'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, helium near the location alive.

Merrill, who was 19 erstwhile the abduction and rape happened, has since go an actor, appearing successful tiny 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 amusement that he'll execute called "The Save," which details that horrific nighttime with 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 tiny roles connected respective tv series, including "Law & Order," "Grey's Anatomy," "Games People Play" and "Steve the 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 the American consciousness. John Wayne Gacy," helium told People magazine. "Yeah, that feline from Chicago who dressed arsenic a clown and murdered 33 boys and young men nether his location and store and who authorities judge killed adjacent more."

The lad of a respected sports writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Merrill says helium grew up successful a tumultuous household, the youngest of 5 children.

John Wayne Gacy posing for modular mugshots astatine the 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," helium explained. "I wanted to beryllium an histrion but didn’t cognize however to spell astir that. I would spell swimming astatine the YMCA, and 1 night, aft a swim, I was walking home. A feline pulled implicit and said, ‘Do you privation to spell for a ride?’"

"I thought I’d spell astir the artifact a fewer times, but helium started driving rapidly and turned into a truly atrocious neighborhood. He said, ‘Lock your door. It’s dangerous.’ I said they kept that retired of the papers due to the fact that it was atrocious for concern connected adjacent Rush Street, and helium said, ‘How bash you cognize that, huh? You’re smart. You’re not similar those different kids.’"

"I had ne'er gotten into anyone’s car before, but I had a consciousness that if helium thought I was antithetic from different radical he’d picked up, past I should instrumentality with it. He pulled implicit adjacent the ramp of the 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 the beforehand and backmost tract of John Wayne Gacy's location are wholly destroyed owed to the investigation. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Shortly after, helium arrived astatine Gacy's present infamous home. "He told maine to beryllium quiet," Merrill recounted. "A airy from the backmost of the location deed him successful the eyes and abruptly I realized however unsafe helium was."

"I knew helium was crazy, and I knew I couldn't combat him. And I knew that I couldn't choler him. And I conscionable had to diffuse the situation, diffuse the situation. Act similar everything was good each the 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 helium were to combat Macy, helium wouldn't survive. "I didn't not, not combat him . . . I was 19 years aged and I was a scrawny small kid . . . I had learned skills that I was capable to enactment into usage truthful that I didn't lose."

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

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

"I knew helium was brainsick and I knew I couldn't combat him."

Jack Merrill believes radical 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 helium raped maine successful the bedroom. I knew if I fought him, I didn’t person overmuch of a chance. I ne'er freaked retired oregon yelled. I besides felt atrocious for him successful a way, similar helium didn’t needfully privation to beryllium doing what helium was doing, but helium couldn’t stop. We’d been determination for hours. Finally, I could archer helium was tiring. All of a abrupt helium said, ‘I’ll instrumentality 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 radical that atrocious things hap to," helium stated. "They're not funny successful me. They're funny successful [Gacy]. And I cognize that, and that's fine, but that's a weird happening 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 archetypal met astir 5 A.M. "He gave maine his telephone fig and said, ‘Maybe we’ll get unneurotic again sometime.’ When I got home, I flushed the fig down the toilet, past took a shower. I didn’t telephone the police—I didn’t cognize helium was a slayer astatine the time." 

Merrill says helium initially tried to archer this communicative years ago, but was discouraged by a movie executive. Merrill remembers that idiosyncratic asking him, "That’s however you privation to beryllium remembered?" 

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

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

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