Jason Moss (writer) - The Last Victim

The Last Victim

While studying at UNLV for his honors thesis Moss established relationships with John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson. He did so by researching what would appeal to his subjects the most and then casting himself in the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim, as necessary.

Moss later said that he formed the strongest relationship with Gacy. Letters led to regular Sunday morning phone calls during which Gacy proclaimed his innocence. In The Last Victim Moss tells the story of his correspondence and eventual meeting with Gacy, shortly before Gacy was executed. As implied in the book's title, Moss asserted that he became Gacy's "last victim" after their face-to-face meeting; he was overpowered, he said, by the mind of the serial killer. Moss felt that this experience allowed him to gain an understanding as to how a serial killer's mind works, not only in regards to manipulating and controlling a victim, but also, how Moss could manipulate aspects of Gacy's mind by acting as a potential lure. This allowed Moss to obtain rare insight and information from Gacy's mindset, as well as expose the mental vulnerabilities of the manipulating serial killer himself.

A film adaptation of the book, Dear Mr. Gacy, was released in 2010.