Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
During the 1980s, american pop culture was
obsessed with the occult andmany Americans believed that the
occult was infiltrating theminds of the youth.
While satanic panic was aridiculous notion, there was one
certain case that lent somelegitimacy to the fear the case
of the Acid King, ricky Casso.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage.
This is a very interesting caseabout the Acid King, ricky
(00:23):
Casso.
Let's get into it.
During the 1980s, american popculture was obsessed with the
(00:54):
occult and many Americansbelieved that the occult was
infiltrating the minds of theyouth.
Satanic panic was truly aliveand well in 1980s America.
While satanic panic was aridiculous notion, with
concerned parents contendingthat satanic cults roamed the
streets, taking drugs andcommitting human sacrifices,
there was one certain case thatlent some legitimacy to the fear
(01:16):
the case of the acid king RickyCasso.
Ricky hailed from Northport,long Island, new York, and when
he was a young boy, he was anenergetic athlete that would
wake up at the crack of dawn toplay football with his friends.
He was described by his parentsas the greatest kid in the
world.
Within five years, however,ricky would be charged with an
(01:37):
alleged satanic ritualistickilling and commit suicide in
his jail cell.
Where did it all go wrong.
As Ricky developed into ateenager, his ambition swiftly
started to fall apart.
He got mixed up with the wrongcrowd and began experimenting
with drugs.
First of all it was justmarijuana and hashish, but he
would very quickly progress ontothe harder stuff, such as LSD
(01:59):
and PCP.
I enjoy the fantasy world ofdrugs.
You can't stop me.
I love drugs.
Ricky once stated to his father, richard.
He became insubordinate to histeachers, then joined in a house
burglary and began to get introuble with the police,
recalled Richard.
Ricky's parents both schoolteachers tried desperately to
wean him from drugs by sendinghim to South Oaks Hospital,
(02:22):
which cost a hefty $45,000, butto no avail.
Eventually, ricky's drug useand behavior became so erratic
and he eventually moved out ofthe family home and subsequently
dropped out of school.
Ricky had a reputation, so tospeak.
Some of the younger boys in thetown looked up to him because
he was always carrying drugs and, depending on his mood, would
(02:42):
share them amongst friends.
He lived by his wits and wouldsleep in unlocked cars or on the
beach.
Later on, he and severalfriends stayed in a shack that
they had purchased.
They spent their days andnights in a drug-induced haze
and answered to nobody.
The uncontrollable teenageronly saw his mother and father
if he needed them to help himwith something.
In most families, no matter howdisobedient or rebellious a
(03:06):
child is, he needs some elementof the home love, food or
shelter.
Ricky required none of these.
The only time he came home waswhen he was in trouble with the
police or was seriously ill,stated Richard.
On one occasion, ricky wascaught digging up an old grave.
He was allegedly looking for anIndian skeleton which he
intended on stealing.
(03:26):
Following his apprehension,officers found a list of the
dignitaries in hell in hispocket.
His father appeared in courtwith him and helped him receive
a reprimand which kept him outof jail.
It would only be a matter oftime until Ricky started to
dabble in the occult andSatanism.
On his frequent trips to theNorthport Public Library, he'd
read up on witchcraft andSatanism and soon became
(03:48):
infatuated with the devil.
According to later news reports,ricky was said to have become
involved with a group of kidsthat referred to themselves as
the Knights of the Black Circle.
They would be linked tonumerous ritual sacrificial
slaughters of local pets.
They used to take animals downhere and cut them up, burn them
and stuff like that, said localDan Carson.
(04:09):
Allegedly Ricky was a majorinfluencer of the group
Nicknamed Dracula due to hisstrange teeth formation.
Jimmy Troino was Ricky's bestfriend and supposed fellow
member of the Knights of theBlack Circle.
A lot of kids flocked to Rickyto get high in his shack and
listen to him ramble aboutSatanism, or at least what he
perceived as Satanism.
He earned the nickname the AcidKing due to his seemingly
(04:32):
never-ending supply of the drug.
Ricky frequently spoke ofsuicide.
He once described it as theultimate high.
On the night of the 21st ofApril 1984, 17-year-old Ricky,
jimmy and several other friendsattended a party in the woods.
