Anita Joy and Johnny Wactor had just left the downtown Los Angeles bar where they worked when they thought they spotted his car being towed, and so he called out to the three men surrounding his vehicle. One opened fire, shooting him in the chest.
The woman who was with former “General Hospital” star Johnny Wactor when he was fatally shot by thieves stealing his car’s catalytic converter tells Inside Edition that authorities must stop at nothing to find those responsible for his killing.
Anita Joy and Wactor had just left the downtown Los Angeles bar where they worked when they spotted his Toyota Prius on a carjack.
Wactor, who was best known for his role as Brando Corbin on “General Hospital,” thought his car was being towed, and so he called out to the three men surrounding his vehicle, Joy tells Inside Edition.
“Johnny called out … then the shot ran out,” she says. Wactor had stepped in front of Joy to shield her from the gunmen. “I shouted, ‘honey, you OK?’ He only responded, ‘nope, shot.’”
Wactor fell into Joy’s arms, and she screamed for help as she tied her jacket around the gunshot wound in his chest, but she was unable to save him.
“It’s an image I can’t get out of my mind, Johnny being shot,” she says.
Now, Joy is issuing a call to bring justice for Wactor.
“(We) need to call local politicians, to step up their investigation to find his killers,” she says.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help offset costs for Wactor’s funeral and for travel expenses his mother and brothers will incur as they work to put their loved one to rest and to settle his affairs.
“Johnny was the kindest soul,” wrote his godmother, who organized the GoFundMe campaign. “My heart is utterly broken and somehow we NEED justice for Johnny! … With God‘s will, the killer will be arrested and the family will see him face to face. This may help bring closure to this tragedy.”
Any excess donations will be donated to the charities the family chooses in memory of Wactor, according to the GoFundMe campaign.
To date, more than $106,000 has been raised.
