Anthony Hackett, an 18-year-old teenager, was tragically murdered on July 17, 1983. Hackett was fatally shot four times while he slept in a car parked along Interstate 55 near Wilmington, Illinois. He and his girlfriend had been returning home from Great America in Gurnee, Illinois when the attack occurred. The assailant, later identified as Milton Johnson, raped, bound, and gagged Hackett’s girlfriend before dumping her on a road south of Joliet.
She survived the ordeal and was later found by a passing motorist.
Milton Johnson, a serial killer known as "The Weekend Murderer," was responsible for a series of violent crimes in the Joliet area during the summer of 1983. His killing spree included multiple victims, among them Hackett. Johnson was arrested in March 1984 for Hackett’s murder. His trial took place at the Will County Courthouse, where Hackett’s girlfriend testified against him. Johnson was convicted of multiple murders, including Hackett’s, and was initially sentenced to death. However, his sentence was later commuted to life in prison after the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois.
Johnson’s crimes were particularly brutal, involving ambush-style killings, shootings, and stabbings. His victims included civilians and law enforcement officers. The murder of Hackett was part of a larger pattern of violence that terrorized the region. Johnson’s conviction was based on witness testimony and investigative findings that linked him to the crimes. His arrest and subsequent trial brought some measure of justice to the victims and their families, though the impact of his actions left lasting scars on the community.