Ricky brought along PCP andwhat he believed to be mescaline
it was probably low-grade LSD.
(04:53):
As the night wore on, rickypassed out.
Another partygoer was17-year-old Gary Lawers, a local
dishwasher who had lost his jobafter dyeing his hair pink.
Upon seeing Ricky out cold,gary decided he wanted more PCP.
He crept over to the immobilebody and stole the drug right
from Ricky's pocket.
The following morning somebodyinformed Ricky that Gary had
(05:15):
stolen from him.
The acid king was furious andhe wasn't going to let it slide.
Ricky confronted Gary about thetheft and demanded he return
the PCP or pay him back for it.
When Gary refused, ricky beathim to a pulp.
He returned five packets of thedrug but told Ricky that he
didn't have the other fivepackets.
He promised that he wouldborrow the money he owed him
(05:38):
from his mother and father, buthe never did show up with that
elusive money.
Over the forthcoming weeksRicky beat Gary up four times,
hoping that it would encouragehim to pay up.
Nevertheless, the money neverappeared.
The tension between the duowould soon reach boiling point.
On the 16th of June 1984, ricky17, jimmy 17, and another
(05:59):
friend, albert Quinan 17,decided they would go to the
Estakia Woods to get high.
Much to the other teenager's,ricky invited Gary.
Upon arriving at a secludedarea deep in the secluded woods,
the group of teenagers made afire and took some PCP and LSD.
When the fire gradually wentout, ricky suggested using
Gary's jacket as a kindling.
(06:20):
Gary refused to throw thejacket in the fire but agreed
that Ricky could cut off thearms to toss into the fire to
keep it going.
It worked for a while, but whenthe fire died down once again,
ricky suggested cutting offGary's hair.
Gary pleaded, but his pleasfell upon deaf ears.
Ricky held Gary down whileJimmy cut out clumps of his hair
(06:40):
with Ricky's pocket knife.
After his hair was thrown tothe fire, gary turned to Ricky
and said I'm getting bad vibesthat you want to hurt me.
Ricky replied hurt you, I don'twant to hurt you, I want to
kill you.
Ricky subsequently pounced onGary and stabbed him between 17
and 36 times and gouged out hiseyeballs At one point.
During the brutal attack, rickyshouted to Gary say you love
(07:04):
Satan.
Each time Ricky gave thiscommand, gary weeped I love my
mother.
It was reported that Ricky toldauthorities that following the
murder, a crow screeched aboveand he took it as a sign that
Satan was pleased with what hehad done.
After the gruesome murder,ricky bragged to several friends
that he had killed Gary as asacrifice to Satan.
Two weeks later, newport policereceived a phone call from
(07:27):
16-year-old Lori Walsh.
She told police that Jimmy hadtold her about the slaying.
Initially she didn't believehim, but when she called Gary's
mother and learned that Gary hadbeen missing, she realized that
there may be some truth to theconfession.
Police officers rushed to thescene and conducted a search.
They were assisted by snifferdogs that caught the scent of
human remains deep in theAztecchia woods just behind Main
(07:50):
Street.
As they trudged through thewoods, they soon came across a
grim scene A pile of bones, adenim vest, pants and a pair of
night trainers.
Two weeks had passed since theslaying.
So little remained of Gary.
His body had been completelydrained of blood and his face
had practically vanished.
Ricky, jimmy and Albert weresoon apprehended.
Both Jimmy and Albert confessedto what had happened that night
(08:13):
in the woods, but Albertcontended that he had taken so
many hallucinogens that hecouldn't comprehend what was
happening or whether or not itwas real.
While Albert didn't participatein the murder, he claimed that
Jimmy did by holding Gary downas Ricky stabbed him.
Just days after theirapprehension, ricky looped a bed
sheet over a high bar in hisjail cell and committed suicide.
(08:34):
His parents said they hadwarned the jail officials of
Ricky's history with suicidalthoughts.
In the last year he hadthreatened, faked and attempted
suicide once.
Despite these glaring problems,ricky was turned down for
admission at a psychiatricfacility who deemed him as
antisocial, but not a threat tohimself or anybody else.
Officials at the jail describedRickey as calm and cool and
(08:57):
contended he showed noindication that he was suicidal.
