DETROIT -- A former sailor fought back tears Friday during his arraignment on charges he strangled five prostitutes as police worldwide tried to match his account of at least 11 other slayings to information they have about unsolved murders in their cities.
John Eric Armstrong, 26, of Dearborn Heights, was arraigned on five counts of premeditated first-degree murder and three counts of assault with intent to murder. Not-guilty pleas were entered on his behalf, and he was ordered held without bond.Asked by reporters how he felt, Armstrong whispered: "So bad."
Police said Armstrong is suspected in at least 11 other slayings since 1992: three in the Seattle area, including a lone male victim, two in Hawaii, two in Hong Kong and one each in North Carolina, Virginia, Thailand and Singapore.
Armstrong, who from 1993 to 1999 was a Navy refueler aboard the USS Nimitz, may have killed while the ship was in port around the world, police said. He could also be linked to the deaths of several prostitutes in Japan, Korea and Israel.
"Once he began to talk, he was freely giving very intimate details about the case," said Detective James Hines of Wayne County Sheriff's Office. "His demeanor was shifting quite often from being calm to irritable to sometimes sad."
Police said Armstrong told them he killed because he hated prostitutes.
Some investigators warned that Armstrong, a husband and father, may be exaggerating. Though police say they have physical evidence linking him to the deaths of five Detroit-area prostitutes, agencies elsewhere said they have been unable to tie him to any unsolved slayings.
"There are gaps in his timeline that we are concerned about," police Cmdr. Dennis Richardson told the Detroit Free Press. "However, nothing outside of Michigan has been confirmed yet."
Police Sgt. Arlie Lovier, who has been interviewing Armstrong since Wednesday, said officials haven't ruled out any leads that Armstrong has given them. He said Detroit police have been contacted by law enforcement agencies all over the world, and investigators from different agencies have converged on Detroit to work the case.
Members of the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrived in Detroit on Friday, he said.
Detective Don Johnson said Armstrong agreed to talk to investigators -- without a lawyer -- since his arrest. "It's been bothering him for a very long time," he said. "When we first started interviewing him, he said he just wanted help."
Last week, a prostitute told police she had been assaulted and gave a description of the suspect and his vehicle. On Monday, investigators found the bodies of three strangled prostitutes in a railroad yard.
The first body had been placed in the area four weeks ago, the second three weeks ago and the third on Monday, police Chief Benny Napoleon said.
After the bodies were found, two other prostitutes went to police and said they had been attacked. They identified Armstrong as the attacker, investigators said.
The body of a fifth prostitute linked to Armstrong was found last year, Napoleon said.
Armstrong moved eight months ago to Dearborn Heights and has worked for the past month at Detroit Metropolitan Airport as an aircraft refueler.