ACRE
‘Law & Order’ actor Jack Merrill reveals serial killer John Wayne Gacy kidnapped, raped him
PUBLICADO
1 ano atrásem
A veteran actor who has appeared in “Law & Order” and “Grey’s Anatomy” revealed Wednesday that he was abducted, raped, and held at gunpoint by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy more than 45 years ago.
Jack Merrill described himself as a “puny 19-year-old” in 1978 when “the Killer Clown” pulled his car up to the teen as he walked home from a swim at a YMCA in Chicago.
“Do you want to go for a ride?” Merrill recalled being asked in an essay published by People.
Merrill, who had been living alone in a studio apartment since he was 17, jumped into the stranger’s car before being told “You’re smart. You’re not like those other kids.”
Merrill believed the ride would be around the block, but Gacy drove quickly to a different neighborhood where he told him to lock the door, before pulling over near the ramp of the Kennedy Expressway, northwest of downtown Chicago.
The then 36-year-old Gacy asked Merrill if he’d ever done “poppers,” alkyl nitrite, as he took out a brown bottle, splashing liquid onto a rag and shoving it into the teen’s face.
Merrill, who had a boyfriend at the time, said he passed out only to wak up and find himself handcuffed outside Gacy’s Northwood Park Township home, 4 miles east of Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
“He told me to be quiet. A light from the back of the house hit him in the eyes and suddenly I realized how dangerous he was,” Merrill wrote. “I knew I couldn’t anger him. I just had to diffuse the situation and act like everything was okay.”
Merrill said this method of de-escalation was the same one he and his sisters used to ward off the wrath of their parents.
“That’s the way I had survived as a kid—we learned to lie low during my parents’ rages,” Merrill recalled.
Merrill said his mom had a narcissistic personality, with “nothing existing outside of how life affected her.”
His father was Jerome Holtzman, the legendary MLB historian and National Baseball Hall of Famer, who at the time was the baseball writer for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Once inside the dark house, Merrill said he obliged when he was asked if he trusted Gacy, who then undid the teen’s handcuffs before the two had beer and strong pot.
Gacy re-handcuffed his victim and dragged him down a hall before fitting a homemade contraption around Merrill’s neck.
The device was fitted with ropes and pulleys and went around his back and through the handcuffs, so if Merrill struggled, he would be choked.
Gacy shoved a gun into Merrill’s mouth before proceeding to rape his victim.
“I knew if I fought him, I didn’t have much of a chance. I never freaked out or yelled,” Merrill said.
Merrill admitted to feeling sorry for his abuser “in a way.” “Like he didn’t necessarily want to be doing what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop.”
As Gacy seemed to get tired, the killer surprised the teen.
“All of a sudden he said, ‘I’ll take you home.’”
Merrill was dropped off at around 5 a.m., near where he had been picked up.
“Maybe we’ll get together again sometime,” Gacy allegedly said as he handed over a paper with his phone number.
Merrill quickly flushed the paper down his toilet when he returned home. He opted for a shower and went to a diner for eggs and a milkshake and didn’t notify the police.
“I didn’t call the police—I didn’t know he was a killer at the time,” he said. “I made a pact with myself that I was going to get past this. I wasn’t going to leave my happiness in that house.”
When news broke about Gacy’s arrest and bodies being found inside his home, Merrill called the Chicago Sun-Times.
““That guy raped me.’ The man who answered said, ‘What did you say your name was?’”
Merrill didn’t leave his name because his father still worked there.
“I thought if the police ever needed my help, I’d come forward,” the actor said.
Start and end your day informed with our newsletters
Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today’s top stories
Thanks for signing up!
Gacy was convicted of raping, torturing and murdering at least 33 males between the ages of 14 and 21.
Twenty-six bodies were pulled from a crawl space Gacy’s home in Dec. 1978.
Five of the victims remain unidentified, after officials ID’d Francis Wayne Alexander, of North Carolina, through dental records in Oct. 2021.
He was arrested in Dec.1978, convicted and sentenced to death.
Gacy was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Facility on May 10, 1994.
Merrill moved to New York, where he took up acting which became therapeutic for him.
“You’re forced to express yourself, and there is some honesty that goes with that. Recognition and acceptance,” he added.
Merrill called himself lucky, surviving his traumatic brush with death, but ending up with a husband of 23 years and their two pets.
“There’s a lot of people who have had bad things happen to them. Many people who have been raped don’t talk about it. I understand that.”
The actor, who is starring in his own one-man show “The Save” in Los Angeles, never divulged this story with anyone.
“Until now I’ve only told close friends. But doing my new show, I walk through it every night. I’m proud of the journey.”
