The Case of John Alan Szyc

John Alan Szyc, 19, disappeared on January 20, 1977, after being lured to John Wayne Gacy's home. Gacy later claimed Szyc had sold him his Plymouth Satellite because he planned to leave town, but Szyc had left behind recent paychecks and had no apparent reason to disappear. The car was eventually traced back to Gacy, providing investigators with an important early link between him and a missing young man. Szyc's remains were recovered from Gacy's crawl space in 1978.

John Alan Szyc was 19 years old and known to friends and family as Johnny. He was acquainted with several young men who would later be identified as Gacy victims, including John Butkovich and Gregory Godzik. Szyc disappeared on January 20, 1977. He had been associated with Gacy and, like several of Gacy's other victims, was connected to the contractor's business and social circle. Gacy later admitted that he had lured Szyc to his home and murdered him. What makes Szyc's case particularly important is that his car remained behind as a tangible link to Gacy. That connection would eventually bring police to question Gacy about Szyc, although the opportunity to investigate him more deeply was missed.

Szyc was murdered at Gacy's home at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park Township. Gacy later confessed that he strangled Szyc and buried his body beneath the house. Szyc's remains were discovered during the extensive excavation of Gacy's property in December 1978. He was subsequently identified through dental records. Contemporary reporting confirmed his identification among the bodies recovered from beneath Gacy's home.

Szyc's disappearance initially generated concern because he had vanished along with his Plymouth Satellite. After his disappearance, the vehicle came into the possession of Michael Rossi, who was living with Gacy. Rossi was later stopped at a service station after allegedly driving away without paying for gasoline. Police traced the vehicle's registration and discovered that it belonged to Szyc. When questioned, Gacy told police that Szyc had sold him the car because he needed money to leave Chicago. Gacy claimed that Szyc had told him he was planning to leave town. The explanation raised questions. Szyc had left behind two paychecks, despite supposedly needing money, and records showed that he had purchased new license discs for the vehicle on the day he disappeared. These details were inconsistent with Gacy's explanation. Despite these inconsistencies, police did not pursue the matter further at the time. Szyc's mother was reportedly told that her son had sold the car. More than a year later, Gacy's arrest following the disappearance of Robert Piest led investigators to search his home. Human remains were discovered beneath the property, and Szyc's remains were among those eventually identified. His case therefore became one of the clearest examples of a missed opportunity to connect Gacy to a missing victim before the full extent of his murders was discovered.

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of John Szyc's murder in 1980, along with 32 other murders, and sentenced to death. Szyc's remains were recovered from the crawl space beneath Gacy's home in December 1978 and identified through dental records in January 1979. Gacy was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.

John Szyc was Gacy's fourteenth identified victim in our chronological sequence. His case is one of the more significant individual Gacy cases because police actually had a direct investigative lead connecting Gacy to a missing young man before Gacy was exposed as a serial killer. The unexplained possession of Szyc's car, combined with Gacy's inconsistent explanation, could have prompted a much deeper investigation. Instead, the opportunity passed and Gacy continued killing. Szyc's case is therefore appropriately marked: