John Wayne Gacy mystery: Authorities release new sketches of serial killer's victims

CHICAGO — New sketches of two unidentified victims of the serial killer John Wayne Gacy were released Monday as authorities hope to get closer to solving a nearly 40-year-old mystery.

Gacy tortured, sexually assaulted and murdered 33 men and boys, many who he lured to his home by impersonating a police officer or promising them construction work. Most of the victims were found hidden in his home or property in Norwood Park Township, near Chicago, after he was caught in 1978.

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One of the most notorious serial killers in American history, Gacy often preyed on victims he found hitchhiking or at bus stops.

Authorities for years have struggled to identify several of Gacy's victims, who were killed long before the advent of DNA testing. The bodies of six Gacy victims remain unidentified. %

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The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released new facial reconstruction sketches Monday of two of them. One who investigators refer to as John Doe 10 is a young white man believed to be between 17 and 21 years old who authorities believe was killed between 1972 and 1978. He’s been 5’7” and 5’11”. Investigators said he had sustained injury to his left clavicle prior to his death that had healed well over time. He also had a few dental fillings.

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The second sketch, of a victim referred to as John Doe 13, is of a white male, 18 to 22. He was approximately 5’9” to 6’2” and had dark brown wavy hair. One of his upper teeth was displaced behind another tooth that may have been noticeable to people who knew him well. Investigators estimated John Doe 13 also was killed between 1972 and 1978.%

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In 2011, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced he was reopening the investigation into the deaths of eight unidentified victims of Gacy who were found stuffed in the crawl space of his home or elsewhere on his property.

The identity of one of the original eight unidentified victims, 19-year-old William George Bundy, was confirmed through DNA testing in late 2011, just months after Dart launched the Gacy inquiry, and last year investigators were able identify a second victim, James "Jimmie" Haakenson, 16, of St. Paul, Minn. Haakenson went missing in August through a DNA sample.%

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Authorities ask anyone with information about the unidentified victims to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 1-708-865-6244.

Cox Media Group