Detroit police charged ex-sailor John Eric Armstrong with the murder of five local prostitutes and three attempted murders. Investigators are confident he killed the Detroit-area women, but beyond that they wonder whether Armstrong -- a man who has the vanity plate "Baby Doll" on the front of his Jeep Wrangler -- is pulling a Henry Lee Lucas. "There are gaps in his time line that we are concerned about," said Detroit Police Cmdr. Dennis Richardson, head of the major crimes division. "However, nothing outside of Michigan has been confirmed yet. Our investigation is continuing very aggressively and very meticulously."
He told police his wife is pregnant with their second child and that they were having marital problems. After he listened to Armstrong confess to various murders, Hines said he called Armstrong's wife to let her know he was in police custody and was facing criminal charges. The detective said he hung up on Katie Armstrong after a minute-long conversation. He said he had warned her that he wouldn't continue the conversation if she kept yelling at him. Not one to take bad news lightly, Katie then accused police of harassing her husband. "She's in extreme denial," said Hines. "Apparently she didn't want to hear what I had to say. She was a very loud and rambunctious woman."
Detroit police believe Armstrong's alleged killing spree may have begun eight years ago in North Carolina, when he joined the Navy in Raleigh. Detroit police and the FBI are trying to match a list of Nimitz port visits between 1992 and April 1999, when Armstrong was discharged from the military, with a list of unsolved killings in cities across the world. "As the investigation keeps going on, bodies keep popping up. The numbers keep increasing," Officer Octaveious Miles told the AP. "There is a similar pattern that ties them all together that creates a trail."
In custody the 300-pound former sailor dropped a bomb on the laps of interrogating officers by confessed to killing up to 18 women throughout the world over an eight-year period. In his confession he claimed to have committed three murders in Seattle, two in Hong Kong, two in Hawaii, and one each in Virginia, North Carolina, Thailand and Signapore. Investigators said they were also looking into similar prostitute strangulations in Japan, Korea and Israel that coincided with Nimitz port visits. "This is not going to be solved, this won't be completed, in the next week. Literally we will be months dealing with other governments and police officers around the world," said FBI Special Agent John Bell.
Navy officials said that Armstrong was not the model sailor, but he was not a discipline problem either. During his eight years in the service, Armstrong received the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal; two good conduct medals; the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon; the Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon; the National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; and two Sea Service Deployment ribbons.
Police said Armstrong was questioned following the January death of a prostitute in Dearborn Heights after he told police he found her body in a stream. But investigators said they did not have enough evidence to arrest him at the time. Then a prostitute called Detroit police to report she had been assaulted and gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Two days later a Conrail worker spotted a body near the tracks. Investigators found two other women's bodies nearby. All three women were prostitutes killed at different times, then dumped in same area. Police theorize they were strangled in the suspect's car. The first body had been dumped four weeks ago, the second three weeks ago, and the third two days before the Armstrong's arrest.
Investigators now believe that Armstrong's worldwide crime spree is a figment of his imagination. Only the five murders in Detroit have been confirmed. One other killing, that of Linette Hillig, 34-year-old woman was found in Norfolk on March 5, 1998, concurs with Amstrong's confession. However, Norfolk police have not identified Armstrong as a suspect. In other cities, police say they the veracity of his confessions. From Singapore to Hawaii to Washington, investigators have said they either have no unsolved murder or no case that fits what Detroit police attributed to Armstrong.
Detroit police charged ex-sailor John Eric Armstrong with the murder of five local prostitutes and three attempted murders. Investigators are confident he killed the Detroit-area women, but beyond that they wonder whether Armstrong -- a man who has the vanity plate "Baby Doll" on the front of his Jeep Wrangler -- is pulling a Henry Lee Lucas. "There are gaps in his time line that we are concerned about," said Detroit Police Cmdr. Dennis Richardson, head of the major crimes division. "However, nothing outside of Michigan has been confirmed yet. Our investigation is continuing very aggressively and very meticulously."
He told police his wife is pregnant with their second child and that they were having marital problems. After he listened to Armstrong confess to various murders, Hines said he called Armstrong's wife to let her know he was in police custody and was facing criminal charges. The detective said he hung up on Katie Armstrong after a minute-long conversation. He said he had warned her that he wouldn't continue the conversation if she kept yelling at him. Not one to take bad news lightly, Katie then accused police of harassing her husband. "She's in extreme denial," said Hines. "Apparently she didn't want to hear what I had to say. She was a very loud and rambunctious woman."
Detroit police believe Armstrong's alleged killing spree may have begun eight years ago in North Carolina, when he joined the Navy in Raleigh. Detroit police and the FBI are trying to match a list of Nimitz port visits between 1992 and April 1999, when Armstrong was discharged from the military, with a list of unsolved killings in cities across the world. "As the investigation keeps going on, bodies keep popping up. The numbers keep increasing," Officer Octaveious Miles told the AP. "There is a similar pattern that ties them all together that creates a trail."
In custody the 300-pound former sailor dropped a bomb on the laps of interrogating officers by confessed to killing up to 18 women throughout the world over an eight-year period. In his confession he claimed to have committed three murders in Seattle, two in Hong Kong, two in Hawaii, and one each in Virginia, North Carolina, Thailand and Signapore. Investigators said they were also looking into similar prostitute strangulations in Japan, Korea and Israel that coincided with Nimitz port visits. "This is not going to be solved, this won't be completed, in the next week. Literally we will be months dealing with other governments and police officers around the world," said FBI Special Agent John Bell.
Navy officials said that Armstrong was not the model sailor, but he was not a discipline problem either. During his eight years in the service, Armstrong received the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal; two good conduct medals; the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon; the Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon; the National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; and two Sea Service Deployment ribbons.
Police said Armstrong was questioned following the January death of a prostitute in Dearborn Heights after he told police he found her body in a stream. But investigators said they did not have enough evidence to arrest him at the time. Then a prostitute called Detroit police to report she had been assaulted and gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle. Two days later a Conrail worker spotted a body near the tracks. Investigators found two other women's bodies nearby. All three women were prostitutes killed at different times, then dumped in same area. Police theorize they were strangled in the suspect's car. The first body had been dumped four weeks ago, the second three weeks ago, and the third two days before the Armstrong's arrest.
Investigators now believe that Armstrong's worldwide crime spree is a figment of his imagination. Only the five murders in Detroit have been confirmed. One other killing, that of Linette Hillig, 34-year-old woman was found in Norfolk on March 5, 1998, concurs with Amstrong's confession. However, Norfolk police have not identified Armstrong as a suspect. In other cities, police say they the veracity of his confessions. From Singapore to Hawaii to Washington, investigators have said they either have no unsolved murder or no case that fits what Detroit police attributed to Armstrong.
