1 00:00:02,663 --> 00:00:04,594 [tense music] 2 00:00:04,629 --> 00:00:08,629 This is a case about a killer screaming at law enforcement, 3 00:00:08,663 --> 00:00:11,698 "I'm here. This is what I've done. 4 00:00:11,732 --> 00:00:13,525 Do I have your attention now?" 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,560 [camera shutter clicking] 6 00:00:15,594 --> 00:00:20,767 He's guilty of the ultimate desecration of somebody's body. 7 00:00:20,801 --> 00:00:22,974 The necrophilia in this case 8 00:00:23,008 --> 00:00:27,077 is the ultimate means of control. 9 00:00:27,111 --> 00:00:28,836 What's particularly twisted 10 00:00:28,870 --> 00:00:30,801 is the way he's leaving their bodies, 11 00:00:30,836 --> 00:00:35,629 humiliating them, posing them, escalating his killings, 12 00:00:35,663 --> 00:00:38,801 and getting reckless, and he still wasn't caught. 13 00:00:40,594 --> 00:00:43,560 [ominous music] 14 00:00:43,594 --> 00:00:45,939 ♪ 15 00:00:53,801 --> 00:00:54,939 The city of Dearborn Heights 16 00:00:54,974 --> 00:00:57,974 is mainly a residential community 17 00:00:58,008 --> 00:01:01,353 located about 12 or so miles 18 00:01:01,387 --> 00:01:04,663 west of downtown Detroit. 19 00:01:04,698 --> 00:01:06,008 The majority of the residents 20 00:01:06,043 --> 00:01:09,560 would probably be considered blue-collar workers. 21 00:01:09,594 --> 00:01:14,249 It is a relatively safe city to live in. 22 00:01:14,284 --> 00:01:16,008 I used to live in the city of Detroit, 23 00:01:16,043 --> 00:01:18,836 and back then, at the time of this case, 24 00:01:18,870 --> 00:01:21,663 everybody thought Dearborn Heights was a quiet, 25 00:01:21,698 --> 00:01:24,456 sleepy suburb, because Detroit, 26 00:01:24,491 --> 00:01:27,077 around that time, would see, 27 00:01:27,111 --> 00:01:30,870 like, probably around 400 homicides in a year. 28 00:01:30,905 --> 00:01:32,870 [ominous music] 29 00:01:32,905 --> 00:01:34,732 ♪ 30 00:01:34,767 --> 00:01:37,698 On January 2, I received a call 31 00:01:37,732 --> 00:01:42,663 approximately 5:30 p.m. from my captain 32 00:01:42,698 --> 00:01:44,939 who informed me officers were out 33 00:01:44,974 --> 00:01:47,318 with a deceased person in the Rouge River 34 00:01:47,353 --> 00:01:49,663 and I responded to that location. 35 00:01:49,698 --> 00:01:51,698 ♪ 36 00:01:51,732 --> 00:01:52,767 When I arrived at the scene, 37 00:01:52,801 --> 00:01:54,215 after speaking with the officers, 38 00:01:54,249 --> 00:01:56,698 I did look over the railing down into the river 39 00:01:56,732 --> 00:01:58,456 and I observed the victim. 40 00:01:58,491 --> 00:02:01,525 [soft ominous music] 41 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,077 ♪ 42 00:02:04,111 --> 00:02:06,560 She was partially clothed. 43 00:02:06,594 --> 00:02:10,318 She had her miniskirt down around her ankles. 44 00:02:10,353 --> 00:02:14,215 There appeared to be a high-heel gold shoe there. 45 00:02:14,249 --> 00:02:18,008 See a victim wearing such clothing, 46 00:02:18,043 --> 00:02:20,146 we determined that she may have been a working girl. 47 00:02:20,180 --> 00:02:23,663 ♪ 48 00:02:23,698 --> 00:02:25,077 It was evident that 49 00:02:25,111 --> 00:02:28,836 she hadn't floated downstream from another location 50 00:02:28,870 --> 00:02:34,146 where her body wouldn't have ended up on the ice as it did. 51 00:02:34,180 --> 00:02:36,249 I never really considered the possibility 52 00:02:36,284 --> 00:02:39,111 that the victim jumped. 53 00:02:39,146 --> 00:02:41,043 Had that been a suicide, 54 00:02:41,077 --> 00:02:45,180 she would have had all of her clothing on. 55 00:02:45,215 --> 00:02:46,767 In my opinion, 56 00:02:46,801 --> 00:02:49,939 someone had thrown her over the railing of the bridge 57 00:02:49,974 --> 00:02:54,146 to either harm her, kill her, or dispose of a body. 58 00:02:54,180 --> 00:02:56,422 ♪ 59 00:02:56,456 --> 00:02:59,836 You try not to allow your emotions to get involved, 60 00:02:59,870 --> 00:03:03,180 but it's very cold and callous 61 00:03:03,215 --> 00:03:05,732 for an individual just to discard a body 62 00:03:05,767 --> 00:03:07,629 over the railing into the Rouge River. 63 00:03:07,663 --> 00:03:10,905 ♪ 64 00:03:10,939 --> 00:03:16,422 The Wayne County dive team responded to the location, 65 00:03:16,456 --> 00:03:19,387 and they removed the victim from the ice. 66 00:03:19,422 --> 00:03:21,215 ♪ 67 00:03:21,249 --> 00:03:25,077 The dive team wrapped her hands in plastic 68 00:03:25,111 --> 00:03:29,767 to preserve any evidence, perhaps under her fingernails. 69 00:03:29,801 --> 00:03:34,525 And then she was taken to the Wayne County Medical Examiner. 70 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:36,318 ♪ 71 00:03:36,353 --> 00:03:38,767 While I was there at the scene, 72 00:03:38,801 --> 00:03:41,525 I spoke with the person that waved down the witnesses 73 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,491 to call 911. 74 00:03:43,525 --> 00:03:44,974 His name was John Armstrong 75 00:03:45,008 --> 00:03:48,387 and they lived real close in the area. 76 00:03:48,422 --> 00:03:49,939 I spoke with Armstrong. 77 00:03:49,974 --> 00:03:52,974 He advised me that he was on his way home from work. 78 00:03:53,008 --> 00:03:56,629 Felt a little nauseous and decided to stop and vomit. 79 00:03:56,663 --> 00:03:59,043 He said he didn't want to throw up in his car, 80 00:03:59,077 --> 00:04:00,560 and so he'd gotten out of the car 81 00:04:00,594 --> 00:04:03,215 to throw up into the water, 82 00:04:03,249 --> 00:04:07,836 and then, when he looked down, he saw this lady down there. 83 00:04:07,870 --> 00:04:09,284 ♪ 84 00:04:09,318 --> 00:04:12,008 And he stood on the curb waiting for a vehicle 85 00:04:12,043 --> 00:04:14,422 to come by and asked them to call 911. 86 00:04:14,456 --> 00:04:20,077 ♪ 87 00:04:20,111 --> 00:04:22,180 The story could have sounded reasonable, 88 00:04:22,215 --> 00:04:24,870 but there was no vomit in the area. 89 00:04:24,905 --> 00:04:27,387 He did not seem nauseous. 90 00:04:27,422 --> 00:04:28,905 I became a little bit suspicious. 91 00:04:28,939 --> 00:04:31,456 ♪ 92 00:04:31,491 --> 00:04:34,318 He consented to us to search his Jeep, 93 00:04:34,353 --> 00:04:36,008 and upon looking at his vehicle, 94 00:04:36,043 --> 00:04:38,732 didn't seem to be too much out of place 95 00:04:38,767 --> 00:04:42,284 other than inside, we observed a condom wrapper. 96 00:04:42,318 --> 00:04:45,318 ♪ 97 00:04:45,353 --> 00:04:47,560 And normally people don't leave condom wrappers 98 00:04:47,594 --> 00:04:49,318 laying around in their vehicles, 99 00:04:49,353 --> 00:04:53,008 so it did raise a few red flags, naturally. 100 00:04:53,043 --> 00:04:57,732 ♪ 101 00:04:57,767 --> 00:05:02,111 And Armstrong, he was being quite helpful at that time. 102 00:05:02,146 --> 00:05:04,043 He was transported to the police station. 103 00:05:04,077 --> 00:05:07,939 He was interviewed by a couple of other investigators. 104 00:05:07,974 --> 00:05:10,318 He comes in, he makes a statement. 105 00:05:10,353 --> 00:05:13,732 They thought he's maybe a little unusual. 106 00:05:13,767 --> 00:05:17,318 But he's just squirrely. 107 00:05:17,353 --> 00:05:19,111 We determined he moved to Dearborn Heights 108 00:05:19,146 --> 00:05:20,732 with his wife recently, 109 00:05:20,767 --> 00:05:23,387 and he ended up with employment 110 00:05:23,422 --> 00:05:28,318 at the Metro Airport refueling aircraft. 