Milton Johnson
| Milton Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 15, 1950 Joliet, Illinois, United States |
| Other names | The Weekend murderer |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life with no possibility of parole |
| Imprisoned at | Menard Correctional Center |
Milton Johnson (born May 15, 1950) is an American serial killer who committed up to ten known murders in Will County, Illinois. An abundance of evidence linked him to the crimes, including the murder of two police officers.
On Saturday July 16, 1983, at approximately 3:25 a.m. at 143rd and State, Will County Auxiliary Sergeant Denis Foley and Auxiliary Deputy Stephen Mayer were mortally wounded in an ambush slaying.
The deputies had been shot in what they thought was going to be a routine stop to help a motorist. They stopped to assist the driver of a pickup truck. The rear of the truck was blocking part of the road, while its front bumper was up against a red car parked in a rutted turn-around area. As the officers approached, their assailant said, "We need a jump."
When the officers exited their vehicle, the gunman suddenly shot both of them. Mayer died shortly after being shot; Foley was seriously wounded in the throat. A few minutes later another car came around the curve and slowed down. The gunman opened up on them. The driver was killed; a female passenger was shot six times. The car rolled on down the road and into a bean field. Wounded and frightened, the female went looking for help.
The deputies were in trouble but they couldn't be found and other officers were frantically searching in the darkness of rural Homer Township. Between 3:25 a.m. and 3:40 a.m., county police officers searched for Foley and Mayer.
Sergeant Foley, badly injured from one bullet that had shattered his mouth and teeth, attempted to speak over the police radio microphone. Most of his words were garbled. He couldn't give his location. He was instructed to turn on his siren and shine his spotlight in the air. Meanwhile, a farmer who lived in the area called county police to say he could hear racket behind his buildings, including a siren. Officers met the citizen and less than a minute later, the site of the ambush was located.
After finding the two auxiliary deputies, responding units located the bodies of a 25-year-old female, and a 32-year-old male who had been in the car parked in front of the pickup truck.
The auxiliary officers' guns and wallets were missing. Mayer's body had been dragged across the gravel road and left in a ditch. In a reconstruction of the crime scene, it was determined that before he died, Mayer, as he leaned on 301A, had attempted to flag down the last car that was also ambushed. "Stop! Stop!" he had called out. As he was calling for help, the gunman had zigzagged between the front of the pickup truck and the squad car firing shots at the car. The female survivor saw a man in a uniform shirt shouting at them. She thought the officer was shooting at them.
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