Editing John Wayne Gacy (section)

====1977====
On January 20, 1977, Gacy lured 19-year-old John Szyc to his house on the pretext of buying his [[Plymouth Satellite#Third Generation (1971-1974)|Plymouth Satellite]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=53–55}} He later confessed to strangling Szyc in his spare bedroom, claiming Rossi was asleep in the house the following morning. Gacy later sold the car to Rossi for $300.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=177–184}}

Two months later, on March 15, 20-year-old Jon Prestidge disappeared. Prestidge was last seen leaving a [[Near North Side, Chicago|Near North Side]] restaurant. He was buried in the crawl space above the body of Francis Alexander.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=303}} Shortly before his disappearance, Prestidge had mentioned he had obtained work with a local contractor.<ref name=timeline/> Gacy murdered one additional unidentified youth and buried him in the crawl space in the spring or early summer of 1977. On July 5, Gacy killed 19-year-old Matthew Bowman. Bowman's mother last saw him at a suburban train station; he had intended to travel to [[Harwood Heights, Illinois|Harwood Heights]] for a court appointment.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=301–305}}{{sfn|Nelson|2021|p=222}}

The following month, Rossi was arrested for stealing gasoline while driving Szyc's car. The gas station attendant noted the license plate and police traced the car to Gacy's house. When questioned, Gacy told officers that Szyc had sold the car to him in February, saying he needed money to leave town. A check of the [[Vehicle Identification Number|VIN]] confirmed the car had belonged to Szyc.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=58–60}} The police did not pursue the matter further, although they did inform Szyc's mother that her son had sold his car.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=177–184}}

By the end of 1977, Gacy had murdered six more young men between the ages of 16 and 21. The first of these was 18-year-old Robert Gilroy, the son of a Chicago police sergeant, last seen alive on September 15.{{sfn|Linedecker|1980|pp=140–153}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=301–305}} Gilroy lived four blocks from Gacy's house. He was buried in the crawl space. On September 12, Gacy had flown to [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], to supervise a remodeling project, and did not return to Chicago until September 16.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/10/10374067-serial-killer-john-wayne-gacy-had-accomplices-lawyers-say|title=Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy Had Accomplices, lawyers Say|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=February 10, 2012|access-date=March 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303203137/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/10/10374067-serial-killer-john-wayne-gacy-had-accomplices-lawyers-say|archive-date=March 3, 2015}}</ref> Because Gacy was in another state at the time Gilroy was last seen, this is cited to support Gacy's claim of assistance from one or more accomplices in several homicides. Ten days after Gilroy was last seen, 19-year-old former [[U.S. Marine]] John Mowery disappeared after leaving his mother's house.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=301–305}} Gacy strangled Mowery and buried his body beneath the master bedroom.{{sfn|Foreman|1992|pp=80–83}}

On October 17, 21-year-old Russell Nelson disappeared; he was last seen outside a Chicago bar. Nelson was looking for contracting work.<ref name=timeline/> Gacy murdered and buried him beneath the guest bedroom. Less than four weeks later, Gacy murdered 16-year-old Robert Winch and buried him in the crawl space. Twenty-year-old Tommy Boling disappeared on November 18 after leaving a Chicago bar.{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=301–305}} On December 9, 19-year-old U.S. Marine David Talsma disappeared after telling his mother he was to attend a rock concert in [[Hammond, Indiana]].{{sfn|Cahill|1986|p=183}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=301–305}} Gacy strangled Talsma with a ligature and buried him in the crawl space, close to John Mowery.{{sfn|Foreman|1992|pp=80–83}}

On December 30, Gacy abducted 19-year-old college student Robert Donnelly from a Chicago bus stop at gunpoint.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robert-donnelly-case/48080986/|last=Gorman|first=John|title=Gacy Seized a Year Ago but Freed, Records Show|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 7, 1979|access-date=December 16, 2023}}</ref> Gacy drove him to his home, where he raped, tortured, and repeatedly drowned Donnelly to unconsciousness in a bathtub as he made statements such as, "Aren't we playing fun games tonight?"{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=331–334}} Donnelly later testified at trial that he was in such pain that he asked Gacy to kill him. Gacy replied "I'm getting 'round to it."{{sfn|Sullivan|2000|pp=241–250}} After several hours, Gacy drove Donnelly to his workplace and released him, warning him that if he complained to police, they would not believe him.{{sfn|Cahill|1986|pp=331–334}}