During the trial of JimmyTriorino, attorney Eric Nyberg
stated.
There is, ladies and gentlemen,a devil in this case, and the
devil is LSD.
The devil has taken from them,and therefore from us, the
ability to determine what isreal and what is fantasy.
The star witness in the trialwas Albert Quinans, who gave
(09:19):
several conflicting statementsthroughout his cross-examination
.
Albert had initially said thatJimmy held Gary down as Ricky
stabbed him.
He also said that Gary hadoffered them $500 to spare his
life, to which Jimmy and Rickyjust laughed at.
According to Albert, gary hadbegged don't let them kill me
before Ricky started to stab him.
However, undercross-examination, albert
(09:42):
changed his story and nowclaimed that Jimmy didn't
participate in the murder at alland was just a bystander, much
like himself.
He also told the jury that bothhe and Jimmy had taken
hallucinogenic drugs and thatthey had hallucinated of being
chased by trees and bees.
The inconsistencies in Albert'sstatements truly were damaging
to the case.
We got a guy who was totallyburned out, who doesn't have a
(10:05):
brain cell left, said Jimmy'slawyer.
After 10 hours of deliberation,jimmy Triano was acquitted and
nobody was ever brought tojustice for the murder of Gary
Lawers.
The media latched on to thedisturbing story and published
article after article about howSatanism was very much alive in
America's dull suburbs.
The already deranged tale ofdrugs, revenge and murder was
(10:27):
subsequently warped into aquasi-mythical narrative to
titillate the already paranoidpublic.
Media outlets reported that themurder was a sacrificial
killing by a group of devilworshippers and that some 15
followers had witnessed thegruesome slaying yet did nothing
to help.
However, time would soon tellthat the vast majority of the
(10:48):
reports were sensational andthat the murder was fueled
predominantly by drugs.
Thanks for joining me.
What are your thoughts aboutthe Acid King?
I feel no justice was served inthis brutal case.
That's my thoughts.
Please hit the like button andsubscribe if you like what I do.
Till next time, take care ofyourselves, thank you.
During the 1980s, american pop culture was
obsessed with the occult andmany Americans believed that the
occult was infiltrating theminds of the youth.
While satanic panic was aridiculous notion, there was one
certain case that lent somelegitimacy to the fear the case
of the Acid King, ricky Casso.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage.
This is a very interesting caseabout the Acid King, ricky
(00:23):
Casso.
Let's get into it.
During the 1980s, american popculture was obsessed with the
(00:54):
occult and many Americansbelieved that the occult was
infiltrating the minds of theyouth.
Satanic panic was truly aliveand well in 1980s America.
While satanic panic was aridiculous notion, with
concerned parents contendingthat satanic cults roamed the
streets, taking drugs andcommitting human sacrifices,
there was one certain case thatlent some legitimacy to the fear
(01:16):
the case of the acid king RickyCasso.
Ricky hailed from Northport,long Island, new York, and when
he was a young boy, he was anenergetic athlete that would
wake up at the crack of dawn toplay football with his friends.
He was described by his parentsas the greatest kid in the
world.
Within five years, however,ricky would be charged with an
(01:37):
alleged satanic ritualistickilling and commit suicide in
his jail cell.
Where did it all go wrong.
As Ricky developed into ateenager, his ambition swiftly
started to fall apart.
He got mixed up with the wrongcrowd and began experimenting
with drugs.
First of all it was justmarijuana and hashish, but he
would very quickly progress ontothe harder stuff, such as LSD
(01:59):
and PCP.
I enjoy the fantasy world ofdrugs.
You can't stop me.
I love drugs.
Ricky once stated to his father, richard.
He became insubordinate to histeachers, then joined in a house
burglary and began to get introuble with the police,
recalled Richard.
Ricky's parents both schoolteachers tried desperately to
wean him from drugs by sendinghim to South Oaks Hospital,
(02:22):
which cost a hefty $45,000, butto no avail.
Eventually, ricky's drug useand behavior became so erratic
and he eventually moved out ofthe family home and subsequently
dropped out of school.
Ricky had a reputation, so tospeak.
