Today is Thursday, December 31st, 2020.

On this day in 1990, police found sex worker Moraine Armstrong dead in her apartment.

She was the first victim of serial killer Roberts Boholski.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of drug addiction and murder that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution

for children under 13. Today we're covering the murder of Moraine Armstrong, serial killer

Roberts Boholski's first victim.

Let's go back to Rochester, New York, in the dead of night on New Year's Eve.

24-year-old sex worker Moraine Michelle Armstrong had a craving for crack cocaine, and she knew she didn't have to go far to fill it.

She knocked on her neighbor's door and invited him over. It was 36-year-old Robert Spahalsky. They both suffered an addiction to crack. Lucky for Armstrong,

Spahulsky was a petty criminal who smoked and sold it. He had a big stash and was willing to share

for a price, of course. Spahalsky brought over ten bags of crack. They settled onto Armstrong's sofa and smoked

all of it over the course of several hours. Then they moved to her bedroom and had sex.

Spahalski assumed the sex was payment for the crack they just smoked, but apparently

Armstrong didn't see it that way. She charged him like she would

any John. They started to fight about it. Frankly, Spahalski didn't understand the issue. He'd given away

his product for free. Why shouldn't Armstrong do the same? He started to get out of bed, but Armstrong

slapped him. She refused to let him leave

until he paid her. That's when Spahalski lost it. He threw Armstrong on the bed and began choking her.

She fought back viciously. During the struggle, he saw an iron

with a long cord and used it to strangle her to death. Then he slipped out of her apartment.

...