Law & Orderactor Jack Merrill is opening up about his harrowing encounter with infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
He said, Lock your door.
I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in handcuffs.
Jack Merrill; John Wayne Gacy.Gabriela Maj/Patrick McMullan via Getty; Bettmann Archive/Getty
When the man took Merrill to his house, he understood just how increasingly dangerous the situation had become.
I was a puny 19-year-old.
I knew I couldnt anger him.
Jack Merrill.Gabriela Maj/Patrick McMullan via Getty
I just had to diffuse the situation and act like everything was okay, he noted.
Thats the way I had survived as a kid we learned to lie low during my parents rages.
The pair drank beers and smoked pot together before the man put a homemade contraption around Merrills neck.
I did at one point and started to lose air, he stated.
He stuck a gun in my mouth.
Then he raped me in the bedroom.
I knew if I fought him, I didnt have much of a chance.
I never freaked out or yelled.
He continued, Wed been there for hours.
Finally, I could tell he was tiring.
All of a sudden he said, Ill take you home.
He was executed via lethal injection at the Stateville Correctional Center in 1994.
I thought if the police ever needed my help, Id come forward.
They found all these bodies under that house, and years later he was convicted, he wrote.
But like I said, if they had needed me, I would have come forward.
He moved to New York City, where he began studying drama at NYU.
“Acting was therapeutic for me,” he wrote.
“Youre forced to express yourself, and there is some honesty that goes with that.
Dont get me wrong I still face it.
He continued, “Theres a lot of people who have had bad things happen to them.
Many people who have been raped dont talk about it.
Until now Ive only told close friends.
But doing my new show, I walk through it every night.
Im proud of the journey.
I was able to learn from the bad and use it for the good.
You know, Im lucky.