Some of the younger boys in thetown looked up to him because
he was always carrying drugs and, depending on his mood, would
(02:42):
share them amongst friends.
He lived by his wits and wouldsleep in unlocked cars or on the
beach.
Later on, he and severalfriends stayed in a shack that
they had purchased.
They spent their days andnights in a drug-induced haze
and answered to nobody.
The uncontrollable teenageronly saw his mother and father
if he needed them to help himwith something.
In most families, no matter howdisobedient or rebellious a
(03:06):
child is, he needs some elementof the home love, food or
shelter.
Ricky required none of these.
The only time he came home waswhen he was in trouble with the
police or was seriously ill,stated Richard.
On one occasion, ricky wascaught digging up an old grave.
He was allegedly looking for anIndian skeleton which he
intended on stealing.
(03:26):
Following his apprehension,officers found a list of the
dignitaries in hell in hispocket.
His father appeared in courtwith him and helped him receive
a reprimand which kept him outof jail.
It would only be a matter oftime until Ricky started to
dabble in the occult andSatanism.
On his frequent trips to theNorthport Public Library, he'd
read up on witchcraft andSatanism and soon became
(03:48):
infatuated with the devil.
According to later news reports,ricky was said to have become
involved with a group of kidsthat referred to themselves as
the Knights of the Black Circle.
They would be linked tonumerous ritual sacrificial
slaughters of local pets.
They used to take animals downhere and cut them up, burn them
and stuff like that, said localDan Carson.
(04:09):
Allegedly Ricky was a majorinfluencer of the group
Nicknamed Dracula due to hisstrange teeth formation.
Jimmy Troino was Ricky's bestfriend and supposed fellow
member of the Knights of theBlack Circle.
A lot of kids flocked to Rickyto get high in his shack and
listen to him ramble aboutSatanism, or at least what he
perceived as Satanism.
He earned the nickname the AcidKing due to his seemingly
(04:32):
never-ending supply of the drug.
Ricky frequently spoke ofsuicide.
He once described it as theultimate high.
On the night of the 21st ofApril 1984, 17-year-old Ricky,
jimmy and several other friendsattended a party in the woods.
Ricky brought along PCP andwhat he believed to be mescaline
it was probably low-grade LSD.
(04:53):
As the night wore on, rickypassed out.
Another partygoer was17-year-old Gary Lawers, a local
dishwasher who had lost his jobafter dyeing his hair pink.
Upon seeing Ricky out cold,gary decided he wanted more PCP.
He crept over to the immobilebody and stole the drug right
from Ricky's pocket.
The following morning somebodyinformed Ricky that Gary had
(05:15):
stolen from him.
The acid king was furious andhe wasn't going to let it slide.
Ricky confronted Gary about thetheft and demanded he return
the PCP or pay him back for it.
When Gary refused, ricky beathim to a pulp.
He returned five packets of thedrug but told Ricky that he
didn't have the other fivepackets.
He promised that he wouldborrow the money he owed him
(05:38):
from his mother and father, buthe never did show up with that
elusive money.
Over the forthcoming weeksRicky beat Gary up four times,
hoping that it would encouragehim to pay up.
Nevertheless, the money neverappeared.
The tension between the duowould soon reach boiling point.
On the 16th of June 1984, ricky17, jimmy 17, and another
(05:59):
friend, albert Quinan 17,decided they would go to the
Estakia Woods to get high.
Much to the other teenager's,ricky invited Gary.
Upon arriving at a secludedarea deep in the secluded woods,
the group of teenagers made afire and took some PCP and LSD.
When the fire gradually wentout, ricky suggested using
Gary's jacket as a kindling.
(06:20):
Gary refused to throw thejacket in the fire but agreed
that Ricky could cut off thearms to toss into the fire to
keep it going.
It worked for a while, but whenthe fire died down once again,
ricky suggested cutting offGary's hair.
Gary pleaded, but his pleasfell upon deaf ears.
Ricky held Gary down whileJimmy cut out clumps of his hair
(06:40):
with Ricky's pocket knife.
After his hair was thrown tothe fire, gary turned to Ricky
and said I'm getting bad vibesthat you want to hurt me.
Ricky replied hurt you, I don'twant to hurt you, I want to
kill you.
