Searching for a Serial Killer: Regina Smith, an intense thriller on Lifetime, is based on a real-crime case that shocked Dallas in the early 1990s. The movie is about Regina Smith (Karrueche Tran) a single mother and new police officer in Dallas. It was directed by Wendy Ord and written by Conor Allyn and Benjamin Anderson. Smith gets caught up in the terrifying search for a brutal serial killer. This film is inspired by the real-life case of “The Eyeball Killer” Charles Albright— who preyed on women in Dallas, leaving a trail of horror and unanswered questions.
Who is Regina Smith?
In Searching for a Serial Killer, Regina Smith is based on a real police officer with the same name who was very important to the investigation that led to Albright’s arrest. Regina became a rookie officer in the Dallas Police Department with the goal of making a difference in her neighborhood. Soon after she started working as a police officer. she is now patrolling one of the most dangerous areas in Dallas and has to deal with all of the city’s problems every day, such as gang violence and drug crimes.
Mary Pratt, a 33-year-old sex worker, was found dead in South Dallas in December 1990. Regina had only been on the job for two months. At first, Pratt’s death looked like a normal murder, but the autopsy showed a shocking fact: her eyes had been surgically removed with great care. This led to fears that a serial killer was on the loose because it looked like the killer knew a lot about medicine.
The Trail of Terror of the Eyeball Killer
Mary Pratt wasn’t the first person to be killed in a way that shocked people in Dallas. This happened just two months after Pratt was killed: Susan Peterson, another sex worker, was found dead in the same way. Like Pratt, Peterson had been shot, and her eyes had been cut out with such skill that police were led to a suspect who had done surgery before.
The police and FBI were on high alert, which made Regina Smith more aware as she began her investigation. She earned the trust of Dallas’s sex workers by talking to them a lot to find out anything she could about the killer. Many people who worked in the area started to say they saw a man who looked like the killer and was known to be violent.
Shirley Williams, a third woman, was found dead in March 1991. Williams, who was older and a different race than the other victims, was found with her eyes taken out less precisely this time. Her death made the case more important and showed problems that made the investigation even more difficult. But Regina’s persistence helped investigators and her find the link between these three victims, which led them to Charles Albright.
The killer was found to be Charles Albright, a 57-year-old man from Dallas. People in the area called Albright a “john,” which means he often met sex workers. Regina’s important part of the investigation was talking to witnesses, like Veronica Rodriguez, who said she saw Mary Pratt being killed. Even though some police officers didn’t believe her, Regina wrote down everything and gave it to homicide detectives.
She also got accounts from other sex workers who said they had met a man who fit Albright’s description. She kept writing down these tips over and over again, which gave police the proof they needed to focus on Albright. In a strange move, detectives let Regina help arrest Albright, which shows how important she is to solving the case.
Albright, who the media later called “The Eyeball Killer,” was said to have preserved body parts and been crazy about collecting eyes. Albright insisted he was innocent even after he was arrested and never said where the missing eyeballs were. He was found guilty of killing Williams because there was evidence that connected him to the crime scene. For example, a yellow raincoat that stood out and squirrel hair helped put him there.
The Legacy of Regina Smith and the Unsolved Mystery
Albright died in prison in 2022, and he took with him any more tricks he knew about his crimes. A lot of people think he may have killed more people, but this has never been proven. Even though he was killed, the case is still a sad reminder of how vulnerable communities are and how brave officers like Regina Smith were as they worked nonstop to solve such horrible crimes.
Smith’s involvement didn’t end when Albright was found guilty; she worked as a police officer for decades and became a well-known and respected figure. The film’s portrayal of her dedication shows how determined she is to treat all victims with respect, no matter what their social status is. After she retired, she kept trying to help the families of the victims get closure by trying to figure out Albright’s reasons and what happened to the missing eyes in the end.
Where is Regina Smith Now?
As of now, Regina Smith is retired from the Dallas Police Department. She is now focusing on advocacy work such as promoting justice and women’s empowerment. Since she retired— she has been in documentaries talking about her life and experiences, especially how she helped solve the case of Charles Albright (the Eyeball Killer). Regina also continues to honor her late husband— Sr. Cpl. Norman “Big Russian” Smith— who tragically passed away in the line of duty in 2009—through her music production company [Big Rush In, LLC] which she founded in his memory.
It was in October 2023 that she went to the DREAM Awards at —the Suncoast Casino Showroom and met a lot of famous people. Today, she uses her power to fight for equal justice and women’s rights—drawing on her experiences as a police officer to motivate others.
The first episode of Searching for a Serial Killer: The Regina Smith Story airs on November 9 at 8/7c on Lifetime. The movie will also be available to stream on the Lifetime app and on-demand the next day for people who missed the first showing.