John Eric Armstrong

John Eric Armstrong was born on November 23, 1973 in New Bern, North Carolina. His father was abusive towards Armstrong and his mother, and sexually abused Armstrong when he was a child. In 1978, Armstrong's younger brother, Michael, died at two months from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Because of the grief caused by Michael's death, Armstrong attempted to end his life and his father left him and his mother. Armstrong did not receive treatment for his grief until 1989, a year after he was hospitalized for locking himself in a bathroom because a girl at school was pressuring him to have sex with her.[3]

Armstrong joined the United States Navy in 1992.[4][2] His bunkmates have described him as "moody." He allegedly killed his first victim in 1991, although this is not confirmed. Between 1993 and 1998, Armstrong murdered 11 women, all of whom were prostitutes. He claims to have killed in Seattle, Washington; Hawaii; Hong Kong, China; North Carolina; Virginia; Thailand; and Singapore. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1999, and enrolled at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan afterwards.[3]

On January 2, 2000, Armstrong was questioned by police in Dearborn Heights Michigan after he reported finding a body in a river. He claimed he felt nauseous and attempted to vomit in the river when he discovered the body of Wendy Jordan, but he was not arrested at that time. In April 2000, Armstrong attempted to murder a woman and man, respectively. He attempted to murder Wilhelminia Drane on April 2 after she got into his Jeep, but she sprayed him with Mace and was able to flee. On April 7, he offered Devon Marcus $40 for sex and attempted to strangle him, but Marcus was able to flee as well. Following his escape, Marcus contacted police and identified Armstrong as his captor. On April 10, police found three bodies in a railroad yard in southwest Detroit. All of the victims had been strangled, and all had been prostitutes. On April 12, police arrested Armstrong for the murder of Wendy Jordan after DNA evidence found with the body matched Armstrong's DNA. In March 2001, Armstrong was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Wendy Jordan. On June 18, 2001 he was additionally convicted of killing Kelly Jean Hood, Robbin Brown, Rose Marie Felt, and Monica Johnson.[3]