Editing John Wayne Gacy (section)

===Murder of Timothy McCoy===
{{main|Murder of Timothy McCoy}}
[[File:Timothy McCoyJohnGacy1972.jpg|upright|right|thumb|Timothy McCoy]]
Gacy's first known murder occurred on January 3, 1972. According to Gacy's later account, following a family party the previous evening, he drove to the [[Richard J. Daley Center|Civic Center]] in the [[Chicago Loop|Loop]] in the early morning to view a display of ice sculptures.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|p=107}} He then lured 16-year-old Timothy Jack McCoy from Chicago's Greyhound Bus Terminal into his car. McCoy was on his way to his father's home in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], and informed Gacy his bus was not due until noon.{{sfn|Nelson|2021|pp=6-7}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Gallagher|first=Michael|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112829757/area-visitor-was-1st-gacy-victim/|date=May 13, 1986|title=Identified: Area Visitor was First Gacy Victim|newspaper=[[Lansing State Journal]]|page=1|access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> Gacy took McCoy on a sightseeing tour of Chicago and then drove him to his home with the promise that he could spend the remainder of the night and be driven back to the station in time to catch his bus.<ref>{{cite news|last=Herrmann|first=Andrew|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36D062F6AA91B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|date=May 20, 1986|title=Gacy Victim's Remains Going Home to Iowa|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|page=36|access-date=August 15, 2010|archive-date=October 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232452/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36D062F6AA91B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|url-status=live}} {{closed access}}</ref>{{efn|Gacy's fiancée and stepdaughters were visiting relatives in [[Kennicott Grove]] at the time of this first murder.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|p=104}} }} Prior to McCoy's identification, he was known as the "Greyhound Bus Boy".{{sfn|Berry-Dee|2009|p=193}}

Gacy claimed he woke early the following morning to find McCoy standing in his bedroom doorway holding a kitchen knife.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=342–351}} He jumped from his bed and McCoy raised both arms in a gesture of surrender, accidentally cutting Gacy's forearm.{{efn|Gacy had a scar on his arm to support this account.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=110–111}}}} Gacy disarmed McCoy, banged his head against the bedroom wall, and kicked him against his wardrobe.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|p=348}} McCoy kicked Gacy in the stomach, doubling him over. Gacy then grabbed McCoy,{{sfn|Cahill|1986|p=348}} wrestled him to the floor and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=101–102}}

As McCoy lay dying, Gacy claimed he washed the knife in his bathroom, then went to his kitchen and saw the makings of breakfast on the table. McCoy had set the table for two; he had walked into Gacy's room to wake him while absentmindedly carrying the knife.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=342–351}} Gacy buried McCoy in his crawl space and later covered his grave with a layer of concrete.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=101–102}} In an interview several years after his arrest, Gacy said that immediately after killing McCoy, he felt "totally drained", yet noted that as he stabbed McCoy and listened to the "gurgulations" and gasping, he had experienced a mind-numbing orgasm. He added: "That's when I realized that death was the ultimate thrill."{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=342–351}}