IL IL - Brian C. Carrick, 17, Johnsburg, 20 December 2002

PonderingThings

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http://www.nampn.org/cases/carrick_brian.html

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Brian C. Carrick

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

# Missing Since: December 20, 2002 from Johnsburg, Illinois
# Classification: Endangered Missing
# Date Of Birth: September 13, 1985
# Age: 17
# Height: 5'9"
# Weight: 135 lbs.
# Hair Color: Brown
# Eye Color: Brown
# Race: White
# Gender: Male
# Distinguishing Characteristics: Curly hair. Surgical
scar on chest.
# Medical Conditions: Heart condition which may require
medical attention.
# Clothing: Black Adidas jacket with stripes on the sleeves
from the shoulder to the waist, an orange sweatshirt, and
blue jeans.
# Case Number: USILM02F0887

Details of Disappearance
Carrick left his home in the 4000 block of North Johnsburg Road in Johnsburg, Illinois between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. on December 20, 2002 and headed across the street to Val's Foods, where he worked as a stocker. He had asked a coworker to switch hours with him that night, but was turned down. No one saw Carrick leave the store. He was reported missing by his parents at 2:45 p.m. the next day. They had noticed his absence at 8:00 a.m. that morning, but had thought he was at work until 11:45 when someone from Val's Foods called them and they realized Carrick was not there.
The morning after Brian's disappearance, a stock boy at Val's found a pool of blood in a walk-in freezer in the produce department and alerted the store manager. The manager said he saw the blood, which was diluted with water dripping from an overhead cooling unit. He told the stock boy to mop it up. The manager, who at the time was not aware Brian was missing, said he assumed the blood came from raw meat stored in the cooler. It was enough blood "that he had to mop it up three times with a mop and wring it out each time". Detectives were able to get traces of blood from the mopped floor. DNA tests confirmed that blood was Brian's.

In May 2003, Brian's mother held an assembly at his high school to ask for information from the student body. Police received a few calls afterward, but no solid leads. Brian was one of 14 children in his family. Foul play is strongly suspected, and officers have not ruled out drugs as a possible motive.

************************

Nice article about Brian's mom and how they are coping here:

http://www.nwherald.com/CommunitySection/klapperich/338510193669813.php

Exerpt:
The mother of 14 children, including Brian, Terry Carrick knows whereof she speaks when it comes to the different phases and difficulties that can arise.

She has no delusions that Brian was perfect, she says. But he was an enterprising kid, friendly to others at school, hardworking, a boy with a stolen and untold future.

Although she appreciates kind thoughts, words and prayers, Terry Carrick requires no sympathy, so certain is she that God, in his time, will reveal the truth.

She prays for forgiveness for those who know but have not revealed what became of Brian. She prays for them to gain the courage to speak.

All signs point to foul play. Yet Terry prays for forgiveness for those involved.
 
A few more details:

Additional drops of blood were located both inside and outside the cooler, on several produce boxes throughout the store, and on some boxes that had been put in the trash compactor. DNA testing confirmed that the blood was Carrick's.
Carrick was last seen wearing a black Adidas jacket with several white stripes on the sleeves from the shoulder down to the wrists, blue jeans, and an orange sweatshirt. He was seemingly in good spirits the day he disappeared. He cashed his paycheck, bought pizza, and told a cashier he planned to rent some videos.
Carrick's family and friends say it is uncharacteristic of him to leave without warning. He is described as a well-behaved teenager and an exemplary employee. He was a junior at Johnsburg High School at the time that he disappeared. When he vanished he left behind about $1000 in the bank which he had saved from years of working at various jobs such as lawn-mowing and at Val's Foods. Investigators believe his disappearance may have been drug-related. Carrick could probably not have used drugs due to his heart condition, but police are exploring the possibility that he was selling them. His parents do not believe he was involved with drugs, but several of Carrick's friends have allegedly been involved.
Police suspect foul play in Carrick's case; they believe he was beaten to death inside the store but the perpetrator may not have meant for him to die. His family also believes he was murdered, and have held a memorial mass for him. Carrick is the eleventh child of fourteen in his family, eight of whom have worked at Val's Foods. His case remains unsolved. Some reports state that Carrick was last seen walking to a video store.
http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/carrick_brian.html
 
What I find interesting about this case is... if you were going to beat someone that bad, in a public store,that a quantity of blood was found in more than one location.... why take the body with you? You are already risking being found out if anyone had taken a peek inside, or seen you in the store.

