The Case of Darrell Julius Samson

Darrell Julius Samson, 18, disappeared from Chicago in April 1976 after leaving home to meet friends. He was later identified as one of John Wayne Gacy's victims after investigators excavated the crawl space beneath Gacy's home in 1978 and recovered his remains.

Darrell Samson was 18 years old and lived in Chicago. He disappeared on April 6, 1976, after leaving his home. Samson's disappearance occurred during the period when Gacy's murders began increasing substantially. He was subsequently identified as one of the young men Gacy murdered and buried beneath his home.

The murder occurred at Gacy's residence at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue. Gacy later confessed to killing Samson and burying his body in the crawl space beneath the house. When investigators excavated the property in December 1978, Samson's remains were recovered along with those of numerous other victims.

Samson was reported missing after he failed to return home. His disappearance remained unresolved until Gacy's arrest in December 1978. The extensive excavation of Gacy's property uncovered dozens of human remains, leading investigators to revisit missing-person cases involving young men in the Chicago area. Samson was eventually identified through forensic examination and comparison with information supplied by his family.

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of Darrell Julius Samson's murder as part of the prosecution involving his 33 victims. Samson's remains were recovered from the crawl space beneath Gacy's home in 1978 and subsequently identified.

Darrell Samson was Gacy's third identified victim and the first in the chronology of the exceptionally concentrated series of murders that followed throughout 1976 and 1977.