111 00:05:28,353 --> 00:05:29,905 He was asked whether he had 112 00:05:29,939 --> 00:05:33,077 been with prostitutes recently or ever, 113 00:05:33,111 --> 00:05:37,318 and his response was not since he met his wife. 114 00:05:37,353 --> 00:05:40,422 He had advised he had never had contact with our victim. 115 00:05:40,456 --> 00:05:41,629 He didn't know her. 116 00:05:41,663 --> 00:05:43,353 She'd never been in his vehicle. 117 00:05:43,387 --> 00:05:45,732 There really wasn't enough evidence at that time 118 00:05:45,767 --> 00:05:48,801 to even consider charging him with anything, 119 00:05:48,836 --> 00:05:50,422 so he was allowed to leave. 120 00:05:50,456 --> 00:05:52,387 [dramatic music] 121 00:05:52,422 --> 00:05:55,077 The next day, January 3rd, 122 00:05:55,111 --> 00:05:57,905 the body was transported to the medical examiner's office 123 00:05:57,939 --> 00:06:01,318 where an autopsy was performed. 124 00:06:01,353 --> 00:06:03,077 ♪ 125 00:06:03,111 --> 00:06:07,215 It was determined that she had been a victim of homicide. 126 00:06:07,249 --> 00:06:12,663 The manner of death was manual strangulation. 127 00:06:12,698 --> 00:06:14,180 The medical examiners performed 128 00:06:14,215 --> 00:06:15,974 an evidence collection kit, 129 00:06:16,008 --> 00:06:19,008 which is commonly called a rape kit. 130 00:06:19,043 --> 00:06:20,422 They could determine if the victim 131 00:06:20,456 --> 00:06:21,905 had had intercourse recently, 132 00:06:21,939 --> 00:06:25,939 or believed to be fairly recently. 133 00:06:25,974 --> 00:06:27,663 The victim was also fingerprinted 134 00:06:27,698 --> 00:06:30,146 for identification purposes, 135 00:06:30,180 --> 00:06:34,215 and were able to identify our victim was Wendy Jordan. 136 00:06:34,249 --> 00:06:39,284 ♪ 137 00:06:39,318 --> 00:06:42,767 We determined that she had family members in the area. 138 00:06:42,801 --> 00:06:45,284 They were contacted. 139 00:06:45,318 --> 00:06:49,767 Dearborn Heights Police call and they say, 140 00:06:49,801 --> 00:06:53,077 "We need you to identify your sister, 141 00:06:53,111 --> 00:06:55,456 Wendy Jordan." 142 00:06:55,491 --> 00:06:58,111 I said... 143 00:06:58,146 --> 00:07:01,594 "Why do you think it's-- it's Wendy Jordan?" 144 00:07:01,629 --> 00:07:03,767 He said, "We don't think it's Wendy Jordan. 145 00:07:03,801 --> 00:07:06,318 We know it's Wendy Jordan." 146 00:07:06,353 --> 00:07:09,077 ♪ 147 00:07:09,111 --> 00:07:11,594 We was just in shock. 148 00:07:11,629 --> 00:07:13,111 Just living inside of a nightmare, 149 00:07:13,146 --> 00:07:15,836 not really believing somebody had murdered your sister. 150 00:07:15,870 --> 00:07:19,043 ♪ 151 00:07:19,077 --> 00:07:22,801 She was a sweet person, warm-hearted, 152 00:07:22,836 --> 00:07:24,870 always had positive words to say, 153 00:07:24,905 --> 00:07:29,456 wished you well, all of that. 154 00:07:29,491 --> 00:07:32,732 I'm not sure when I realized that she was having a problem 155 00:07:32,767 --> 00:07:37,077 with drugs, but eventually I knew. 156 00:07:37,111 --> 00:07:41,698 In December of 1999, she was living with my dad. 157 00:07:41,732 --> 00:07:46,905 She had a job at a BP gas station. 158 00:07:46,939 --> 00:07:50,801 I really thought she was getting her life on track. 159 00:07:50,836 --> 00:07:54,008 I found out after she was murdered 160 00:07:54,043 --> 00:07:55,387 that she had been working as a prostitute. 161 00:07:55,422 --> 00:07:56,732 I really didn't know that. 162 00:07:56,767 --> 00:07:59,939 That was hard for me, you know, to realize that, 163 00:07:59,974 --> 00:08:01,663 because this somebody I had idolized. 164 00:08:01,698 --> 00:08:04,215 ♪ 165 00:08:04,249 --> 00:08:08,008 We determined that she had been arrested previously 166 00:08:08,043 --> 00:08:11,353 for soliciting charges in the city of Detroit. 167 00:08:11,387 --> 00:08:14,077 However, it doesn't matter if you're a prostitute or not, 168 00:08:14,111 --> 00:08:16,422 we're still gonna try and find out what happened to you 169 00:08:16,456 --> 00:08:18,870 and who killed you. 170 00:08:18,905 --> 00:08:21,801 The fact that Wendy was just thrown off a bridge 171 00:08:21,836 --> 00:08:23,663 onto some ice, 172 00:08:23,698 --> 00:08:26,284 like you would throw some garbage 173 00:08:26,318 --> 00:08:29,422 out the window of your car, is really a horrific 174 00:08:29,456 --> 00:08:32,215 and twisted way of disposing of someone. 175 00:08:32,249 --> 00:08:36,077 This is a particularly cold-blooded, 176 00:08:36,111 --> 00:08:37,732 calculated move. 177 00:08:37,767 --> 00:08:40,905 Wendy Jordan was a sex worker. 178 00:08:40,939 --> 00:08:45,698 They are the most vulnerable of all victims. 179 00:08:45,732 --> 00:08:49,353 They willingly work 180 00:08:49,387 --> 00:08:51,663 and put themselves in harm's way, 181 00:08:51,698 --> 00:08:56,422 never knowing how their evening is going to end. 182 00:08:56,456 --> 00:08:58,387 Unfortunately, we see a lot of sex workers 183 00:08:58,422 --> 00:09:00,077 who are victims of killers. 184 00:09:00,111 --> 00:09:03,353 They don't have a lot of ties to the community often. 185 00:09:03,387 --> 00:09:06,077 Family is used to having them disappear 186 00:09:06,111 --> 00:09:08,836 for long periods of time. 187 00:09:08,870 --> 00:09:11,801 And, you know, the colder the trail gets, 188 00:09:11,836 --> 00:09:13,318 the more challenging it is 189 00:09:13,353 --> 00:09:16,801 for the police to find out who their killer is. 190 00:09:16,836 --> 00:09:18,732 ♪ 191 00:09:18,767 --> 00:09:22,077 In the days and weeks that followed the discovery 192 00:09:22,111 --> 00:09:24,077 of Wendy Jordan's body, 193 00:09:24,111 --> 00:09:28,077 police were keeping an eye on Armstrong, 194 00:09:28,111 --> 00:09:30,318 but not too close. 195 00:09:30,353 --> 00:09:31,974 We always keep an open mind. 196 00:09:32,008 --> 00:09:33,560 Getting tunnel vision is the worst thing 197 00:09:33,594 --> 00:09:35,456 an investigator can do. 198 00:09:35,491 --> 00:09:39,249 But as time went on, we didn't have any additional leads. 199 00:09:39,284 --> 00:09:41,284 We had done everything we could do. 200 00:09:41,318 --> 00:09:43,077 The best way to solve this case 201 00:09:43,111 --> 00:09:44,939 was the evidence collection kit, the rape kit, 202 00:09:44,974 --> 00:09:48,318 that was recovered from Wendy Jordan's body. 203 00:09:48,353 --> 00:09:51,318 But back in the year 2000, we had to wait several months 204 00:09:51,353 --> 00:09:55,008 for the results to come back, and that's exactly what we did. 205 00:09:55,043 --> 00:09:57,974 ♪ 206 00:09:58,008 --> 00:10:02,077 I was a Detroit police officer 207 00:10:02,111 --> 00:10:04,215 back in April of 2000. 208 00:10:04,249 --> 00:10:05,525 We had been labeled 209 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:07,801 the murder capital of the world, unfortunately. 210 00:10:07,836 --> 00:10:11,836 I was the youngest member of Violent Crimes Task Force 211 00:10:11,870 --> 00:10:14,560 at 26 years old. 212 00:10:14,594 --> 00:10:19,249 That particular day, I received a text message 213 00:10:19,284 --> 00:10:24,491 to report to a crime scene, to a murder scene, 214 00:10:24,525 --> 00:10:25,767 in southwest Detroit. 215 00:10:25,801 --> 00:10:28,353 ♪ 216 00:10:28,387 --> 00:10:30,077 When I arrived at the scene, 217 00:10:30,111 --> 00:10:33,767 I was told that the victim was discovered 218 00:10:33,801 --> 00:10:37,215 by the rail conductor as he was on his locomotive. 