The Case of Michael M. Marino

Michael M. Marino, 14, disappeared from Chicago on October 24, 1976, after leaving home to visit his grandparents. He never arrived. His remains were later recovered from the crawl space beneath John Wayne Gacy's home, where they were initially unidentified. Marino's identity was confirmed years later through DNA testing, resolving a case that had remained uncertain for decades.

Michael Marino was 14 years old and lived with his family in Chicago. On October 24, 1976, he left his home to visit his grandparents but never arrived. His disappearance occurred during one of the most active periods of Gacy's known murders. By this point, numerous young men and boys had disappeared from the Chicago area, although authorities had not yet connected the cases to Gacy. Michael's family spent years without knowing what had happened to him. His remains would eventually be found beneath Gacy's home, but his identification would prove considerably more difficult than investigators initially expected.

Michael was murdered by John Wayne Gacy and his body was buried beneath 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park Township. Gacy used the crawl space beneath his home to conceal many of his victims. When police excavated the property after Gacy's arrest in December 1978, Michael's remains were recovered alongside those of numerous other victims. At the time of the original investigation, however, investigators were not certain of Michael's identity.

Michael's disappearance remained unresolved after he failed to arrive at his grandparents' home. The investigation changed dramatically in December 1978 after the disappearance of Robert Piest led police to Gacy. A search of Gacy's home uncovered evidence of a large-scale burial site beneath the property. Investigators excavated the crawl space and recovered dozens of sets of human remains. Michael's remains were among them. For many years, one of the recovered victims was believed to be Michael Marino. The original identification was based partly on circumstances surrounding his disappearance and the comparison of dental records. However, questions later arose concerning the identification of the victim. In 2011, authorities conducted further DNA testing on the remains. The Cook County Sheriff's Office subsequently confirmed that the remains were those of Michael Marino, providing a definitive identification decades after his disappearance.

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of Michael Marino's murder in 1980 as part of the prosecution involving 33 victims. Michael's remains were recovered from Gacy's home in 1978 but his identification was later subjected to renewed forensic examination. In 2011, DNA testing definitively confirmed the remains belonged to Michael Marino. The identification gave Michael's family a final answer more than 34 years after he disappeared.

Michael Marino was Gacy's eleventh identified victim in the chronological sequence. His case is particularly notable because his identification was later questioned and ultimately resolved through modern DNA testing. This makes it an excellent example of how forensic technology can revisit and confirm identifications made during an earlier investigation. Michael also disappeared on the same day as Kenneth Ray Parker, another Gacy victim. Both were eventually found among the remains beneath Gacy's home.