Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Chicago Abductor” Brian Dugan

Episode Date: July 6, 2020

In the early ‘70s, a teenaged Dugan had an encounter with one of the most notorious serial killers in the U.S.—a killer whose infamy Dugan would soon match, with a murder spree throughout Chicago���s rural suburbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder, rape, and sexual violence that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. June 2, 1985 was a warm day in Samanak, Illinois. Located on the outskirts of Chicago, this small village was a quiet, peaceful farm town, where most neighbors didn't bother locking their door. Tall oak trees swayed in the breeze as squirrels darted across the branches, gathering acorns. Beneath them, eight-year-old Opel Horton rode her pink bicycle down a gravel road.

Opal's friend and second-grade classmate, Missy Ackerman, peddled alongside her. Opal giggled as Missy, who was missing two of her front teeth, flash a grin. Missy's birthday was in less than two weeks, and the pair made guesses about what kind of cake her mom would bake. As the girls debated, the dust from an approaching vehicle caught Opel's attention. She and Missy stopped their bikes on the side of the road and waited for it to pass, but instead of driving by, the beat-up blue car stopped right beside them. Scruffy 28-year-old Brian Dukin got out of the car and asked the girls for directions. His eyes were red, and he looked nervous. Opel got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Brian inched closer, pretending that he couldn't hear their answers. Suddenly, he lunged forward and grabbed Opel by the neck. Before she could react, Brian flung her into the front seat of his car and shut the door. Opel watched in terror as Brian ran after Missy and grabbed her. Opel tried to open the door, but the lock had been broken off. However, there still was a way to escape. As Brian walked back to the car with Missy under his arm, Opel jumped out the open window and ran. She hid an tractor tire across the street.

When she peeked out, Opel saw the car speed away. She locked eyes with Missy. The girls wouldn't see each other ever again. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is serial killers, a podcast original. Every episode we dive into the minds and matters. of serial killers. Today we're discussing the story of Brian Dugan, a serial killer who abducted women and children from Chicago's rural western suburbs. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson.

Hi everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other parcast originals for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. To stream serial killers for free on Spotify, just open the app and type serial killers in the search bar. This is a one-part episode. featuring Brian Dugan, a self-described psychopath. First, we'll learn about Dugan's childhood and is chilling encounter with another infamous serial killer. Then we'll follow Dugan's increasingly violent crime spray. We've got more on Brian Dugan coming up.

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Hereafter, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Brian James Dugan's first moment in this world was traumatic. On September 23rd, 1956, his mother, Jenny, went into labor. The delivery doctor was late, and as baby Brian emerged, the nurse was overcome with nerves. To slow down the delivery.

she and an intern pushed Brian's head back into his mother's womb. Then the nurse bound Jenny's legs together until the doctor arrived. Brian suffered terrible headaches as a baby, which his parents suspected was a result of the traumatic birth. Unfortunately, they lacked the money to diagnose the problem, and it went untreated. Left to his own devices, baby Brian took drastic measures to stop the pain. From the time he could sit up,

he would bang his head against the bars of his crib, desperate to soothe himself. Frequently, Brian did this until he vomited. The busy Dugan household did nothing to help Brian's migraines. He was the second of five children and struggled to find his place within the family. To deal with his unruly behavior, his mother opted for a strict discipline. Jenny's frustrations only grew when her son started wetting the bed. She punished Brian by making him. sleep in the wet, unwashed sheets. What Jenny didn't know was that the condition medically

referred to as nocturnal an uresis was not a disruptive or behavioral disorder. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa's not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. Pediatric urologist Dr. Max Maisels says that the actual cause of not nocturnal aneurysis is simply due to heavy sleeping, but if a young child is disciplined for it, the punishment has adverse effects. Punished bedwetters can develop early childhood depression, which significantly impairs a child's cognitive function. Without what doctors call positive practice, a child punished for conduct

