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that his son had intended to confront Gacy the night before. When the police arrived, they checked inside the car and found John
Butkovich's jacket as well as wallet containing $ 40. Gacy was then questioned by police, saying that John and two friends had arrived at his house demanding the overdue pay, but they had reached a compromise and all three had left and had likely disappeared after that. The police believed Gacy and told the Butkovich family that John was probably a runaway, but the family was sure he hadn't run away and feared for his life. For this reason, Marko directly phoned Gacy, who claimed he was happy to help search for his son but was sorry John had run away. For the next three years, Butkovich's parents called police over 100 times, urging them to investigate Gacy further, but police soon refused to take anymore calls from them.
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not pay him, John should inform authorities. Gacy claimed in a later account that in the morning of July 31, Butkovich and three other friends arrived at his house, threatening to "kick his ass" unless he gave him the check, with Gacy saying he would pay him after he got
Butkovich's files. According to Gacy, things later calmed down and he presented the files on Butkovich, which stated that he owed Gacy $ 300. They eventually reached a compromise, with Gacy claiming that they all proceeded to smoke
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was buried there, but admitted to killing a young man in self-defence whose body was buried under his garage, whom he would later name as John
Butkovich. Gacy was later arrested that day, and Butkovich's body was found under the garage, along with 26 other victims stored in his crawl space who were unearthed over the next week, with two others also being unearthed elsewhere on his property.
22:
212:, who murdered, raped and tortured at least 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978. Butkovich was killed by Gacy on the day of his disappearance and remained missing for three years before his body was unearthed from Gacy's home on December 22, 1978, and his remains were conclusively identified a week later on December 29, 1978.
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in
January 1972 as well as an unidentified victim in 1974. In the evening of July 30, 1975, Butkovich arrived at one of his father's apartments, complaining to him that Gacy had not been paying him his check for the last two weeks worth of work. The elder Butkovich suggested that if Gacy continued to
247:
offered him a construction job in his PDM Contractors business. Gacy stated that
Butkovich was a "tireless kid" who "learned fast." Gacy's wife, Carole Hoff, described Butkovich as a "very nice boy" who was at Gacy's house several times and had dinner with the couple. Hoff would nickname Butkovich as
368:
had reported that Gacy had lured him into his car, then chloroformed, raped and tortured him before dumping him in
Lincoln Park in March of that 1978. In an interview with Gacy's former wife, Carole Hoff who was fond of Butkovich, the same day they had learned of Butkovich's disappearance. Four days
311:
Anthony
Antonucci a man who had worked with Butkovich around the same time for PDM, had mentioned asking Gacy when Butkovich had disappeared where he had went; Gacy stated that "John had run away, and was in Puerto Rico.". Antonucci had stated that Butkovich never talked about running away or going
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Butkovich's father, Marko
Butkovich, later found his son's car abandoned with the keys in the ignition, which made him suspicious as his son would always park his car in the garage, but he didn't touch the car as he feared he could destroy evidence if he did. Marko then dialed the police, mentioning
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against the Des
Plaines police; the hearing for the suit was scheduled to take place on December 22. On December 21, the Des Plaines Police were granted a second search warrant. After police informed Gacy of their intentions to search his crawl space for the body of Piest, Gacy denied the teenager
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behind his back. Butkovich threatened Gacy by saying: "When I get these cuffs off, you're a dead man." Gacy told
Butkovich that he wouldn't take the cuffs off until he "sobered up", adding: "If anyone gets killed, it's you John ." Gacy later admitted to having "sat on the kid's chest for a while"
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In the evening of that same day, Gacy was said to have encountered Butkovich exiting his car, waving to attract his attention. The drunk young man said to Gacy: "I wanna talk to ya," with the also drunk Gacy telling him to get in his car. He drove Butkovich back to his house, which was located in
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Butkovich was the second overall victim of to be recovered, being labelled as Body 2. Just a week after being discovered, Body 2 was conclusively identified as John Butkovich on December 29, 1978; he was among the first victims to be identified. On February 6, 1980, Gacy was brought to trial. On
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to be with Gacy's sister, Karen, and the rest of Karen's family, Butkovich helped her move there. During Butkovich's time working for Gacy, his and Hoff's marriage worsened, which led to Hoff doing much travelling with her daughters, who were stepdaughters to Gacy. In July 1975, she and the kids
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earlier than expected, Gacy was forced to bury Butkovich's body under the concrete floor of the tool room extension of his garage in an empty space where he had originally intended to dig a drain tile. Gacy told Hoff that Butkovich had quit his job at PDM and had run away.
