Francis Wayne Alexander (March 11, 1955 - c. December 1976), known as Body 5 while unidentified, he was a victim of notorious American serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
He was identified by the DNA Doe Project in October 2021.
Case
Alexander's body was located in the northeast corner of a mass grave site in the crawl space of Gacy's home on December 26, 1978. He was buried face-upwards in the crawl space, approximately three feet beneath the surface of the topsoil. He was wearing a light-colored cloth, long sleeve shirt or jacket and dark trousers.
The murder of Alexander is estimated to have occurred between November 1976 and March 15, 1977, based on the last time he is known to have communicated with his family and his actual burial location, given the circumstances of the murders of two other murder victims. Jon Prestidge, who was murdered on March 15, 1977, was buried directly above this decedent. Gregory Godzik, killed on December 12, 1976, had dug this mass gravesite sometime after the commencement of his employment with Gacy's contracting firm on or about November 22, 1976. Godzik's body was found buried directly alongside Alexander, beneath the remains of John Szyc, killed on January 20, 1977.
Both the exact cause of Alexander's death and the circumstances surrounding his initial encounter with Gacy remain unknown. However, a wad of cloth-like material found lodged within his mouth indicates he may have died of suffocation. All of the victims had been raped and tortured before death.
The remaining unidentified victims of Gacy are Body 10, Body 13, Body 21, Body 26 and Body 28.
Characteristics
- He had suffered a broken nose during his life.
- Brown hair.
Accessories
- A key fob bearing the name "Greg."
- This suggested to investigators that this may have been his first name, or a nickname for "Gregory." In light of the decedent's 2021 identification, this key fob most likely belonged to victim Gregory Godzik.
Gallery
.jpg "Body 5 (3).jpg (9 KB)")
.jpg "Body 5 (2).jpg (9 KB)")
Sources
- Wayne Alexander at the Doe Network
- John Wayne Gacy on Wikipedia
- Cook County Police Department
- Wayne Alexander at the DNA Doe Project
- ABC 11
- Washington Post
- Chicago Tribune
