Law & Order‘s Jack Merrill has detailed a terrifying ordeal with John Wayne Gacy. Gacy, who became known as The Killer Clown, was a serial killer who raped and murdered at least 33 young men throughout the 1970s. In 1978, Merrill accepted a ride from Gacy, who drugged and raped the then 19-year-old. Gacy would typically lure his victims by promising them work or money, before torturing them, raping and murdering them. He would dispose of bodies in a nearby river or his home’s crawl space (where police discovered 26 bodies). Merrill’s encounter with the notorious killer took place in 1978, the same year he was apprehended by police. In a PEOPLE article, Merill recounts the incident in his own words.