Eric Armstrong photo, taken from his Junior High
School yearbook in New Bern, NC.
The photo depicts
Armstrong in 1991, at the age of 17.
Armstrong got arrested around 12:30 a.m. on April 12, 2000
Armstrong strangled women
inside his car while he was engaged in sexual intercourse
with them.
Armstrong also had sex with some of his victims
after they died.
A family photo catches John Eric Armstrong playing inNorth Carolina
last March 2000, with his 14-month-old son, Austin.
Ones he was 'sailer of the month',
now he's known as a serial killer.
Shipmates called Armstrong 'Opie'.
Railroad yard in southwest Detroit
Armstrong's transition
from suburban dad to accused serial killer unfolded rapidly
and by chance on april 10, 2000, after a passenger on a
train passing through southwest Detroit reported what
appeared to be corpses near the tracks. The bodies turned
out to be Rose Marie Felt (32), Kelly Hood (34), Robbin
Brown (20), all prostitutes. They were killed at different
times, then dumped in the isolated area. The first body had
been placed in the area up to four weeks ago, the second
three weeks ago and the third April 10, 2000. Police
arrested Armstrong two days later and charged him in five
deaths. |
John Eric Armstrong,
front, and his parents, stepfather Ron Pringle, left rear,
and Linda Pringle, listen
as the jury's guilty verdict is
announced March 8,
2001, in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
in Detroit.
Bonnie Jordan, left, and Judy Jordan, sisters of
murder victim Wendy Jordan, sit in court.
During closing arguments,
at the first trial, Prosecutor Elizabeth Walker dramatically
held
up her arm, looked at her watch and said: "The
pathologist testified that it took at least
30 seconds for
Mr. Armstrong to strangle Wendy Jordan, and maybe even
longer.
This is how long 30 seconds takes." The courtroom
was still as the time ticked by.
"And you can imagine that
she was not just laying there waiting, wondering how
long it
would take to die. She probably struggled for her life".
John Eric Armstrong
|