The PyramidReading
Hard to catch and needing to be caught are two different things
The short answer
Is the hardest serial killer to catch also the one who most needs catching?
No. They are separate measures. Near Chicago, 33 young men and boys were murdered between 1972 and 1978.12 The man convicted, John Wayne Gacy, had been questioned and arrested by police before.34 In Northern California, five people were murdered in 1968 and 1969 by an offender who has never been identified.56
Matrix · The Pyramid
- 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 case | High | Low | forensic failure | Open case |
What are the two axes?
The first axis is how hard a killer is to catch: how few ways exist to identify him. This site’s pyramid ranks cases on that axis alone and puts the Northern California case at the top. Its offender has never been identified.56
The second axis is how much he needs catching: how many people die while he stays free. Between 1972 and 1978, 33 young men and boys were murdered near Chicago, and a jury convicted John Wayne Gacy of all 33.17 The two axes do not move together, and these two cases sit at opposite corners.
Why was John Wayne Gacy not caught sooner?
Not for lack of leads. John Wayne Gacy had a 1968 conviction in Iowa for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.38 By the mid-1970s police had questioned him about missing young men, among them an employee, Gregory Godzik, 17.34 Chicago police also arrested him on a kidnapping and sexual assault complaint.38 His house was first searched on December 13, 1978.89
The murders ran from January 1972 to December 1978.124 Of the 33 victims, 29 were recovered from his property.89 Five of them are still unidentified, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says.310
Police knew him. In 1968 he was convicted in Iowa of sexually assaulting a teenage boy and sentenced to 10 years, and he was paroled in 1970.3811 In 1971 he was arrested for sexual assault, and the charges were dropped.411
By the mid-1970s police had questioned him about the disappearances of young men.34 In 1976 they asked him about Gregory Godzik, 17, who worked for him and had disappeared, and he told them the boy had run away.31213 Chicago police also arrested him on a complaint of kidnapping and sexual assault.38 Police accepted his account, and he was not prosecuted.34
John Butkovich, another employee, disappeared in 1975.1214 His parents called police again and again, sometimes to ask about Gacy.414 Some victims were never reported missing at all, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says.10
What changed when Robert Piest disappeared?
Robert Piest, 15, worked at a pharmacy in Des Plaines.89 On the evening of December 11, 1978, his mother came to pick him up after work.38 He told her he was going to see a building contractor about a summer job, and he was never seen alive again.18
His family reported him missing to police that night.815 Police learned that the contractor was John Wayne Gacy and that he had a conviction in Iowa.815 On December 13 they searched his house under a warrant.89
A second warrant was issued on December 21, 1978, and Gacy was arrested that day, 10 days after Robert Piest disappeared.8911 A jury convicted him of 33 counts of murder in March 1980 and sentenced him to death on 12 of them.18 In People v. Gacy, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed on June 6, 1984, and he was executed on May 10, 1994.127811
Every earlier lead pointed at the same man. The report of December 11, 1978 was the first to end in a search of his house.89
Why is the Northern California case of 1968 and 1969 still open?
The record holds no name.56 Five people were murdered in four attacks between December 1968 and October 1969, and no one has ever been arrested.616 By May 2018 Vallejo police had sent two of the letters for DNA testing.1718 In December 2020 the FBI said the case remains an ongoing investigation.1920
David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were killed on December 20, 1968.621 Darlene Ferrin was killed on July 4, 1969.618 Cecelia Shepard died after a knife attack at Lake Berryessa in September 1969.616 Paul Stine was killed in San Francisco on October 11, 1969.622
The case is known in the press as the Zodiac case.520 The offender sent letters to newspapers and police for years and was never caught.520 The FBI never opened its own investigation, because the murders were not federal crimes.5
By May 2018 Vallejo police had sent two of the letters to a laboratory for DNA testing.1718 In December 2020 the FBI said the case remains an ongoing investigation for its San Francisco office and its local law enforcement partners.1920
What does the comparison show?