219 00:10:37,249 --> 00:10:44,215 ♪ 220 00:10:44,249 --> 00:10:47,387 Maybe 10, 15 yards from the tracks themselves, 221 00:10:47,422 --> 00:10:51,387 perfectly visible to anybody going by, 222 00:10:51,422 --> 00:10:56,387 there is the body of a young female. 223 00:10:56,422 --> 00:10:59,629 She was a black female with red hair. 224 00:10:59,663 --> 00:11:03,215 She had a shiny, black jacket on, 225 00:11:03,249 --> 00:11:06,870 and then from the bottom down, she was unclothed. 226 00:11:06,905 --> 00:11:09,491 ♪ 227 00:11:09,525 --> 00:11:13,249 She was in a posed position, 228 00:11:13,284 --> 00:11:15,560 I guess would be the best way to describe it. 229 00:11:15,594 --> 00:11:20,008 Her legs were spread, displaying her private parts. 230 00:11:20,043 --> 00:11:21,560 ♪ 231 00:11:21,594 --> 00:11:24,008 She had some tights around her neck area 232 00:11:24,043 --> 00:11:26,732 and she also had ligature markings, 233 00:11:26,767 --> 00:11:30,008 so possibly the tights were used to strangle her. 234 00:11:30,043 --> 00:11:32,560 ♪ 235 00:11:32,594 --> 00:11:34,353 As we were combing the area, 236 00:11:34,387 --> 00:11:38,318 looking for anything that would give us any idea 237 00:11:38,353 --> 00:11:41,249 who may have perpetrated this crime, 238 00:11:41,284 --> 00:11:44,077 we heard an officer call out, 239 00:11:44,111 --> 00:11:45,560 "Found another victim! Found another victim!" 240 00:11:47,870 --> 00:11:50,249 There was one potential victim we found 241 00:11:50,284 --> 00:11:53,284 that managed to escape. 242 00:11:53,318 --> 00:11:57,939 She gave us a very good description of her attacker. 243 00:11:57,974 --> 00:12:00,732 This might be the killer that we're looking for. 244 00:12:06,043 --> 00:12:08,594 We were in the middle of investigating the death 245 00:12:08,629 --> 00:12:12,008 of a female found lying near the railroad tracks. 246 00:12:12,043 --> 00:12:15,974 She appeared to only have been dead for a few hours. 247 00:12:16,008 --> 00:12:21,180 When all of a sudden, we were then directed down a culvert 248 00:12:21,215 --> 00:12:25,594 just a few yards from there, and in that culvert, 249 00:12:25,629 --> 00:12:28,974 there was yet another body of a female, 250 00:12:29,008 --> 00:12:31,905 similarly posed in that manner. 251 00:12:31,939 --> 00:12:34,008 She was a white female. 252 00:12:34,043 --> 00:12:37,180 Her shirt was raised over her breast area, 253 00:12:37,215 --> 00:12:41,111 and then she had on some stockings 254 00:12:41,146 --> 00:12:45,077 with the crotch area ripped open. 255 00:12:45,111 --> 00:12:46,525 It gave us indication 256 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:49,249 that she had been possibly sexually assaulted as well. 257 00:12:49,284 --> 00:12:51,491 ♪ 258 00:12:51,525 --> 00:12:54,456 This young lady had some decomposition to her. 259 00:12:54,491 --> 00:12:57,698 She had actually been there for a little while. 260 00:12:57,732 --> 00:13:00,663 [soft dramatic music] 261 00:13:00,698 --> 00:13:04,077 I, being a young investigator at the time, 262 00:13:04,111 --> 00:13:07,077 I was blown away. 263 00:13:07,111 --> 00:13:09,077 I'm taking all this in 264 00:13:09,111 --> 00:13:13,043 and maybe two to three minutes after that, 265 00:13:13,077 --> 00:13:16,456 the third victim was discovered. 266 00:13:16,491 --> 00:13:21,318 She was within 10 or 15 feet of our second victim. 267 00:13:21,353 --> 00:13:22,801 ♪ 268 00:13:22,836 --> 00:13:25,629 She had been there actually a little bit longer 269 00:13:25,663 --> 00:13:29,767 'cause the decomposition had settled in on her. 270 00:13:29,801 --> 00:13:33,594 ♪ 271 00:13:33,629 --> 00:13:37,974 She had a lot of bruising on her face and her body area. 272 00:13:38,008 --> 00:13:40,111 That tells us that she possibly tried 273 00:13:40,146 --> 00:13:41,456 to fight off her attacker, 274 00:13:41,491 --> 00:13:44,456 and that the attacker was very, very aggressive. 275 00:13:44,491 --> 00:13:46,525 ♪ 276 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,905 All three victims did have ligature markings 277 00:13:49,939 --> 00:13:53,284 around the neck area. 278 00:13:53,318 --> 00:13:58,353 We can clearly see that the person that was committing 279 00:13:58,387 --> 00:14:02,767 these heinous crimes was the same individual. 280 00:14:02,801 --> 00:14:05,801 ♪ 281 00:14:05,836 --> 00:14:08,249 All the bodies had been staged 282 00:14:08,284 --> 00:14:11,008 in a sexually- provocative pose. 283 00:14:11,043 --> 00:14:13,353 They were all on their backs with their legs spread open, 284 00:14:13,387 --> 00:14:16,663 either both legs or one leg. 285 00:14:16,698 --> 00:14:20,801 There was absolutely no attempt by the perpetrator 286 00:14:20,836 --> 00:14:25,801 to conceal his handiwork in any way. 287 00:14:25,836 --> 00:14:27,974 First female that we found-- 288 00:14:28,008 --> 00:14:31,629 for lack of better way of saying it, the freshest kill, 289 00:14:31,663 --> 00:14:35,491 she was maybe 10, 15 yards from the tracks themselves, 290 00:14:35,525 --> 00:14:40,077 perfectly visible to anybody going by. 291 00:14:40,111 --> 00:14:42,491 The second and the third bodies that we found, 292 00:14:42,525 --> 00:14:44,767 in the more advanced stages of decomposition, 293 00:14:44,801 --> 00:14:45,939 it's not like he hid them. 294 00:14:45,974 --> 00:14:49,560 ♪ 295 00:14:49,594 --> 00:14:51,974 In looking at the pattern of bodies, 296 00:14:52,008 --> 00:14:53,939 and that they're being left 297 00:14:53,974 --> 00:14:57,491 in increasingly more obvious places, 298 00:14:57,525 --> 00:14:59,043 this indicates someone 299 00:14:59,077 --> 00:15:02,732 who wants law enforcement to find these bodies, 300 00:15:02,767 --> 00:15:05,767 and potentially indicates a person who, 301 00:15:05,801 --> 00:15:07,974 on some level, wants to be caught. 302 00:15:08,008 --> 00:15:09,491 A killer wants to be caught 303 00:15:09,525 --> 00:15:13,180 because he simply cannot stop killing. 304 00:15:13,215 --> 00:15:17,008 This is who he has become. He's aware of it. 305 00:15:17,043 --> 00:15:20,249 It's a passion. It's an addiction. 306 00:15:20,284 --> 00:15:22,111 The bodies are placed strategically 307 00:15:22,146 --> 00:15:26,801 to let investigators know that he's out there. 308 00:15:26,836 --> 00:15:28,146 ♪ 309 00:15:28,180 --> 00:15:30,939 They know their bloodlust is not going to stop, 310 00:15:30,974 --> 00:15:32,629 and it's almost like they can't stop it, 311 00:15:32,663 --> 00:15:34,594 even though they know it's wrong. 312 00:15:34,629 --> 00:15:36,318 And they're just gonna keep doing it 313 00:15:36,353 --> 00:15:38,249 until the police catch up with them. 314 00:15:38,284 --> 00:15:41,801 ♪ 315 00:15:41,836 --> 00:15:45,525 The three victims were taken to the morgue. 316 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,594 Autopsies were performed on them. 317 00:15:48,629 --> 00:15:51,560 The official cause of death was strangulation 318 00:15:51,594 --> 00:15:54,180 on all three victims. 319 00:15:54,215 --> 00:15:55,767 Rape kits were performed 320 00:15:55,801 --> 00:15:59,491 on all three of the victims as well, 321 00:15:59,525 --> 00:16:03,491 and found semen to possibly give us a DNA match. 322 00:16:03,525 --> 00:16:05,491 ♪ 323 00:16:05,525 --> 00:16:09,146 They were able to identify the victims through fingerprints, 324 00:16:09,180 --> 00:16:12,525 because all three of them had previous arrests. 