B.R. Bates's Blog: From the social feeds ..., page 9

Just dropped: A few more thoughts on the book and the case

Researching the John Eric Armstrong case for this book project was a very rewarding experience, so much so that I found myself thinking I should have been writing true crime all of my career. Nevertheless, there's this case, then there's the case of Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins, the second in the Murders in the Motor City series, releasing in the spring. Then, who knows. For now, however, here are a few more thoughts on what this work has meant:

Check out this playlist highlighting the victims of the Armstrong case

In the research of convicted serial killers, the women who lost their lives are the most important part of the story. Come on over, subscribe, and learn a little more about each one of the women John Eric Armstrong was known to have killed in Detroit.

Dropped today: An interview in Voyage Michigan magazine

 

An interview I did with Voyage Michigan magazine just dropped, talking about my true-crime work and writing in general, with advice for aspiring writers out there. This series in the magazine is all about inspiring and motivating people, so I'm thankful to be part of it.

WXYZ Channel 7 highlights the awesome work of Covenant House Michigan

I can't say enough about the awesome work that Covenant House does here in Michigan, particularly on the streets of my beloved Detroit. You can see that up-close and personal in this video on the website of Detroit's ABC affiliate, WXYZ, Channel 7:
Riding along with Covenant House to help people get out of cold temperatures
As the temps have plunged here lately, the staff at Covenant House has remained vigilant. They don't just help get teens at risk off the street -- they help others, as well, and you can see that in this report as Channel 7 rides along in the wee hours of the morning. 

This ministry holds a special place in my heart, particularly since I've researched criminal cases where at least a few of the victims were teen runaways living on the street. I've been supporting the ministry for years, ever since I read a book released by the national office ("Please Forgive Me, God"), then was privileged to visit the branch here in Detroit, and I urge you to support them, as well. 

A recent interview with Ron Chepesiuk

Thanks so much to Ron Chepesiuk for the great live chat recently on his Crime Beat podcast. Gerry and I discussed the John Eric Armstrong case and "The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides." Audio posted on the ArtistFirst website:

🔗https://media.artistfirst.com/ArtistFirst_Crime_Beat_2024-12-12_Bates_and_Cliff.mp3 

John Eric Armstrong: Did he have any markers?

People often talk about the Macdonald triad when it comes to serial killers, the three markers it's believed serials show as children: bed-wetting, animal cruelty, setting fires. So how does convicted serial killer John Eric Armstrong stack up to that? Did he show any of those markers when he was growing up?

Short answer: Not in any of my research. There are a lot of details around Armstrong's childhood that are a bit of a mystery. I was able to speak with people who knew him back then in New Bern, North Carolina. People he went to school with, people he went to church with, people he worked with before joining the Navy in 1992. There's no mention of bedwetting, animal cruelty or setting fires anywhere in any of the files or interviews on the case. 

Another marker people believe in, as far as serials go, is childhood abuse. I just read a book that puts that abuse idea in what I believe is a much better perspective, however. It's Katherine Ramsland's "Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer," and in it, she quotes a colleague who essentially said it's not so much about abuse as it is about trauma. Every serial killer was not abused as a child, but serials do tend to experience trauma as children. And where trauma is concerned, Armstrong definitely checks the box. 

  

A few school photos of  young Eric Armstrong. See note below for attribution / copyright.

He had a baby brother he adored, but when Armstrong was about five years old, the baby died in the crib. The loss was devastating for this young boy. After Armstrong was arrested in Detroit in April 2000, his mother told the media that her son, who would later go by Eric, once rode his bicycle into traffic, presumedly to join his baby brother. And that brings up another element that I have to wonder about as a marker: suicide attempts. Armstrong was known to have seriously contemplated or attempted suicide three times in his life. Other serials have done this.

There is always the million-dollar question of nature vs. nurture, as far as why a person chooses to take the life of another. Markers like the Macdonald triad are about nurture, but I really have to think there is brain chemistry going on, too. Dennis Rader, for instance, believes he was affected by his mother not only dropping him on his head as a child, but also falling off a horse when she was pregnant with him. (But perhaps those incidents are both nature and nurture!) I don't know if Armstrong suffered any such injuries, but I do believe that not even he really understands why he grew up to be a killer.

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BRBates.com|wbp.bz/BabyDoll
Above photos: The first two are yearbook photos from Classmates.com. The third is a snapshot courtesy of Bill Taylor, classmate of young Eric in New Bern, North Carolina; it's copyrighted and specifically for use in "The 'Baby Doll' Serial Killer"; any other use prohibited without permission.
See more photos from the case at the gallery on the WildBlue Press website.

Hello, and new .com alert!

I must confess: Before I decided to create this new blogger account, I did a web search ... "Is it even worth it to start a blog these days?" Yes, the AI and the search results said, people do still read blog posts. I've had a blog for about 20 years for my other writing projects, which are in the pop-culture realm. I know it still gets hits, even though these days blogs have been around so long that you really have to wonder about their effectiveness, in this very fast-moving, social-media-oriented culture. 

 So here I am! I would like to talk more about the true-crime books I've been working on, give more of a behind-the scenes look at them and the work that goes into them, and above all else, I want to honor the victims. This blog is going to be all about honoring the victims. I'm doing to do a series specifically on that in the coming weeks, highlighting the life of each and every female who lost her life to the two convicted Detroit serial killers I have researched, John Eric Armstrong and Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins. So thanks, in advance, for coming along. I appreciate every reader, frankly, particularly in an age where the Internet is getting more and more packed with content and it's harder to fight for what I call "market share" -- readership. 

 Along the way, I've created a new website for my true-crime work. I've had a few other domains over the years, from my other writing projects that are the total *opposite* of true crime, but I decided to stake a claim last Thursday on this one. Can you believe there was no other "BR Bates" who had this one? Come on over anytime:

BRBates.com

Armstrong: Did his family know?

One question that comes up a lot in the case of #JohnEricArmstrong is whether or not his wife was aware of what he was doing. Armstrong was a family man. He had a wife and a baby son at home, he lived with his wife's family, and there was a second child on the way. Recently, I spoke with Ed Opperman about this aspect of the case and many others. My collaborator on the #BabyDollSerialKiller book, Gerry, also did an interview on the Opperman Report.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Thank-you, Ed!

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https://BRBates.com
#truecrime #serialkillers
#MurdersInTheMotorCity

Thanks to Daniel Lucas!

I've been very fortunate to talk with a number of podcasters in the past couple months since The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides was released. One of those interviews was a live one with Daniel Lucas of Book 101 Review, to also be posted soon on Apple Podcasts, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PubDB...

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast...

Thanks so much, Daniel!

JUST DROPPED: A little bit more insight into this convicted serial killer

What was John Eric Armstrong really like, if you just encountered him on the sidewalk, or in the grocery store? People tend to say that most serial killers don't "seem" like serial killers -- the people who know them are shocked when they're identified. Here's my view:

https://youtu.be/mn9PQxA_wsg?feature=...