Relacionado
VOCÊ PODE GOSTAR
Liam Payne’s former girlfriend Kate Cassidy reveals emotional new tattoo as she cuddles up to their dog Nala – two months on from One Direction star’s tragic death
conheça a origem da fortuna de John Textor, dono da SAF do Botafogo
Daily Hampshire Gazette – Consumer groups cry foul on new ticket transfer law
ACRE
Nota da Andifes sobre os cortes no orçamento aprovado pelo Congresso Nacional para as Universidades Federais — Universidade Federal do Acre
PUBLICADO
1 semana atrásem
23 de dezembro de 2025Notícias
publicado:
23/12/2025 07h31,
última modificação:
23/12/2025 07h32
Confira a nota na integra no link: Nota Andifes
Relacionado
ACRE
Ufac entrega equipamentos ao Centro de Referência Paralímpico — Universidade Federal do Acre
PUBLICADO
2 semanas atrásem
18 de dezembro de 2025A Ufac, a Associação Paradesportiva Acreana (APA) e a Secretaria Extraordinária de Esporte e Lazer realizaram, nessa quarta-feira, 17, a entrega dos equipamentos de halterofilismo e musculação no Centro de Referência Paralímpico, localizado no bloco de Educação Física, campus-sede. A iniciativa fortalece as ações voltadas ao esporte paraolímpico e amplia as condições de treinamento e preparação dos atletas atendidos pelo centro, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento esportivo e a inclusão de pessoas com deficiência.
Os equipamentos foram adquiridos por meio de emenda parlamentar do deputado estadual Eduardo Ribeiro (PSD), em parceria com o Comitê Paralímpico Brasileiro, com o objetivo de fortalecer a preparação esportiva e garantir melhores condições de treino aos atletas do Centro de Referência Paralímpico da Ufac.
Durante a solenidade, a reitora da Ufac, Guida Aquino, destacou a importância da atuação conjunta entre as instituições. “Sozinho não fazemos nada, mas juntos somos mais fortes. É por isso que esse centro está dando certo.”
A presidente da APA, Rakel Thompson Abud, relembrou a trajetória de construção do projeto. “Estamos dentro da Ufac realizando esse trabalho há muitos anos e hoje vemos esse resultado, que é o Centro de Referência Paralímpico.”
O coordenador do centro e do curso de Educação Física, Jader Bezerra, ressaltou o compromisso das instituições envolvidas. “Este momento é de agradecimento. Tudo o que fizemos é em prol dessa comunidade. Agradeço a todas as instituições envolvidas e reforço que estaremos sempre aqui para receber os atletas com a melhor estrutura possível.”

O atleta paralímpico Mazinho Silva, representando os demais atletas, agradeceu o apoio recebido. “Hoje é um momento de gratidão a todos os envolvidos. Precisamos avançar cada vez mais e somos muito gratos por tudo o que está sendo feito.”
A vice-governadora do Estado do Acre, Mailza Assis da Silva, também destacou o trabalho desenvolvido no centro e o talento dos atletas. “Estou reconhecendo o excelente trabalho de toda a equipe, mas, acima de tudo, o talento de cada um de nossos atletas.”
Já o assessor do deputado estadual Eduardo Ribeiro, Jeferson Barroso, enfatizou a finalidade social da emenda. “O deputado Eduardo fica muito feliz em ver que o recurso está sendo bem gerenciado, garantindo direitos, igualdade e representatividade.”
Também compuseram o dispositivo de honra a pró-reitora de Inovação, Almecina Balbino, e um dos coordenadores do Centro de Referência Paralímpico, Antônio Clodoaldo Melo de Castro.
(Camila Barbosa, estagiária Ascom/Ufac)
Relacionado
ACRE
Orquestra de Câmara da Ufac apresenta-se no campus-sede — Universidade Federal do Acre
PUBLICADO
2 semanas atrásem
18 de dezembro de 2025A Orquestra de Câmara da Ufac realizou, nesta quarta-feira, 17, uma apresentação musical no auditório do E-Amazônia, no campus-sede. Sob a coordenação e regência do professor Romualdo Medeiros, o concerto integrou a programação cultural da instituição e evidenciou a importância da música instrumental na formação artística, cultural e acadêmica da comunidade universitária.
A reitora Guida Aquino ressaltou a relevância da iniciativa. “Fico encantada. A cultura e a arte são fundamentais para a nossa universidade.” Durante o evento, o pró-reitor de Extensão e Cultura, Carlos Paula de Moraes, destacou o papel social da arte. “Sem arte, sem cultura e sem música, a sociedade sofre mais. A arte, a cultura e a música são direitos humanos.”
Também compôs o dispositivo de honra a professora Lya Januária Vasconcelos.
(Camila Barbosa, estagiária Ascom/Ufac)
Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/u824415267/domains/acre.com.br/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 48
You must be logged in to post a comment Login