Teen's pal grew to become John Wayne Gacy's last recognized sufferer

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Kim Byers will always remember the unusual contractor who walked into her job and later murdered her childhood pal.

On Dec. 11, 1978, John Wayne Gacy walked into Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines, Illinois, to take measurements for what he referred to as "a attainable facelift," or a transforming job for the shop proprietor. Robert Piest, an area highschool pupil and part-time worker, was working alongside Byers — his pal and classmate. It could be the final time she ever noticed him alive.

Gacy was convicted of killing 33 younger males and boys within the Chicago space through the Nineteen Seventies. A lot of the victims’ stays have been found by authorities in a crawl area beneath his residence or buried elsewhere on the property.

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A police reserving photograph of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy on Dec. 21, 1978, on the Des Plaines Police Division. (Des Plaines Police Division/Chicago Tribune/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)

His case has been the topic of quite a few documentaries, books and reveals, most just lately, Peacock’s scripted collection, "Satan in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy." Byers’ daughter, Courtney Lund O’Neil, beforehand wrote a book, "Postmortem," which explores how Byers gave key particulars that led to Gacy’s seize.

"She ran into John Wayne Gacy the evening he took Rob," O’Neil advised Fox Information Digital. "He wasn’t a pleasant man. It virtually appeared like he was there with a plan whenever you replicate on it — and he or she wasn’t of curiosity to him. However I do assume he was watching Rob, and that’s why he got here again later that evening."

Michael Chernus as John Wayne Gacy within the Peacock scripted collection "Satan in Disguise." (Brooke Palmer/Peacock by way of Getty Photographs)

Within the guide, Gacy is described as "a big man, chubby, his barely receding brown hair laced with silver." He refused to acknowledge Byers. Once they ran into one another within the pharmacy aisles, she seemed into his eyes — a "darkish omen indigo."

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That chilly night, Byers requested Piest, 15, if she might borrow his blue parka. Whereas sporting it, she crammed out a kind to develop a roll of movie and slipped it into the coat pocket. On the finish of his shift, Piest requested for his jacket again to take out the trash. The contractor then returned to retrieve his forgotten appointment guide.

He "lingered, noticing Rob," O’Neil wrote. Gacy saved watching Piest as he pretended to browse the cabinets. The killer typically employed highschool college students for initiatives and took notice of Piest’s work ethic and construct.

"Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders" by Courtney Lund O'Neil is out there now. (Citadel)

Piest was desirous to get residence — it was his mom’s birthday. However the contractor supplied him a summer season job paying $5 an hour, double the $2.50 minimal wage on the time. Piest was intrigued.

He assured his mom he could be residence in time to have fun. She was anxious to blow out her candles with the household. Piest left Nisson Pharmacy — and by no means returned.

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Kim Byers beforehand spoke out within the Netflix true-crime documentary, "Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes." It is at present accessible for streaming. (Netflix)

"Rob was taken on his mother’s birthday ," stated O’Neil. "I at all times thought how horrifying that was for her — being a mom — and for the entire household. Rob liked his household and was excited to have fun along with his mother that evening. And this one man destroyed every part. My mother noticed her pal Rob go away with Gacy that evening, and it modified her life."

It wasn’t till the following day that an officer visited Byers and advised her Piest by no means got here residence.

John Wayne Gacy's authentic art work of "Pogo the Clown." (Steve Eichner/WireImage/Getty Photographs)

"This was a boy who went on nature walks and acquired soda pop," O’Neil stated. "He was on his technique to turning into an Eagle Scout. He was a household man who liked gymnastics, canoeing and faculty. Rob was lively and well-liked — the youngest in his household, filled with desires. He wished to purchase a Jeep for his first automotive when he turned 16 that spring. He was only a actually good pal."

Robert "Rob" Piest was 15 when he was murdered in 1978. Piest is seen right here in 1978 earlier than his demise. (The collections of the Des Plaines Historical past Middle)

When investigators searched Gacy’s residence, they discovered disturbing oddities — clown work, a hallway painted in weird yellow-and-brown zigzags, and a lure door resulting in a crawl area. Additionally they found startling mementos: a Maine West Excessive Faculty class ring, a pistol, handcuffs, keys and an ID that wasn’t Gacy’s. A film receipt from Nisson Pharmacy turned up among the many proof.

Police referred to as the Byers residence and requested the teenager to return in for a press release. Byers later wrote in regards to the roll of movie she developed.

A blue jacket belonging to Maine West sophomore Robert Piest was present in John Wayne Gacy's residence. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)

O’Neil stated there was by no means any query her mom would cooperate with authorities, hoping her reminiscences may assist remedy what occurred to her pal.

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Courtney Lund O'Neil, a California-based author, stated Rob Piest's homicide endlessly impacted her mom's life. (Leah and Tawn Nguyen)

"This was very scary to do at the moment," she stated. "Being a younger girl, her gender and her age have been typically used in opposition to her by authority figures. It wasn’t a time when a 17-year-old’s voice held numerous weight."

