http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/12/1...88694348634.txt
Five years later, healing elusive for Carrick family
By SARAH SUTSCHEK -
ssutschek@nwherald.com
Comments (4 comment(s))
JOHNSBURG Terry Carrick wants to forgive whoever killed her son. She just doesnt know who it is.
Rather than closure, Id like to fulfill the circle of forgiveness, she said.
Four years ago, it was standing-room only at St. John the Baptist Church for a memorial Mass remembering Brian Carrick. A family deeply rooted in their Catholic faith, the Carricks have relied on their beliefs to help them survive the loss of one of their 14 children.
They focus on the lighthearted moments they had with their son.
When he was little, Brian Carrick tried to sell his siblings raffle tickets to see who would move into the bedroom vacated by a brother just one example why they believe he might have been an entrepreneur.
He loved Christmas, and took it upon himself to set up a Nativity set, moving the Wise Men closer each day.
Today is the five-year anniversary of the day Johnsburg resident Brian Carrick, then 17, disappeared. He last was seen walking into Vals Foods about 6:45 p.m. Dec. 20, 2002. No one reported seeing him leave.
I did keep shopping there for the first six months, just to see if I could hear anything, see anything, his mother said.
Terry Carrick no longer goes into Vals, but she sees it every day from across the street in the white farmhouse where she and her husband, Bill, raised their children.
The thoughts just come and go, she said. There is no such thing as closure. Each day gets easier, but its a hole in your heart that never closes.
Brian Carrick still is considered a missing person, but the case now has the added descriptor of possible homicide, Johnsburg Police Chief Kenneth Rydberg said.
Theres enough evidence pointing that its a homicide, he said.
Blood found in a produce cooler that DNA tests matched with Brian Carrick, the fact that his phone never was used, and statements from individuals point to that conclusion, Rydberg said.
In June, 24-year-old Mario Casciaro of McHenry was indicted on nine counts of perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury about Brian Carricks disappearance. Casciaro worked with Brian Carrick at Vals.
Casciaro allegedly told another man, Alan Lippert, that Brian Carricks body was dismembered and thrown into a river in Iowa, among other statements. But when asked before a grand jury whether he made that claim to Lippert, Casciaro denied it.
Perjury is a Class 3 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Last week, Casciaro asked a judge to throw out three of the perjury charges on the basis that his answers were not critical to the Carrick investigation.
Casciaro next will be in court Dec. 28 when prosecutors will ask a judge to toss the motion to dismiss. Meanwhile, he is free on $50,000 bond.
Terry and Bill Carrick have been to several of Casciaros court dates since the indictment.
He wont look at us, Bill Carrick said. He has never made eye contact once.
They are reluctant to discuss the grim scenario outlined in the indictment and do not denigrate Casciaro, confident that someday they will know what happened to their son.
If he does know or have some information, then I dont know how hes been able to keep quiet for so long, Terry Carrick said. When the truth comes out and it will well have answers.
Prosecutors have revealed that they have audio recordings of conversations between Lippert and Casciaro that were made without Casciaros knowledge.
The recordings entire transcript has not been publicly disclosed.
I think weve made some strides, but certainly not enough, States Attorney Louis Bianchi said. Murder is murder. Weve got an obligation to continue this and we will for as long as we have to.
The police have received three or four leads this year, compared to about 300 in the first four months after Brian Carricks disappearance, Rydberg said.
But the case is not cold; its still wide open, he said.
The grand jury locked in testimony from witnesses or people who were there when he disappeared, Rydberg said.
When Lou Bianchi agreed to convene the grand jury, that was a big step for this case and thats what was able to bring us the audio recordings, he said.
A flier with Brian Carricks picture from when he went missing still hangs on Rydbergs wall, an unnecessary constant reminder.
I know this was a big year for the case, Rydberg said. Eventually, I believe this case will be solved.
As they have done since Brian Carrick went missing, the Carricks continue to plead for anyone with any information, no matter how innocuous it might seem, to come forward.
Its going to be something they think is innocent and has nothing to do with the case thats going to bust it open, Terry Carrick said.
Complete strangers still approach the Carricks, telling the family they think about Brian Carrick and say a little prayer every time they drive by the big, white farmhouse.
Those prayers, someday, are going to open somebodys heart, Terry Carrick said.
Just as strangers have reached out to them, Bill and Terry Carrick have reached out to parents who also have lost a child.
On occasion, they have attended the wakes of young people some of whom they did not know to tell the parents that each day grows a little easier.
In my mind, Terry Carrick said, that was healing.
Today marks five years since then 17-year-old Brian Carrick disappeared after visiting his workplace, Vals Foods in Johnsburg. In June, a 24-year-old McHenry man and a former co-worker of Carricks, Mario Casciaro, was charged with nine counts of perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury about his knowledge of Carricks fate. It was the first arrest in the longstanding missing person case, to which police now have added the descriptor possible homicide.
A $25,000 reward still is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for Carricks disappearance. Johnsburg Police urge anyone with information to call them at 815-385-6024 or CrimeStoppers at 800-762-7867.
I'm afraid I have tunnel vision on this case and I'm not seeing the whole picture. 
