In the summer of 1984, the sleepy harbor village of Northport, Long Island, was shattered by a crime so gruesome it made international headlines. The discovery of 17-year-old Gary Lauwers in a shallow grave in the Aztakea Woods didn't just reveal a murder; it unmasked a dark subculture of drugs, occult posturing, and a moral hysteria that would sweep across America.
A Grisly Discovery in Aztakea Woods
Gary Lauwers had been missing for weeks before an anonymous tip led police into the dense brush of Aztakea Woods. What they found was a scene of pure horror. Lauwers’ body, hidden under a layer of sticks and leaves, had been violently stabbed and mutilated beyond recognition.
The investigation quickly centered on another local teen, 17-year-old Ricky Kasso, known to his peers as "The Acid King" due to his prolific use of LSD and PCP.
The Myth: Heavy Metal and Satanic Cults
The media immediately seized on the occult elements of the case. Kasso was a frequent listener of heavy metal bands like AC/DC and Black Sabbath, and he often boasted about his membership in a "Satanic cult" called the Knights of the Black Circle.
Reports circulated that during the multi-hour torture session, Kasso had commanded Lauwers to "Say you love Satan." When Lauwers reportedly replied, "I love my mother," Kasso allegedly stabbed him again. This narrative fueled a nationwide "Satanic Panic," leading parents and pundits to believe that heavy metal music and role-playing games were turning suburban children into murderous devil worshippers.
The Reality: Drugs and a Twisted Mind
While the public was focused on pentagrams and lyrics, the police and those who knew Kasso pointed to a more grounded, though equally tragic, reality. The 1980s was the height of the "War on Drugs," and Ricky Kasso was a textbook case of a youth lost to substance abuse.
Kasso had been kicked out of his home by his strict father and was living in the woods or in friends' cars. The "cult" was little more than a loose group of teenagers getting high on PCP and LSD. The murder itself wasn't a ritual sacrifice; it was a drug-fueled revenge killing. Lauwers had reportedly stolen ten bags of PCP from Kasso at a party months earlier, and Kasso’s escalating rage—amplified by heavy hallucinogens—finally snapped.
5 Shocking Facts About "The Acid King" Case
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The Trophy: In the weeks following the murder, Kasso reportedly brought as many as 30 local teenagers into the woods to see Lauwers’ decomposing body as a "trophy" of his power.
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Suicide in the Cell: Just two days after his arrest, Ricky Kasso took his own life by hanging himself in his jail cell with a bedsheet, ending any chance of a full trial.
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The Accomplice: Jimmy Troiano was charged alongside Kasso. However, he was eventually acquitted because the witnesses—other teens—were so high on LSD during the events that their testimony was deemed unreliable.
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Grave Robbing: Before the murder, Kasso had been arrested for digging up a colonial-era grave to steal a skull for his "rituals."
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Pop Culture Impact: The case inspired several films and books, most notably the movie Ricky 6 and the true-crime book Say You Love Satan.
The Ricky Kasso case remains a chilling reminder of how a community's fear can be diverted toward music and mythology, while the real monsters—mental illness, homelessness, and addiction—lurk in plain sight.
Sources
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Wikipedia: Murder of Gary Lauwers – A comprehensive timeline of the 1984 events and subsequent legal fallout.
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Rolling Stone: Kids in the Dark: The Long Island Devil Cult Murder – The original, deep-dive investigative report that defined the case.
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The New York Times: Youth Found Hanged in L.I. Cell – Historical news coverage of Kasso's arrest and death.
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Apple Podcasts: Weekly Spooky: The Acid King of Northport – A detailed audio retrospective on the Satanic Panic context.
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Simon & Schuster: The Acid King by Jesse P. Pollack – Information on the authoritative book regarding the case.
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