Actor Jack Merrill, who has appeared in popular TV shows like “Law & Order” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” recently revealed a traumatic incident from his past, where he was abducted and sexually assaulted by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Merrill shared his story with People magazine, recounting the horrifying events that took place in 1978, just seven months before Gacy was charged with the murders of 33 men.
Merrill, now 65, explained that the assault happened while he was walking home from a YMCA in the Chicago area. Gacy pulled up in his car and offered the then-19-year-old a ride, which Merrill reluctantly accepted.
Once in the car, Gacy began asking Merrill about “poppers,” a recreational drug. Gacy then forcibly incapacitated Merrill by pressing a rag soaked with a substance onto his face, causing him to lose consciousness.
When Merrill awoke, he was in handcuffs and being driven to Gacy’s home. “He pulled out this brown bottle, splashed some liquid on a rag and jammed it into my face,” he remembered. “I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in handcuffs. … The next thing I knew, we were outside his house.” Despite his fear, Merrill said he tried to stay calm to avoid further escalating the situation.
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Inside Gacy’s house, the serial killer removed Merrill’s restraints, and the two smoked pot and drank beer. However, the terror soon resumed as Gacy put the handcuffs back on Merrill and dragged him down a hallway.
Gacy used a homemade device to restrain Merrill, ensuring that any resistance would cause choking. During this ordeal, Gacy threatened Merrill with a gun before sexually assaulting him. Merrill, reflecting on the experience, said he didn’t fight back because he knew he stood little chance of overpowering the much larger man. He added that he also felt a strange sense of pity for Gacy, describing a conflicted emotion as though Gacy was trapped in his own destructive behavior.
After several harrowing hours, Gacy grew tired and released Merrill, dropping him off near where he had picked him up. Gacy even gave Merrill his phone number, which Merrill later destroyed, unsure of what had truly happened and not realizing Gacy’s full nature at the time.
Merrill, like many others, was unaware that the man who assaulted him was one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. “I didn’t call the police — I didn’t know he was a killer at the time,” he told People.
It wasn’t until later that year, when bodies were discovered under Gacy’s home, that Merrill understood the gravity of what he had survived. Gacy was arrested and convicted in 1980, eventually being executed in 1994.
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