Byers’ receipt grew to become a key piece of proof through the investigation of Gacy, People magazine reported. In line with the outlet, Gacy denied to police that he’d ever met Piest. However the police, who had Byers’ receipt of their possession, knew he was mendacity.

John Wayne Gacy, 36, a convicted intercourse offender, covers his face as he's led to a courtroom by a police officer. He was charged with the homicide of a younger boy. Investigators uncovered he had killed extra and buried their our bodies underneath his residence. (Getty Photographs)

Police elevated surveillance on Gacy. Inconsistencies in his statements, together with new proof, led to a full search of his residence. That’s when authorities uncovered human stays within the crawl area. Gacy eventually confessed to killing dozens of younger males and boys.

The yard buildings of John Wayne Gacy's residence, circa 1979. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)

Piest’s blue parka was additionally discovered.

Although Gacy is ceaselessly mythologized as a calculating serial killer, O’Neil countered that notion, mentioning he was "fairly boring."

Teenage boys and younger males whose our bodies have been undoubtedly recognized because the victims of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Prime row, left to proper: Sam Dodd (Stapleton), Robert Winch, James Mazzara, Richard Johnston and Jon Butkovich. Backside row, left to proper: Matthew Bowman, Robert Gilroy, John Szyc, Robert Piest and Frank Landingin. (Getty Photographs)

"I imagine he managed a KFC. So what?" she defined. "He had his personal development enterprise. Nicely, lots of people try this. He was fascinated with politics. So are many different folks. He had an image with the primary woman. Many individuals pose with celebrities. None of that is attention-grabbing by itself.

Undated file photograph of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy, circa 1975. (Getty Photographs)

"Even after they later studied his mind, there was nothing attention-grabbing to be discovered. It was fairly a bland, boring mind. So I remind folks in my guide to not put serial killers on pedestals, however to really take a look at them for who they're. And numerous issues about serial killers get amplified in a manner that may be harmful. It makes folks obsessed."

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Francis Wayne Alexander's stays have been found in December 1978. Nonetheless, he wasn't recognized till October 2021 due to fashionable DNA expertise. (Cook dinner County Sheriff's Workplace/AP Photographs)

"I believe he was very clearly a grasp manipulator," she continued. "He had charisma, and he might discuss himself into and out of something. And he had performed that for the previous murders earlier than Rob Piest. With at this time’s expertise, Gacy couldn’t do any of this efficiently. However the truth that he was a frontrunner in his neighborhood, charismatic and manipulative, made it an ideal storm for him to cover in plain sight for thus lengthy."

A barren plot of land is an uncomfortable reminder of the "home of horrors" residence of John Wayne Gacy that after stood there. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Photographs)

As crews dug via Gacy’s property, they uncovered our bodies stacked beneath the house. Piest’s physique wasn’t amongst them. Gacy admitted dumping different victims within the Des Plaines River after operating out of area.

Police divers later recovered a number of stays from the river. Piest, who's believed to be Gacy’s final and youngest known victim , was recognized via dental data.

This undated photograph reveals stays and proof being faraway from John Wayne Gacy's residence. (Getty Photographs)

Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy labored as "Pogo the Clown" at youngsters’s events. He additionally lured his victims to his residence, the place he murdered them. In 1980, Gacy was convicted of killing 33 younger males and boys, making him one of the prolific serial killers in U.S. historical past.

Sheriff Thomas J. Dart introduced the id of one in all John Wayne Gacy's unknown victims throughout a information convention on the Daley Middle in Chicago on Nov. 29, 2011. The sufferer, William George Bundy, who went lacking in October 1976, was 18. Bundy had been working development jobs for Gacy. (Cook dinner County Sheriff/Chicago Tribune/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)

"Even after they went to trial in 1980, my mom tried to make eye contact with Gacy when she took the stand," stated O’Neil. "He wouldn’t take a look at her. He advised authorities when the investigation started that she was only a teen lady who wasn’t telling the reality. He insisted he by no means talked to a man named Rob who labored on the pharmacy together with her. However she knew."

O’Neil stated the case haunted her mom for years. She typically puzzled — if that movie receipt hadn’t been discovered, how lengthy wouldn't it have taken to cease Gacy?

In 1995, Gacy was executed by deadly injection at age 52.

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Sheriff Tom Dart and Detective Sergeant Jason Moran introduced on July 19, 2017, in Chicago, the identification of another sufferer of John Wayne Gacy, James Byron Haakenson of Minnesota. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)

"My mother at all times remembered Rob’s love for his household," stated O’Neil. "He liked his household greater than something. He was only a child who had a lot life forward of him. It was all simply taken away."

"As a bit of lady, my mother would at all times inform me to watch out about males who wished to talk with me whereas I used to be using my bicycle," she mirrored. "We have been at all times on alert. I at all times felt one thing had occurred. It wasn’t till I received older that I discovered what occurred, how she misplaced her pal one evening."