Albert Pearson was 20 when he was murdered on January 27, 1981, in Rockford, Illinois. He worked as a stock boy at Fredd’s Groceries, a small market on the city’s west side. On that day Pearson and the store owner, Willie Fredd, were both shot and killed during an armed robbery; the shooter used a .38-caliber revolver and shot each victim multiple times in the head.

The murders of Pearson and Fredd were part of a larger crime spree carried out by Raymond Lee Stewart, who committed multiple armed robberies and murders in Illinois and Wisconsin over several days, including the killing of 17-year-old Kevin Kaiser at a Clark station in Rockford and two victims at an E-Z Go station. Stewart was arrested, charged in Winnebago County with two counts of murder for the Fredd’s Groceries killings, convicted on both counts and sentenced to death; that conviction and sentence were upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.

If anyone knew Albert Pearson, worked at or visited Fredd’s Groceries, or has information about the events of January 27, 1981, please come forward.