The Case of William Wayne Kindred

William Wayne Kindred, 19, disappeared from Chicago on February 16, 1978, during the final year of John Wayne Gacy's known murders. Kindred was later identified as one of the victims buried beneath Gacy's Norwood Park Township home. His remains were recovered after Gacy's arrest in December 1978, when investigators uncovered the extensive burial site beneath the property.

William Kindred was 19 years old and lived in Chicago. He disappeared on February 16, 1978, during a period when Gacy continued to target young men despite having already murdered numerous victims and concealed their bodies beneath his home. Kindred's disappearance occurred approximately two months after David Talsma disappeared and several months before Gacy's final known murders in late 1978. At the time, there was still no recognised connection between the numerous young men disappearing from Chicago and Gacy. He continued to operate his construction business and maintain his public life while concealing the scale of his crimes.

Kindred was murdered by Gacy and his body was concealed beneath 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park Township. Gacy's crawl space had become a mass burial site by this stage of his offending. Numerous victims were buried beneath the property, with some bodies placed in previously excavated areas and others concealed in different sections of the house. Kindred's remains were eventually recovered during the excavation that followed Gacy's arrest.

Kindred's disappearance remained unresolved until the investigation into Gacy began in December 1978. The disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest on December 11, 1978, finally brought police attention to Gacy. Piest had been seen speaking with Gacy at a Des Plaines pharmacy shortly before disappearing. Investigators subsequently examined Gacy's activities and searched his Norwood Park Township home. Suspicious evidence led them to the crawl space, where human remains were discovered. The investigation rapidly expanded as more bodies were uncovered. Investigators compared the unidentified remains with missing-person cases from Chicago and surrounding communities. Kindred was eventually identified as one of the victims recovered from the property.

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

William Kindred was Victim 24 of 33 in our chronological CrimeTrakr sequence. His murder occurred approximately two months after David Talsma, continuing Gacy's known offending into 1978. Kindred was among the final group of victims killed before Gacy's crimes were exposed later that year.