Vincent Johnson

 VICTIMS: 5

Vincent Johnson was a 31-year-old homeless man with a chip on his shoulder. And that chip grew so large that over a 10 month period that began in August, 1999, he killed 5 women.

Johnson was described by police as a homeless panhandler and crack addict that was suspected of six murders. Once caught he admitted to five killings, that of Vivian Caraballo, 26; Joanne Feliciano, 35; Rhonda Tucker, 21, Laura Nusser, 44; and Patricia Sullivan, 49. He strongly denied the sixth murder.

All the victims were killed by the same method - strangulation. Interestingly each was strangled with a different type of object, ranging from an electrical cord, the drawstring from a pair of sweat pants, a piece of cloth, and in one case the victim's shoelace.

According to Johnson he used whatever he could find to get the job done.

All the victims had been arrested before for prostitution or drug-related offences, and they all were found nude or partially clothed. So I guess that would suggest rape was a part of the M.O.

Faced with the death penalty Johnson chose to plead guilty and accept a sentence of life in prison rather than the state-funded murder that many Americans prefer for being poor.
 

MY OPINION

For some reason I doubt this case. Maybe it because the ‘killer’ is poor, and we all know how the Police like to pick out vagrants and pin a heap of unsolved murders on him. Maybe I’m wrong, but nothing I’ve read tells of any specific proof that Johnson was indeed the killer of these women. Either way, whoever committed these murders gets a thumbs up from me, purely for the M.O. Have I mentioned my love of stranglers before?