Did they panic when he had a heart attack and died... then they decided to get rid of the body? Did no one pay attention to "customers" in the store? Did no one see a vehicle (I'm assuming a vehicle would have to be used to transport the body) being loaded with a body?

Its an odd twist.....
 
This all happened not very far from me. I drive through Johnsburg often and just did Saturday evening. Everytime I drive past the Carrick home (and Val's Foods right across the street) I always feel for his family and wonder where Brian's body could be, as the evidence points to foul play. I remember Brian's missing poster in every business I went into. I hope there can be some answers soon.
 
joellegirl said:
This all happened not very far from me. I drive through Johnsburg often and just did Saturday evening. Everytime I drive past the Carrick home (and Val's Foods right across the street) I always feel for his family and wonder where Brian's body could be, as the evidence points to foul play. I remember Brian's missing poster in every business I went into. I hope there can be some answers soon.
What size grocery store is this?
 
Yaya said:
What size grocery store is this?

It is a smaller type grocery store, not as big as a Jewel or Safeway etc. but not tiny either. It has been there since the late 70's-early 80's (I think--I definitely remember it there in the 80's) and has a small strip mall attached to it. It sets back a ways from the road. Brian's home is right aross the street. It is an old farmhouse. Even with all the building going on in the area there is still some open land and farmland around.
 
joellegirl said:
It is a smaller type grocery store, not as big as a Jewel or Safeway etc. but not tiny either. It has been there since the late 70's-early 80's (I think--I definitely remember it there in the 80's) and has a small strip mall attached to it. It sets back a ways from the road. Brian's home is right aross the street. It is an old farmhouse. Even with all the building going on in the area there is still some open land and farmland around.
I wonder if there were any semi load deliveries that evening?
 
Just wanted to add there is another missing person from Johnsburg, IL named Edward Demers. I don't think his disappearance is related to Brian Carrick but Johnsburg is a small little town and to have two missing people is interesting. Demers has Alzheimers (sp?) and wandered away from him home about 10 months after Brian Carrick vanished. He hasn't been seen since(except from passersby who didn't realize he was a missing person that day) and like LE did for Brian, there was an extensive search over the area.

link:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/demers_edward.html
 
joellegirl said:
It is a smaller type grocery store, not as big as a Jewel or Safeway etc. but not tiny either. It has been there since the late 70's-early 80's (I think--I definitely remember it there in the 80's) and has a small strip mall attached to it. It sets back a ways from the road. Brian's home is right aross the street. It is an old farmhouse. Even with all the building going on in the area there is still some open land and farmland around.
Thanks Joellegirl... the reason I was asking... it just seems unreal to think that no one in the store could say they saw him leave or had any further helpful information.

I can't for the life of me see how someone with his blood on them walked all around the store spreading his blood DNA to produce boxes and other areas. I just get the feeling the killer was someone who worked at the store or known to someone who worked there.

Very few people go behind these businesses at night... they are basically deserted in back. Most employees park in the front parking area instead of the back. The body could have been taken out a delivery door without being seen... it would have already been dark.

My mind is working overtime on the possible scenarios. I'm not usually a conspiracy theory kind of person... but in this case I think more than one person in that store knows what happened to Brian.
 
docwho3 mentioned the possibility of a delivery truck, and walk-ins are usually located near the back door. What if, for some reason, the produce-delivery guy had a run-in with him in the walk-in, killed him and put him in the back of the truck, and then continued delivering the produce, smearing blood on the boxes.
 
