Johnny Wactor’s family’s heartbreaking plea as they prepare to ‘bring his body home’

The grieving family of slain General Hospital star Johnny Wactor is asking the public for help in bringing his body back to his native South Carolina.

The actor’s godmother, Michaelle Kinard, set up a GoFundMe to elicit the funds to do so, raising $50,246 of a $100,000 goal so far.

This will help the 37-year-old’s mother, Scarlett, and brothers, Lance and Grant, to travel the distance of 2000 miles from Charleston to settle the family’s affairs – a trip she said they will have to take several times to ensure everything is taken care of.

Wactor, who starred as Brando Corbin in the long-running soap, was killed Saturday in LA when he confronted thieves breaking into his car. He was just 37. 

The incident has spurred renewed scrutiny into the city’s rampant crime, which worsened during the pandemic and continues to persist. He appeared in 164 episodes from 2020 to 2022, and at least three suspects remain at large.

The grieving family of slain General Hospital star Johnny Wactor is asking the public for help in bringing his body back to his native South Carolina. Pictured, the 37-year-old who played Brando Corbin in 164 episodes of General hospital, his mother, and two brothers

Wactor is pictured with his mother Scarlett, who has said that her son didn’t attempt to fight the thieves. The family said they are heartbroken, and are hoping to bury their son in his native South Carolina

Kinard, speaking on behalf of the family, wrote: ‘I’m Michaelle, Johnny’s Godmother. 

‘On May 25, my dearest and best friend’s son was murdered. He was the victim of the most senseless crime!

‘[Johnny], (known to many as Brandon Corbin on General Hospital), was living his dream in LA 

‘He was fatally shot early Saturday morning when he came upon a crime.

‘Johnny was the kindest soul,’ she continued, penning the post on Monday.

‘My heart is utterly broken and somehow we NEED justice for Johnny!

‘I want to raise money for his mother, Scarlett, and his brothers, Lance and Grant to be able to travel the distance of 2000 miles (the many times it may take) to take care of this heartbreaking business which they have been sentenced.

‘With God‘s will, the killer will be arrested and the family will see him face to face,’ she concluded.

‘This may help bring closure to this tragedy. Any excess donations will be donated to the charities the family chooses in memory of Johnny.’

The shooting occurred at around 3am on Saturday when Wactor approached three men, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers are pictured at the scene 

Wactor had been leaving a bar he worked with a female co-worker, walking her to her around 3am Saturday in the city’s famously crime-ridden Downtown district

There, the Soap star saw someone at his car. Believing it was being towed, we was shot by a masked suspect as he approached, sending emergency personnel to the scene. He died at a nearby hospital shortly thereafter

As of writing, the family is well on their way to their desired figure of $100,000, just three days after the actor’s death.

He had left work at a rooftop bar with a co-worker around 3am when he interrupted three men stealing the catalytic converter from his car, his family previously told DailyMail.com – revealing how he approached them believing he was being towed.  

He was shot by a masked suspect as he approached, and the three suspects drove away from the scene, witnesses said. 

He was subsequently rushed to a hospital, where he later died. 

As of Tuesday, there were no arrests. Cops in the famously overrun city said they are investigating, but have yet to air any substantial leads. 

Once set to be married, his former fiancée, Teresa Farrell, launched an appeal Monday night to help ‘find [Wactor’s] killers’, asking members of the community for help in doing so. 

She said she met Wactor back in 2013 soon after she moved to LA, when he was working his way into the business.

‘If the person who did this, if you’re watching, I’m sorry, but you shot the wrong guy,’ she said in a post to Instagram through a steady stream of tears. 

Wactor, seen here with costar Laura Wright, starred on the long-running soap from 2020 to 2022, and was a star in the making

‘You can get a real job,’ she went on. ‘I know the job market’s hard but we’re all in it together. You don’t have to steal – especially take a life over it.’

She went on to assert that ‘human life is disregarded too easy,’ while insisting it is time as a community to ‘make changes.’

‘Maybe that’s what Johnny’s gift is for us,’ she said, urging politicians to take notice.

Officer Jader Chaves, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department, confirmed the killing occurred around 3:25 am, at an intersection in the city’s notoriously crime-ridden Downtown district. 

There, Wactor came into contact with the three people attempting to steal the car part, he said – not identifying the victim, but saying the suspects were after his catalytic converter.

The automotive device regulates exhaust emission, and is typically found in the undercarriage of a vehicle.

It contains precious metals that can be sold piecemeal for a profit, particularly to auto part suppliers or scrapyards, where they are melted down for their valuables.

Cops have yet to state their strategy in tracking down the killers, who were masked and able to escape unseen.

His former fiancée Teresa Farrell launched an appeal Monday night to help ‘find [the actor’s] killers’, asking members of the community for help

Officers have yet to produce any surveillance footage to go off of, just saying the crime occurred near Pico Boulevard and Hope Street.

An ambulance was photographed arriving there late that night, after Wactor, who had been working as a bartender at a nearby establishment, had left work with a coworker shortly before.  

The masked suspects remain at large and have yet to be identified or described.

His death was confirmed to KTLA by Johnny’s younger brother, Grant. 

Scarlett Wactor, the budding star’s mother, said that her son didn’t attempt to fight them or even stop them from stealing but they still shot him and got away.

Johnny’s brother Grant confirmed to DailyMail.com Johnny was shot in the chest as he came upon the suspects, explaining how he nd his co-worker had to park about two blocks from the restaurant.

The pair were merely walking to their cars after they finished their shift, he said.

He went on to recall their upbringing in Charleston, where he said they and their other brother were brought up as ‘Southern gentlemen.’ 

He was thus not surprised his older brother was walking his co-worker, a woman, to her car.

‘We’re Southern, born and raised, and we would never let a female walk to their car by herself.’

His brother this week recalled his and Wactor’s upbringing in Charleston, where he said they and their other brother were brought up as ‘Southern gentlemen.’ 

Wactor’s murder comes just weeks after California was ranked among the top 10 most dangerous states in America.

Violent crime in Los Angeles has been on the rise, with the LAPD recording a 2.9 per cent increase at the end of March 2024, compared to the same time last year.

The LAPD reported last week that, as of the end of April, the city’s rise in the number of murders in 2024 continued to decline and, as of April 27, was only 4.2 per cent above the number of murders reported at this time in 2023.

The last time the force updated robbery statistics, at the end of March 2024, thefts were up 9.5 per cent, according to ABC 7.

Around 600,000 catalytic converters are stolen each year. Most cars are equipped with one converter but those with a dual exhaust system require two. Larger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks may have more than two.

As laid out recently by the New York Times, stolen catalytic converters are passed through ‘middlemen, smelters and refineries in the United States and overseas’, and can commonly be stolen in under a minute. They cost around $1,000 to replace.