325 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,732 The victims were Robbin Brown, 326 00:16:16,767 --> 00:16:19,594 Rose Marie Felt, 327 00:16:19,629 --> 00:16:23,008 and Kelly Hood. 328 00:16:23,043 --> 00:16:25,767 At that time, Detroit Police got in contact 329 00:16:25,801 --> 00:16:27,663 with the victims' families. 330 00:16:27,698 --> 00:16:31,353 ♪ 331 00:16:31,387 --> 00:16:33,491 Kelly was my older sister. 332 00:16:33,525 --> 00:16:35,215 I was her pain-in-the-butt little sister, 333 00:16:35,249 --> 00:16:38,387 so you know, my friends and I would bother her, 334 00:16:38,422 --> 00:16:41,043 and she'd just, "No, get away," you know. 335 00:16:41,077 --> 00:16:44,422 And as we got older, we got closer. 336 00:16:44,456 --> 00:16:47,008 She was very caring. Very nurturing. 337 00:16:47,043 --> 00:16:50,629 She loved her babies. Three beautiful kids. 338 00:16:50,663 --> 00:16:54,318 You know, they were her world. 339 00:16:54,353 --> 00:16:57,698 The day I found out about my mother, 340 00:16:57,732 --> 00:17:00,732 I can remember like it just happened a few moments ago. 341 00:17:00,767 --> 00:17:04,215 I was--I was nine years old, 342 00:17:04,249 --> 00:17:07,456 and my grandmother comes walking in 343 00:17:07,491 --> 00:17:09,249 through the kitchen door. [sniffles] 344 00:17:09,284 --> 00:17:13,491 She turns to me and she says, "Mijo..." 345 00:17:13,525 --> 00:17:17,767 [sniffling and sobbing] "They found your mother." 346 00:17:17,801 --> 00:17:23,629 ♪ 347 00:17:23,663 --> 00:17:28,422 "They found her on the train track." 348 00:17:28,456 --> 00:17:31,939 This monster didn't even have the decency... 349 00:17:31,974 --> 00:17:34,491 ♪ 350 00:17:34,525 --> 00:17:39,905 Had no... 351 00:17:39,939 --> 00:17:40,905 no heart. 352 00:17:40,939 --> 00:17:43,594 He left my mother on a train track. 353 00:17:43,629 --> 00:17:47,663 Discarded her like trash. 354 00:17:47,698 --> 00:17:52,008 ♪ 355 00:17:52,043 --> 00:17:54,077 [dramatic music] 356 00:17:54,111 --> 00:17:55,801 Now, we have three victims, 357 00:17:55,836 --> 00:17:59,284 but we didn't know who the killer was, 358 00:17:59,318 --> 00:18:01,146 how many other dead bodies there might be 359 00:18:01,180 --> 00:18:02,560 waiting to be found, 360 00:18:02,594 --> 00:18:05,456 or why he was targeting prostitutes. 361 00:18:05,491 --> 00:18:07,629 ♪ 362 00:18:07,663 --> 00:18:09,077 It was all hands on deck. 363 00:18:09,111 --> 00:18:12,560 We brought all our specialized units in, 364 00:18:12,594 --> 00:18:14,801 our Violent Crimes Task Force, 365 00:18:14,836 --> 00:18:17,801 our Sex Crimes Unit, our Homicide Unit, 366 00:18:17,836 --> 00:18:21,836 and we were told by our command staff, 367 00:18:21,870 --> 00:18:24,974 "No one's going home until 368 00:18:25,008 --> 00:18:27,249 this individual is in custody." 369 00:18:27,284 --> 00:18:28,422 ♪ 370 00:18:28,456 --> 00:18:29,698 Our concern was 371 00:18:29,732 --> 00:18:33,491 serial killers, they tend to escalate. 372 00:18:33,525 --> 00:18:37,008 So we need to get this guy off the street now. 373 00:18:37,043 --> 00:18:40,767 This guy's a killing machine. 374 00:18:43,249 --> 00:18:45,594 [dramatic music] 375 00:18:45,629 --> 00:18:47,146 ♪ 376 00:18:47,180 --> 00:18:49,077 We had found three bodies 377 00:18:49,111 --> 00:18:53,043 and realized we had a probable serial killer on our hands. 378 00:18:53,077 --> 00:18:58,008 We knew that we had to stop it, and we had to stop it fast. 379 00:18:58,043 --> 00:19:00,180 ♪ 380 00:19:00,215 --> 00:19:03,077 The crime scene technicians were still at the scene, 381 00:19:03,111 --> 00:19:05,215 combing the area for additional clues. 382 00:19:05,249 --> 00:19:07,318 ♪ 383 00:19:07,353 --> 00:19:09,767 There were all kinds of cigarette butts. 384 00:19:09,801 --> 00:19:12,043 There were kinds of condoms. 385 00:19:12,077 --> 00:19:13,663 There were candy bar wrappers. 386 00:19:13,698 --> 00:19:18,525 There were fast food drink cups and juice bottles. 387 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:20,077 In all this trash, 388 00:19:20,111 --> 00:19:22,353 one thing that stood out to the technicians-- 389 00:19:22,387 --> 00:19:26,146 a coat that was lying next to Kelly Hood's body. 390 00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:28,939 And it looked like it belonged to her. 391 00:19:28,974 --> 00:19:32,008 And inside the pockets of the coat 392 00:19:32,043 --> 00:19:35,939 were a couple prescription bottles... 393 00:19:35,974 --> 00:19:39,525 and those prescription bottles had a name on them. 394 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,594 The first name was Anthony. 395 00:19:41,629 --> 00:19:45,491 So it was incumbent upon us to follow up, 396 00:19:45,525 --> 00:19:47,836 to find out who this individual was, 397 00:19:47,870 --> 00:19:52,905 and why was this pill bottle in her possession? 398 00:19:52,939 --> 00:19:55,698 We ran his name through our system, 399 00:19:55,732 --> 00:20:00,146 and we were able to see he had a violent criminal past 400 00:20:00,180 --> 00:20:02,939 and he had just been recently arrested. 401 00:20:02,974 --> 00:20:07,180 So police dug a little bit more into Anthony's background 402 00:20:07,215 --> 00:20:10,353 and they found a police report of Anthony's cousin, 403 00:20:10,387 --> 00:20:12,698 who said that Anthony got drunk 404 00:20:12,732 --> 00:20:16,111 and he pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him 405 00:20:16,146 --> 00:20:19,974 and the gun that Anthony had was not even registered to him. 406 00:20:20,008 --> 00:20:21,698 He didn't legally own the gun. 407 00:20:21,732 --> 00:20:24,008 So we definitely felt at that point 408 00:20:24,043 --> 00:20:25,525 we had a potential suspect. 409 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,767 [soft dramatic music] 410 00:20:27,801 --> 00:20:31,801 He was brought in for questioning 411 00:20:31,836 --> 00:20:35,560 and he was asked to take a polygraph. 412 00:20:35,594 --> 00:20:38,146 The police asked him, "Hey, do you know these girls 413 00:20:38,180 --> 00:20:40,043 "who were found at the railroad tracks? 414 00:20:40,077 --> 00:20:43,663 "And why on Earth would your prescription bottles 415 00:20:43,698 --> 00:20:47,111 "be found in the pocket of a coat 416 00:20:47,146 --> 00:20:49,249 that we believe one of them was wearing?" 417 00:20:49,284 --> 00:20:51,836 His answer was basically, 418 00:20:51,870 --> 00:20:55,387 "Well, I used to live, you know, with my brother." 419 00:20:55,422 --> 00:20:57,249 Anthony speculated that 420 00:20:57,284 --> 00:20:59,663 he had left the pill bottles there. 421 00:20:59,698 --> 00:21:01,318 Anthony mentioned his brother 422 00:21:01,353 --> 00:21:04,008 interacted with prostitutes on occasion, 423 00:21:04,043 --> 00:21:06,387 so Kelly hood might have picked up the bottle that way. 424 00:21:06,422 --> 00:21:08,974 [electronic chiming] 425 00:21:09,008 --> 00:21:12,146 The polygraph let us know he was being truthful with us. 426 00:21:12,180 --> 00:21:16,905 We were able to clear him for these murders. 427 00:21:16,939 --> 00:21:21,249 This turned out to be a dead lead for us. 428 00:21:21,284 --> 00:21:24,491 It's pretty obvious we have a serial killer on our hands. 429 00:21:24,525 --> 00:21:30,043 We gotta work these cases until there's either somebody in jail 430 00:21:30,077 --> 00:21:33,077 or all the leads of been exhausted. 