The Baby Doll Serial Killer: America’s Most Unsuspecting Murderer

12/17/24 • 53 min

In the winter of 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, sex worker Monica Johnson entered a Jeep Wrangler with the licence plate 'Baby Doll' with a client.

That client, John Eric Armstrong, brutally murdered her and placed her body face down on the sidewalk, before returning home to his wife and young son.

Monica was one of several women he killed between 1992 to 1999 before the police finally closed in.

Journalist and author B.R. Bates, co-author of The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides, is one of the few individuals who has interviewed Armstrong himself.

You can find The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides here.

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CREDITS

Guest: B.R. Bates

Host: Gemma Bath

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at [email protected] or send us a voice note, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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In the winter of 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, sex worker Monica Johnson entered a Jeep Wrangler with the licence plate 'Baby Doll' with a client.

That client, John Eric Armstrong, brutally murdered her and placed her body face down on the sidewalk, before returning home to his wife and young son.

Monica was one of several women he killed between 1992 to 1999 before the police finally closed in.

Journalist and author B.R. Bates, co-author of The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides, is one of the few individuals who has interviewed Armstrong himself.

You can find The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides here.

THE END BITS

Subscribe to Mamamia

CREDITS

Guest: B.R. Bates

Host: Gemma Bath

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH

Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at [email protected] or send us a voice note, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

Bonus: The French Rape Trial, A Victim-Survivor's Story Of Which She Has No Memory

It's the case that has shocked France and led to protests outside of an Avignon court house.

For 50 years, Dominique and Gisèle Pélicot were married, but for a decade of their marriage, Gisèle was being raped without her knowledge — drugged and sexually assaulted by dozens and dozens of men.

If this case were to unfold in Australia, what kind of laws would there be to protect victim survivors from ever having to experience this again?

If you or someone you know needs to speak to someone help is listed below:

Lifeline - 13 11 14

1800 RESPECT - 1800 737 732, The National Domestic Family And Sexual Violence Counselling Service

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Inside One Of Australia’s Longest Running Cults [fresh episode]

The Geelong Revival Centre, one of Australia’s longest-running cults, has been hiding in plain sight for years. Led by Pastor Noel Hollins until his death in 2024, the ultra-conservative church controls every aspect of its followers' lives.

For the past two years, investigative journalist Richard Baker has collected disturbing audio recordings from Hollins and testimonies from survivors. They’ve told him stories of alleged physical and sexual abuse, emotional stories of families being torn apart by strict rules and disturbing allegations of medicine being banned.

Due to legal constraints, he’s been unable to share it... until now. You can listen to Richard's podcast Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder here.

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CREDITS

Guest: Richard Baker

Host: Gemma Bath

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

GET IN TOUCH

Feedback? We’re listening! Email us at [email protected]

If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

True Crime Conversations - The Baby Doll Serial Killer: America’s Most Unsuspecting Murderer

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:11.541

You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast. Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waterers. This podcast was recorded on It's a Chilly night in the Detroit, Michigan winter of nineteen ninety nine, just a few weeks before Christmas, and Monica Johnson turns to her client in his jeep Wrangler.

Speaker 100:00:36.262

It'll be fifty dollars for straight sex, she tells him. He agrees and puts on a condom