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The murder of Edward Spry represents a continuation of John Wayne Gacy’s established pattern during the mid-1970s, a period in which his confidence, control, and frequency of killings had significantly increased. By this stage, Gacy had refined his approach to targeting and subduing victims, allowing him to operate with alarming efficiency. Spry’s case highlights how routine the process had become. There was little deviation in method, suggesting that Gacy was no longer improvising but executing a system he had perfected. The consistency of his actions during this period is one of the most disturbing aspects of the case, reflecting a calculated and controlled approach to repeated violence.
Gacy encountered Spry and persuaded him to return to his residence, likely using familiar tactics such as offering employment or assistance. Once inside, Gacy used his well-practiced “handcuff trick” to restrain Spry, presenting it as a harmless demonstration before quickly overpowering him. This method allowed Gacy to gain control without immediate resistance. Following restraint, Spry was sexually assaulted and murdered, most likely by ligature strangulation, which had become Gacy’s primary method of killing. After the murder, Gacy concealed the body in the crawl space beneath his home, where numerous other victims were already buried. The confined and concealed nature of the space allowed him to continue hiding evidence of his crimes for years.
At the time of Spry’s disappearance, there was no direct evidence linking him to Gacy. Law enforcement lacked the broader pattern recognition that would later emerge during the 1978 investigation. His case only became part of the larger investigation after Gacy’s arrest, when authorities began uncovering remains beneath his home and identifying victims through forensic methods.