'Law & Order' actor Jack Merrill survived serial killer John Wayne Gacy abduction and rape at 19

In 1978, Jack Merrill unwillingly entered serial slayer John Wayne Gacy's home. Unlike dozens of Gacy's different victims, he near nan location alive.

Merrill, who was 19 erstwhile nan abduction and rape happened, has since go an actor, appearing successful mini roles connected respective tv series, including "Law & Order" and "Grey's Anatomy."

Now he's starring successful his ain story, having written a one-man show that he'll execute called "The Save," which specifications that horrific nighttime pinch Gacy.

JOHN WAYNE GACY'S LAWYER 'WANTED TO LOOK EVIL IN THE EYE,' BELIEVES AT LEAST 20 MORE VICTIMS

Actor Jack Merrill has appeared successful mini roles connected respective tv series, including "Law & Order," "Grey's Anatomy," "Games People Play" and "Steve nan Intern." (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

"When I was 19 years old, I was abducted and raped by a wide murderer. One who's etched into nan American consciousness. John Wayne Gacy," he told People magazine. "Yeah, that feline from Chicago who dressed arsenic a comedian and murdered 33 boys and young men nether his location and car shed and who authorities judge killed moreover more."

The boy of a respected sports writer for nan Chicago Sun-Times, Merrill says he grew up successful a tumultuous household, nan youngest of 5 children.

John Wayne Gacy posing for modular mugshots astatine nan Des Plaines Police Department. (Des Plaines Police Department/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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"By 19, I was moving successful clubs," he explained. "I wanted to beryllium an character but didn’t cognize really to spell astir that. I would spell swimming astatine the YMCA, and 1 night, aft a swim, I was stepping home. A feline pulled complete and said, ‘Do you want to spell for a ride?’"

"I thought I’d spell astir nan artifact a fewer times, but he started driving quickly and turned into a really bad neighborhood. He said, ‘Lock your door. It’s dangerous.’ I said they kept that retired of nan papers because it was bad for business connected adjacent Rush Street, and he said, ‘How do you cognize that, huh? You’re smart. You’re not for illustration those different kids.’"

"I had ne'er gotten into anyone’s car before, but I had a consciousness that if he thought I was different from different group he’d picked up, past I should instrumentality pinch it. He pulled complete adjacent nan ramp of nan Kennedy Expressway and asked if I’d ever done "poppers"—amyl nitrite. He pulled retired this brownish bottle, splashed immoderate liquid connected a rag and jammed it into my face. I passed out, and erstwhile I woke up, I was successful handcuffs."

Backyard structures and nan beforehand and backmost section of John Wayne Gacy's location are wholly destroyed owed to nan investigation. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Shortly after, he arrived astatine Gacy's now infamous home. "He told maine to beryllium quiet," Merrill recounted. "A ray from nan backmost of nan location deed him successful nan eyes and abruptly I realized really vulnerable he was."

"I knew he was crazy, and I knew I couldn't conflict him. And I knew that I couldn't anger him. And I conscionable had to diffuse nan situation, diffuse nan situation. Act for illustration everything was okay each nan time. Because I grew up doing that. I did it my full life."

Jack Merrill recalls being drugged successful John Wayne Gacy's car. (Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

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Merrill remembers reasoning that if he were to conflict Macy, he wouldn't survive. "I didn't not, not conflict him . . . I was 19 years aged and I was a scrawny small kid . . . I had learned skills that I was capable to put into usage truthful that I didn't lose."

Now 65, he remembers nan location being "dark" and that he "sensed it was a trap."

"He asked if I trusted him, and I said I did, truthful he took disconnected nan handcuffs. There was a barroom successful nan mediate of nan house. We had beer, and he had this beardown pot, and past he put nan handcuffs backmost connected and dragged maine down nan hall. He put this homemade contraption astir my neck. It had ropes and pulleys, and it went astir my backmost and done my handcuffed hands successful a measurement that if I struggled, I would choke," he explained.

"I knew he was crazy and I knew I couldn't conflict him."

Jack Merrill believes group wouldn't attraction if this aforesaid onslaught had happened to him but had not been committed by John Wayne Gacy. (J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images)

"I did astatine 1 constituent and started to suffer air. He stuck a weapon successful my mouth. Then he raped maine successful nan bedroom. I knew if I fought him, I didn’t person overmuch of a chance. I ne'er freaked retired aliases yelled. I besides felt sorry for him successful a way, for illustration he didn’t needfully want to beryllium doing what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop. We’d been location for hours. Finally, I could show he was tiring. All of a abrupt he said, ‘I’ll return you home.’"

"If this had happened to maine and it wasn't [Gacy], cipher would care. Which is absorbing for maine to deliberation about. Because there's a batch of different group that bad things hap to," he stated. "They're not willing successful me. They're willing successful [Gacy]. And I cognize that, and that's fine, but that's a weird point astir our society."

John Wayne Gacy successful mugshots taken successful 1978. (Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images)

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Merrill says Gacy dropped him disconnected adjacent to wherever they'd first met astir 5 A.M. "He gave maine his telephone number and said, ‘Maybe we’ll get together again sometime.’ When I sewage home, I flushed nan number down nan toilet, past took a shower. I didn’t telephone nan police—I didn’t cognize he was a slayer astatine nan time." 

Merrill says he initially tried to show this communicative years ago, but was discouraged by a movie executive. Merrill remembers that personification asking him, "That’s really you want to beryllium remembered?" 

"If this had happened to maine and it wasn't [Gacy], cipher would care."

That stalled nan process of telling his story, but it didn't termination it.

"One of my large messages pinch this [one-man]show is that I'm not a victim. Something happened to me. It was 1 night, and I made a pact pinch myself astatine that clip that he controlled maine for 1 night, but he would not power my life," Merrill said. "He was not going to beryllium nan identifying facet successful my life. . . . This trauma was not going to guideline my life."