Russell Maurice Johnson

Russell Maurice Johnson (born 1947), also known as The Bedroom Strangler, is a Canadian serial killer and rapist who was convicted of raping and murdering at least three women in London and Guelph in the 1970s, although the total number of victims later turned out to be higher. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and indefinitely confined at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene.[1]

Russell Maurice Johnson
Born1947 (age 73–74)
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Other names"The Bedroom Strangler"
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyNot guilty by reason of insanity
Details
Victims7+
Span of crimes
1973–1977
CountryCanada
State(s)Ontario
Date apprehended
July 1977
Imprisoned atWaypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, Ontario

Murders

In the span of four years, Johnson, an automotive store clerk and weightlifter who worked for Ford Motor Company of Canada in Talbotville, raped and strangled at least seven women in their apartments in London and Guelph. He would stalk his victims to their apartments, waiting until he thought they were asleep, gaining access to their apartments by scaling the outside walls, sometimes for many stories to enter. There, he attacked them, sometimes watching the women sleep before sexually assaulting and suffocating them.[2] Aside from his murders, he non-fatally assaulted 11 other women in the same area.[3]

Victims
  • Mary-Catherine Hicks (20)
  • Alice Ralston (42)
  • Eleanor Hartwick
  • Doris Brown (49)
  • Diane Beitz (23) - Beitz's body was found on New Year's Eve, 1975, by her boyfriend James Britton, with whom she had been engaged to the previous night.[4] She had been strangled with a brassiere and her hands tied behind her back with a nylon stocking. She had been raped after death.[5] The Guelph police offered a $5,000 reward for any clues leading to the discovery of her killer, while also searching for a dark-coloured, four-door Buick automobile seen parked at the rear of the apartment building in the early morning.[6] At the time of her murder, Johnson was visiting his father in Guelph, and knew of Beitz because his ex-wife used to live in the same apartment building.[5]
  • Louella Jeanne George (23) - George was killed in April 1977, after Johnson climbed to her fourth-floor apartment balcony and barged in, raping and killing her on the spot.[5]
  • Donna Veldboom (22) - Veldbloom, who lived in the apartment above Johnson's, was strangled to death in July 1977.[5]

Arrest, trial and imprisonment

In July 1977, Russell Johnson was arrested on charges of murdering three of the women: Beitz, George and Veldbloom. According to Police Inspector Robert Young, the man, who had voluntarily admitted himself to the London Psychiatric Hospital in 1969 and diagnosed as a sexual deviant,[3] had told him that he wouldn't have killed the girls if he had gotten proper medical treatment. At trial, Johnson claimed to have had an "uncontrollable urge" to rape and kill.[7]

In the beginning, Johnson plead not guilty for the three killings before the Ontario Supreme Court.[5] Much to the surprise of the parties present, Russell additionally admitted to perpetrating four other homicides and 11 non-fatal assaults. As he demonstrated an incapability to grasp the harshness of the crimes, Johnson was found not guilty by reason of insanity and indefinitely confined to the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.[1][8]

Aftermath

The investigation surrounding Johnson's crimes was the costliest in Ontario's history, amassing at least $30,000 in expenses.[9] Every year, Johnson applies for more lenient conditions at his facility, which is constantly battled over with the family members of his victims.[10] He has been chemically castrated, and takes Lupron to reduce his testosterone.[11] In 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeals rejected his plea to be moved to the Brockville Mental Health Centre.[12]

Bibliography
  • Frank Jones (1981). Trail of Blood: A Canadian Murder Odyssey. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. ISBN 0075484145.
  • Lee Mellor (March 3, 2012). Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1459701267.
  • Michael Arntfield (June 9, 2015). Murder City: The Untold Story of Canada's Serial Killer Capital, 1959-1984. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1460261835.
  • Robert Keller (July 31, 2015). Canadian Monsters: 25 Horrific Serial Killer Cases. ASIN B0124PAOAY.

See also

References
  1. "Accused strangler admits 4 deaths". Edmonton Journal. February 22, 1978.
  2. "Suspect told how killed three women". Edmonton Journal. January 31, 1978.
  3. "Vengeance feeling strong". Regina Leader-Post. February 27, 1978.
  4. "Strangled woman found by fiancee". Ottawa Citizen. January 3, 1975.
  5. "Not guilty plea to three sex murders". Edmonton Journal. January 25, 1978.
  6. "$5,000 reward in murder". Ottawa Journal. February 13, 1975.
  7. "Murder trial told of urge to kill". The Province. January 31, 1978.
  8. "30-year-old is judged insane in strangling of three women". Windsor Star. February 2, 1978.
  9. "Police overtime to cost $30,000". Windsor Star. August 3, 1977.
  10. John Duncan Maxwell (May 4, 2018). "Facing my aunt's killer has become a family tradition". The Globe and Mail.
  11. Joe O'Connor (May 15, 2010). "Wounds reopened". National Post.
  12. Andrew Duffy (May 26, 2012). "'Bedroom Strangler' loses bid to be moved to medium-security facility in Brockville". Ottawa Citizen.
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