Another case of I don't know.....
I was struck by how close the sketch looks to Brian... but there is very little information, and the height is off by 5". Age is right though. Also if he was as injured as they reported, how did he get from Illinois to California... and why?

carrick_brian2.jpg

Brian on Left, John Doe on right
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/727umca.html

Unidentified White Male
* The victim was discovered on April 3, 2004 in Northridge, Los Angeles County, California
* Skeletal Remains
* Formerly Hot Case # 42

Vital Statistics
* Estimated age: 15-23 years old
* Approximate Height and Weight: 5'4"; weight unknown.

Case History
The victim was located on a horse trail near 12100 Tampa Avenue in Northridge, California on April 3, 2004.

I haven't yet contacted anyone about this possible match.... what do you think?
 
I think the resemblance is very scary. It is possible. It could not hurt to contact the authorities. It is possible that he was killed in Johnsburg and his body taken to California. Especially if the delivery driver theory holds true. It is also possible he was taken by force and kept alive for whatever reason. Just a thought...
 
The resemblance is striking, but the 5 inch height difference is hard to overcome. Forensics are not usually off by that much.

I don't think it would have been a produce delivery person due to the fact they usually don't enter the store to put out produce they just unload it in the back.
 
The 5" height difference is a problem no way around it.

The produce driver could have unloaded the goods, and other employees could have brought them into different locations in the store. After all, the manager had an employee clean up the blood in the cooler not realising that Brian was missing - how much other work had been done before the blood was discovered?

Also, if Brian was involved in drugs, as some articles mention, is it possible he was beaten and brought to a "Kingpin" who is in California - to account for something? I know that is very "movieish" but this whole case is weird.

I decided I would at least forward the tip. Problem is that when I called the police department I asked them if they had an email address. THEY DON'T. Because the web addresses are so long I would prefer to send them in writing.... so I have the option of faxing the info tomorrow, from the office.

Instead I emailed the tip to the newspaper collumnist, as she is a friend of Brian's mom, and asked her to forward it to the right people. Worse case is that she won't (and I doubt that) and I'll just have to fax it tomorrow.

At least I tried....
 
I admit I had not thought of him answering to any bigshot but I did wonder about the reports that he may have been involved in dealing so I wondered if he might have been either selling to some of the drivers bringing in loads or else maybe one of them was his supplier. Maybe he owed money to his supplier and that might account for him wanting to trade off working that particular evening when maybe that driver was bringing in a load (he was turned down.) Or maybe a driver could have wanted some dope and was willing to beat him to get to know the whereabouts of his stash on the premises?

I guess I should take a moment to state that I am keeping in mind that the tips reported about his possible drug dealing may not be true especially if some local people wanted to smear his character to obscure some local beef they may have had with him.
PonderingThings said:
The 5" height difference is a problem no way around it.

The produce driver could have unloaded the goods, and other employees could have brought them into different locations in the store. After all, the manager had an employee clean up the blood in the cooler not realising that Brian was missing - how much other work had been done before the blood was discovered?

Also, if Brian was involved in drugs, as some articles mention, is it possible he was beaten and brought to a "Kingpin" who is in California - to account for something? I know that is very "movieish" but this whole case is weird.

I decided I would at least forward the tip. Problem is that when I called the police department I asked them if they had an email address. THEY DON'T. Because the web addresses are so long I would prefer to send them in writing.... so I have the option of faxing the info tomorrow, from the office.

Instead I emailed the tip to the newspaper collumnist, as she is a friend of Brian's mom, and asked her to forward it to the right people. Worse case is that she won't (and I doubt that) and I'll just have to fax it tomorrow.

At least I tried....
 
DocWho that is an intrigueing possibility too! I can see something along those lines happening - at least it explains why he would be taken from the store after being beaten!

