Between 1972 and 1978, John Wayne Gacy assaulted and murdered over 30 young men and boys. His last victim was Robert Piest, a 15-year-old boy who worked at a pharmacy in Des Plaines, Illinois.
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Gacy committed all of his known crimes inside his house in Norwood Park Township, near Chicago.
Now, a new book, Postmortem: What Survives The John Wayne Gacy Murders, reveals details of Piest’s last moments, as well as the investigation that led to Gacy’s arrest.
Highlights
- The final moments of John Wayne Gacy's last victim, teenager Robert Piest, were revealed in a new book.
- 'Postmortem' is written by Courtney Lund O’Neil, the daughter Piest's colleague Kim Byers, who was among the last people to see him alive.
- John Wayne Gacy, known as the Killer Clown, murdered 33 young men and boys in the 1970s.
Image credits: Netflix
It was written by Courtney Lund O’Neil, the daughter of Kim Byers, Piest's friend and the key witness who saw him alive for the last time.
Piest and Byers worked together at the Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines when he was fifteen and she was seventeen.
On December 11, 1978, Gacy visited the pharmacy and introduced himself as a building contractor. He offered Piest a job, saying he frequently hired teenage boys and would pay him twice as much as what he earned at the pharmacy.
In an excerpt from the book shared by People Magazine, O’Neil recounted Piest’s last moments, as told by O'Neil's mother.
Gacy, known as the Killer Clown, ran a construction business and also performed as a clown at local parties and charity events
Image credits: The Atlanta Constitution
On December 11, 1978, Kim Byers asked her boss about an unknown man who was working at the store.
The owner, Phil Torf, said the man was a contractor who was taking measurements to give the store a “facelift.”
As Byers was cold, she asked Piest if she could borrow his jacket, a question that would ultimately provide police with an important piece of evidence.
Midway through her shift, Kim decided she wanted to develop a roll of film. She slipped the film roll into a red and white envelope. Once it was correctly filled out and sealed, with the film safe inside, she tore off the top receipt. In her right hand, she went to discard the receipt, but then paused and slipped it into Rob’s parka pocket instead.
Around 8 p.m., it was nearing the end of Rob’s shift and he needed to take out the trash. “Hey, mind if I take my jacket back?” he asked Kim.
Kim slid out of the blue parka and handed it to Rob. He zipped it up to his chin to keep out the cold.
Image credits: Sally Good/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service
The contractor left the store at around 7:15 p.m. and returned at 8, in the last hour of Piest’s shift.
He grabbed his forgotten appointment book. He lingered, noticing Rob. He often hired high schoolers with good work habits to help him on various projects. It wouldn’t elicit suspicion if he offered this kid a job. The contractor meandered; irregularly walked the pharmacy aisles, pretended to eye the shelving again.
At 8:55 p.m. [Robert’s mom] Elizabeth Piest entered the store. She greeted Kim, she greeted Rob. The night was supposed to be special. Elizabeth was turning 46 and anxious to get back and blow out candles. She had a birthday cake waiting at home. The whole family was waiting for her and Rob at the house.
The serial killer denied meeting his last victim, 15-year-old Robert Piest, whom he kidnapped after luring him with a job offer
Image credits: Netflix
Rob was finishing his stocking job while his mom waited and he approached Kim around 9 p.m. a final time. “That contractor wants to talk to me about a summer job that will pay me $5 an hour. Mind watching the front for a minute?” The minimum wage was $2.50, so the contractor’s offer made him light up at the possibilities the money could offer.
Kim looked at Rob, and his image imprinted in her mind. Loyal, handsome, strong.
“Okay,” she said. “See you soon.”
He looked from Kim to his mother and said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, honey,” Mrs. Piest said. “I’ll be right here.”
The door shut behind him, and she thought nothing of it. But for the rest of her life, she’d see his departure, the closing of the door in slow motion.
Image credits: Chicago Tribune
After 10 minutes, Byers and Piest’s mother started looking for him when they grew worried that he hadn't returned to the pharmacy. They only found footprints in the snow and the tire tracks of the contractor’s car.
Arriving back home, Elizabeth glanced at her birthday cake, suspended in time on the dining room table. “Anyone from Nisson’s call?” she asked her husband. Harold shook his head.She grabbed the telephone, hoping Rob had returned to Nisson Pharmacy and Kim forgot to call.
(...)
On Dec. 12, authorities contacted John Gacy. Ronald Adams was the youth officer assigned to the case. Adams got Gacy on the phone and asked if he had been in the pharmacy the previous night. Gacy confirmed that he had. “Did you speak to Robert Piest last night?”
Gacy was firm. “No, I never spoke to him.”
Postmortem: What Survives The John Wayne Gacy Murders was written by Courtney Lund O’Neil, the daughter of Kim Byers, Piest's friend and colleague
Image credits: Amazon
Piest’s family filed a missing person report with the Des Plaines police after he failed to return home. The pharmacy owner named Gacy as the contractor Piest had most likely left with.
Lieutenant Joseph Kozenczak, whose son attended Maine West High School like the victim, chose to investigate Gacy, who had previously been imprisoned in Iowa for the sodomy of a 15-year-old boy.
In the first search warrant of his house, police found the Nisson Pharmacy photo receipt belonging to Byers, among other suspicious items like police bandages, different driver’s licenses, and a starting pistol.
Gacy assaulted and murdered 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978
Image credits: Netflix
Image credits: Bettmann/Getty Images
Police then began surveilling Gacy, who started to behave erratically as the investigation progressed. On December 20, he confessed to killing “at least” thirty victims and said Piests’ body was in the Des Plaines River. Fearing he would commit suicide, officers arrested Gacy on a charge of possession of cannabis after he was found with a bag of marijuana.
Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1980
Once a second search warrant was formally granted, they returned to the house and found many of the victims’ bodies in the crawl space. Gacy provided a full statement to police where he confessed to murdering approximately 30 young males.
On February 6, 1980, the serial killer was brought to trial and charged with 33 murders. The victims, aged between 14 and 21 years old, were raped and tortured before being murdered.
Gacy was executed on May 10, 1994, by lethal injection.
Details about Robert Piest's final moments evoked strong emotions online as people remembered him and the 32 other victims
