On March 4, 1974, Eleanor Diane Hartwick, a 27-year-old woman, was found deceased in her apartment on Westlake Street in London, Ontario. At the scene, there were no signs of violence or a struggle. Investigators found Eleanor in her bed, a book still in her hand, appearing as though she had simply fallen asleep while reading. Based on the peaceful scene, authorities initially concluded that her death was the result of an adverse reaction to prescription medication.
For more than three years, this was the accepted cause of her death, leaving the terrifying truth of her final moments hidden.
The reality of what happened to Eleanor was far more sinister. She was an early victim of Russell Maurice Johnson, a serial killer who terrorized the communities of London and Guelph between 1973 and 1977. Johnson, who became known as "The Bedroom Strangler" and "The Balcony Killer," was a former auto plant employee and bodybuilder. His method was as athletic as it was terrifying; he would scale the exterior of apartment buildings, sometimes many stories high, to gain access to his victims' homes through unlocked balcony doors. He would often stalk the women he targeted, watching them sleep for hours before attacking.
In his first few attacks, Johnson was meticulous in concealing his crimes. After killing his victims, typically by strangulation or suffocation, he would carefully stage the scene to suggest a natural death or accident. He would clean up, remove evidence, and position the women in their beds to appear as if they had passed away peacefully. This cruel deception was successful in the cases of his first four victims, including Eleanor Hartwick. Her death, along with those of Mary-Catherine Hicks, Alice Ralston, and Doris Brown, was not initially investigated as a homicide, allowing a predator to continue his violent spree undetected.
The string of seemingly natural deaths ended on New Year's Eve of 1974, when Johnson’s methods became more overtly violent. The murders of Diane Beitz, Louella George, and Donna Veldboom involved clear signs of homicide, including strangulation with ligatures and, in the final case, stabbing. This escalation ultimately led investigators to a suspect. In July 1977, police arrested Russell Johnson, a tenant who lived in the same building as his last two victims.
During questioning, Johnson not only confessed to the three murders for which he was arrested but also shocked investigators by admitting his responsibility for the four earlier deaths that had been ruled non-homicidal. He admitted to killing Eleanor Hartwick, revealing that the peaceful scene that had misled police was a deliberate and chilling fabrication. In total, he confessed to at least seven murders and numerous other non-fatal sexual assaults. He told police he had uncontrollable urges and claimed that he would not have killed if he had received proper medical treatment for his diagnosed sexual deviancy.
In January 1978, Russell Maurice Johnson was tried for the murders of Beitz, George, and Veldboom. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was ordered to be confined indefinitely to a secure mental health facility, where he remains. He was never formally tried for the murder of Eleanor Hartwick or his other three early victims; their cases rest on his detailed confessions. The reclassification of Eleanor's death brought a horrifying answer to a long-settled question, revealing her as a victim of one of Canada's most notorious serial killers.
