“General Hospital” star Johnny Wactor’s co-worker, who held him as he lay dying, slammed the senseless “coward” who fatally shot the actor in downtown Los Angeles.
Anita Joy detailed the horrific tragedy after the pair finished their bartending shift and were walking to their cars at around 3 a.m. on Saturday.
Wactor, 37, died as he shielded Joy from the three armed robbers who gunned him down over his car’s catalytic converter.
“I’ve needed to take some time to collect myself and my thoughts,” Joy began her lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday. “I was with Johnny in his last moments and I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events.”
“He was killed senselessly by a coward who reacted without care of the gorgeous life he was taking. So I’m angry, I’m sad and I’m all of the feelings and once… but above all, I am here for Johnny’s justice.”
Joy explained that she and Wactor, with whom she had been friends for 8 years, were leaving their bartending shift together and walking to their cars when they noticed someone tampering with his vehicle.
“We cautiously approached the men, questioning what they were doing, at first thinking the car was being towed,” she wrote.
“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.”
Joy said that the actor stood between her and the man that killed him.
“As I heard the shot ring into the night, he forcefully tumbled back into my arms,” she continued. “As I grabbed for him, I shouted ‘Hunny you ok?!’ And he only responded, ‘Nope! Shot!’ We toppled onto the street where 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.”
The bar’s security guard rushed over after calling 911. They performed CPR of Wactor as they waited for emergency services to arrive.
Joy said she and the security guard, named Bryan, “tied my denim jacket” around Wactor to stop the bleeding.
“It was too close range, too extreme of a wound for him to survive it but my god, he fought to stay,” she wrote. “I am utterly heartbroken and so very angry.”
“My only peace is that I was with him and this didn’t happen to him alone – my only other peace will be seeing these awful men brought to justice,” she added.
Joy then paid tribute to Wactor, praising his “genuine nature.”
“His energy was magnetic and pulled you in so effortlessly — you were safe with him,” she wrote.
“He treated everyone with love, respect, compassion and he really ‘saw’ you. He was beautiful, goofy as hell, full of work ethic and values.”
“I hope the stamp of his voice saying that every time I saw him never leaves my memory,” she went on, adding, “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.”
“I’m so grateful to have been a part of his world and him, mine. My heart is shattered with his loss but I believe l have gained the best guardian Angel out there. I love you Johnny Wacky,” Joy added.