Matrix · No. 07
Two axes
- Missed chance
- Open case
Notation
- The line
- Time, left to right. Down the screen on a phone.
- Event
- A fact on the record.
- Missed chance
- The system had him and let him go.
- The catch
- The error that ended it, knocked out of line.
- Open case
- No one charged.
- A wait
- Time passes and nothing moves.
Data table
| Case | hard to catch | needs catching | Note | Notation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gacy | Low | High | institutional failure | Missed chance |
| Zodiac | High | Low | forensic failure | Open case |
Drawn from: People v. Gacy, Cook County, 1980 · Zodiac: SFPD / Vallejo PD, case open
The case
Chicago suburbs, 1972 to 1978. Thirty-three young men and boys, most under John Wayne Gacy’s house. A prior conviction. Questioned about missing teenage employees. Then Robert Piest, fifteen, disappeared from a Des Plaines pharmacy while his mother waited. Reported within hours. Searched in two days. Arrested in ten. Zodiac: five killed, no one charged.
The mechanism
Why was one case closed in ten days and the other never closed?
Gacy: maximally dangerous, minimally hard to catch. Six years of institutional failure. Zodiac: hardly dangerous after 1969, maximally hard to catch. Decades of forensic failure. The attention went to the letters. The bodies were under a floor.
The rule
Hard to catch and needs catching are different axes.
The record
Sources
People v. Gacy, Cook County, 1980 (33 counts); Illinois Supreme Court, 1984
SFPD / Vallejo PD / Napa & Solano County Sheriffs — Zodiac case status: open
Transcript56.4 s
- 0:00
Claim
Gacy and Zodiac are opposites, and that explains both.
- 0:04
Case
Chicago suburbs, 1972 to 1978. Thirty-three young men and boys, most under John Wayne Gacy’s house. A prior conviction. Questioned about missing teenage employees. Then Robert Piest, fifteen, disappeared from a Des Plaines pharmacy while his mother waited. Reported within hours. Searched in two days. Arrested in ten. Zodiac: five killed, no one charged.
- 0:31
Mechanism
Gacy: maximally dangerous, minimally hard to catch. Six years of institutional failure. Zodiac: hardly dangerous after 1969, maximally hard to catch. Decades of forensic failure. The attention went to the letters. The bodies were under a floor.
- 0:50
Rule and source
Hard to catch and needs catching are different axes. Source: People v. Gacy, 1980.
Educational analysis. Adjudicated cases only. Victims named with respect.
Questions
Who was Robert Piest?
- Robert Piest was fifteen. On December 11, 1978 he disappeared from a Des Plaines pharmacy while his mother waited. He was reported missing within hours.
How was John Wayne Gacy caught?
- Robert Piest’s disappearance was reported within hours. Police searched in two days and made an arrest in ten, on December 21, 1978.
Why was John Wayne Gacy not caught sooner?
- He had a prior conviction and was questioned about missing teenage employees. Thirty-three young men and boys were killed in the Chicago suburbs between 1972 and 1978.
Has anyone been charged in the Zodiac case?
- No. Five people were killed in 1968 and 1969, and no one has been charged. The case is open with San Francisco and Vallejo police and the Napa and Solano County sheriffs.