Bio

Ricky Kasso was born Richard Allan Kasso Jr. on March 29, 1967, in New York. He was the son of a local high school history teacher and football coach. As a teenager, Kasso became unstable and often stayed away from home. He lived around Northport, Long Island, sleeping in parks, cars, garages, and friends’ homes. He used drugs heavily, including marijuana, LSD, PCP, and tablets he believed were mescaline.

Kasso became known by the nickname “The Acid King” because of his drug use. He also became interested in occult themes and was connected to a loose group of local teenagers called the Knights of the Black Circle. Later media reports described the group as a Satanic cult, but later accounts questioned that label and described much of the coverage as part of the 1980s “Satanic panic.”

Before the murder, Kasso had already been in trouble with the law. In 1983, he was arrested for digging into a grave and taking a human skull from a cemetery. His parents also tried to get him psychiatric help, but doctors reportedly concluded that he showed antisocial behavior and drug problems, not psychosis.

Murder Story

The conflict between Ricky Kasso and Gary Lauwers began before the murder. Lauwers had taken drugs from Kasso’s jacket while Kasso was passed out at a party. He returned part of the drugs but did not fully repay Kasso, and Kasso reportedly beat him several times afterward.

In June 1984, Kasso, Lauwers, Jimmy Troiano, and Albert Quiñones went into the Aztakea Woods in Northport, Long Island. The group used drugs that they believed were mescaline, though later accounts suggest the tablets may have been LSD. They also reportedly used PCP.

During the night, the situation turned violent. Kasso attacked Lauwers, bit him, and stabbed him. Lauwers was stabbed many times. Some reports place the number between 17 and 36 wounds. During the attack, Kasso reportedly ordered Lauwers to say he loved Satan. Lauwers was said to have replied, “I love my mother,” before eventually repeating what Kasso demanded.

After Lauwers died, Kasso and Troiano covered the body with leaves and branches. Kasso later bragged about the killing and reportedly brought other teenagers to see the body. The murder was finally reported to police after about two weeks.

On July 4, 1984, police found Gary Lauwers’s decomposed body in the woods. Kasso and Troiano were arrested the next day, July 5, 1984. Kasso was charged with murder. On July 7, 1984, two days after his arrest, Ricky Kasso hanged himself in his jail cell. He was 17 years old. Because he died before trial, he was never convicted or sentenced.

Jimmy Troiano was later tried for second-degree murder. Albert Quiñones testified under immunity, but his testimony was questioned because he had been heavily intoxicated during the crime. Troiano was acquitted in April 1985.