Russell Maurice Johnson

Russell Maurice Johnson (born 1947), also known as The Bedroom Strangler, is a Canadian serial killer and rapist who was convicted of raping and murdering at least three women in London and Guelph in the 1970s although the total number of victims later turned out to be higher. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and indefinitely confined at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene.

Murders In the span of four years, Johnson, an automotive store clerk and weightlifter who worked for Ford Motor Company of Canada in Talbotville, raped and strangled at least seven women in their apartments in London and Guelph. He would stalk his victims to their apartments, waiting until he thought they were asleep, gaining access to their apartments by scaling the outside walls, sometimes for many stories to enter. There, he attacked them, sometimes watching the women sleep before sexually assaulting and suffocating them. Aside from his murders, he non-fatally assaulted 11 other women in the same area.

Victims Mary-Catherine Hicks (20) - Hicks was a student at a London, Ontario university and was found dead in the autumn of 1973. There were no signs of struggle or violence at the scene, and she was neatly tucked into her bed. Investigators thought she had died from a prescription drug interaction, until Johnson's second confession in 1977, where he admitted to strangling four additional women. Alice Ralston (42) - Ralston was living in Guelph, Ontario in the autumn of 1973, when she was killed. She appeared to have died of Arteriosclerosis in her sleep. Her cause of death was listed as natural until Johnson's confession. She had been strangled with a brassiere and her hands tied behind her back with a nylon stocking. She had been raped after death. The Guelph police offered a $5,000 reward for any clues leading to the discovery of her killer, while also searching for a dark-coloured, four-door Buick automobile seen parked at the rear of the apartment building in the early morning. At the time of her murder, Johnson was visiting his father in Guelph, and knew of Beitz because his ex-wife used to live in the same apartment building.

In the beginning, Johnson pleaded not guilty for the three killings before the Ontario Supreme Court.

Aftermath The investigation surrounding Johnson's crimes was the costliest in Ontario's history, amassing at least $30,000 in expenses. Every year, Johnson applies for more lenient conditions at his facility, which the family members of his victims strenuously object to. He has been chemically castrated and takes Lupron to reduce his testosterone. In 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeals rejected his plea to be moved to the Brockville Mental Health Centre.