431 00:21:33,111 --> 00:21:38,698 ♪ 432 00:21:38,732 --> 00:21:41,111 The beginning of April, it had been several months 433 00:21:41,146 --> 00:21:44,043 since the discovery of Wendy Jordan's body, 434 00:21:44,077 --> 00:21:47,422 and as time went on, we had no additional leads, 435 00:21:47,456 --> 00:21:51,284 we had no additional suspects. It was a waiting game. 436 00:21:51,318 --> 00:21:53,629 ♪ 437 00:21:53,663 --> 00:21:56,077 Still hadn't had any DNA results back 438 00:21:56,111 --> 00:21:58,318 linking the victim to the perpetrator. 439 00:21:58,353 --> 00:22:02,215 We were seeing this as problematic, 440 00:22:02,249 --> 00:22:04,249 but we were still waiting for the results. 441 00:22:04,284 --> 00:22:08,767 ♪ 442 00:22:08,801 --> 00:22:10,870 One of the things that the commander did 443 00:22:10,905 --> 00:22:15,629 was he reached out to the FBI and asked to be put in touch 444 00:22:15,663 --> 00:22:19,525 with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. 445 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,387 So they brought in a profiler from the FBI 446 00:22:22,422 --> 00:22:24,008 that was giving us some insight 447 00:22:24,043 --> 00:22:27,284 to the type of individual that we're looking for 448 00:22:27,318 --> 00:22:30,560 just based off of the crime scene. 449 00:22:30,594 --> 00:22:32,594 They told us we were looking for 450 00:22:32,629 --> 00:22:37,077 white male somewhere between 25 to 35 years of age. 451 00:22:37,111 --> 00:22:40,767 And they told us, based off of the type of killings 452 00:22:40,801 --> 00:22:44,180 that were being perpetrated, the individual was getting 453 00:22:44,215 --> 00:22:48,387 sexual gratification from strangulation. 454 00:22:48,422 --> 00:22:50,801 ♪ 455 00:22:50,836 --> 00:22:53,836 The strangulation was part of a sexual dysfunction. 456 00:22:53,870 --> 00:22:56,767 The strangulation works for him. 457 00:22:56,801 --> 00:22:59,353 But maybe perhaps in a dating environment, 458 00:22:59,387 --> 00:23:01,491 or a marital relationship, 459 00:23:01,525 --> 00:23:04,111 maybe that's not-- doesn't work for him. 460 00:23:04,146 --> 00:23:06,043 There's some guilt, there's some shame 461 00:23:06,077 --> 00:23:08,870 that's associated with this sexual act. 462 00:23:08,905 --> 00:23:11,215 The fact that these bodies were posed 463 00:23:11,249 --> 00:23:14,215 and left at least partially nude, 464 00:23:14,249 --> 00:23:19,146 he likely experienced some form of deep abandonment, rejection, 465 00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:22,974 shame from someone very integral to his life, 466 00:23:23,008 --> 00:23:28,594 and that emboldened him to feel the need to exert control 467 00:23:28,629 --> 00:23:31,767 and sort of the ultimate dominance over these women. 468 00:23:31,801 --> 00:23:35,284 The idea that he's picking on these vulnerable women, 469 00:23:35,318 --> 00:23:39,629 and he's killing them and humiliating them, 470 00:23:39,663 --> 00:23:43,111 leaving them, it's possible that this killer 471 00:23:43,146 --> 00:23:46,525 has had a problem with women in his past. 472 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,836 Could be a girlfriend, his mother, or someone. 473 00:23:48,870 --> 00:23:49,939 He's got a lot of rage. 474 00:23:49,974 --> 00:23:53,318 ♪ 475 00:23:53,353 --> 00:23:55,353 There's so much going on, 476 00:23:55,387 --> 00:23:57,456 and it's all happening at the same time 477 00:23:57,491 --> 00:24:01,353 by multiple teams of investigators. 478 00:24:01,387 --> 00:24:04,180 The Behavioral Analysis Unit, 479 00:24:04,215 --> 00:24:07,629 they gave us some really good advice. 480 00:24:07,663 --> 00:24:11,663 They said for every one that he had successfully abducted 481 00:24:11,698 --> 00:24:14,594 and killed, there was probably one or two out there 482 00:24:14,629 --> 00:24:16,215 that managed to get away 483 00:24:16,249 --> 00:24:18,353 and that knew who he was and what he looked like. 484 00:24:18,387 --> 00:24:22,767 And when they told us that, it made perfect sense. 485 00:24:22,801 --> 00:24:26,249 ♪ 486 00:24:26,284 --> 00:24:28,146 The call went out immediately 487 00:24:28,180 --> 00:24:29,767 to hit the streets. 488 00:24:29,801 --> 00:24:33,422 We started interviewing various working girls. 489 00:24:33,456 --> 00:24:34,629 And it was very urgent to them 490 00:24:34,663 --> 00:24:36,077 to get this guy off the street, 491 00:24:36,111 --> 00:24:37,663 so they were more than happy 492 00:24:37,698 --> 00:24:40,077 to give us as much information as they could. 493 00:24:40,111 --> 00:24:42,767 They start telling us about some of their experiences, 494 00:24:42,801 --> 00:24:48,008 fights that they had with the johns, and robbery attempts. 495 00:24:48,043 --> 00:24:50,008 And as the Behavioral Analysis 496 00:24:50,043 --> 00:24:52,180 Unit had predicted we would find, 497 00:24:52,215 --> 00:24:56,387 we found someone who actually had been abducted 498 00:24:56,422 --> 00:24:59,180 and taken to the railroad tracks. 499 00:24:59,215 --> 00:25:02,180 ♪ 500 00:25:02,215 --> 00:25:05,180 That's when we got the best information 501 00:25:05,215 --> 00:25:08,491 as to what this guy might look like... 502 00:25:08,525 --> 00:25:11,525 what kind of a car he might be driving in. 503 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,043 That's when we got 504 00:25:13,077 --> 00:25:15,422 the best lead that we could possibility get. 505 00:25:15,456 --> 00:25:17,318 ♪ 506 00:25:18,491 --> 00:25:22,043 We had multiple, multiple surveillance units 507 00:25:22,077 --> 00:25:23,560 out there cruising the street. 508 00:25:23,594 --> 00:25:27,663 They saw a Jeep fitting the description. 509 00:25:27,698 --> 00:25:31,491 This might be the serial killer that we're looking for. 510 00:25:34,456 --> 00:25:36,732 [dramatic music] 511 00:25:36,767 --> 00:25:38,387 We had three bodies and it was obvious 512 00:25:38,422 --> 00:25:43,043 that we were proceeding with a serial killer investigation. 513 00:25:43,077 --> 00:25:44,732 There was one potential victim 514 00:25:44,767 --> 00:25:48,146 that we found that managed to escape. 515 00:25:48,180 --> 00:25:51,387 ♪ 516 00:25:51,422 --> 00:25:55,732 Devon was only 22 years old back in 2000. 517 00:25:55,767 --> 00:25:57,905 She was a prostitute who worked Michigan Ave 518 00:25:57,939 --> 00:25:59,284 around Joe Street, 519 00:25:59,318 --> 00:26:02,698 and so she was picked up by a john. 520 00:26:02,732 --> 00:26:04,422 He insisted on taking her 521 00:26:04,456 --> 00:26:06,698 to that stretch of the railroad track 522 00:26:06,732 --> 00:26:09,836 where the three victims were found. 523 00:26:09,870 --> 00:26:13,284 But before Devon knew it, 524 00:26:13,318 --> 00:26:15,974 that john had tried to strangle her. 525 00:26:16,008 --> 00:26:17,629 [tense music] 526 00:26:17,663 --> 00:26:20,905 And Devon was able to fight that guy off 527 00:26:20,939 --> 00:26:22,663 and get out of the vehicle. 528 00:26:22,698 --> 00:26:24,905 ♪ 529 00:26:24,939 --> 00:26:28,732 Devon gave us a description of our suspect. 530 00:26:28,767 --> 00:26:32,525 That he was a white male, red hair, 531 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:37,870 with a shirt on that had the name "Eric" on it, 532 00:26:37,905 --> 00:26:43,146 and that he also was driving a box-style Jeep. 533 00:26:43,180 --> 00:26:44,974 ♪ 534 00:26:45,008 --> 00:26:46,870 So that was something huge 535 00:26:46,905 --> 00:26:49,387 from an investigative standpoint. 