The Case of Frank William Landingin

Frank William Landingin, 19, was murdered by John Wayne Gacy on November 4, 1978, during the final weeks of Gacy's killing spree. Landingin was last seen alive by his father walking along Foster Avenue in Chicago. Eight days later, his body was recovered from the Des Plaines River, making him the first Gacy victim to be identified. Evidence found at Gacy's home subsequently connected him to the murder.

Frank Landingin was 19 years old and lived in Chicago. He was also known by the nickname "Dale." On November 4, 1978, Frank was last seen alive by his father walking along Foster Avenue in Chicago. He disappeared that day, and his body was discovered only eight days later. Unlike many of Gacy's earlier victims, Frank was not buried beneath Gacy's house. By late 1978, the crawl space was becoming increasingly crowded with bodies, and Gacy began disposing of victims in the Des Plaines River. Landingin was one of the first victims discovered in the river.

Frank was murdered by Gacy and his body was disposed of in the Des Plaines River. On November 12, 1978, two duck hunters discovered his naked body near an inlet in the river. His remains were recovered approximately eight days after he was last seen alive. An autopsy determined that Frank had died from suffocation. Investigators determined that his own underwear had been forced into his mouth, obstructing his airway. His death was therefore not attributed to drowning despite his body being recovered from the river.

The discovery of Frank's body initially represented a homicide investigation separate from the murders later uncovered at Gacy's home. Frank was identified through fingerprint records on November 14, 1978, only two days after his body was recovered. He became the first of Gacy's victims to be identified. A crucial connection to Gacy was subsequently discovered when investigators found a bond slip belonging to Frank at Gacy's home. The document had been issued to Landingin the day before his death and provided investigators with a direct link between the murdered teenager and Gacy. At the time, however, investigators had not yet uncovered the full extent of Gacy's crimes. The connection between Landingin's murder and the much larger series of killings would become clear only after the disappearance of Robert Piest in December 1978 led police to Gacy's home.

John Wayne Gacy was subsequently convicted of Frank Landingin's murder as one of the 33 murders for which he was prosecuted. Frank's body had already been recovered from the Des Plaines River before Gacy was arrested. His identification and the evidence linking him to Gacy became part of the broader investigation into Gacy's victims. Gacy was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.

Frank Landingin was Victim 26 of 33 in our chronological CrimeTrakr sequence. His case marks an important change in Gacy's disposal methods. Earlier victims had predominantly been concealed beneath his home, but by late 1978 Gacy was disposing of bodies in the Des Plaines River. Landingin was the first of four known Gacy victims whose bodies were recovered from the river. Frank was also the first Gacy victim to be identified, just two days after his body was recovered.