Glad he finally got his name back

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by Anonymous

reply 61

February 16, 2022 5:07 PM

Very sad, to find out your missing loved one never ran away at all after 45 years.

by Anonymous

reply 2

October 25, 2021 8:58 PM

The constant uncertainty when a family member disappears must be hell on earth.

RIP.

by Anonymous

reply 3

October 25, 2021 9:01 PM

Was Gacy just a serial killer or did he sexually assault his victims too?

by Anonymous

reply 4

October 25, 2021 9:09 PM

Thanks, OP.

I honestly thought they had identified all his victims. I was surprised they hadn’t.

Are there any other unidentified victims of Gacy?

by Anonymous

reply 5

October 25, 2021 9:13 PM

I remember one of the detectives on the case said many family members were reluctant to identify their missing loved one. They didn't want the public to know their son had been murdered by a gay man.

by Anonymous

reply 7

October 25, 2021 9:13 PM

There are still five unidentified.

by Anonymous

reply 8

October 25, 2021 9:14 PM

Some of the victims were runaways. Gacy would cruise bus stations and offer teen boys a hot meal and a place to sleep.

by Anonymous

reply 10

October 25, 2021 9:48 PM

I grew up about a mile from John Wayne Gacy. I actually knew the kid who finally blew the whistle on him. Gacy had a construction company and would offer young men good paying jobs to work on his crew. Most were never seen again

by Anonymous

reply 11

October 25, 2021 10:03 PM

The day the clown cried pt 2

by Anonymous

reply 13

October 25, 2021 10:07 PM

If I cruised homeless guys, I’d be the one killed. Bet.

by Anonymous

reply 14

October 25, 2021 10:25 PM

It's disquieting to realize how many people are estranged from their families and/or lead transient lives. If one of my family members 'disappeared' I'd be obsessed with tracking them down.

by Anonymous

reply 15

October 25, 2021 10:34 PM

I noticed that, too, R15. The family thought that he (the victim) just wanted to go "no contact." The family didn't seem like they suspected he was dead. If I went missing, my family would assume I was dead or in serious trouble. Maybe the victim's family members knew / suspected the victim was gay and assumed he wanted to move to a new town and have more privacy from his old life.

by Anonymous

reply 16

October 25, 2021 10:51 PM

[quote]Maybe the victim's family members knew / suspected the victim was gay and assumed he wanted to move to a new town and have more privacy from his old life.

Or maybe his family was fine not having him around.

by Anonymous

reply 17

October 25, 2021 10:56 PM

True, maybe he was difficult to be around.

by Anonymous

reply 18

October 25, 2021 11:01 PM

Or maybe he was gay and it’s better having no son than a gay son.

by Anonymous

reply 19

October 25, 2021 11:03 PM

If your son ostensibly runs away to the city to be gay you probably just wonder what happened until social media cones around and then when he doesn’t appear on it you probably just think he died of AIDS and that’s that.

I’m sure knowing what happened is a certain but that that happened to him must be terrible as well.

by Anonymous

reply 20

October 25, 2021 11:04 PM

It's amazing how many 70s serial killer victims identified years later were listed as runaways 40 years ago and the family never followed up. How many people really walk out the door as teens and never talk to their families ever again? It seems like there wouldn't be that many.

by Anonymous

reply 21

October 25, 2021 11:36 PM

r15 somewhat related, they finally identified the victim in the infamous "Orange Socks" case

It turns out, in almost 40 years, her family had never reported her missing, or done much to try to find her. (Her family hadn't heard from her since 1977 and she was killed in 1979.) How does one have a child/sister just vanish and not try everything they can to find them?

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 22

October 25, 2021 11:42 PM

There was a Gacy victim who was identified a few years ago. It turns out he was a gay kid who was thrown out of his house by a homophobic dad

by Anonymous

reply 23

October 25, 2021 11:45 PM

I contacted an old childhood friend on Facebook and asked him about his brother. He just replied "whereabouts unknown". So families can lose complete track of one of their members and not know what's going on with him/her.

by Anonymous

reply 24

October 25, 2021 11:45 PM

Thanks for the update on Orange Socks, R22. I remember watching her case on America's Most Wanted many years ago, but didn't know she'd been finally identified.

Some of the Green River Killer victims went unidentified for decades. One was a girl from New York who lost contact with her family and eventually made her way to Seattle and fatefully crossed paths with Gary Ridgway. Two of his victims are still unidentified.

by Anonymous

reply 25

October 25, 2021 11:55 PM

Predator Gacy probably knew exactly who to pick out of a crowd.

by Anonymous

reply 26

October 26, 2021 12:02 AM

Unless they’re trans we don’t care

by Anonymous

reply 27

October 26, 2021 12:06 AM

His gaydar was 100% accurate.

by Anonymous

reply 28

October 26, 2021 12:06 AM

They just identified another Robert Hansen victim, too

by Anonymous

reply 29

October 26, 2021 12:41 AM

He would be 67 or 68 if Gacy hadn’t murdered him. In other words, there’s a good chance he’d be dead now anyway.

