'General Hospital' star's friend who was with him before his death breaks silence
Anita Joy, the co-worker and friend of Johnny Wactor, is speaking out nearly a week after the late "General Hospital" star was killed amid a robbery attempt on May 25.
"I was with Johnny in his last moments and I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events," Joy wrote in part in a lengthy Instagram post shared late Wednesday.
Joy said she had needed time to collect herself and gather her thoughts before writing about the events which culminated in Wactor, 37, shielding her before he was fatally shot.
"My friend of 8 years went from laughing together, working side by side, leaving our bartending shift and walking to our cars, to him dying in my arms in the streets of DTLA [Downtown Los Angeles] in the dark hours of 3am," Joy recounted.
Los Angeles police said previously that Joy and Wactor had been leaving work early Saturday morning when they came across three suspects, who were dressed in black clothing and wearing masks that night. The suspects were allegedly trying to steal the catalytic converter in Wactor's car before one suspect opened fire on Wactor. After the shooting, the trio fled in a dark sedan, according to police.
"Johnny was between me and the man who shot him - as I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcefully tumbled back into my arms and as I grabbed for him, I shouted, 'Hunny you ok?!' And he only responded, 'Nope! Shot!'" Joy continued, comparing the event to a glass of water getting tipped over and someone trying to stop the water from spilling out completely to no avail.
Joy also described the chaos that followed as Wactor lay dying in her arms and said that after she screamed for help, a security guard she knew from work had been nearby and ran toward them and called 911. Joy wrote that she and the security guard, whom she identified only by their first name of Bryan, tied her denim jacket around Wactor "to stop the bleeding" and Bryan attempted CPR on Wactor but their efforts were not enough to save him.
According to Joy, "It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it but my god, he fought to stay."
Police said Wactor was later transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Wactor's family spoke out on "Good Morning America" in an interview Tuesday and said they were desperate for answers in their son and brother's case.
"They took a wonderful person," Scarlett Wactor, Wactor's mother, said.
