Childhood

Born in Amarillo, Texas, Charles Albright was adopted from an orphanage by Delle and Fred Albright.^[2] His adoptive mother, who was a schoolteacher, was very strict and overprotective of him. She accelerated his education and helped him skip two grades.^[3]

Adolescence

At age 13, he was already a petty thief and was arrested for aggravated assault. At age 15, he graduated from high school and enrolled at North Texas University. He expressed an interest in training as a medical doctor and a surgeon. He undertook pre-med training but failed to complete it. At age 16, the police caught him with stolen petty cash, two handguns, and a rifle. He spent a year in jail.

Adulthood

After his release from jail, he attended Arkansas State Teachers College and majored in pre-med studies. After being found with stolen items, he was expelled from the college but was not prosecuted.^[2]

Apparently unfazed, he falsified a degree. He stole documents and forged signatures, giving himself fictitious bachelor's and master's degrees. He married his college girlfriend, and they had a daughter. He continued to forge checks and was caught in this deception while teaching at a high school and was placed on probation. In 1965, he and his wife separated, divorcing in 1974.

He was then caught stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from a hardware store and received a two-year prison sentence. He served less than six months before being released.

During this time he began to befriend and gain the trust of his neighbors. He was even asked by local residents to babysit their children.

In 1981, while visiting some friends, he sexually molested their 14-year-old daughter. He was prosecuted, pled guilty, and received probation. He later claimed that he was innocent but had pled guilty to avoid "a hassle."

In 1984, he applied to be a leader in the Boy Scouts of America and was rejected.^[4]

In 1985 in Arkansas, Albright met a woman named Dixie and invited her to live with him. Soon she was paying his bills and supporting him. He delivered newspapers in the early morning, apparently to visit prostitutes without arousing Dixie's suspicion.

Death

Sentenced to life without parole, Albright died at the West Texas Regional Medical Facility in Lubbock, Texas, in August 2020.^[5]

December 13, 1990

Mary Lou Pratt, 33, a Caucasian well-known sex worker in the Oak Cliff neighbourhood of Dallas, was found dead, ^[6] wearing only a t-shirt and bra. She had been shot in the back of the head with a .44-caliber gun, as well as being badly beaten. The medical examiner reported that the killer had removed both of her eyes with surgical precision and had apparently taken them with him.^[2]

February 10, 1991

Susan Beth Peterson, 27, a Caucasian sex worker, was found on the same street Mary Pratt was found on, just outside the Dallas city limits near the DeSoto city limits.^[7] She was nearly nude and had been shot three times: in the top of her head, in her left breast, and in the back of her head. The medical examiner found that her eyes had been removed as well. At this point, the investigators realized they were looking for a "repeater."^[2]

March 10, 1991

Shirley Williams, an African-American sex worker, was found dead, lying near an elementary school. A waitress found Williams' nude body propped up against a curb. Her eyes had been removed, just like the previous two victims.^[8] She had facial bruises and a broken nose, and had been shot in the face and through the top of her head. A medical examiner's field agent pulled back her eyelids and discovered that her eyes were missing.^[2]