they cannot control, will develop disruptive behavioral problems. As a young child, Brian was already struggling. So when Jen, Jenny punished him by forcing him to sleep in his wet sheets. It further diminished Brian's emotional capacity and worsened his existing psychological issues. Incapable of processing his emotions, Brian preferred to spend his time alone. This self-imposed isolation didn't help matters. He developed an unsettling attraction to fire. His mother attempted to break this fascination by forcing him to hold a lit match until

it burnt his fingertips. But just like with Brian Brian's nocturnal aneurysus, the punishment did little to deter him. When Brian was eight, his habit of playing with matches resulted in the garage burning down. And his fascination with fire went far beyond playing with matches. Around the same time, the garage burned down. Brian poured gasoline on the family cat and lit it on fire. According to his brother Stephen, Brian laughed as he watched the family pet burn.

It's unclear if Brian was punished for this behavior, but his parents definitely knew something wasn't right with him. In 1967, thinking a change might help the 11-year-old, they moved to Lyle, Illinois, about 25 miles outside of Chicago. They tried to get Brian interested in what they considered normal activities, like baseball, but Brian wouldn't be tamed so easily. At some point after the move, Brian started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. By 15, he drank regularly and used drugs like marijuana and methamphetamines.

To support his growing habit, Brian broke into neighboring houses and businesses. In January of 1972, he was arrested for theft and placed under home supervision. Even after his arrest, Brian continued breaking into homes. Eventually, he was sent to the nearby Cain County Youth Home. As far as we can tell, the punishment didn't deter Brian's bad behavior. In fact, it only seemed to worsen it. One night after Brian was released from the group home, he cornered his brother Stephen in the bathroom. According to Stephen, Brian tried to sexually assault him, but he stopped before it went too far.

Then Brian said to Stephen, if you were in prison, you are just another pound of meat. I couldn't help you. You'd have to make it or break it on your own. You'd have to submit to it or die. After this incident, Stephen suspected that his brother had been sexually assaulted while he was at Kane County. He was right, and it wasn't Brian's only experience being sexually assaulted. Soon after Brian's release from the youth home, his mother told him to go to the store to buy hot dog buns. As he walked along the side of the road, a dark car pulled over.

A young man leaned out the window and asked Brian if he wanted to make some money. According to Brian, that man was notorious serial killer, John Wayne Gacey. But at the time, Brian had no idea who Gacy was, so he got into the car. Then Gacy drove him to a secluded spot at the edge of town and pulled over next to some railroad tracks. He allegedly ordered Brian to put on a pair of bikini briefs and perform oral sex on him. Afterwards, Gacy watched Brian for a reaction. But the teen remained calm. Eventually, Gacy drove him back to the grocery store and paid him $20. Brian pocketed the money and went inside to buy hot dog buns for his mom, as if nothing happened.

Clifford Linedecker, who authored Man Who Killed Boys, the John Wayne Gacy story, theorizes that because Brian remained calm, Gacy lost interest. Linedecker said, one of the things about Gacy and a lot of people like him is fear, turns them on. Following the incident, Brian's trouble with the law continued. When he was 16, he dropped out of school and committed a string of burglaries. He was arrested soon after and sent to another youth home. The pattern continued. Each time Brian was released, he committed another crime. He broke into fast food restaurants, vandalized schools, and used drugs. But throughout all his teenage wrongdoing, he never caused physical harm to another person. However, that changed when he was

17. In April of 1974, Brian watched a 10-year-old girl named Barbara play by the road. In that moment, Brian felt something at his brain turn on like a switch. He approached Barbara and asked her for directions to the train station. Barbara walked Brian a short way down the road to point him in the right direction. When he was sure they were alone, Brian shoved the girl into a patch of woods, but when her nose started bleeding, he let her go. The 10-year-old ran out of the woods towards a crowd of people watching a nearby softball game. Within minutes, the police found Brian and arrested him. But when they got to the police station, they discovered Brian was also facing burglary charges in another county. Because Brian was sentenced to spend time in a youth home

for this infraction, the court didn't feel the need. to pursue the incident with Barbara any further. The charges were dropped. After a few months, Brian was released. But like his previous incarcerations, the stint in the youth home did nothing to curb Brian's violent urges. For the next couple of years, Brian tried grabbing other women, but they always escaped. Throughout it all, Brian continued robbing houses. Once again, he got caught. In 1979, 22-year-old Brian was sentenced to seven years in prison for a string of burglaries. He served three years before being paroled in 1982.

