In the summer of 1977, Donna Geraldine Veldboom, a popular 22-year-old woman with a great social life, was building a new life for herself in London, Ontario. Having moved from New Brunswick less than a year earlier, she was working at Union Gas and enjoying her independence. Her time in a new city, however, would be tragically cut short, making her the final victim of one of Canada's most notorious serial killers.
On the evening of July 14, 1977, Donna spent time visiting a friend, the
last time she would be seen alive. When she failed to show up for her job the following day, her concerned co-workers contacted the police. Officers were dispatched to her apartment, where they made a grim discovery. Donna was found in her bed, having been strangled and stabbed to death. The scene was disturbingly pristine; her body had been bathed and posed, a chilling signature of her meticulous killer.
The investigation into Donna's murder quickly led police to a suspect living in her very own building. When investigators cross-referenced the tenant list with records of known sexual deviants, one name stood out: Russell Maurice Johnson. Johnson, a 30-year-old auto worker and bodybuilder, lived in the apartment directly below Donna's. He was a man with a dark history, including a voluntary admission to a psychiatric hospital in 1969 where he was diagnosed as a sexual deviant.
Johnson was arrested within two weeks of Donna's murder. During his interrogation, he not only confessed to killing Donna but also admitted to the murders of two other women, Diane Beitz and Louella Jeanne George. His confessions didn't stop there. To the shock of investigators, he went on to admit his responsibility for four other homicides that had been mistakenly ruled as deaths by natural causes or accidents. He also confessed to at least 11 other non-fatal sexual assaults.
The man the media would dub "The Bedroom Strangler" and "The Balcony Killer" had terrorized women in London and Guelph between 1973 and 1977. Johnson's method was as terrifying as it was audacious. He would stalk his victims, often scaling the exterior walls of high-rise apartment buildings to gain access to their homes through unlocked balcony doors. Once inside, he would sometimes watch them sleep for hours before attacking, strangling, and sexually assaulting them. In Donna's case, he deviated from his pattern by also using a knife.
In January 1978, Russell Maurice Johnson was tried for the murders of Donna Veldboom, Louella George, and Diane Beitz. Claiming he had an "uncontrollable urge" to kill, his defense argued insanity. The court ultimately found him not guilty by reason of insanity, concluding that he was unable to comprehend the gravity of his crimes. Johnson was ordered to be confined indefinitely to a secure mental health facility.
Russell Johnson remains confined at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene. He has since undergone chemical castration to lower his testosterone levels. Despite his annual applications for more lenient conditions, the families of his victims have consistently opposed any move that might lead to his eventual release, ensuring that the man who brought so much terror and grief remains behind the walls of the institution.
