
He lied about his education and credentials, claiming to have degrees in medicine, criminology, and psychology.
In 1981, he was convicted of statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl and sentenced to probation.
He married and divorced twice and had a daughter.
He worked as a teacher, a carpenter, and a security guard.
He also befriended several prostitutes in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, where he lived.
In December 1990, he killed his first victim, Mary Lou Pratt, a 33-year-old prostitute who was found shot in the back of the head and with her eyes removed.
A month later, he killed Susan Peterson, a 27-year-old prostitute who was found stabbed and shot multiple times with her eyes missing.
In March 1991, he killed his third and final victim, Shirley Williams, a 40-year-old prostitute who was found shot in the face and with her eyes cut out.
The police linked the murders to similar wounds and the absence of eyes.
They also found evidence that Albright had visited the crime scenes after the killings.
They traced his car and arrested him at his home.
Police searched his house and found several items related to the murders, such as newspaper clippings, books on serial killers, guns, knives, scissors, and hair from one of the victims.
They also found a collection of glass eyes that he had stolen from a taxidermy shop.
Albright was charged with three counts of murder.
He pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement in the crimes.
His trial began in March 1991.
The prosecution presented forensic evidence that matched Albright’s hair and fingerprints to the crime scenes.
The police also presented testimonies from witnesses who saw him with the victims or near the locations where they were found.
The defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial and that Albright was a scapegoat for a police investigation that failed to find the real killer.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours and found Albright guilty of one count of murder for the death of Shirley Williams.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
He was never convicted for the other two murders due to lack of evidence.
Albright is currently incarcerated at the John Montford Psychiatric Unit in Lubbock, Texas.
He still maintains his innocence and claims that he never harmed anyone.
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