If the parole board thought Brian had turned a new leaf, they were wrong. Only 10 days after he was set free, Brian attempted to abduct a female gas station clerk. Unfortunately, he wasn't charged with the crime, because his younger brother, Stephen, provided a false alibi to the police. Instead of going back to jail, Brian was free to roam the streets. That's how, on February 25, 1983, Brian found himself in the tiny farming community of Naperville, Illinois. The town was virtually crime-free.

Neighbors knew each other and considered the area extremely safe until Brian Dugan arrived. Hi on marijuana and out of cash. Brian drove around looking for a property to burglarize. Around 2 p.m. he stopped his car in front of a home that looked empty. Brian cautiously approached the house and peered through the living room window. It wasn't as empty as it seemed. A little girl sat on the couch, wearing a pink nightgown and eating a bowl of ice cream. Janine Niccarico was a bright 10-year-old who loved horses and was adored by friends and family.

That day she was feeling sick, so she stayed. stayed home from school. Her parents were at work. Janine's presence was enough to keep Brian from breaking into the house. He was still on parole and feared going back to jail, so he decided to leave and find a different place to rob. But as he walked back to the car, that strange sensation inside his brain returned, the one he felt with Barbara. Brian later said of that moment, It was as if time stopped. I clicked and turned into Mr. Hyde from Dr. Jekyll. He ran back to the front door and kicked it as hard as he could.

Wood splintered from the frame as the door flew open. Janine jumped up from the couch and froze in shock as Brian stepped over the threshold. This time, nothing could stop him. Next, we follow how Brian's flirtation with violence turned deadly. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage

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looking for a house to burglarize. After spotting 10-year-old Janine Nicarico home alone, he kicked open the door and burst into the living room. Brian wrapped Janine up in a bed sheet and carried her to the front door. As they left the house, Janine reached out, desperately tried. trying to hold on to something. Brian yanked her away, and she left fingernail scratches in the wall. Brian threw Janine into his car and drove west to a secluded area. There, he walked her down a nature trail called the Illinois Prairie Path. When he was sure they were alone, Brian raped Janine, then beat her to death with a tire iron. Brian said in a later interview,

I was driven by some kind of impulse that kept growing. could not stop. After killing her, Brian rolled Janine's body off the trail and covered her with branches. Then he walked back to his car and drove away. Around the same time, Janine's sister returned home from school. The first thing she noticed was the front door hanging open. Frightened, she ran to a neighbor's house for help. When the neighbors searched the house and saw Janine's fingernail marks on the wall, they called the police. Investigators searched the area, but they couldn't find any evidence leading to Janine's whereabouts. Janine's body was discovered two days later by a pair of hikers.

Her family was devastated and the entire town of Naperville was shaken. The FBI launched an investigation into the murder and offered a large reward for any information leading to an arrest. Two months later, an anonymous tip was called in. Based on the information provided, DuPage County officials arrested two innocent men, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez. After a rushed trial, a jury found both men guilty and sentenced them to death. As Cruz and Hernandez were wrongfully forced to answer for Brian Dugan's crimes, he hunted for more victims.

During this time, it suspected that he was responsible for at least two more attacks on women. Unfortunately, while Brian fit the description of the attacker in these cases, investigators didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. Emboldened by the lack of consequences in the early hours of July 15, 1984, Brian struck again. While cruising around in his beat-up Chevy and Paula, Brian spotted a young woman in a car at a stoplight. He was low on money and wanted to buy some drugs, so he decided to rob her. The woman, 27-year-old Donna Schnorr, was a floor nurse at Mercy Center Hospital in Aurora. She was also a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church and well-liked by everyone.

