John Wayne Gacy was arrested 40 years ago in a killing spree that claimed 33 victims and shattered the illusion of the safe suburban community By William Lee
PUBLISHED: December 16, 2018
In the shadow of O’Hare International Airport, the winding, looping streets and small-town character of unincorporated Norwood Park Township look much the way they did in December 1978.
But gone are the lines of gawking bystanders, desperate families of missing young men and carloads of curiosity-seekers who choked the streets in the days before that long-ago Christmas, trying to catch a glimpse of the murder house. John Wayne Gacy’s confession to the rape and murder of more than 30 people didn’t just awaken America to a nightmare hidden in its own backyard. The discovery 40 years ago of the dank, muddy mass grave underneath Gacy's yellow brick ranch house at 8213 W. Summerdale Ave. forever shattered the image of the safe suburban community.
A police search for missing Maine West sophomore Robert Piest led investigators to 36-year-old Gacy, a “stocky, bull necked contractor,” described by neighbors and business associates as a pillar of the community: a likable, boastful divorced businessman and Democratic precinct captain who hosted themed neighborhood parties and entertained children as a clown named Pogo.
“(The public) would feel much more comfortable if Gacy was this type of creepy, sequestered ghoul that was unkempt and heinous,” Detective Sgt. Jason Moran of the Cook County sheriff’s office, who is a point man on the Gacy case, said recently. “But instead, he dressed as a clown and bounced kids on his knee. He would knock at your door and say vote for my candidate.”
Gacy’s nice-guy persona masked something far more sinister. Once they were safely restrained — usually in a pair of handcuffs as he demonstrated a “trick” he learned as a clown — Gacy’s easy smile melted away, revealing a cold, growling predator who sexually assaulted his victims before strangling many of them with a knotted rope. He buried 29 of his 33 victims in trenches underneath and around his home and dumped four others from bridges once his property could hold no more bodies.
A photograph of Gacy's recreation room showing a Tiki-style bar was used at his murder trial. Gacy regularly hosted themed neighborhood parties. (Cook County Circuit Court)
This photograph of Gacy's bedroom was used at his trial in 1980. The serial killer was known to collect clown artwork. (Cook County Circuit Court) The horror in the tiny community and images of Gacy in his clown outfit were splashed across newspapers around the world, again associating Chicago with a killing spree 12 years after Richard Speck’s massacre of eight student nurses on the Far South Side. Gacy also had chilling similarities to another charming Chicago-area killer, Herman Webster Mudgett, also known as Dr. H.H. Holmes. Quite possibly the country’s first serial killer, he lured people into his personally designed “murder castle” in 1890s Englewood. But where Mudgett had trick rooms with vents that led to disposal rooms, Gacy had a knotted rope and a crawl space.
After Gacy’s house was razed in April 1979, the vacant lot became a notorious gathering place in the 1980s, drawing everyone from ghost hunters to rowdy neighborhood teenagers who late at night spun their wheels in the dirt lot and dumped beer bottles.
Now a new home sits on the lot, but the block still draws the occasional tourist or documentary crew, said one neighbor who lives across the street from the former Gacy property but asked not to be identified. “If you’ve got two guys in a car, or an out-of-state plate, it’s probably Gacy.”
Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1994, but the impact of his crimes went beyond tainting his neighborhood. In response to widespread criticism of local police for taking years to connect the missing victims to Gacy, federal and local law enforcement agencies began sharing information on runaways and sex offenders, implemented a national hotline and launched a computer database for missing people.
Police departments and schools nationwide joined forces for massive public service campaigns tasked with teaching parents and children about “stranger danger.”
Experts said the case also breathed new life into old, unevolved fears about homosexuality, still a taboo subject at the time. The combination of homosexuality and the heinous nature of the murders of young men lent a tawdry element to the tale that also attached shame to the victims and their families as the unfortunately named Gacy became a punchline in living rooms and on playgrounds across the country.
