The Rookie Cop Who Took Down the ‘Eyeball Killer’—And the Haunting Mystery He Left Behind
It was December 1990 when Dallas rookie cop Regina Smith found herself entangled in a case straight out of a horror film. Just two months into her patrol, she was thrust into a murder investigation so chilling that it would haunt her for decades. The victim, Mary Pratt, was found dumped on a desolate road in South Dallas—beaten, shot in the head, and, in a grotesque twist, missing both of her eyeballs. The precision with which they had been removed suggested a killer with surgical expertise, and the discovery sent shockwaves through the city.
With no forensic evidence, no fingerprints, and no immediate suspects, detectives were at a standstill. But when a second victim, Susan Peterson, turned up in February 1991—killed in the exact same manner—Dallas police realized they had a serial predator on their hands. The city was gripped with fear as investigators scrambled for leads, and Smith found herself at the heart of the hunt for a killer who would soon be known as the ‘Eyeball Killer.’
The Hunt for a Monster
“The fear in Dallas was getting more real every day the killer was loose,” Smith recalls. As a beat cop, she was in constant contact with the city’s vulnerable sex worker community, who were the prime targets. While the FBI profiled a suspect with medical training and a preference for white women, Smith worked the streets, gathering whispers and warnings from those who had seen the killer’s shadow up close.
“We treated everyone as human beings,” she says. “The fact they were prostitutes did not diminish the importance we put on investigating each murder.”
Then came a grim turning point. In March 1991, a third victim was discovered—45-year-old Shirley Williams. Unlike the others, Williams was Black, and her eyeball removal had been far sloppier. This deviation in the killer’s pattern could have derailed the investigation—if not for Smith’s unwavering determination.
The Rookie Who Wouldn’t Be Ignored
For months, Smith had been quietly collecting crucial information. Witnesses had pointed her toward a regular john with a fixation on knives and an unsettling demeanor—57-year-old Charles Albright. Smith and her partner repeatedly brought Albright’s name to homicide detectives, but they were dismissed.
That changed after Williams’ murder. With a growing pile of statements, a description from a sex worker who had fended off an attack, and Smith’s persistence, authorities finally took notice.
She tracked down Albright’s tax records, dug through jail records, and unearthed a disturbing pattern. The final breakthrough came when she matched Albright to an incident where a prostitute had used mace to escape his clutches. It was enough for homicide to act.
On the day of Albright’s arrest, Smith rode along. “It was a bone-chilling feeling,” she says. “He had a stone-cold face. When I looked into his eyes, I saw evil.”
The Mystery That Remains
Despite the mountain of circumstantial evidence, Albright was only convicted for the murder of Shirley Williams. Though he remained the prime suspect in the deaths of Pratt and Peterson, the lack of physical proof left the other cases unresolved.
But the most perplexing mystery lingers: Where did the eyeballs go?
Authorities scoured Albright’s properties, uncovering bizarre jars filled with preserved animals—lizards, snakes, and newts suspended in liquid. Smith has long suspected that the missing eyes were hidden among them, but no proof was ever found. Even as Albright wasted away in prison, he never revealed the truth.
Smith tried one last time to confront him, hoping to bring closure to the victims’ families. But by then, Albright was too ill to meet visitors. He took the secret to his grave when he died in 2022.
A Haunting Legacy
Looking back, Smith remains unsettled.
“Someone like him doesn’t just start killing at 57,” she says, convinced that Albright had more victims. While his name is synonymous with the gruesome ‘Eyeball Killer’ moniker, she believes justice was only partially served.
And those missing eyes?
They may still be out there—preserved, hidden, their final resting place unknown.