Gacy was easy to find and urgent to stop. His Iowa conviction was on his record, police had questioned him about missing young men, and they had arrested him before.348 Between 1972 and 1978, 33 young men and boys were murdered.12 That is an institutional failure.
The Northern California case is the reverse. Five people were killed in four attacks within 10 months, and no later attack is in the official count.616 The offender has never been identified.56 That is a forensic failure.
The pyramid ranks the second case far above the first. A ranking by lives lost reverses them: 33 against five.15 Both rankings are true. They answer different questions.
The rule
Hard to catch and needs catching are different axes.
Questions
How long did John Wayne Gacy kill before he was caught?
- Nearly seven years. Thirty-three young men and boys were murdered between January 1972 and December 11, 1978, when Robert Piest, 15, disappeared.124 John Wayne Gacy was arrested 10 days later, on December 21, 1978.911
Did police have contact with John Wayne Gacy before his arrest?
- Yes. He had a 1968 conviction in Iowa for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.38 By the mid-1970s police had questioned him about missing young men, among them Gregory Godzik, 17, who worked for him.34 Chicago police also arrested him on a kidnapping and sexual assault complaint.38 His house was first searched on December 13, 1978.89
How many of John Wayne Gacy’s victims are still unidentified?
- Five, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.310 The office holds DNA profiles for all five and asks families of men who went missing between 1970 and 1979 to come forward.10 It also says some identified victims had never been reported missing by their families.10
Has anyone been arrested for the Northern California killings of 1968 and 1969?
- No. No one has ever been arrested, and the offender has never been identified.51620 In December 2020 the FBI’s San Francisco office said the case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI and its local law enforcement partners.1920
The record
Sources
Gacy v. Welborn, 994 F.2d 305 (7th Cir., decided Apr. 12, 1993), opinion of Circuit Judge Easterbrook (Public.Resource.Org): the murders of 1972 to 1978; Robert Piest’s disappearance on December 11, 1978; the conviction of March 1980 on 33 counts; death sentences on 12; the Illinois Supreme Court’s affirmance
Janet Shedd, “Supreme Court upholds Gacy death sentence” (United Press International, June 6, 1984), UPI Archives, archived copy: the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling of June 6, 1984; trial testimony dating the murders from January 3, 1972 to December 11, 1978; 33 young men and boys
Nichole Manna, “John Wayne Gacy’s Capture Happened Because of a Missing Teen Case” (A&E, published Oct. 15, 2025; last updated July 16, 2026): police questioning in 1976 about Gregory Godzik; the Chicago arrest on a kidnapping and rape complaint that was not prosecuted; the 1968 Iowa conviction; five victims unidentified
Biography.com Editors, Colin McEvoy and Catherine Caruso, “John Wayne Gacy” (Biography.com, updated Oct. 16, 2025): police questioning about disappearances by the mid-1970s; John Butkovich and Gregory Godzik as employees; the Butkovich family’s calls to police; the arrest of 1971; the first known murder in January 1972; the complaint police did not pursue
Federal Bureau of Investigation, “The Zodiac Killer” (FBI.gov story, Mar. 2, 2007; date from the page address), FBI archives, archived copy: five murders in the Bay Area in 1968 and 1969; the offender’s identity unknown; no federal jurisdiction
Michael Butterfield, “The Zodiac Killer: A Timeline” (History.com, published Nov. 8, 2017; last updated May 28, 2025): the four attacks, their dates and places, and the victims’ names; the official count of five murders
Associated Press, “Timeline of Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy’s Life, Case” (as published by NBC Chicago, Oct. 26, 2021): the conviction of March 1980; the execution on May 10, 1994