536 00:26:49,422 --> 00:26:54,249 This might be the serial killer that we're looking for. 537 00:26:54,284 --> 00:26:57,974 It's possible this killer had other victims out there, 538 00:26:58,008 --> 00:26:59,939 maybe assault survivors out there, 539 00:26:59,974 --> 00:27:01,491 that we don't know about. 540 00:27:01,525 --> 00:27:06,043 There was one particular lady, Wilhelmina Drane. 541 00:27:06,077 --> 00:27:10,422 She had her own tale to tell of someone who assaulted her. 542 00:27:10,456 --> 00:27:14,870 ♪ 543 00:27:14,905 --> 00:27:19,732 It was April 2, 2000, when Wilhelmina Drane 544 00:27:19,767 --> 00:27:24,043 was on Michigan Avenue at about 52nd Street, 545 00:27:24,077 --> 00:27:28,387 and she was near a bus stop and she was trying to get home. 546 00:27:28,422 --> 00:27:32,043 A man pulled up next to her in a Jeep, 547 00:27:32,077 --> 00:27:34,215 and he said, "Hey, do you need a ride?" 548 00:27:34,249 --> 00:27:37,043 She got in the vehicle with him and then 549 00:27:37,077 --> 00:27:39,456 he went to another location 550 00:27:39,491 --> 00:27:43,318 instead of taking her where she wanted to go. 551 00:27:43,353 --> 00:27:48,629 He tried to attack her. She was strangled by him. 552 00:27:48,663 --> 00:27:50,560 ♪ 553 00:27:50,594 --> 00:27:54,008 But she was strong enough to fight off the attacker. 554 00:27:54,043 --> 00:27:57,974 She was carrying mace and she got him with the mace. 555 00:27:58,008 --> 00:27:59,387 She got out of the Jeep, 556 00:27:59,422 --> 00:28:03,387 and she threw bottles at it as it drove away. 557 00:28:03,422 --> 00:28:05,422 ♪ 558 00:28:05,456 --> 00:28:09,111 She gave us a very good description of her attacker. 559 00:28:09,146 --> 00:28:11,284 She described the Jeep as well. 560 00:28:11,318 --> 00:28:15,629 He had fit the description that was given by Devon. 561 00:28:15,663 --> 00:28:20,043 A white male, late 20s, with red-color hair-- 562 00:28:20,077 --> 00:28:22,836 but also she stated that he had 563 00:28:22,870 --> 00:28:28,353 a tiger tattoo on his arm. 564 00:28:28,387 --> 00:28:33,732 That information was... awesome. 565 00:28:33,767 --> 00:28:36,974 [dramatic music] 566 00:28:37,008 --> 00:28:38,180 ♪ 567 00:28:38,215 --> 00:28:40,318 There were significant- enough similarities 568 00:28:40,353 --> 00:28:43,629 that it's pretty obvious that this was the same guy. 569 00:28:43,663 --> 00:28:46,387 All of a sudden, things just began to fall into place. 570 00:28:46,422 --> 00:28:48,353 Now, we can kind of bring it in. 571 00:28:48,387 --> 00:28:50,629 We're not looking for a car, you know. 572 00:28:50,663 --> 00:28:52,284 We're looking for a Jeep. 573 00:28:52,318 --> 00:28:54,008 And so that really helps. 574 00:28:54,043 --> 00:28:57,043 We're looking for a white male, glasses, red hair, 575 00:28:57,077 --> 00:28:58,387 "Eric" on his shirt, 576 00:28:58,422 --> 00:29:03,491 and then the tiger tattoo on his arm. 577 00:29:03,525 --> 00:29:05,215 ♪ 578 00:29:05,249 --> 00:29:09,249 We had multiple, multiple, surveillance units out there 579 00:29:09,284 --> 00:29:13,353 in unmarked cars, cruising the street. 580 00:29:13,387 --> 00:29:15,905 We had over 100 people out there easily, 581 00:29:15,939 --> 00:29:17,836 and they were watching for the Jeep, 582 00:29:17,870 --> 00:29:19,594 and they were watching for this tall, 583 00:29:19,629 --> 00:29:21,732 stocky, white male with red hair. 584 00:29:21,767 --> 00:29:26,663 ♪ 585 00:29:26,698 --> 00:29:30,491 At midnight on April 11/12, 586 00:29:30,525 --> 00:29:34,215 two Fourth Precinct officers were driving around. 587 00:29:34,249 --> 00:29:38,560 They saw a Jeep fitting the description. 588 00:29:38,594 --> 00:29:40,939 Jeep was just going down Michigan Avenue 589 00:29:40,974 --> 00:29:45,111 in that far right lane looking for women. 590 00:29:45,146 --> 00:29:48,146 And so they pulled the Jeep over. 591 00:29:48,180 --> 00:29:53,249 And they asked the man to step out, 592 00:29:53,284 --> 00:29:55,043 and they began to question him, 593 00:29:55,077 --> 00:29:57,146 "Where are you going? Where do you live?" 594 00:29:57,180 --> 00:30:01,422 His answers didn't really make a whole lot of sense. 595 00:30:01,456 --> 00:30:03,974 He fit the description that was given 596 00:30:04,008 --> 00:30:08,249 and they're saying that he had the tiger tattoo 597 00:30:08,284 --> 00:30:11,284 that was on his right arm. 598 00:30:11,318 --> 00:30:15,008 So they put him in the back of the patrol car. 599 00:30:15,043 --> 00:30:17,974 And then something very interesting happened. 600 00:30:18,008 --> 00:30:20,111 ♪ 601 00:30:20,146 --> 00:30:22,629 As the officers were 602 00:30:22,663 --> 00:30:25,870 taking this individual into custody, 603 00:30:25,905 --> 00:30:30,180 another lady walked by and seen him 604 00:30:30,215 --> 00:30:31,732 and said, "Hey, 605 00:30:31,767 --> 00:30:36,525 that's the [bleep] right there that tried to kill me." 606 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:38,077 They drove him downtown, 607 00:30:38,111 --> 00:30:39,525 put him in an interrogation room. 608 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,629 And we generally start, you know, 609 00:30:41,663 --> 00:30:44,146 doing some background, basic questioning. 610 00:30:44,180 --> 00:30:46,491 "What's your name? What's your date of birth? 611 00:30:46,525 --> 00:30:48,560 What's your address?" 612 00:30:48,594 --> 00:30:51,077 His name was John Eric Armstrong. 613 00:30:51,111 --> 00:30:55,043 ♪ 614 00:30:55,077 --> 00:30:57,939 I thought my job was done. 615 00:30:57,974 --> 00:31:02,353 We have all these seasoned investigators. 616 00:31:02,387 --> 00:31:05,560 But I, along with Detective James Hines, 617 00:31:05,594 --> 00:31:11,043 were chosen to go in there and do the interview. 618 00:31:11,077 --> 00:31:14,077 And I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. 619 00:31:14,111 --> 00:31:17,146 And I'm thinking to myself, "Wait a minute. Me?" 620 00:31:17,180 --> 00:31:21,353 Because this case was major, 621 00:31:21,387 --> 00:31:24,008 and failure was not a option. 622 00:31:27,836 --> 00:31:29,663 [soft suspenseful music] 623 00:31:29,698 --> 00:31:31,353 ♪ 624 00:31:31,387 --> 00:31:33,353 We had arrested a suspect 625 00:31:33,387 --> 00:31:37,525 who we believed was our serial killer. 626 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,284 Me and my partner were sent up 627 00:31:40,318 --> 00:31:41,629 to do the interrogation and interview 628 00:31:41,663 --> 00:31:43,077 of John Eric Armstrong. 629 00:31:43,111 --> 00:31:45,180 ♪ 630 00:31:45,215 --> 00:31:47,974 It was nerve-racking, particularly for me. 631 00:31:48,008 --> 00:31:50,836 This was the first serial killer case that I'd done. 632 00:31:50,870 --> 00:31:55,111 ♪ 633 00:31:55,146 --> 00:31:59,008 My partner and I, we walk into the room, 634 00:31:59,043 --> 00:32:03,077 and John Eric Armstrong is sitting there... 635 00:32:03,111 --> 00:32:04,905 ♪ 636 00:32:04,939 --> 00:32:08,318 And he's clenching his coat. 637 00:32:08,353 --> 00:32:11,008 And he's like this. 638 00:32:11,043 --> 00:32:12,698 And he's kind of, like, 639 00:32:12,732 --> 00:32:15,836 rocking back and forth, back and forth. 