John Wayne Gacy Jr.

On December 13, 1978, police entered John Wayne Gacy, Jr.'s house on Summerdale Avenue. Gacy was not at his home during the investigation. Inspector Kautz was in charge of taking inventory of any recovered evidence that might be found at the house. Some of the items on his list that were confiscated from Gacy's home were:

A jewelry box containing two driver's licenses and several rings including one which had engraved on it the name Maine West High School class of 1975 and the initials J.A.S..

• A box containing marijuana and rolling papers.
• Seven erotic movies made in Sweden
• Pills including amyl nitrite and Valium.
• A switchblade knife.
• A stained section of rug.
• Color photographs of pharmacies and drug stores.
• An address book.
• A scale.
• Books such as, Tight Teenagers, The Rights of Gay People, Bike Boy, Pederasty: Sex Between Men and Boys, Twenty-One Abnormal Sex Cases, The American
• Bi-Centennial Gay Guide, Heads & Tails and The Great Swallow.
• A pair of handcuffs with keys.
• A three-foot-long two-by-four wooden plank with two holes drilled in each end.
• A six mm. Italian pistol with possible gun caps.
• Police badges.
• An eighteen-inch rubber dildo was also found in the attic beneath insulation.
• A hypodermic syringe and needle and a small brown bottle.
• Clothing that was much too small for Gacy.
• A receipt for a roll of film with a serial number on it, from Nisson Pharmacy.
• Nylon rope.

Three automobiles belonging to Gacy were also confiscated, including a 1978 Chevrolet pickup truck with snow plow attached that had the name "PDM Contractors" written on its side, a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and a van with "PDM Contractors" also written on its side. Within the trunk of the car were pieces of hair that were later matched to Rob Piest's hair.

Police outside Gacy's house

Further into the investigation, police entered the crawl space located beneath Gacy's home. The first thing that struck investigators was a rancid odor that they believed to be sewage. The earth in the crawl space was sprinkled with lime but seemed to have been untouched. Police found nothing else during their first search and eventually returned back to headquarters to run tests on some of the evidence and research the case more.

Gacy was called into the police department and told of the articles that they had confiscated. Gacy was enraged and immediately contacted his lawyer. When Gacy was presented with a Miranda waiver stating his rights and asked to sign it, he refused when instructed by his lawyer. Police had nothing to arrest him on and eventually had to release him after more questioning about the Piest boy's disappearance. Gacy was put under 24 hour surveillance.