The victims
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Timothy Jack McCoy, 16 years old
Raised in Iowa and Nebraska, McCoy stops for a layover at the Greyhound bus station in the Loop while traveling home Jan. 3, 1972. Gacy confesses to picking up the youth -- his first known victim -- there, taking him back to his house and killing the boy by stabbing him in the chest. Investigators later find a large blood stain on the underside of the carpet in Gacy's bedroom. McCoy's distinctive teeth help Dr. Edward Pavlik, an Olympia Fields orthodontist, determine his identity in May 1986.
No. 28, 14 to 18 years old
This unidentified white male is 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-11. He disappears between Jan. 3, 1972, and July 31, 1975.
John Butkovich, 18 years old
Butkovich leaves his family's Chicago home July 31, 1975, heading for Gacy's house. The Lane Tech dropout had quit working for the contractor after eight months and planned to show up at 8213 W. Summerdale Ave. to demand his final paycheck. His body is the first to be uncovered by police, on Dec. 21, 1978, when Gacy leads officers to his garage and shows them where it is located. Butkovich's body is exhumed the next day and dental records confirm his identity.
Victim No. 5, 22 to 32 years old
The unidentified white male is 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-11. He disappears between Jan. 20, 1976, and March 15, 1977.
Darrel Samson, 19 years old
Not much is known about Samson's April 6, 1976, disappearance. His body is found in Gacy's crawl space and identified between November 1979 and March 1980.
Samuel Stapleton, 14 years old
One of Gacy's youngest victims, Stapleton disappears during a walk home from his sister's Chicago residence on May 13, 1976. His mother and stepfather report him missing the next day. One distinctive clue leads his family to believe Stapleton is dead -- a bracelet found on one of the bodies in Gacy's crawl space. Their suspicions are confirmed Nov. 14, 1979, when Stapleton is identified by an earlier X-ray of his head that includes outlines of his teeth.
Randall Reffett, 15 years old
It is not known what Reffett was doing before disappearing May 14, 1976. His body is found by police in the crawl space under the front door of Gacy's house on Dec. 25, 1978. Reffett is identified by an X-ray taken earlier at Weiss Memorial Hospital after he suffered a stab wound. The X-ray includes his jaw and some teeth, which confirms his identity on April 11, 1979, almost three years after he went missing.
Michael Bonnin, 17 years old
A fishing license found inside Gacy's house belonging to the Chicago resident is the first clue of what happened to Bonnin following his June 3, 1976, disappearance. A body in Gacy's crawl space is identified as Bonnin on Jan. 6, 1979.
William Carroll, 16 years old
The Chicago youth with a penchant for getting into trouble disappears on his older brother's birthday, June 13, 1976. Carroll had promised his father he would return in an hour before getting into a dark-colored car with three or four other teens. A body discovered in Gacy's crawl space is confirmed with dental records to be Carroll on March 17, 1979.
Victim No. 26, 22 to 30 years old
This unidentified white male is 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-6 and disappears between June 13, 1976, and Aug. 6, 1976.
Jimmy Haakenson, 16 years old
Haakenson, a native of St. Paul, Minn., calls his mother Aug. 5, 1976, to tell her he had arrived in Chicago -- their last conversation. DNA supplied by a brother and sister, at the encouragement of a nephew, confirms a body found almost 40 years prior in Gacy's crawl space belongs to Haakenson.
Victim No. 13, 17 to 21 years old
This unidentified white male is 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-2 and disappears between Aug. 6, 1976, and Oct. 5, 1976.
Victim No. 21, 21 to 27 years old
This unidentified white male is 5-foot-8 to 6 feet and disappears between Aug. 6, 1976, and Oct. 25, 1976.
Rick Johnston, 17 years old
The Bensenville resident and high school student is dropped off at the Aragon Ballroom by his mother to attend a concert Aug. 6, 1976. A body removed from Gacy's crawl space is confirmed by dental records to be Johnston on Jan. 1, 1979.