640 00:32:15,870 --> 00:32:18,560 ♪ 641 00:32:18,594 --> 00:32:21,249 We start to get into conversation, 642 00:32:21,284 --> 00:32:23,180 just about, like, 643 00:32:23,215 --> 00:32:27,077 just trying to get him opening up to us. 644 00:32:27,111 --> 00:32:30,836 And we talked to him for several hours. 645 00:32:30,870 --> 00:32:32,870 ♪ 646 00:32:32,905 --> 00:32:34,422 Finally, we were just like, 647 00:32:34,456 --> 00:32:38,318 "Okay, there's some things we need to talk to you about." 648 00:32:38,353 --> 00:32:41,732 I said, "You know about DNA, don't you?" 649 00:32:41,767 --> 00:32:44,801 He said yes. And I said, "Do you know how it works?" 650 00:32:44,836 --> 00:32:46,525 I took the back of my hand, 651 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,491 and I rubbed it against the back of his hand. 652 00:32:50,525 --> 00:32:53,111 I said, "I just left a little bit of me on you." 653 00:32:53,146 --> 00:32:54,594 ♪ 654 00:32:54,629 --> 00:32:55,974 And I said, "You know what? 655 00:32:56,008 --> 00:32:58,836 We got a lot of you on those girls you murdered." 656 00:32:58,870 --> 00:33:02,180 ♪ 657 00:33:02,215 --> 00:33:04,629 And at that time, he just blurted out, 658 00:33:04,663 --> 00:33:06,905 "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it. 659 00:33:06,939 --> 00:33:08,698 I killed them, I killed them." 660 00:33:08,732 --> 00:33:11,422 ♪ 661 00:33:11,456 --> 00:33:14,698 We were both in, like, a state of shock. 662 00:33:14,732 --> 00:33:15,836 It's like, "Wait a minute! 663 00:33:15,870 --> 00:33:19,974 He just confessed to killing somebody!" 664 00:33:20,008 --> 00:33:26,387 ♪ 665 00:33:26,422 --> 00:33:29,249 My partner and I were sitting next to John 666 00:33:29,284 --> 00:33:30,767 as we were talking to him, 667 00:33:30,801 --> 00:33:31,974 and he told us about 668 00:33:32,008 --> 00:33:33,870 each one of the crimes that he committed. 669 00:33:33,905 --> 00:33:35,974 ♪ 670 00:33:36,008 --> 00:33:40,422 For Rose Marie Felt, Kelly Hood, and Robbin Brown, 671 00:33:40,456 --> 00:33:43,732 his methods were very similar. 672 00:33:43,767 --> 00:33:47,284 He told us how he would drive around in his Jeep, 673 00:33:47,318 --> 00:33:49,008 how he picked them up, 674 00:33:49,043 --> 00:33:53,422 how he performed sex acts with them, 675 00:33:53,456 --> 00:33:56,560 and then, as... 676 00:33:56,594 --> 00:34:00,043 the victim was on top of him, 677 00:34:00,077 --> 00:34:04,836 he would strangle them, 678 00:34:04,870 --> 00:34:09,215 either with his hands or with their own tights. 679 00:34:09,249 --> 00:34:10,422 [tense notes] 680 00:34:10,456 --> 00:34:13,732 And I'm sitting there like, 681 00:34:13,767 --> 00:34:16,422 "Wow, this is heavy," you know? 682 00:34:16,456 --> 00:34:21,146 ♪ 683 00:34:21,180 --> 00:34:24,836 He told us that he placed the three victims 684 00:34:24,870 --> 00:34:26,525 that we had found. 685 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:28,215 [flies buzzing] 686 00:34:28,249 --> 00:34:29,870 ♪ 687 00:34:29,905 --> 00:34:33,111 He positioned them so he can always go back 688 00:34:33,146 --> 00:34:35,077 and have sex with them, 689 00:34:35,111 --> 00:34:39,939 because he didn't have to argue nor fight with them 690 00:34:39,974 --> 00:34:41,111 or anything like that, 691 00:34:41,146 --> 00:34:44,629 and he knew that they would always be there. 692 00:34:44,663 --> 00:34:48,180 ♪ 693 00:34:48,215 --> 00:34:49,732 At that point, 694 00:34:49,767 --> 00:34:51,249 almost 25 years on the police department 695 00:34:51,284 --> 00:34:52,594 in a city like Detroit, 696 00:34:52,629 --> 00:34:55,698 I thought I would never be shocked by anything. 697 00:34:55,732 --> 00:34:58,939 ♪ 698 00:34:58,974 --> 00:35:01,111 I asked him, "How long would you go back 699 00:35:01,146 --> 00:35:02,353 and visit one of your victims?" 700 00:35:02,387 --> 00:35:03,732 And he said, 701 00:35:03,767 --> 00:35:07,077 "Well, until I couldn't stand the smell anymore." 702 00:35:07,111 --> 00:35:12,387 ♪ 703 00:35:12,422 --> 00:35:17,905 When you talk about a decomposing body, 704 00:35:17,939 --> 00:35:22,870 and someone engaging in sexual intercourse, 705 00:35:22,905 --> 00:35:26,594 she is at his disposal. 706 00:35:26,629 --> 00:35:28,422 That's what he gets out of this. 707 00:35:28,456 --> 00:35:32,422 Availability, on his terms, the way he wants it. 708 00:35:32,456 --> 00:35:35,180 That's what this corpse offers to him. 709 00:35:35,215 --> 00:35:37,249 The necrophilia in this case 710 00:35:37,284 --> 00:35:40,767 is the ultimate means of control. 711 00:35:40,801 --> 00:35:44,111 So he enacted this almost god-like act 712 00:35:44,146 --> 00:35:47,111 of taking their life, and that wasn't enough for him. 713 00:35:47,146 --> 00:35:49,698 He then continued to relive this act 714 00:35:49,732 --> 00:35:52,629 by having sex with them even after their death. 715 00:35:52,663 --> 00:35:55,767 He kills her, and then he has sex with her. 716 00:35:55,801 --> 00:35:59,008 But he knew what he was doing was wrong. 717 00:35:59,043 --> 00:36:01,456 And that's really the definition of insanity, 718 00:36:01,491 --> 00:36:04,077 that you can't tell right from wrong. 719 00:36:04,111 --> 00:36:07,939 John Eric Armstrong is not insane under the law. 720 00:36:07,974 --> 00:36:10,525 He knows right from wrong. 721 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:14,008 [dramatic music] 722 00:36:14,043 --> 00:36:15,422 When I arrived at work that morning, 723 00:36:15,456 --> 00:36:18,353 we had received the DNA results, 724 00:36:18,387 --> 00:36:21,180 which indeed did link Wendy Jordan 725 00:36:21,215 --> 00:36:24,663 to our suspect, Armstrong. 726 00:36:24,698 --> 00:36:26,905 All the evidence pointed at Armstrong 727 00:36:26,939 --> 00:36:30,663 as being the perpetrator of this crime, 728 00:36:30,698 --> 00:36:33,353 so now, it was time to make this arrest. 729 00:36:33,387 --> 00:36:36,215 That was when I was advised that he was already in custody 730 00:36:36,249 --> 00:36:40,008 in Detroit for a series of horrific homicides 731 00:36:40,043 --> 00:36:43,043 and was confessing. 732 00:36:43,077 --> 00:36:46,077 It was a, "Holy smokes, you gotta be kidding me. 733 00:36:46,111 --> 00:36:48,629 "This guy was killing all these innocent people 734 00:36:48,663 --> 00:36:50,870 in the city of Detroit right under our noses?" 735 00:36:50,905 --> 00:36:53,939 ♪ 736 00:36:57,491 --> 00:37:00,525 We had John Eric Armstrong in custody 737 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,801 and he had confessed to the murders 738 00:37:03,836 --> 00:37:06,111 that had happened in the city. 739 00:37:06,146 --> 00:37:12,939 ♪ 740 00:37:12,974 --> 00:37:15,525 While we were conducting the interview, 741 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,077 Dearborn Heights PD had got in contact with Violent Crimes 742 00:37:19,111 --> 00:37:23,491 and said, "Hey, we're interested in the person 743 00:37:23,525 --> 00:37:27,560 that you guys have in custody in reference to a homicide." 744 00:37:27,594 --> 00:37:32,077 And that victim was Wendy Jordan. 745 00:37:32,111 --> 00:37:36,491 At this point, I kind of maintained my composure 746 00:37:36,525 --> 00:37:38,353 and I said okay, you know, 747 00:37:38,387 --> 00:37:40,180 so we need-- we need to talk about it. 748 00:37:40,215 --> 00:37:42,387 ♪ 749 00:37:42,422 --> 00:37:47,215 We end up getting the confession from him... 750 00:37:47,249 --> 00:37:49,629 that he killed Ms. Jordan as well, 751 00:37:49,663 --> 00:37:52,284 and told us the story what happened, 752 00:37:52,318 --> 00:37:53,870 how he picked her up. 753 00:37:53,905 --> 00:37:55,525 During the time of the interview, 754 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:57,146 Armstrong confessed that 755 00:37:57,180 --> 00:37:59,939 he had picked Wendy Jordan up on Warren Avenue 756 00:37:59,974 --> 00:38:03,767 where he proceeded to strangle her to death. 