Donna's brother, Roger, recalled, she made everyone feel comfortable around her. She was the type of person you would love to be around. Which is probably why Donna, who was driving home from a party, wasn't alone that night. Her friend and co-worker James was following her in his own car to make sure she made it home safely. But Brian wasn't deterred. When the light turned green, Brian followed both of them down the road. After a few minutes, James reached an intersection near his home and turned off. Brian pulled his Impala right behind Donna's car. They were alone. Brian accelerated and sideswiped Donna's car off the road. She slid to a stop on a grassy knoll, and Brian pulled his Impala up against her rear bumper. When Donna put her car in reverse,

she couldn't back up. She was trapped. As Brian approached Donna's car, he could He could see her through the back windshield, struggling to open the passenger door. He reached in through the window and grabbed her. He pulled Donna out and dragged her back to his car. He shoved her into the back seat and tied her up. Brian then returned to Donna's car and wiped it clean of his fingerprints. He wanted to take Donna to a lake resort in Wisconsin, but the sun was about to come up. Brian was afraid people would see her in the car.

So instead, Brian drove her down to her. a small road that led to a flooded gravel pit called Cevi Quarry. Brian parked the car and made Donna walk into a small mosquito-infested patch of woods. There he beat and raped her multiple times. Afterwards, he took Donna down to the quarry and held her head under water until she stopped breathing. Then he pulled Donna's body back on shore and sat next to it in a daze for around 20 minutes. When his senses returned, he calmly walked back to his car and drove away.

As Brian pulled away from the quarry, another car appeared on the road. Inside were three teenage boys out for a quiet morning of fishing. As Brian passed them, he turned his headlights on bright so they couldn't see his face. When the boys parked their car and walked down to the quarry, they found Donna's lifeless body. Later that morning, Donna's parents worried when she didn't show up for church. When they drove home, they were surprised to find a sheriff's deputy standing in their driveway. While the deputy told the schnoors that their daughter was dead, Brian Dugan was 25 miles away in the small town of Plainfield, Illinois.

There, he abandoned his Impala in a deserted area and headed home. He later reported the car stolen. After murdering Donna, Brian continued on with his life. He met a girl, got a job as a stock handler, and moved into his own place, a $50 a week boarding room. It seemed that his need to kill was temporarily satisfied. But after murdering two people, Brian knew the urge would return. The only question was when? Criminology professor Dr. Scott Bond says these cooling off periods serve as an emotional pause for serial killers.

in which they often return to their daily routines. Dr. Bond likens it to a drug addict coming down off a high. During this time, serial killers recompose themselves, but no matter what they do, eventually the urge to kill returns. And when that urge becomes overwhelming, serial killers always strike again. Less than 10 months after he abducted, raped, and murdered Donna Schnurr, Brian's urges completely overpowered him. In May of 1985, he got back in his car and went looking for his next victim.

On May 6, 1985, as Brian drove around the suburbs surrounding Chicago, he noticed a broken down car and pulled over. Looking under the hood was 21-year-old Sharon Gryek. Brian offered to help Sharon and worked on the engine until it started. As Sharon drove away, Brian smiled and waved. Before Sharon's car disappeared from view, Brian got into his vehicle and followed her. When Sharon parked in front of her house, Brian jumped out and held a knife against her. He blindfolded Sharon and forced her back into her car and then drove to a small suburb called Batavia.

Somewhere along Route 31, Brian parked the car. He pushed Sharon into the back seat and raped her. According to Brian, Sharon stayed calm after the attack, which made him believe, she wasn't a threat, so he let her go. It was an eerie echo of Brian's teenage encounter and escape from John Wayne Gacy years earlier. And just like Gacy, Brian yearned for something more. So just three weeks later, on May 28, Brian was back on Route 31. In a town called Geneva, Brian spotted a 19-year-old woman walking on the side of the road.