I decided to send this tip to the LA Coroner office as well.... they have an online form that routes it to the right person - problem is it doesn't work! :banghead:

I ended up going through their email list and picking someone that did "decendant identification" and explained why I was emailing them!

It really shouldn't be this tough to make a suggestion! I kinda feel like the technology is doing this to me ----> :crazy:
 
PonderingThings said:
The 5" height difference is a problem no way around it.
The produce driver could have unloaded the goods, and other employees could have brought them into different locations in the store. After all, the manager had an employee clean up the blood in the cooler not realising that Brian was missing - how much other work had been done before the blood was discovered?
Good point... well taken.
I'm willing to admit when I have been spanked! :blowkiss:
 
Yaya said:
Good point... well taken.
I'm willing to admit when I have been spanked! :blowkiss:
I hope you didn't really feel spanked.
I think you are all possibly on the right track as to how the blood spotted boxes got into the regular shopping part of the store.

Note to readers:
Let me take a moment to also point out a few things about about grocery stores (having briefly worked in one at one time):Note:I added boldling in the following quotes:
Sorce at http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/carrick_brian.html

. . . a half-liter of watery blood in the produce cooler. . .
Most stores have a produce cooler in the back noncustomer storage area of the store and they bring out produce from there to the main shopping part of the store as needed, to restock shelves and produce bins.


. . . Additional drops of blood were located both inside and outside the cooler, on several produce boxes throughout the store, and on some boxes that had been put in the trash compactor. DNA testing confirmed that the blood was Carrick's. . .
The trash compacter in a grocery store is usually a large machine (again located in the back noncustomer storage area of the store) used to smash cardboard boxes into a bale made of many very flat boxes. It is not impossible for a body to have been placed in a bale of compacted boxes and hauled off. Usually boxes of produce are brought in by semi and are unloaded onto the dock and hauled a few feet away to a temp staging/unpacking area. Boxes are then unpacked and the empty boxes disposed of which sometimes requires the use of cardboard cutter (usually a razor sharp bladed cutting tool.) Unpacked collapsed boxes are put into the compacter.

It is not imposible for him to have cut himself and dripped blood everywhere in the back noncustomer storage area of the store but not likely as this would have been highly discouraged by management. Also I read in this same article that "Police suspect foul play in Carrick's case; they believe he was beaten to death inside the store " so I will not dispute that. L.E. probably had cause to make such a determination.

If they are right, he was beaten and killed in the back noncustomer storage area of the store and then moved and the boxes with the most blood put in the trash compacter to hide them from sight. Not sure if the body was placed in the produce cooler to keep it fresh while the rest of the shipment was unloaded (a refrigerated tuck would make an ideal way to transport a body away) or at least while the perps figured out what to do with the body but its a possibillity.

Also it is a possibility that a produce cooler is more sound proofed due to the extra insulation in the walls.

Why wasn't the crime scene cleaned up more thoroughly? Maybe they were inturrupted and were afraid of being caught or maybe a truck had to stay on schedule to avoid suspicion.

Not knowing the time elapsed before L.E. searched the store over I am a little bothered by blood spattered boxes having been all over the store. It is true that a grocery store moves lots of boxes per day but it does take a finite amount of time to do so and usually employees are careful not to gross out the customers by putting bloody boxes out for them to see. If that business was really being run that poorly someone needs to do some inspections on that store.
 
Yaya I loved the spanked line, and truly did laugh out loud! I hope you truly don't feel that way as that wasn't the intention. I appreciate your contribution!

Doc I like your way of thinking - and thank you for the information about the different areas of a grocery store... point is that although L.E. called it "spatter", the reality is that it could just be little drops of blood on the boxes - nothing noticeable unless you were looking for it.

... I gotta wonder how "technological" this village is as their police department doesn't even have email. Although I don't doubt that their police officers are well trained, they aren't necessairly trained to the "CSI" tv level.
 

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