Terror Town USA

The Untold Story of Joliet's Notorious Serial Killer

By: John Ferak

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

New from the best-selling author of Wrecking Crew!

During the early morning hours of July 17, 1983, fatigue became a factor for the young couple from central Illinois who spent their day under the hot sun at Marriott’s Great America amusement park north of Chicago. On their drive home, the tired teenagers pulled to the shoulder of Interstate 55 to get a restful sleep. As the teens slept inside their car under the moon and the stars, a dangerous force of evil lurked in the shadows, parking directly behind them.

The summer of 1983 was like no other in Joliet, Ill., a hard-working, rough-and-tough blue-collar industrial city an hour’s drive southwest of Chicago. It was one of the hottest summers on record for Joliet, and an elusive serial-killing madman kept piling up the body count as he showed no signs of being caught.

One overnight killing spree claimed five victims, including members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The following month brought more bloodshed: a quadruple murder inside a small Joliet shop best known for its pottery classes.

The plague of senseless violence sparked the controversial New York City-based Guardian Angels to mobilize foot patrols in Joliet, generating more unwanted news media attention for the community. Even the National Enquirer produced its own sensational piece, labeling Joliet “Terror Town, USA”.

Residents shuddered with horror. Determined detectives worked in overdrive, trying to find an overlooked clue or two. Finally, when an arrest seemed to come out of nowhere, area citizens breathed a sigh of relief. Authorities linked the so-called stone-cold killing machine to a chilling count of 14 homicides, plus three women who miraculously survived their agonizing encounters.

But with multiple murder trials on the horizon, it remained anyone’s guess whether Milton Johnson, whose family nicknamed him “Big’un”, short for “Big One”, was guilty of mass murder. If so, would he die by means of lethal injection at the Illinois Department of Corrections?

©2021 John Ferak (P)2021 WildBlue Press

Excellent read

Being from Joliet and remembering his horrific crimes and actually
spending time in the Will County jail with this monster, I can say
the author did a great job.

True Crime

Listening to this book was hard at times. The brutalness of the killer, chilling. The reader tells the story with a straightforward "police detective, Just the fax" way but has his humanity show through.

Recommended

The author provides a detailed and accurate account of the many crimes committed by convicted serial killer Milton Johnson. This monster spent thirteen years in prison for a violet crime, but was paroled. However, the summer of 1983 was like no other for the residents of Joliet, Illinois. Johnson would go on a murderous spree that devastated the community. Ferak's shares the extremely disturbing story of a demented psychopath. The very talented Kevin Pierce provides his always amazing narration. Highly recommended for fans of the true crime genre.

Frightening, Informative, superb narration

Ferak draws you deeply into the lives of the characters, both the innocent and the guilty. The detail is informative. My only criticism is the repetitive nature of the book.Some parts are presented at the end of one chapter and repeat at the beginning of the next. That was distracting. As usual, Narrator Kevin Pierce is magnificent. Often I’ll purchase an Audible book because Pierce is reading however lousy the writing might be.

Psychopath off the streets!

The narrator had a great voice and tone. The story was one I hadn't heard before. Great ending to a whacko serving a life sentence!