Edward Beaudion was a 22-year-old man who disappeared in 1978. His remains, discovered in 2008, were identified as a result of renewed efforts to identify the final unknown victims of John Wayne Gacy. A man was convicted of stealing the car Beaudion drove at the time of his disappearance; he eventually admitted to have struck the victim and proceeded to conceal his body where it went undiscovered for decades. By the time enough evidence existed to file homicide charges, the suspect had since died from natural causes.
Beaudion's disappearance was one of several to be resolved during the reopening of the Gacy investigation.
Case[]
After borrowing his sister's car to attend a wedding, Beaudion was confronted by Jerry Jackson, then 26 in the early hours of July 23, 1978. Jackson, wanting to steal the vehicle, eventually confessed to striking the victim and hiding him in a nearby nature preserve in Cook County. Beadion's family grew concerned when he did not return home. An unexplained absence without contact was uncharacteristic, yet police declined to open an investigation, as Beaudion was an adult when he disappeared. When his sister filed a stolen vehicle report, her car was later located in Missouri, containing several items belonging to her brother. Jerry Jackson was eventually convicted of the theft and eventually released from police custody within two years. He could not be charged in relation to the disappearance, as investigators were unable to locate Beaudion's remains, even when Jackson later tried directing them to the dumpsite.
Upon the media coverage regarding the inquiry to identify the remaining Gacy victims, surviving family members of Beaudion submitted a tip to Cook County investigators, describing him as a potential victim, based on the time he disappeared and falling into the age range of the serial killer's victim type. DNA, along with a previous leg surgery involving the use of an implanted screw, excluded him as being one of the unidentified males concealed in the offender's crawl space. In the past, when dental records were used primarily as confirming identities, it was impossible to rule him out, as Beadion had excellent dental health and had not needed treatment from a dentist. It was feared he potentially had been one of the victims deposited in the Des Plaines River; at least one alleged body was never recovered.
The DNA samples taken for initial comparison to the Gacy victims were retained and entered into a national database after failing to link him to the Gacy investigation. In early 2014, when samples from an unidentified set of partial remains discovered nearly six years earlier were used to generate a DNA profile, Beaudion and the then-unidentified bones were matched. The clothing and shoes at the scene were consistent with what Beaudion wore when he disappeared. A surgical screw was also noted during examination, which failed to reveal the cause of death, since no skull fragments were recovered, The discovery location was consistent with Jerry Jackson's statements, which ultimately led to the closure of the investigation, as the only viable suspect was deceased.
After his identification, Beaudion's remains were cremated and returned to his family.
Media[]
In 2018, the miniseries Deadly Legacy dedicated its second episode to documenting the investigation of Beaudion's case.
Sources[]
- NBC
- CS Monitor
- Deadly Legacy