Charles Frederick Albright: The Serial Killer with a Disturbing Calling Card

Charles Frederick Albright was an American serial killer whose disturbing calling card left behind at crime scenes earned him the nickname “The Eyeball Killer.” He was convicted in 1992 of killing three women and mutilating their bodies, and his case serves as a reminder of how little we know about what drives some serial killers.

The Early Years of Charles Frederick Albright

Charles Frederick Albright was born in 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas. His parents divorced when he was young, and he spent most of his childhood living with his father and stepmother. In school, he had difficulty making friends due to his speech impediment and shyness. As an adult, Albright worked as an exterminator for a time before eventually becoming a taxidermist, which allowed him to work from home and afforded him plenty of time to pursue his hobbies such as hunting and fishing. Despite these interests, he never married or had children of his own.

Albright’s Crimes

In the early 1990s, three women were found dead in the Dallas area with their eyes removed post-mortem by someone with medical training or expertise in taxidermy; all three victims were also sexually assaulted prior to their deaths. Police zeroed in on Charles Frederick Albright as the prime suspect after connecting evidence found at the crime scenes to him—including a distinctive calling card that linked each victim: all three had their eyes surgically removed after death with precision surgical instruments that only a skilled taxidermist would possess. It wasn’t long before police had enough evidence to arrest Albright for the murders of these women and charge him with capital murder under Texas law. He was eventually found guilty on all counts, but due to a legal loophole, he was able to avoid execution by life imprisonment instead.

Why Did He Do It?

While it’s impossible to know exactly why Charles Frederick Albright committed such heinous crimes, experts believe that it likely stemmed from feelings of frustration resulting from his social awkwardness combined with feelings of powerlessness stemming from being rejected by women throughout his life—a combination that can be extremely dangerous when mixed together. While this is just speculation based on what we know about serial killers like Albright, it certainly gives us pause when considering how some people can become capable of such horrific acts given certain life circumstances.

Charles Frederick Albright is a chilling reminder of how little we know about why some people become serial killers. Though nothing can ever excuse or justify the horrific crimes he committed against those three women, understanding why someone becomes capable of committing such atrocities can help us better protect ourselves from similar situations in the future—and hopefully prevent future atrocities from occurring altogether.