We don't know her name, so we'll refer to her as, Scarlet. Brian pulled over and grabbed her. As Brian tried to force Scarlet into his car, she fought back. Brian stumbled, and she made her escape. The failed abduction didn't deter Brian. He was going to satisfy his urges somehow. He had no idea. Scarlett managed to write down his license plate number. But for the moment, Brian was free to continue his attacks. The next day, Brian saw a 16-year-old girl in a parking lot. He pulled his AM-M. C. Gremlin over, grabbed a tire iron and stepped out of his car. Brian threatened the teen with the tire iron and forced her into his car. As Brian drove across the county line, his glove compartment fell

open. His hunting knife was in clear view. Brian relished the look of fear on the girl's face. It made him feel powerful. When Brian reached Will County, he pulled over to the side of the road. Then he put a belt around the girl's neck and raped her. Afterwards, he drove the girl home and set her free. But the rapes weren't enough to satisfy Brian. His urge to kill remained unsatiated. A couple of days later, he skipped work, opting instead to drive around getting high. Eventually, his meandering drive brought him to the small town of Samanak.

He turned down a gravel road and saw two little girls riding bikes. As he drove past them, he was overwhelmed by his murderous urge. Brian pulled over and disabled the interior locks by pulling off the knobs. Then he turned his car around and drove back to where he saw the girls riding their bikes. His mind was made up. He needed to kill. Next, Brian Dugan's atrocities rise to a new level. Now back to the story.

In 1985, 28-year-old Brian Dugan attacked three women, raping two of them. But his reign of terror wasn't over. On the morning of June 2nd, Brian skipped work and drove around in his car getting high. By chance, he drove past two young girls riding their bicycles. When Brian saw 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman and her 8-year-old friend, Opel Horton, the urge to kill, took over. Later, in an interview with the FBI, Brian tried to explain what he called the switch that let what felt like a different person take over his body. Brian simply said, he lives in me. Like Dr. Jekyll unleashing Mr. Hyde, after letting the evil inside him take over, Brian returned where Melissa and Opel were riding their bikes.

He pulled over and approached the girls, pretending to ask them for directions. When he was close enough, he grabbed. grabbed Opel and tossed her into his AMC Gremlin. Brian then yanked Melissa off her bike and dragged her towards the vehicle. But by the time he got there, Opel had managed to crawl out of an open window. She was already running across the street. Brian decided there was no time to chase her.

The street was deserted, but that could change at any moment. He had to make his escape. Brian forced Melissa into his car, slammed the door, and sped off. He blew through a stop sign, narrowly missing another vehicle and turned onto the highway. To keep Melissa calm, he covered her head with a sleeping bag and asked her questions about school. When he got Melissa to talk, she told him that she liked gymnastics. He kept her talking as he drove 17 miles to the small community of Mendota.

He pulled off the main road and stopped near a small creek that ran through a patch of trees. Then he told Melissa to get out of the car and follow him. Once they were out of view from the road, Brian raped Melissa, then drowned her in the stream. When he was done, he hid her body under a pile of rocks. Satisfied, Brian walked back to his car and drove away. He took the small road back to the highway and turned east. As he gained speed, Brian checked his rearview mirror. A Mendota police car was following him.

Brian pulled into a service station, hoping the police car would keep going. To his dismay, it followed him into the parking lot. As Brian walked into the station's convenience store, the patrol car pulled up right behind his gremlin. Brian was nervous, but he couldn't stay inside forever. Wanting to appear nonchalant, he bought a soda and went back to his car. He asked the waiting police officer if everything was all right. the cop pointed out that his vehicle's tag had expired. For a moment, Brian was relieved,

but when the officer asked for his license, he hesitated. Brian didn't have a valid driver's license. Instead, he showed the officer his fishing license. As Brian waited, he heard a call come through on the police radio. The dispatcher announced that a little girl had been abducted from Somnach. Melissa Ackerman. The officer glanced inside Brian's car, but didn't see anything suspicious.

