5 key details about the Brooklyn Strangler
Vincent Johnson, also called the Brooklyn Strangler, was behind a series of killings targeting women who engaged in prostitution and drug abuse in Brooklyn between 1999 and 2000. His history of homelessness and drug abuse brought him close to his victims.
Johnson killed at least five women, leaving their bodies where he killed them. The investigation used DNA evidence to track him down after initial suspects were eliminated. Johnson's motive was one of personal anger, and he had little regret for what he did. He is serving a life sentence without parole, the culmination of his violent rampage in Brooklyn.
The episode titled Vincent Johnson: The Brooklyn Strangler from the series Randomness Reloaded was released on February 10, 2025.
Five important facts regarding the Brooklyn Strangler, giving a concise summary of the case, the investigation, and Johnson's background
1) Johnson's background and early life
According to reports, Vincent Johnson was born on January 6, 1969. He was raised in Brooklyn and had an addiction to drugs, specifically crack cocaine, that contributed to his lifestyle and criminal activity. Brooklyn Strangler had a previous record of low-level offenses leading up to the murders.
He was homeless at the time of the killings and was familiar with places where s*x workers congregated.
2) The victims and the mode of killing
The victims of Johnson were all women who had records of prostitution and drug abuse, according to reports. The identified victims were Patricia Sullivan, Rhonda Tucker, Joanne Feliciano, Vivian Caraballo, and Laura Nusser. Johnson was still a suspect in the murder of Katrina Niles. The victims were aged between 21 and 49 years and were mostly Black or Hispanic.
Johnson killed each of the victims by strangling them with whatever ligature was within reach- shoelaces, sweatshirt strings, electrical cord, or cloth. He wrapped their bodies in these ligatures and abandoned them at or near the crime scene, usually on rooftops, empty lots, or in apartments. The bodies were not hidden, and some were discovered nude or partially dressed.
3) The investigation and arrest
The investigation started in the summer of 1999 following a string of murders in Brooklyn's Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods, according to reports. Police first arrested another homeless man who was a friend of the area's s*x workers.
The man later shared information regarding Johnson as one who was fixated on sadomasochistic s*x. When police questioned Johnson, he declined to submit a DNA sample and claimed not to know the victims. Nonetheless, detectives got his saliva after they witnessed him spit on the ground.
According to reports, DNA evidence connected Johnson with four of the victims. On August 5, 2000, Brooklyn Strangler was arrested and subsequently admitted to killing five women.
4) Motive and psychological profile
According to reports, Johnson's confessions revealed a motive at the personal level. He asserted that he committed the killings because he hated his mother, specifically targeting victims on Thursdays since it used to be his mother's day off, and it became a day he claimed to despise.
Three of the killings were on Thursdays, and a fourth probably was as well. Brooklyn Strangler confessed to having s*x with at least three victims before they were killed and showed little regret, except for his first victim, Laura Nusser, whom he claimed to feel sorry for and wished to apologize to her family.
5) Conviction and Imprisonment
According to reports, Vincent Johnson pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree murder and five counts of second-degree murder.
Brooklyn Strangler was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and is being kept at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. Johnson's conviction settled the chain of violent crimes that had impaired Brooklyn's vulnerable communities.
For more details about the Brooklyn Strangler, watch Randomness Reloaded.