William George Bundy, 19 years old
An accomplished diver and gymnast at Senn, Bundy tells family members he's heading to a party in October 1976. They notice he leaves his wallet behind. For 35 years, his final destination would be unknown -- until a renewed effort by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart confirms with DNA provided by his siblings that Bundy is an unidentified Gacy victim. It's suspected Bundy worked for Gacy, but that hasn't been confirmed.
Michael Marino, 14 years old
Marino and longtime friend Kenneth Parker, 16, are last seen Oct. 24, 1976, near a restaurant at Clark Street and Diversey Parkway, an intersection where Gacy picked up many of his victims. Investigators believe the friends may have been killed at the same time because they shared a common grave under Gacy's house. Marino's mother submits two sets of dental records as well as X-rays, which are used to identify him March 29, 1980. Years later, she claims the remains she buried were not those of her son.
Kenneth Parker, 16 years old
Parker and longtime friend Michael Marino, 14, are last seen Oct. 24, 1976, near a restaurant at Clark Street and Diversey Parkway, an intersection where Gacy picked up many of his victims. Investigators believe the friends may have been killed at the same time because they shared a common grave under Gacy's house. Dental records and X-rays of an arm Parker had previously broken are used to identify him March 29, 1980. His body is exhumed in 2016 for DNA testing at the request of Marino's mother, who claims her son is not a Gacy victim.
Gregory Godzik, 17 years old
The Taft senior, who works for Gacy, leaves his house around 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 1976, for a date with his girlfriend but never returns. Friends find his abandoned car and his family hires a private investigator, but neither yield new information. Godzik's girlfriend goes to Gacy's house to question him about Godzik's disappearance, and Gacy says Godzik told him he was going to run away. Godzik's body is found in the crawl space and identified through dental records in January 1979. Gacy claims during his trial that Godzik dug his own grave.
John Szyc, 19 years old
It's unclear what Szyc was doing before disappearing Jan. 20, 1977. On Dec. 15, 1978, police find a Maine West High School ring in Gacy's home that belongs to Szyc. A body found in Gacy's crawl space is identified through dental records as Szyc in January 1979.
Jon Prestidge, 20 years old
Prestidge, a Kalamazoo, Mich., native comes to Chicago to visit a friend and finds work with a Chicago contractor -- it’s unknown if that contractor was Gacy. He’s last seen alive March 15, 1977, meeting a friend for coffee in a restaurant near Bughouse Square. Dental records provided by his mother confirm in January 1979 that a body found in the crawl space of Gacy's home is Prestidge.
Victim No. 10, 17 to 21 years old
This unidentified white male is 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-11 and disappears between March 15, 1977, and July 5, 1977.
Matthew Bowman, 18 years old
The Crystal Lake native is reported missing by his sister on July 5, 1977. A body found in Gacy's crawl space is confirmed to be Bowman on Jan. 27, 1979.
Robert Gilroy, 18 years old
The son of a Chicago police sergeant, Gilroy tells his parents he's going to a horseback riding lesson Sept. 15, 1977. The youth, however, hadn't attended his scheduled lessons for weeks. He is not reported missing until Sept. 27, 1977, since he was believed to have traveled to Maryland for a special class. The Gilroy family lives four blocks from Gacy's home, but no link between the two could be made. A body found in Gacy's crawl space is confirmed with dental records to be Gilroy on Jan. 6, 1979.
John Mowery, 19 years old
Mowery, who had just completed 18 months with the Marines when he returned to Chicago in early 1977, stops by his family's house to say he's going out for the night on Sept. 25, 1977 -- the last time he's seen alive. His sister, Judith, was murdered six years prior. A body found in Gacy's crawl space is confirmed with dental records to be Mowery on Jan. 27, 1979.
Russell Nelson, 21 or 22 years old
The engaged University of Minnesota student, Gacy's first victim from outside the Chicago area, calls his mother to wish her a happy birthday Oct. 17, 1977. He is not heard from again. Nelson's mother says her son came to Chicago with another young man to work for a contractor. It is unknown if that contractor is Gacy. Nelson is identified Jan. 6, 1979, through dental records.
