Brian Carrick

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## Brian Carrick

### Classification

Presumed homicide

**Brian C. Carrick** was a teenager who vanished from his workplace in 2002. A man was convicted of his murder, but this conviction was later overturned.

## Background

Brian was a junior at Johnsburg high school and was described as well-behaved. He was one of 14 siblings. When he disappeared, he left behind over $1,000 he had saved up.

Brian worked at Val’s Foods, which was across the street from his house. He was allegedly selling marijuana provided to him by his coworker, Mario Casciaro. His other coworker, Shane Lamb, was also selling marijuana provided by Casciaro.

## Case

Between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. on December 20, 2002, Brian left his home to go to Val’s Foods and cash his paycheck. He returned home with pizza and soda but left again between 6:30 and 7:00 and was seen by multiple employees at Val’s Foods at various times that evening. He was never seen leaving the store and was not there when it closed around 8:00 that night. No one entered or exited the store between then and when it opened the next morning.

A significant amount of Brain’s blood was found in and around the produce cooler room at Val’s, as well as on some boxes in the trash compactor and produce boxes throughout the store. An employee had walked through the area around 7:00 p.m. the night of Brian’s disappearance and did not see any blood, although there was water on the floor, and he testified that he was not paying much attention. The blood of another employee, Robert Render, was also found. Robert was later found with Brian’s blood on his shoe.

In June 2007, Mario Casciaro, Brain’s coworker, was charged with perjury in his case. It was alleged that he had lied when he told a grand jury that he did not know how Brian was killed or what happened to his body. Casciaro was acquitted of this charge.

In February 2010, Casciaro was charged with Brian’s murder. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on the testimony of Shane Lamb, who had been given full immunity. Lamb, who had an extensive violent criminal history, testified that Casciaro had brought him to Val’s Foods to intimidate Brian, who allegedly owed Casciaro drug money. Lamb claimed to have punched Brian, which caused his death. He stated that Brian’s body was buried, dug up, dismembered, and thrown into a river in Iowa. He later recanted his confession and claimed he was just saying what prosecutors told him to.

Casciaro’s first trial ended in a mistrial with jurors locked 11-1 in favor of convicting him. However, at his second trial, he was found guilty of felony murder by intimidation and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

In September 2015, his conviction was overturned and it was ruled that he could not be tried again in Brian’s case. The court determined that no reasonable juror could find Casciaro guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, as the prosecution did not have enough evidence and their case was flawed. Casciaro was released from prison and now works as an attorney.

## Characteristics

* Brown hair.
* Brown eyes.
* Surgical scar on his chest.
* Had a heart condition and may be in need of medical attention.

## Clothing

* Black "Adidas" jacket with stripes on the sleeves.
* Orange sweatshirt.
* Blue jeans.

## Sources

* Brian Carrick at *NamUs*
* Brian Carrick at *NCMEC*
* Brian Carrick at the *Charley Project*
* Brian Carrick at the *Doe Network*
* Mario Casciaro on Wikipedia
* PEOPLE V. CASCIARO (2015)