He took down Brian's name, then left to join the search for Melissa. He had no idea that he had just let the little girl's murderer go. The close call spooked Brian. He drove home and took a shower to wash off the mud from the stream. It had been a particularly dirty murder. Though he seemed to fear being caught, Brian displayed no signs of remorse over what he had done to any of his victims.

Later, he self-diagnosed as a psychopath, which would explain his lack of emotion. In a study out of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, researchers linked psychopathy with an impaired ability to receive and process negative stimuli. Though he was never formally diagnosed, it's possible Brian was affected in this way. By his own admission, he felt nothing for his victims, but his lack of emotion wouldn't protect him from the women he had hurt. That evening, as Brian cleaned up, eight-year-old Obel Horton gave investigators a description of Brian's car. The police were told to search for a beat-up blue compact.

After hearing the description, the officer who pulled Brian over remembered the blue AMC Gremlin. Police in Cain County were told to pick Brian up for questioning. They were intrigued to learn that Brian was already wanted. Scarlett had come forward to report Brian's attempt to abduct her, and she had his license plate number. The next morning, when Brian arrived for work, the police were waiting. As soon as he stepped out of his car, they took him into custody. Brian was brought to Kane County Jail and booked for the attack on Scarlet.

Then police called in 21-year-old Sharon Gryak, who Brian had raped after helping her start her car. Sharon picked Brian out in a lineup. Around this time, the 16-year-old Brian raped. After the failed attack on Scarlett, arrived at the police station. She was initially too afraid to report the rape, fearing that her attacker would come back to find her, but she recognized Brian after seeing his face on the news.

Knowing he was behind bars, she felt safe enough to come forward. Despite the evidence stacking up against him, Brian proclaimed his innocence and refused to cooperate with investigators. But the police didn't need his help. As they assembled their case, the police made an intriguing discovery. The Impala that Brian had reported stolen after he murdered Donna Schnorr a year earlier was sitting in their impound lot. They parked the car right outside Brian's cell window to send a message. The next day, he asked to make a plea deal in exchange for information about the rapes and Donna's murder.

But as Brian worked out a deal, Melissa Ackerman's body was discovered. A lab confirmed that dirt from the area matched dirt inside Brian's boarding house room. Now there was no need for a plea bargain. The police had Brian dead to rights. Confronted with the death penalty, Brian confessed to the murders of Melissa Ackerman and Donna Schnor. In return, a judge ordered Brian to serve two life terms. However, Brian wasn't tried for the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Janine Nicarico. He confessed to the little girl's murder, but when prosecutors from DuPage County were

called in, they dismissed his confession. The DuPage investigators insisted that Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez arrested two years prior were responsible for Janine's murder. The two men remained on death row for the next 10 years until 1995, when they both won their appeals and were released. Finally, Janine's real killer could face justice. It took a while, but in 2009, Brian Dugan was finally found guilty for the murder of Janine Nicarico and sentenced to death. But that sentence was commuted to life in prison when Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011.

When asked what would happen if he ever got out of prison, Brian admitted that he was still dangerous. He said, I'm a threat to other people. Luckily, he'll never have a chance to hurt anyone again. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode. You can find more episodes of serial killers and all other Parcast originals free on Spotify. Not only does Spotify already have all of your favorite music,

but now Spotify is making it easy for you to enjoy all of your favorite podcast originals, like Serial Killers, for free from your phone, desktop, or smart speaker. To stream Serial Killers on Spotify, just open the app and type Serial Killers in the search bar. We'll see you next time. Killer Week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler and is a podcast studio's original. Executive producers include

Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Nick Johnson, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro and Carly Madden. This episode of serial killers was written by Adam Boland, with writing assistance by Abigail Cannon, and stars Greg Polson and Vanessa Richardson.

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Somehow I lost eight whole hours. Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up, getting ready for bed, brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast crime beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.