People v. Gacy, 103 Ill. 2d 1, 468 N.E.2d 1171 (Illinois Supreme Court, No. 53212, opinion filed June 6, 1984) (Harvard Law School Library, Caselaw Access Project): Robert Piest’s disappearance on December 11, 1978; the missing-person report; the Iowa conviction; the search warrants of December 13 and December 21, 1978; the earlier arrest on a kidnapping and deviate sexual assault complaint; 29 victims recovered at the house; death sentences on 12 counts
Mitch Dudek, “Where John Wayne Gacy buried the bodies, more; key sites tied to serial killer” (Chicago Sun-Times, Dec. 14, 2018; date from the article address): the arrest on December 21, 1978; the first search on December 13, 1978; 29 of the 33 victims found on his property
Cook County Sheriff’s Office, “Unidentified Victims John Wayne Gacy” (official web page, undated; read Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, 2026): five victims still unidentified; DNA profiles from all five; some victims never reported missing
“John Wayne Gacy” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, online entry), archived copy of June 29, 2026: the 1968 Iowa plea and 10-year sentence; parole in 1970; the arrests of 1971; the arrest on December 21, 1978; the execution on May 10, 1994
Gina Tron, “Why Was Robert Piest’s Disappearance Treated More Seriously Than John Wayne Gacy’s Other Victims?” (Oxygen, Apr. 1, 2021): John Butkovich, an employee, vanished in 1975; Gregory Godzik, an employee, vanished in 1976, and Gacy claimed he had run away
“Victims’ kin applaud Gacy death sentence” (United Press International, Mar. 14, 1980), UPI Archives, archived copy: Gregory Godzik, 17, who disappeared in 1976
Whet Moser, “John Wayne Gacy, Runaways, and the Decline of the Serial Killer” (Chicago Magazine, Oct. 18, 2011, now hosted by the Chicago Tribune), quoting Eileen Ogintz, “Missing boy’s family always feared Gacy” (Chicago Tribune, Dec. 25, 1978): John Butkovich’s disappearance in 1975 and his parents’ calls to Chicago police
CNN, “John Wayne Gacy victims remembered on 40th anniversary of arrest” (as published by ABC7 Chicago, Dec. 21, 2018): the Piest family’s call to police that night; the Iowa plea and 10-year sentence found in a police background check; the search warrant the day after police first visited the house
Kerana Todorov, “Zodiac killer case investigator dies of cancer” (Napa Valley Register, Dec. 2, 2010): a Napa County Sheriff’s detective investigated the Lake Berryessa stabbings of September 1969; slayings in Benicia, Vallejo and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969; no one ever arrested; the case open
Associated Press, “DNA Match Sought to Catch Zodiac Killer After Break in Other Case” (as published by KQED, May 4, 2018): Vallejo police sent two of the letters to a private lab for DNA testing
Kiki Intarasuwan and Jodi Hernandez, “Investigators Renew Hope in Finding Zodiac Killer With DNA: Report” (NBC Bay Area, May 3, 2018): Vallejo police sent two envelopes holding letters for DNA analysis; Darlene Ferrin shot in Vallejo on July 4, 1969
Associated Press, “Zodiac cipher solved 51 years after it was sent to San Francisco Chronicle” (as published by the Napa Valley Register, Dec. 11, 2020): the FBI San Francisco statement of December 11, 2020
Leah Asmelash and Cheri Mossburg, “After 51 years, the Zodiac Killer’s cipher has been solved by amateur codebreakers” (CNN, Dec. 11, 2020): five unsolved murders; the offender never caught; letters to police and media; the FBI statement of December 11, 2020
San Francisco State University, J. Paul Leonard Library, Bay Area Television Archive, “Double Murder of Faraday & Jensen (Zodiac)”, catalog record for KRON newsfilm 420-1, film date Dec. 21, 1968: the attack of December 20, 1968 on Lake Herman Road
San Francisco State University, J. Paul Leonard Library, Bay Area Television Archive, “Zodiac Killer Letters: KRON-TV Compilation (1969-70)”, catalog record for KRON newsfilm 2366-15: Paul Stine killed in San Francisco on October 11
Educational analysis. Adjudicated cases only. Victims named with respect.