Brian Carrick was last seen leaving his home in the 4000 block of North Johnsburg Road in Johnsburg, Illinois, on December 20, 2002. He was headed to Val's Foods, where he worked as a stocker. Brian had asked a coworker to switch hours with him that night but was turned down. He was reported missing by his parents the next day after they noticed his absence at 8:00 a.m. when he failed to arrive at work.

The day after Brian's disappearance, a pool of about a half-liter of watery blood was found in the produce cooler of Val's Foods. Additional drops of blood were found both inside and outside the cooler, on several produce boxes throughout the store, and on some boxes in the trash compactor. DNA testing confirmed that the blood was Brian's.

In June 2007, Mario A. Casciaro, Brian's supervisor at Val's Foods, was charged with perjury in connection with his grand jury testimony about Brian's disappearance. In August 2008, another former Val's Foods employee was charged with concealing Brian's homicide, but the case against him was later dropped.

Casciaro was tried in August 2009, where his friend, Alan Lippert, stated Casciaro told him Brian owed him drug money and that Casciaro covered up the death. While Casciaro was on trial for the charges, the judge tossed them out, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove its case.

In February 2010, Casciaro was charged with first-degree murder in Brian's case. Authorities believe Casciaro, Lamb, and possibly others were involved in the homicide and cover-up. At Casciaro's trial in January and February 2012, Lamb stated that he, Brian, and Casciaro were selling marijuana and Brian owed Casciaro money. The three argued in the store's cooler, and Lamb struck Brian in the head, knocking him unconscious. Casciaro told him to leave and he never saw Brian again.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict, deadlocking at 11 to 1 in favor of convicting Casciaro of murder. The prosecution announced they would retry the case. In 2013, Casciaro was convicted of murder, but in September 2015, a court of appeal overturned his conviction and ruled that the prosecution could not try Casciaro again, citing insufficient evidence to convict and serious flaws in the prosecution's case.

Brian's family has long believed he was murdered, and they have held a memorial ceremony for him. He is the eleventh child of fourteen in his family. His case remains unsolved, and foul play is suspected.