The woman who held General Hospital cast member Johnny Wactor in her arms as he died from a gunshot wound has opened up about her horrifying experience.
Wactor, who played Brando Corbin on General Hospital, was shot and killed on May 25 during an alleged car theft. He was only 37.
The actor was reportedly standing with three friends in L.A. when the saw a man trying to steal the catalytic converter from the actor’s car. Wactor and his mother reportedly confronted the brazen thief who reportedly turned and fired a pistol and then fled. Wactor was struck and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
After he was shot, the actor friend, Anita Joy, rushed to the fallen actor’s side and held him in her arms.
“Everything happened in an instant. I’ve come to describe it as a glass of water that gets tipped over and you’re scrambling to grab it and save it from spilling out completely but it just runs through your fingertips and is gone,” Joy said.
“We cautiously approached the men, questioning what they were doing, at first thinking the car was being towed. We were no threat and Johnny kept his cool as he always did, simply stating that it was his car and for them to leave. Hands open to his sides in peace,” she continued.
After the thief fired, Joy said she asked if Wactor was alright, but he replied, “Nope Shot!” before falling to the ground.
“I pushed my legs under him and tried to hold his body up while screaming for help and screaming at him to stay with me,” she explained.
Joy added that she and another person tried to lend aid, but the wound was simply too extensive.
“It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it. But my God, he fought to stay,” she said.
Joy said she is “heartbroken and so very angry,” but hopes that the man who pulled the trigger will be arrested, adding, “My only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice.”
“Johnny had this incredible ability that was truly just his genuine nature — to make anyone and everyone feel so special in his eyes. No matter how well you knew him, he treated everyone like he truly cared about you,” she said.
“‘I hope the stamp of his voice saying that every time I saw him never leaves my memory. Just one look into his big blue eyes, followed by a big goofy grin, Johnny made you love him instantly. Absolutely one of the best men I’ve ever known,” she said.
There are still no arrests or suspects in the murder.
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