© 2024 Peoria Public Radio
A joint service of Bradley University and Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Investigators Get Tips After 40th Anniversary of Gacy Arrest

News coverage of last month's 40th anniversary of serial killer John Wayne Gacy's arrest has meant dozens of more tips for Illinois investigators trying to identify victims.

The Cook County sheriff's lead investigator says that about 10 of the 25 tips he's received are worth pursuing. Gacy was convicted of killing 33 young men and executed in 1994, but Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart reopened the case in 2011.

The reopened investigation has so far resulted in two bodies being identified. Six others remain nameless.

The most recent identification was 16-year-old Jimmy Haakenson, whose body was among dozens found in a crawl space of Gacy's Chicago-area home in 1978. The teen was identified in 2017 after his family submitted DNA for testing and Dart's office received a match.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.