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A year after Butkovich's disappearance his father Marko had received a collect call from Puerto Rico and had given this information to the authorities, a search found the call was made from a public phone in a coffee shop in Puerto Rico that was used by many people.
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mysteriously vanished without a trace in December 1978, Gacy would immediately become a suspect as he was one of the last people seen with Piest. The Des Plaines Police did a check of John Wayne Gacy's criminal background and found out that Gacy had a
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Butkovich was only Gacy's third known victim. Between 1976 and 1978, Gacy would go on a killing spree, murdering at least 30 more victims, evading capture from the police for three years until his final arrest in December 1978.
278:. When they arrived, Gacy stated that Butkovich started shouting at him, demanding for his check. Gacy managed to calm Butkovich down and then conned him into allowing his wrists to be
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353:, in 1967, five years before Gacy murdered McCoy. As police suspected Gacy may be holding Piest hostage in the same house Butkovich was killed, the Des Plaines Police obtained a
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431:; it also contains his father's name, who passed away in 1998. The inscription upon his tombstone reads: "Eternal Rest, Grant Unto Them O'Lord. Our Son Johnny."
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later, on December 19, investigators began compiling evidence to obtain a second search warrant for Gacy's house. The same day, Gacy's lawyers filed a $ 750,000
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on December 13, 1978. They could not locate Piest, but they did find suspicious items, leading them to confiscate Gacy's vehicles and putting Gacy under
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and invested it into several apartment buildings, with the younger Butkovich living rent-free in an apartment that his father owned.
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travelled to Arkansas to help Karen look after her and Gacy's mother, who had broken her hip. Hoff never saw Butkovich alive again.
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before laying down besides Butkovich and "kept the angry, drunken boy company until he came to his senses." Gacy confessed to
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Unbeknownst to Butkovich, Gacy had previously committed at least two known murders; he killed a 16-year-old teenager called
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along with Timothy McCoy's body. However, when his wife Carole Hoff and her daughters returned home from their trip to
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After Butkovich's death, Gacy stowed the body in his garage, intending to bury the remains of Butkovich later in his
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March 13, Gacy was found guilty of 33 counts of murder, as well as one count of indecent liberties with a child and
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780:"'John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise': 11 Shocking Revelations from Peacock's Series About the Killer Clown"
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1973, when Butkovich was 16 and still in high school, he was working in a hardware store when a man named
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On December 15, Des Plaines investigators obtained further details of Gacy's battery charge, learning
232:. At some point later in their lives, the family moved to the United States, residing in the state of
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835:"Timeline: Suburban serial killer John Wayne Gacy and the efforts to recover, name his 33 victims"
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228:, to parents Marko and Terezia Butkovich. His father, Marko Butkovich, was an immigrant from
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Butkovich's whereabouts remained a mystery for over three years. However, after 15-year-old
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Soon after his identification, a funeral was held for Butkovich and he was buried at the
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to Puerto Rico. He also had stated that Butkovich would have never left his car behind.
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and drink beer before Butkovich and his friends left and Gacy fell asleep in his chair.
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The unidentified male youth was estimated to have been between the ages of 14–18.
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charge in Chicago and had also been sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1968 in
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The Man Who Killed Boys: A True Story of Mass Murder in a Chicago Suburb
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young man who disappeared on July 31, 1975. He was a victim of American
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225:
107:
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248:"Little John" and Gacy as "Big John." When Gacy's mother moved to
998:
Inside the Mind of John Wayne Gacy: The Real-Life Killer Clown
15:
917:"John "Johnny" Butkovich (1956–1975) – Find a Grave Memorial"
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Butkovich's father had saved up the money he had earned as a
387:. He was sentenced to execution and was transferred to the
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85:
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886:. AP. November 23, 1979. p. 6. Archived from
220:John Butkovich was born on September 16, 1956, in
966:Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer
608:National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
8:
1164:Deaths by strangulation in the United States
130:Norwood Park Township, Cook County, Illinois
939:Amirante, Sam L.; Broderick, Danny (2011).
197:(September 16, 1956 – July 31, 1975) was a
29:It has been suggested that this article be
1067:Sullivan, Terry; Maiken, Peter T. (2000).
680:
511:. January 1, 1979 – via Google News.
70:
59:
1209:Violence against men in the United States
1069:Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders
287:Butkovich to death; he was 18 years old.