Ricky subsequently pounced onGary and stabbed him between 17
and 36 times and gouged out hiseyeballs At one point.
During the brutal attack, rickyshouted to Gary say you love
(07:04):
Satan.
Each time Ricky gave thiscommand, gary weeped I love my
mother.
It was reported that Ricky toldauthorities that following the
murder, a crow screeched aboveand he took it as a sign that
Satan was pleased with what hehad done.
After the gruesome murder,ricky bragged to several friends
that he had killed Gary as asacrifice to Satan.
Two weeks later, newport policereceived a phone call from
(07:27):
16-year-old Lori Walsh.
She told police that Jimmy hadtold her about the slaying.
Initially she didn't believehim, but when she called Gary's
mother and learned that Gary hadbeen missing, she realized that
there may be some truth to theconfession.
Police officers rushed to thescene and conducted a search.
They were assisted by snifferdogs that caught the scent of
human remains deep in theAztecchia woods just behind Main
(07:50):
Street.
As they trudged through thewoods, they soon came across a
grim scene A pile of bones, adenim vest, pants and a pair of
night trainers.
Two weeks had passed since theslaying.
So little remained of Gary.
His body had been completelydrained of blood and his face
had practically vanished.
Ricky, jimmy and Albert weresoon apprehended.
Both Jimmy and Albert confessedto what had happened that night
(08:13):
in the woods, but Albertcontended that he had taken so
many hallucinogens that hecouldn't comprehend what was
happening or whether or not itwas real.
While Albert didn't participatein the murder, he claimed that
Jimmy did by holding Gary downas Ricky stabbed him.
Just days after theirapprehension, ricky looped a bed
sheet over a high bar in hisjail cell and committed suicide.
(08:34):
His parents said they hadwarned the jail officials of
Ricky's history with suicidalthoughts.
In the last year he hadthreatened, faked and attempted
suicide once.
Despite these glaring problems,ricky was turned down for
admission at a psychiatricfacility who deemed him as
antisocial, but not a threat tohimself or anybody else.
Officials at the jail describedRickey as calm and cool and
(08:57):
contended he showed noindication that he was suicidal.
During the trial of JimmyTriorino, attorney Eric Nyberg
stated.
There is, ladies and gentlemen,a devil in this case, and the
devil is LSD.
The devil has taken from them,and therefore from us, the
ability to determine what isreal and what is fantasy.
The star witness in the trialwas Albert Quinans, who gave
(09:19):
several conflicting statementsthroughout his cross-examination
.
Albert had initially said thatJimmy held Gary down as Ricky
stabbed him.
He also said that Gary hadoffered them $500 to spare his
life, to which Jimmy and Rickyjust laughed at.
According to Albert, gary hadbegged don't let them kill me
before Ricky started to stab him.
However, undercross-examination, albert
(09:42):
changed his story and nowclaimed that Jimmy didn't
participate in the murder at alland was just a bystander, much
like himself.
He also told the jury that bothhe and Jimmy had taken
hallucinogenic drugs and thatthey had hallucinated of being
chased by trees and bees.
The inconsistencies in Albert'sstatements truly were damaging
to the case.
We got a guy who was totallyburned out, who doesn't have a
(10:05):
brain cell left, said Jimmy'slawyer.
After 10 hours of deliberation,jimmy Triano was acquitted and
nobody was ever brought tojustice for the murder of Gary
Lawers.
The media latched on to thedisturbing story and published
article after article about howSatanism was very much alive in
America's dull suburbs.
The already deranged tale ofdrugs, revenge and murder was
(10:27):
subsequently warped into aquasi-mythical narrative to
titillate the already paranoidpublic.
Media outlets reported that themurder was a sacrificial
killing by a group of devilworshippers and that some 15
followers had witnessed thegruesome slaying yet did nothing
to help.
However, time would soon tellthat the vast majority of the
(10:48):
reports were sensational andthat the murder was fueled
predominantly by drugs.
Thanks for joining me.
What are your thoughts aboutthe Acid King?
I feel no justice was served inthis brutal case.
That's my thoughts.
Please hit the like button andsubscribe if you like what I do.
Till next time, take care ofyourselves, thank you.
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