Here’s a question. If life is meaningless, and there’s a good chance it is, why does his death matter? I’m not trolling. There were probably people in their 20s who died of cancer or in accidents and they are just as dead as he is, soldiers blown up by artillery in Vietnam just a few years before. So why do we care so much more about murder victims?

by Anonymous

reply 30

October 26, 2021 12:47 AM

[quote]Maybe the victim's family members knew / suspected the victim was gay and assumed he wanted to move to a new town and have more privacy from his old life.

It's hard to know what goes on in a family. It could have been a gay thing. They could have been just "like" that. Even if he was gay I'd find it weird if no one he was ever friends with or knew outside of the family ever mentioned seeing or hearing from him.

I remember, when I was younger, being at a dinner with a woman who talked about her brother being a fan of some movie. She said she hadn't seen him in 30 years, since she was 12. She said no one in her family had any clue where he was.

[quote]He would be 67 or 68 if Gacy hadn’t murdered him. In other words, there’s a good chance he’d be dead now anyway.

Not necessarily. There are gay posters here who are in their 70s and 80s still kicking. Some of us have family members in their 90s.

[quote]If life is meaningless, and there’s a good chance it is, why does his death matter? I’m not trolling.

Your question, R30, presumes that "life is meaningless" so you're really not asking a question. You've already decided that none of it matters.

by Anonymous

reply 31

October 26, 2021 12:51 AM

R30, there before the grace of god go other gay men?

I don't think the younger generations can comprehend how awful and rampant actual homophobia was. There was so little acceptance by most families at the time of Gacy. It got worse when AIDS was full blown.

by Anonymous

reply 32

October 26, 2021 12:56 AM

[quote]why does his death matter?

Because who else is going to care about gay men besides gay men?

by Anonymous

reply 33

October 26, 2021 1:02 AM

After the UpStairs Lounge fire in New Orleans in 1973, there were victims who went unidentified and unclaimed because their families were ashamed to come forward.

by Anonymous

reply 34

October 26, 2021 1:07 AM

R30 is Satan, trying her best to understand.

by Anonymous

reply 35

October 26, 2021 1:26 AM

R4- He brutally raped them. He would then drown/choke them unconscious, then revived them and tortured them again. This was from the police statement of one survivor-the only survivor that I am aware of. It was sickening that JWG had so many privileges in prison because of his art work that he sold. Imo prison officials purposely kept him alive longer than the appeals warranted because of the profit to them. Iirc, it took the families of the victims and pressure from the media to speed up his execution. I laughed when I learned they missed his vein the on the first attempt. He deserved so much more than that in my opinion.

by Anonymous

reply 36

October 26, 2021 9:20 AM

r4 I think its rare for a serial killer to not be motivated by sexual sadism

by Anonymous

reply 37

October 26, 2021 9:50 AM

[quote]If I cruised homeless guys, I’d be the one killed. Bet.

Congrats?

by Anonymous

reply 39

October 26, 2021 11:23 AM

[quote]Maybe the victim's family members knew / suspected the victim was gay and assumed he wanted to move to a new town and have more privacy from his old life.

It's far more likely that they didn't approve of him being gay and he left with their unspoken permission because they didn't want to deal with his gayness. I imagine a lot of the gays who disappeared from their families in their late teens and early 20s back then did so knowing their family wouldn't ever bother to try to find them.

by Anonymous

reply 41

October 26, 2021 11:35 AM

[quote] He would be 67 or 68 if Gacy hadn’t murdered him. In other words, there’s a good chance he’d be dead now anyway.

[quote]Here’s a question. If life is meaningless, and there’s a good chance it is, why does his death matter? I’m not trolling.

Kinda don't know why people bother with "I'm not trolling" when they obviously are.

by Anonymous

reply 42

October 26, 2021 11:35 AM

[quote]How does one have a child/sister just vanish and not try everything they can to find them?

Abusive/negligent parents. I fled by abusive parents at 17. Had no contact with them until I was 41. My parents didn't look for me or make an effort to contact me. And I certainly didn't contact them. When I finally contacted them when I was 41, they didn't particularly care that I was still alive or ask what I did all the years I wasn't in contact. No doubt it's similar for gay children, especially in the 1960s/1970s.

The law enforcement officials and volunteers who work tirelessly to give a name and a family to nameless murder/mishap victims deserve special commendation and gratitude.

by Anonymous

reply 43

October 26, 2021 11:36 AM

Pretty much the same happened to me in 1990, until my mother realized people didn't approve of her kicking me out of the house, then suddenly the story turned into me being a "runaway" and an "ungrateful brat." If it had been 1975 instead of 1990, I doubt she would have gotten any backlash for throwing her kid out of the house.

by Anonymous

reply 45

October 26, 2021 11:40 AM

I don't understand how anyone could just throw away a child like that. People are monsters.

by Anonymous

reply 46

October 26, 2021 4:18 PM

[quote] My parents didn't look for me or make an effort to contact me. And I certainly didn't contact them. When I finally contacted them when I was 41, they didn't particularly care that I was still alive or ask what I did all the years I wasn't in contact. No doubt it's similar for gay children, especially in the 1960s/1970s.