Robert Winch, 18 years old
Winch moves to Chicago from Kalamazoo, Mich., where he had been in trouble after running away from a foster home. He is last seen alive Nov. 11, 1977. A distinctive "tiger's eye" belt buckle found inside Gacy's house is linked to Winch, but he's ultimately identified Sept. 12, 1979, by markings on bones that had been broken in an accident and then healed.
Tommy Boling, 20 years old
The married father of a 3-year-old son, Timmie, disappears Nov. 18, 1977, from his Chicago home. Boling's sister tells reporters he was using drugs at the time of his disappearance. His wedding ring and dental records confirm on Sept. 12, 1979, that a body found in Gacy's crawl space is Boling.
David Talsma, 20 years old
It's unknown what the Chicago resident was doing before disappearing Dec. 9, 1977. His body is recovered from Gacy's crawl space Nov. 16, 1979. On what would have been his 21st birthday, Talsma is identified through X-rays of his left arm.
William Kindred, 19 years old
The Chicago resident's girlfriend, Mary Jo Paulus, who met Kindred when he picked her and a friend up while they were hitchhiking on the North Side in July 1977, reports him missing after he fails to arrive at her house Feb. 16, 1978. Paulus knew Gacy, but it's unclear if Kindred did too. Police develop information that Kindred was picked up by Gacy near Diversey Parkway and Broadway. His body is found in Gacy's crawl space and his identity is confirmed with dental records May 21, 1979.
Timothy O'Rourke, 20 years old
O'Rourke disappears June 30, 1978. Friends say he frequented gay bars, which Gacy was known to also prowl. A body recovered June 30, 1978, near the Dresden Island Lock and Dam in the Illinois River -- just 3 miles from where two more bodies were found -- is identified through fingerprints as O'Rourke. His body also bears an unusual tattoo on the left arm that reads, "Tim Lee."
Frank Landingin, 19 years old
It's unknown what the Chicago resident was doing prior to his disappearance Nov. 4, 1978. Police link his death to Gacy on Dec. 26, 1978, after they discover some of his personal items inside Gacy's house. Landingin's naked body is found in the Des Plaines River at Channahon in Will County on Nov. 12, 1978. He had died of asphyxia after a pair of bikini briefs were stuffed in his throat. He is identified by his father, fingerprints and dental records.
James Mazzara, 20 years old
The Elmwood Park resident disappears Nov. 23, 1978. Gacy admits to dumping the body of a youth named "Mojo" into the Des Plaines River. (Mazzara's nickname is "Mojo.") Mazzara is Gacy's next-to-last victim. A cause of death could not be determined for Mazzara, whose body is found in the Des Plaines River at Channahon on Dec. 28, 1978. He is identified through his fingerprints.
Robert Piest, 15 years old
The Maine West honor student ends his shift at Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines on Dec. 11, 1978. Piest tells his mother to wait inside while he talks with a man outside about a construction job. He disappears. Inside Gacy's house on Dec. 13, 1978, police discover a receipt for a roll of film being developed. The Piest family says the receipt belongs to a female friend of their son. Police conclude Piest was in Gacy's house. Gacy is arrested Dec. 21, 1978, and Piest is believed to be the last of his victims. Gacy confesses to dumping Piest's body in the Des Plaines River. Piest's body is recovered and positively identified April 9, 1979.
Case ‘cleared’ but not ‘closed’
Inside battered boxes at Moran’s Little Village office are pictures from Gacy’s arrest four days before Christmas that capture not only grisly images but also serve as a time capsule of a more worry-free era, with items like Gacy’s Tiki-style mock bar set up inside his rec room. Aging photos show law enforcement officers and Chief Medical Examiner Robert Stein working in the muddy crawl space in street clothes, where officers today would be dressed in full-body hazmat suits.
Other photos show colorful merchandise inside Nisson Pharmacy on Touhy Avenue. Fifteen-year-old Piest worked at the family-owned shop, one of many that have since yielded largely to corporate giants like Walgreens and CVS. The teen told his mother, who’d come to pick him up from work so he could attend her birthday party, that he’d be right back after he talked to a man about a summer job that paid $5 an hour.
