The Case of Rick Louis Johnston

Rick Louis Johnston, 17, disappeared on August 6, 1976, after his mother dropped him at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom for a rock concert. He was expected to call her afterwards for a ride home but never did. His remains were later recovered from a grave beneath John Wayne Gacy's home, alongside those of James Haakenson and an unidentified victim.

Rick Johnston was 17 years old and lived in the Chicago area with his family. On August 6, 1976, his mother drove him to the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, where he planned to attend a rock concert. Rick was expected to contact his mother after the concert so she could collect him. That call never came, and he disappeared. His disappearance occurred just one day after James "Jimmie" Haakenson, another 16-year-old Gacy victim, made his final known contact with his family. Investigators later discovered that the two boys had been buried in the same grave beneath Gacy's home.

John Wayne Gacy murdered Johnston and buried his remains beneath his home at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park Township. Johnston's remains were found in a grave that also contained the remains of James Haakenson and another unidentified male victim. The position of the bodies, together with the dates on which Haakenson and Johnston were last known to be alive, led investigators to believe the victims were killed at or around the same time. Haakenson's remains were found beneath Johnston, while the third victim in the grave remains unidentified.

Johnston was reported missing after he failed to contact his mother following the concert. His disappearance remained unresolved until the investigation into Gacy's activities in December 1978. Following the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest, investigators focused on Gacy and searched his Norwood Park Township home. The search uncovered evidence of a large-scale burial site beneath the property. As investigators excavated the crawl space, multiple graves containing human remains were discovered. Johnston was among the victims whose identity could be established during the original investigation. The discovery of Johnston's remains also revealed the connection between his disappearance and that of Haakenson. The two had vanished only 24 hours apart, and their remains were found together.

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of Rick Johnston's murder in 1980, along with 32 other murders, and sentenced to death. Johnston's remains were recovered from Gacy's home during the December 1978 excavation and identified during the investigation. Gacy was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois on May 10, 1994.

Rick Johnston was Gacy's ninth identified victim in our chronological case sequence. His case is closely connected to James Haakenson, who disappeared the previous day. Both boys were found in the same grave beneath Gacy's home, along with a third victim who remains unidentified. The Cook County Sheriff's Office has stated that the circumstances and burial position indicate Gacy likely murdered the victims at or around the same time. The case also illustrates how Gacy's murders were becoming increasingly concentrated during 1976. Johnston was murdered only one day after Haakenson and less than two months after William Carroll.