That's awful, R43. You're obviously better off without them but no kid deserves parents like that.

by Anonymous

reply 47

October 27, 2021 1:55 AM

R36, I think his friendship with Rosalyn Carter had a lot to do with his privileges as well.

by Anonymous

reply 48

October 27, 2021 2:44 AM

R48, nice try but they weren't friends

by Anonymous

reply 49

October 27, 2021 8:18 PM

I used to live on Summerdale Ave. though on the western side of Cumberland. It was called “concrete city”, you know those brick 6-flat apartments built in the late 60’s, blonde colored brick, row upon row of those apartments. This was across the street from the Des Plaines River, there was a large forest preserve there, I would imagine he must have dumped them there though I never verified the actual dump site, he could have driven out of the neighborhood when he dumped those victims too. One time I drove by where his house used to be, and I could not believe the location — it was truly *perfect* for a serial killer, I was stunned actually. It was neatly tucked away, shielded by a dense hedge that blocked out Cumberland, and on a -de-sac with just a few houses, so he made sure he had complete and utter privacy while in the city! The amount of privacy he had in that type of urban neighborhood literally never happens.

I now work in a county jail in the area, so I get to see firsthand prison/jail culture, though I’m sure it’s different in the facility JWG was housed in. There is zero doubt in my mind that he was given special treatment. That’s how these things go — the more notoriety, the more special treatment an inmate receives. More often though, the inmates themselves give the offender special treatment. There is a bank robber where I am, he is treated like a god by the men, I think just because that’s a rare bird in any jail. With serial killers, it’s the same thing, even “inside” the facility, it’s not like you run into a serial killer all the time, so just the rarity of this type of criminal would bring him great status within prison culture.

To those who had families that threw them away — I’m so sorry you went through that. No person should ever, ever, ever suffer like that. But you are here today, you survived, and I believe sharing your life experience can help someone else who is hopeless or hurting from similar trauma. I have to believe that our suffering has the potential to be redemptive and bring other people healing, that there can be a higher purpose to our pain. But each person must work through their trauma and heal at their own pace. I just want you to know that I am so sorry that you went through that.

by Anonymous

reply 50

October 27, 2021 11:47 PM

[quote] Gacy would cruise bus stations and offer teen boys a hot meal and a place to sleep.

Gee, wish I'da thunk of that!

by Anonymous

reply 51

October 27, 2021 11:51 PM

[quote] If life is meaningless

You're a damaged, broken person. Most people do not think like this. You're free to think this way, but don't expect understanding or approval.

by Anonymous

reply 52

October 27, 2021 11:53 PM

We're overdue for a John Wayne Gacy film aren't we? Not a biopic, obviously, but a film about his case. One told with some sensitivity to all those poor lost boys and men in the context of widespread homophobia that made it easier for Gacy to commit the murders. Maybe David Fincher could do it justice.

by Anonymous

reply 53

October 27, 2021 11:57 PM

[quote]Another John Wayne Gacy victim identified. Glad he finally got his name back

He had his name all along, Mary Louise. Now it's associated with Gacy torturing him to death and then cellaring him, rather than with being a missing person. No bones about it.

But you're all about the grandstanding Frau moment of pompous mooing, ain't ya? Never mind how nonsensical it is.

The DL is not your safe space. And it's not Francis Alexander's, either, apparently.

Moo.

by Anonymous

reply 54

October 28, 2021 12:05 AM

Gacy's last words? "Kiss my ass." Imagine what an enormous scandal there would be today, if a serial killer had a photo -op with the first lady.

by Anonymous

reply 55

October 28, 2021 12:05 AM

[quote] No bones about it.

Well, so to speak, anyway.

by Anonymous

reply 56

October 28, 2021 12:12 AM

[quote]I think his friendship with Rosalyn Carter had a lot to do with his privileges as well.

That is ridiculous. Rosalyn attended a localized Democratic Party political event in that greater Chicago area and Gacy was present. She was on the campaign trail. People at such events have their pictures taken with politicians (or family members) all the time. Rosalyn never met Gacy beforehand and never saw him afterwards. She would have known nothing about his character or wicked activities.

Most politicians have had despicable people appear in photos with them that they don't know personally. They can feel embarrassed once told.

by Anonymous

reply 57

February 14, 2022 7:22 PM

R57, there are several photos of Carter and Gacy. There was talk that they kept in contact afterwards.

by Anonymous

reply 58

February 16, 2022 3:52 PM

Yes R58. Her friendship with him really intensified as soon as she found out he was a gay serial killer. She started inviting him to state dinners to regale the assembled guests with his hobby!

by Anonymous

reply 59

February 16, 2022 3:59 PM

My mentally ill and chronically homeless younger brother currently lives in Florida. I don't really know much beyond that other than he recently got out of prison. If/when he eventually disappears I doubt I or any if my siblings will know let alone do anything to look for him.

by Anonymous

reply 60

February 16, 2022 4:27 PM

He used to pick up kids in a video arcade place catty corner from the Century Mall on Clark St. I used to go there all the time. Right year, right age, wrong gender though.

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by Anonymous

reply 61

February 16, 2022 5:07 PM