757 00:38:03,801 --> 00:38:06,698 ♪ 758 00:38:06,732 --> 00:38:09,215 His serious murderous crime spree 759 00:38:09,249 --> 00:38:13,456 didn't start in Detroit until after that. 760 00:38:13,491 --> 00:38:16,594 He wasn't familiar with the railroad tracks yet, 761 00:38:16,629 --> 00:38:21,560 so he threw her body over the bridge railing into the river. 762 00:38:21,594 --> 00:38:23,905 ♪ 763 00:38:23,939 --> 00:38:26,491 From that point, it was like the flood gates opened. 764 00:38:26,525 --> 00:38:30,180 It was like he just kind of gave up and said, 765 00:38:30,215 --> 00:38:31,974 "There's no sense deceiving anybody any longer, 766 00:38:32,008 --> 00:38:33,939 no sense lying about this. This is what happened." 767 00:38:33,974 --> 00:38:35,974 ♪ 768 00:38:36,008 --> 00:38:40,215 He then confessed to several more murders 769 00:38:40,249 --> 00:38:43,180 while he was in the Navy. 770 00:38:43,215 --> 00:38:44,836 When he would visit certain ports, 771 00:38:44,870 --> 00:38:48,663 he would get off the ship, go in, find a prostitute, 772 00:38:48,698 --> 00:38:51,560 and he allegedly murdered some, 773 00:38:51,594 --> 00:38:55,215 and then get back on ship and travel to the next port. 774 00:38:55,249 --> 00:38:56,836 ♪ 775 00:38:56,870 --> 00:39:00,180 For the investigators, this was a huge revelation. 776 00:39:00,215 --> 00:39:02,111 They were looking at someone who appeared to be 777 00:39:02,146 --> 00:39:05,077 an international serial killer. 778 00:39:05,111 --> 00:39:08,456 He claimed to have killed someone in Singapore, 779 00:39:08,491 --> 00:39:13,767 for instance, Thailand, Hong Kong. 780 00:39:13,801 --> 00:39:18,836 We had got up to 22 or so homicides, 781 00:39:18,870 --> 00:39:22,801 including additional ones that were overseas. 782 00:39:22,836 --> 00:39:24,353 At that time, 783 00:39:24,387 --> 00:39:27,180 all those overseas cases were unresolved 784 00:39:27,215 --> 00:39:29,836 because Armstrong had left each country 785 00:39:29,870 --> 00:39:31,215 right after every murder. 786 00:39:31,249 --> 00:39:33,215 [soft tense music] 787 00:39:33,249 --> 00:39:35,215 ♪ 788 00:39:35,249 --> 00:39:37,353 By the time it came to us 789 00:39:37,387 --> 00:39:39,284 at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, 790 00:39:39,318 --> 00:39:42,491 we knew there had been five deaths 791 00:39:42,525 --> 00:39:46,353 that he was responsible for in the same area 792 00:39:46,387 --> 00:39:49,801 based on what we have here and this is what we can prove. 793 00:39:49,836 --> 00:39:51,801 You have the right to remain silent. 794 00:39:51,836 --> 00:39:55,077 So there's five murder one. 795 00:39:55,111 --> 00:39:58,663 That's what we charged him with. 796 00:39:58,698 --> 00:40:02,353 ♪ 797 00:40:02,387 --> 00:40:04,905 The first one that actually went to trial 798 00:40:04,939 --> 00:40:10,905 was the case where Wendy Jordan was the victim. 799 00:40:10,939 --> 00:40:15,077 I went to the arraignment, I went to the pretrial. 800 00:40:15,111 --> 00:40:18,732 I went to everything. 801 00:40:18,767 --> 00:40:22,456 When I first saw John Eric Armstrong, I said, 802 00:40:22,491 --> 00:40:24,801 "He look like anybody's next-door neighbor. 803 00:40:24,836 --> 00:40:27,663 He looked so young and innocent." 804 00:40:27,698 --> 00:40:31,249 ♪ 805 00:40:31,284 --> 00:40:34,456 Serial killers are often able to get away 806 00:40:34,491 --> 00:40:38,249 with multiple killings over an extended period of time 807 00:40:38,284 --> 00:40:42,525 because of a tremendous ability to compartmentalize. 808 00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:45,387 They can have multiple personas 809 00:40:45,422 --> 00:40:47,870 and this chameleon-like ability 810 00:40:47,905 --> 00:40:51,353 to blend in to whatever scenario they're placed in. 811 00:40:51,387 --> 00:40:55,870 They can have families, belong to a church, 812 00:40:55,905 --> 00:41:00,594 have a job, socialize in the community. 813 00:41:00,629 --> 00:41:03,870 People have no idea that there's another side, 814 00:41:03,905 --> 00:41:05,974 a psychopath among them. 815 00:41:06,008 --> 00:41:09,318 How do you go from husband, 816 00:41:09,353 --> 00:41:15,180 brother, friend, employee, veteran, father-- 817 00:41:15,215 --> 00:41:18,077 how do you go and get to this, 818 00:41:18,111 --> 00:41:20,905 the ultimate violation against a woman's body? 819 00:41:20,939 --> 00:41:22,491 That is the question. 820 00:41:22,525 --> 00:41:25,387 ♪ 821 00:41:25,422 --> 00:41:28,525 The trial for the murder of Wendy Jordan, 822 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:32,146 it took the jury just two hours 823 00:41:32,180 --> 00:41:35,767 to find Armstrong guilty of murder in the first degree, 824 00:41:35,801 --> 00:41:39,801 mandatory life sentence. 825 00:41:39,836 --> 00:41:43,836 It was life without the possibility of parole. 826 00:41:43,870 --> 00:41:45,560 I slept so good that night. 827 00:41:45,594 --> 00:41:48,353 ♪ 828 00:41:48,387 --> 00:41:51,801 The trial for the murder of Kelly Hood-- 829 00:41:51,836 --> 00:41:57,318 again, another mandatory life sentence. 830 00:41:57,353 --> 00:41:58,767 I think the closer he got to realizing 831 00:41:58,801 --> 00:42:00,560 that he was gonna spend the rest of his life in jail, 832 00:42:00,594 --> 00:42:02,905 the more sorry he became. 833 00:42:02,939 --> 00:42:04,456 He pled to the other cases. 834 00:42:04,491 --> 00:42:07,870 He offered what's called a conditional plea. 835 00:42:07,905 --> 00:42:10,422 He pled guilty to second-degree murder 836 00:42:10,456 --> 00:42:11,939 for the other killings 837 00:42:11,974 --> 00:42:15,043 and he received an additional 31 years in prison. 838 00:42:15,077 --> 00:42:18,111 He's in a place now where he can't hurt anybody else. 839 00:42:18,146 --> 00:42:21,111 ♪ 840 00:42:21,146 --> 00:42:26,663 I'm glad we were able to bring closure for so many families. 841 00:42:26,698 --> 00:42:28,422 ♪ 842 00:42:28,456 --> 00:42:31,215 I know in my heart she's at peace. 843 00:42:31,249 --> 00:42:34,870 [soft dramatic music] 844 00:42:34,905 --> 00:42:38,146 And I think that's what helps me deal. 845 00:42:38,180 --> 00:42:42,111 You know, 'cause she's not suffering. 846 00:42:42,146 --> 00:42:44,939 ♪ 847 00:42:44,974 --> 00:42:46,387 If she was here right now, 848 00:42:46,422 --> 00:42:49,594 what I would tell her is how much I love her... 849 00:42:49,629 --> 00:42:51,180 ♪ 850 00:42:51,215 --> 00:42:53,077 How much I've missed her every day 851 00:42:53,111 --> 00:42:56,249 and every second of my life, 852 00:42:56,284 --> 00:43:00,215 how I've never stopped, 853 00:43:00,249 --> 00:43:04,870 or stopped thinking about her. [sniffles] 854 00:43:04,905 --> 00:43:08,043 ♪ 855 00:43:08,077 --> 00:43:10,318 When Wendy was murdered, 856 00:43:10,353 --> 00:43:13,629 my best friend was taken away from me. 857 00:43:13,663 --> 00:43:15,732 ♪ 858 00:43:15,767 --> 00:43:18,215 And you know what your best friend is. 859 00:43:18,249 --> 00:43:20,732 That's your everything.