Vincent Johnson

Serial Killer

Vincent Johnson: The Brooklyn Strangler

Background

Vincent Johnson was an American serial killer who murdered five women in Brooklyn, New York, between August 1999 and June 2000. Known in the press as the "Brooklyn Strangler" and the "Williamsburg Strangler," Johnson preyed primarily on vulnerable women living with drug addiction and poverty. Several of the victims had histories of prostitution, and Johnson encountered them in neighborhoods where he lived on the streets, used crack cocaine, and associated with other homeless people and drug users. Johnson was born on January 6, 1969, in Brooklyn. Details about his early life remain limited, although he reportedly spent time in foster care and later described having a deeply troubled relationship with his mother. By the late 1990s, he was homeless, addicted to crack cocaine, and frequently sleeping in abandoned buildings, utility rooms, and other temporary locations around Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The Brooklyn Strangling Murders

Johnson killed his victims by ligature strangulation, often using whatever object was readily available. Shoelaces, electrical wire, clothing cords, and pieces of cloth were used in the attacks. After strangling the women, he sometimes tied or bound their bodies with the same materials. He made little effort to conceal what he had done, leaving victims on rooftops, inside apartments, in a vacant lot, and in a utility room beneath the Williamsburg Bridge. The locations of the bodies initially made the killings appear disconnected. Some victims were discovered in Williamsburg, while others were found in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Investigators eventually recognized similarities in the victims, causes of death, and physical evidence recovered from the crime scenes. The crimes generated growing fear among women living and working in the affected neighborhoods. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Gloria Green Age: (39), Date of Death: 1999-06-29

Vincent Johnson - Wikipedia