Murder of Timothy McCoy

Timothy Jack McCoy (May 14, 1955 – January 3, 1972) was an American murder victim from Omaha, Nebraska.

Timothy Jack McCoy was born on May 14, 1955, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

McCoy had travelled the country for the majority of his life, living in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Florida and California.

McCoy was a fan of rock music, with his favorite album being Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

He had numerous cousins on his mother's side in various parts of the country, with one of his cousins, Jeffrey Billings, describing McCoy as "one of them guys that, when you were around him, he was happy, he'd make you laugh" and adding that "He always had something to say."

McCoy had also apparently worked as a forklift operator at Blue Star Foods Inc. nearby Council Bluffs.

His parents, Jack McCoy and Susie Study split in the early 1970s.

For Christmas 1971, McCoy (along with one of his aunt's sons) visited his cousins in Michigan and spent the Christmas holidays there.

A few days later, his cousins and their parents dropped him off at the Capital Area Multimodal Gateway in East Lansing, with McCoy promising to call back once he returned to his aunt's house in Omaha.

This is the last time McCoy's family would hear from him.

He is the first known victim of American serial killer and sex offender John Wayne Gacy, who murdered, raped and tortured at least 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978.

He was murdered by Gacy on January 3, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois, and was buried in the crawl space of his home.

McCoy arrived in Chicago, Illinois, on January 2, 1972.

His bus to Iowa was not scheduled to depart until noon of the next day, which gave him some time to spend in Chicago.

He then stumbled upon a man named John Wayne Gacy, who offered to drive him around the city and give him a sightseeing tour after McCoy told him his bus wasn't due for some hours, which he obliged to.

According to Gacy's account, after their trip, Gacy drove McCoy to 8213 West Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park Township, which was where his ranch-style house was located, with Gacy promising McCoy that he could spend the night at his house and be driven to the bus station in the morning so he could catch his bus.

Gacy said that him and McCoy drank alcohol together and he also claimed that the two performed oral sex on each other, despite the fact that McCoy was straight, but it remains truly unknown whether this had actually happened or whether this was consensual.

Afterwards, Gacy said he felt tired and they both went to sleep separately.

In the early hours of January 3, 1972, Gacy claimed to have awoken to find McCoy holding a kitchen knife walking towards his bed.

According to Gacy, he jumped from his bed and charged at McCoy, trying to grab the knife.

McCoy held up the knife to protect himself as Gacy reached for his wrist, which accidentally cut Gacy's arm.

He said that after his arm was slashed, he was "no longer the sick individual who was physically weak" and "I felt ten times stronger than I ever was before."

Gacy said he grabbed McCoy and threw him against the wall, which was followed by McCoy kicking Gacy in the stomach, which doubled him over.

Gacy remembered saying: "Motherfucker. I'll kill you."

Gacy then wrestled McCoy to the floor and stabbed McCoy several times in the chest.

As McCoy lay dying, Gacy washed the bloody knife in the bathroom and headed into the kitchen, where he saw McCoy's supposed making of breakfast; he had set the table for two and intended to walk into Gacy's room to wake him while absentmindedly carrying the knife.

McCoy eventually died of his stab wounds; he was 16 years old.

After his death, McCoy's body was placed in the crawl space of Gacy's home and because Gacy's mother was visiting later that same day, he walked around his house checking for blood stains he may have missed.

He later dug a shallow grave in the crawl space and buried McCoy's remains there, later covering his grave with a layer of concrete.

On January 3, 1972, the same day McCoy was killed, his aunt went to the bus depot in Omaha to pick him up only to see no sign of him, despite the fact the bus had arrived on schedule from Chicago.

As the year went on, McCoy's family began growing increasingly concerned as they had not heard anything from him at all.

Therefore, his father, Jack, hired a private investigator in Chicago.

McCoy's disappearance was mysterious to his family, as he'd never been known to run away from home.

In March 1973, McCoy's grandfather had also passed away in Iowa.

When McCoy failed to show up to the funeral, his family lost all hope that he would ever return.

Between 1974 and 1978, Gacy would go on to murder at least 32 more victims and buried 25 of the victims in the crawl space along with McCoy's body; he was Gacy's first known victim.

He evaded capture from the police for six years until his arrest in December 1978.

McCoy's corpse was not found for nearly seven years until December 1978, where his body along with several others were recovered and was conclusively identified on May 9, 1986, via dental records, 14 years after his death.

Prior to his identification, McCoy was known as the Greyhound Bus Boy, which was in reference to the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Chicago, Illinois, where he first encountered Gacy and eventually disappeared.

After his identification, his remains (which were buried under an unmarked gravestone) were returned to his family in Glenwood, Iowa.