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1020:: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (
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790:from the original on December 31, 2021
766:
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543:"GACY'S 1ST VICTIM FINALLY IDENTIFIED"
528:
1184:July 1975 events in the United States
154:Norwood Park Township, Illinois, U.S.
7:
942:John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster
451:List of solved missing person cases
833:Rumore, Kofi (December 17, 2018).
584:from the original on July 25, 2011
14:
1174:Incidents of violence against men
1149:1975 murders in the United States
732:Omnipotent: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
707:Omnipotent: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
614:from the original on June 9, 2019
1189:Missing person cases in Illinois
901:
850:
558:
541:Locin, Mitchell (May 10, 1986).
514:
20:
933:Cited works and further reading
503:"Search at Gacy Home to Resume"
878:"Speedup Sought In Gacy Trial"
405:Stateville Correctional Center
341:, after being found guilty of
46:Proposed since September 2024.
1:
604:"NamUs – Case Report # 11006"
345:a then 15-year-old boy named
240:
77:
55:1975 murder in Illinois, U.S.
1159:Deaths by person in Illinois
427:depicts an angel praying to
1225:
1199:People from Slavonski Brod
1134:1970s missing person cases
508:Spartanburg Herald-Journal
407:on May 10, 1994, aged 52.
395:for 14 years before being
389:Menard Correctional Center
1204:Victims of serial killers
69:
898:– via Google News.
730:Dorsch, William (2023).
705:Dorsch, William (2023).
417:Queen of Heaven Cemetery
257:Disappearance and murder
163:Queen of Heaven Cemetery
1169:Formerly missing people
1105:John "Johnny" Butkovich
1030:Linedecker, Clifford L.
883:Sarasota Herald-Tribune
671:, p. 134, 139–140.
391:, where he remained on
1071:(Paperback ed.).
847:on September 23, 2020.
385:deviate sexual assault
1000:. Ad Lib Publishers.
996:Hunter, Brad (2022).
734:. pp. 183, 184.
709:. pp. 184, 185.
349:, who was the son of
276:Norwood Park Township
1194:People from Illinois
925:. January 10, 2017.
867:, pp. 360–374.
840:The Chicago Tribune
574:"Case File 954UMIL"
548:The Chicago Tribune
347:Donald Voorhees Jr.
138:Cause of death
1042:St. Martin's Press
1040:(First ed.).
890:on October 6, 2020
786:. March 25, 2021.
695:, p. 140-142.
659:, p. 135-139.
647:, p. 134-135.
531:, p. 131-134.
419:in the village of
351:Donald E. Voorhees
167:Hillside, Illinois
93:September 16, 1956
1154:Crimes in Chicago
1007:978-1-802-47076-5
980:978-1-857-02084-7
952:978-1-61608-248-2
811:, pp. 84–93.
757:, pp. 17–28.
683:, pp. 83–87.
555:on March 3, 2020.
441:Crime in Illinois
199:Croatian American
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152:December 22, 1978
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1129:1970s in Chicago
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187:John Wayne Gacy
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1109:Find a Grave
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971:Bantam Books
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945:. Skyhorse.
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922:Find a Grave
920:
911:
892:. Retrieved
888:the original
881:
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845:the original
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794:December 31,
792:. Retrieved
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616:. Retrieved
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553:the original
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429:Jesus Christ
414:
381:
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359:surveillance
330:Robert Piest
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207:sex offender
194:
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57:
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1139:1975 deaths
1124:1956 births
961:Cahill, Tim
784:thewrap.com
767:Hunter 2022
693:Cahill 1986
669:Cahill 1986
657:Cahill 1986
645:Cahill 1986
633:Cahill 1986
529:Cahill 1986
297:crawl space
1118:Categories
490:References
343:sodomizing
285:strangling
280:handcuffed
230:Yugoslavia
216:Background
185:Victim of
141:Murder by
122:1975-08-01
97:1956-09-16
1091:156783287
1016:cite book
963:(1993) .
425:tombstone
393:death row
324:Discovery
291:Aftermath
268:marijuana
1073:Pinnacle
1032:(1980).
989:12421532
894:July 20,
788:Archived
612:Archived
588:July 18,
582:Archived
435:See also
421:Hillside
397:executed
301:Arkansas
250:Arkansas
234:Illinois
1060:5564916
618:May 29,
480:janitor
411:Funeral
403:at the
371:lawsuit
335:battery
239:Around
226:Croatia
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457:Notes
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1087:OCLC
1077:ISBN
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