Piest’s slaying later that night at Gacy’s home was the thread that unraveled Gacy’s six-year rampage and brought Des Plaines police to his doorstep on Dec. 12, 1978. Authorities later found evidence at his home that linked him to the pharmacy, despite his early denials. Then a shocking confession to “maybe 30” murders confirmed a police officer’s suspicion about the strange odor inside Gacy’s home.
Retired sheriff’s investigator Phil Bettiker, one of the first officers to hear Gacy’s confession, has grim memories of the early days of the case, particularly when he and other sheriff’s officers began excavating bodies from underneath the home. Inside the muddy pit, days seemed to stretch on endlessly as reporters and others gathered outside waiting for the nightly body count. He remembered officers running over to a local McDonald’s to get fry baskets to sift the soil. And he recalled with a smile how a supervisor gave him and other officers the OK to help themselves to a case of Gacy’s beer after digging up his home for more than 12 hours.
Bettiker has since become a mentor to Moran, a one-man cold-case squad who was tasked by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in 2010 with finding out the names of the remaining unidentified victims.
“This case isn’t cleared and closed … it’s open in that all of his victims haven’t been identified,” Moran explained. He said there’s no new evidence that links Gacy to additional victims but adds “it’s hard to put it past someone so evil.”
WATCH: Sheriff Tom Dart, Detective Sgt. Jason Moran, Judge Sam Amirante and retired Cook County sheriff's investigator Phil Bettiker discuss the murders and the victims who are still unidentified
(Erin Hooley and Marianne Mather/Chicago Tribune)
Moran’s office inside a Cook County sheriff’s facility on South Rockwell Street is where boxes of Gacy relics are stored. The dingy storeroom contains work orders from Gacy’s business, PDM Contractors, and ledger books showing Gacy’s neat penmanship, along with more personal items, such as a dog-eared Bible and a wedding album from his first marriage.
In a cavernous warehouse in Cicero, items presented at his 1980 trial are stored, including jackets of two victims, Gacy’s hand-drawn map of the bodies buried on his property and the wooden frame of the trapdoor leading to the infamous crawl space. The wooden structure played a dramatic role during closing arguments, when prosecutor Terry Sullivan dropped photos of the identified victims into it before the jury.
Moran has also traced some of Gacy’s travels across the country, looking for missing men and boys along the way.
“Gacy, for a man of the ’70s, was a traveler. He would travel all over the country for business and pleasure, and how did he turn it off in other places?” Moran said, referring to his urges to kill.
He’s been able to identify two Gacy victims, William George Bundy and Minnesota native Jimmy Haakenson, and clear four suspected victims who died at the hands of other killers or of other causes. Six unidentified victims remain.
“I’ve solved more non-Gacy victims,” Moran said grimly. He has also helped isolate a DNA profile for Gacy that can be used in a law enforcement database to be matched with any as-of-yet undiscovered or unidentified skeletons that may still hold traces of the killer’s DNA.
Moran said identifying the remaining victims is difficult because of the likelihood that they were people with weak family bonds, possibly runaways or wards of the state, whose disappearances wouldn’t have raised alarms at a time when a million teenagers a year ran away from home, according to a published report from that time.
Bettiker recalls being given the responsibility of going over an endless number of missing persons reports from agencies across the state.
In those decades before Amber Alerts, sex offender registries, 24-hour cable news and social media helped authorities quickly raise alarms on endangered youngsters, missing person investigations were less sophisticated operations where cases generally dried up once they were filed.
“Other than a parent making a missing person report on a juvenile or another person, (we’d take) as much information as we could and we’d put it out to other departments,” Bettiker said. “But as far as an active pursuit of trying to locate them, there wasn’t that much done, unless they were a fragile youth or something like that. But for the ages of most of the Gacy victims, if they’re runaways, they’re runaways. We try to locate them … but there wasn’t an awful lot we could do.”
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Poster Comment:
John Wayne Gacy was one of the sickest and most twisted mass murderers ever.