Michael Johnson, Accused Serial Killer, Arrested in Chicago

(May 31) -- An accused serial killer in Chicago was charged with multiple counts of murder Saturday, after DNA linked him to three strangulations that occurred on the city's South Side, police said. Investigators are awaiting the results of additional tests to see if the man could be responsible for other unsolved cases.

Michael Johnson, 24, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, police said in a weekend press release.

All three of the slain women, who police say lived "high-risk lifestyles," were found dead in vacant buildings in the Roseland and West Pullman neighborhoods.

The first victim, Eureka Jackson, 38, was found dead in November 2008. The second victim, Leslie Brown, 30, was discovered slain on Jan. 11, and the third victim, Siobhan Hampton, 30, was found on March 30.

DNA tests are still pending in the death of a fourth woman -- Lutelda Michelle Hudson, 29 -- whose body was found on May 16. Officials are also waiting to see if any hits develop from national databases.

Johnson first became a person of interest in the killings on May 22, when he was arrested on suspicion of simple battery after a 46-year-old woman came forward and told police he had assaulted her in March. The woman did not report the incident until she recognized Johnson as her attacker and notified police.

"Before I knew it, he had threw me on the ground and was sitting on top of me, choking me," the woman, who has not been identified, told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He choked me till I died -- at least he thought I was dead."

Similarities between the March incident and the unsolved slayings prompted police to obtain a DNA swab from Johnson. On Thursday, police were notified that his DNA was a match with three of the cases, and he was taken into custody at his home.

According to the Sun-Times, Johnson is 6 feet 3 inches tall, 220 pounds and missing three fingers on his right hand. He lives with his mother, three sisters and several other relatives. Prior to his arrest, he was planning to attend Westwood College in the fall. Police say he has no prior criminal convictions.

"We're just so happy that they caught this guy just so it won't happen to nobody else," Leslie Brown's cousin, Elaine Brown, told ABC 7 News upon learning of Johnson's arrest.

Johnson, who has given no statements to police since his arrest, made his first court appearance Sunday. During the brief proceeding, Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos-Ciesil ordered Johnson jailed without bond.