Court Security Heavy, Gacy Pleads Innocent to Mass Sex Murders

by Robert MaCkay

Suspected mass slayer John Wayne Gacy today pleaded innocent to charges of murdering seven young men and boys between the ages of 15 and 20. Gacy, 36, convicted of sodomy and suspected in the sex slayings of as many as 32 boys and young men, stood quietly before Cook County Chief Criminal Judge Richard J. Fitzgerald as his lawyer entered the pleas for him. Gacy appeared under heavy security and was ushered into the courtroom via a tunnel which connects the court building with the jail hospital, where he has been held because of heart problems. Fitzgerald prohibited Gacy from appearing in a suburban Des Plaines courtroom because of security concerns and ordered the case transferred to his Chicago courtroom. Investigators have identified 10 of the 29 bodies recovered so far and linked to victims he allegedly strangled after having sex with them.

Authorities today continued their excavation of his Norwood Park Township home, searching for more bodies beneath the house’s 30-inch crawl space. Gacy is seeking to auction off furniture and other possessions from his home, but Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod cautioned, “We won’t let anything go unless we’re sure it has no evidentiary value.”

Reporter Seized at Gacy’s Home

A reporter for the Detroit News Police has been arrested for ignoring security at Gacy’s home during police barricades at the home of their excavations for bodies of suspected mass killer John Wayne Gacy. Reporter John McAleenan was handcuffed and driven away from the Norwood Park Township home Wednesday by Cook County sheriff’s police. Police said McAleenan had walked up to the front to the door of the house. “He’s the first one to get in and he’s the last,” said Cook County Sheriff’s Police Chief Edmund Dobbs. Police have maintained tight security at Gacy’s home during their excavations for bodies of young men he allegedly had sex with and buried in his 30-inch crawl space. Gacy is suspected of the slayings of as many as 32 young men and boys. Police said McAleenan had been warned several times to observe barricades which rope off the driveway of the home. McAleenan was not immediately charged.