John Fitzgerald “Jack” Hanrahan:1979, Topeka, Kansas

 


   John Fitzgerald “Jack” Hanrahan was born in Topeka, Kansas on July 6th, 1966. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. John Lawrence Hanrahan. He had a sister named Jill Kathleen. 

  Jack Hanrahan went to the Most Pure Heart of Mary school and was an altar boy at the Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church near his home in Topeka. 


  On Sunday evening, May 20th, 1979, 12 year old Jack was last seen in a West Topeka bowling alley. He was playing pinball. 


 Where was the bowling alley located? Who else was at the bowling alley that night? 


 His bicycle was found the next day about 12 blocks away from the bowling alley near a music store on May 21st, 1979. What music store was that? Where was it located? Was it the Marquart Music Store in the Brookwood Shopping Center? That’s not too far from the church Jack attended. 


  But, there was no sign of Jack. None of his friends had heard from him. 


 Police used helicopters to search the West Topeka area for Jack Hanrahan but no sign of the boy was found. 




 On May 30th, 1979 a body was found in Dragoon Creek near Harveyville, Kansas. A teenager was paddling a canoe along the creek that morning and found Jack floating face down in the water. That spot is about 25 miles southwest of Topeka. The body was determined to be Jack Hanrahan. He was found without clothing and had several bruises and injuries. He had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. 


 Later that year, a man named William Guatney, who went by several nicknames, including “Freight Train”, was arrested in connection with the murder. He traveled by train and lived the “hobo” life. 


  He was investigated for several murders of young boys in the Midwest in the 1970’s. He was never convicted though. Officials looked at him for the murders of Jon Simpson and Jacob Surber of Lincoln, Nebraska. Guatney was found to be incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a mental institution. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He escaped for a while but was captured and eventually died while institutionalized. 


  Someone kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered Jack Hanrahan. They transported his body 25 miles southwest of Topeka and dumped him in a creek.


   It seems to me that whoever murdered Jack would have used some sort of vehicle to transport him 25 miles southwest of town. This doesn’t exactly jump out as the work of a poor vagrant to me. It could be. But, it turned out that William Guatney was in inpatient treatment at an alcohol treatment facility in Illinois when Jack was murdered. So, he could not have committed this crime. So, who did? Was this someone who knew Jack?


    Jack Hanrahan was an altar boy at the Most Pure Heart of Mary Church in Topeka. Father Thomas Culhane was the Pastor then. He later became a Monsignor. He had served as a priest since 1947 in various places around Kansas. His obituary praises his life of service. He is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Lenexa, Kansas. 


   Who was at the bowling alley that Sunday evening? Who had a vehicle and the gas money in 1979 to drive 25 miles down to Harveyville and back? Gas was very expensive and not always easily available then. You had to be smart about how you used a tank of gas in 1979. 


   Who had a place that they could commit this crime in? 


   I don’t know what kind of injuries Jack Hanrahan sustained but could this crime have been committed in a car? Would it be more likely that this would have to have happened in a building of some sort? It would seem to me that you would need room to swing your arm in order to beat someone to death. 


  What were the autopsy results? Was there a toxicology report? Had someone provided Jack with alcohol or drugs on the night of his murder? 


  Were Jack’s fingernails clipped at the autopsy? Was a rape kit collected? Was any semen found? Is there any DNA from Jack’s killer under his fingernails? 


  Some man kidnapped Jack Hanrahan and his DNA could still be there. Hopefully, testing can take place. It may still be possible to identify the man who raped and murdered 12 year old Jack Hanrahan. 


 Jack’s murder reminds me of a serial murderer of boys who lived in Ohio. Joseph Norman Hill was a husband and father who worked a full time job and was not known to be a killer until after his death. He beat his victims to death viciously as well as sexually assaulting them. I doubt that he was ever in Topeka but the way Jack was killed seems like the work of a man who was trying very hard to resist his nature as a homosexual. Jack’s killer seems like someone with a deep self hatred. He also seems like someone who had a lot to lose. He had to eliminate the only witness here.


  Jack Hanrahan is buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Topeka. 


  Rest in Peace Jack.


   If you have information about the murder of John “Jack” Hanrahan please contact the Topeka, Kansas Police Department at (785) 368-3111. 



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