Jack Merrill.
Greg Doherty/Getty Imagesactor Jack Merrill He has some ideas as to why he survived a horrific encounter with a serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
In his solo show Preservationwho attended the ceremony Us Weekly On Friday, January 17, Merrill, 65, said he was “kidnapped and raped by John Wayne Gacy” in Chicago when he was just 19 years old. The show explores the reasons why the notorious serial killer was eventually released.
“The whole reason for what I do Preservation “It's connecting with people in a way that's completely different than what most people would expect from someone who's experienced what I've gone through,” Merrill said exclusively. we After his performance on Friday. Merrill's on-screen credits include minor roles in shows such as Law and order, Hannah Montana, Gray's Anatomy and Sex and the City.
Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least 33 young men until he was finally captured. In 1980, he was convicted of 33 counts of murder and sentenced to death. He was executed 14 years later in 1994.
According to Merrill, he was one of the lucky ones despite his horrific kidnapping and difficult childhood.
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Growing up, Merrill said his parents were emotionally, physically and verbally abusive to him and his sisters, describing his childhood home as an “unhappy, nerve-wracking place.” He credits enduring his mother's “wrath” throughout his life for staying in the Gacy household.
John Wayne Gacy.
Getty Images“It was the same with my mom and having to lie down when angry. My family has given me some serious tools that I've been able to use to defend myself,” he explained during the show.
Merrill explained that Gacy loved and trusted him. He told Merrill that he was not “like others.” He even removed Merrill's handcuffs so they could sit together at the bar at Gacy's house, have a few beers, smoke and talk, but only if Merrill promised he would be “good.”
“I could tell he didn't like others,” the playwright explained. “He wanted to mark me. I knew that if I listened to him, he wouldn't hurt me. I had to accept that this was normal. There was no other option.”
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Gacy's trust in him did not save Meryl from harm – the killer still sexually assaulted him. “That's how I lost the last stage of my innocence,” Merrill said, adding that while the assault was occurring, he “told myself I'm going to get through this, I'm going to get through this.”
In an October 2024 interview with the people, Merrill said about the event“I knew that if I fought him, I wouldn't have much of a chance. I never got scared or screamed.
The next morning, Gacy released Merrill, allegedly saying, “You're a good kid. I like you. Maybe we can get together again sometime.” Merrill gave out his phone number on a small piece of paper, which the actor said he immediately flushed down the toilet.
A month or two later, he saw Gacy's face on a newspaper with the headline “Bodies Found at Suburban Site.” But Merrill never came forward to police about his story. “I decided that if the police needed me, I would come forward,” he said. “But they never needed me.”
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Merrill says he kept what happened to him secret for a while. But he decided to apply after the death of his parents. He says he is happy that his parents died without knowing what happened to their son.
“I wanted to tell people at a certain point. 'It happened and it's a part of me, and I wanted them to know that.'” “Anyone who I've told has turned away from me, to try to process it, I don't blame them.”
Meryl shared that in order to move forward with his life he inevitably had to forgive Gacy. “Actually not just with Jaci but with my family as well,” he said. “I lived a great life. I never let them take away my potential.”
He said: “Forty-six years later, I'm still here. Happy, grateful and proud. I never left my mind in that house near the airport. I'm not a victim. It was one night. Something happened. This is my life.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). https://www.rainn.org/
Sienna Leone reports
