Dismembered Body in Saw Case Identified

A runaway believed to have been dismembered with a chain saw after he was shot to death was a confused young man who sold his body in search of love and security, social workers said Wednesday.

Sheriff’s officials identified the runaway as Tracy Leroy Nute, 18, of Kansas City, Mo. Parts of his body were found about a week ago in rural Madera County and in northern Los Angeles County.

Max Bernard Franc, 57, a California State University, Fresno, professor, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Nute, who investigators said may have been slain in the West Hollywood apartment where the educator often stayed on weekends.

Social workers who counseled Nute said he arrived in Los Angeles about nine months ago, settling in the Hollywood area, where he bleached his black hair blond and hoped to become an actor.

“He came in on a Saturday, tired of it all. He was 17, and he wanted help,” said Gabe Kruks, director of Youth Services for the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, an organization that feeds, clothes and shelters gay and hetrosexual runaway teen-agers.

“Underneath Nute’s tough, street punk image was a sweet kid, but confused. He had not been happy in Kansas City, but he was not happy here,” Kruks said.

Unable to find work as an actor, Nute, who stayed about two months off and on at various youth centers, turned to prostitution, a familiar pattern among teen-age runaways.

“He was like a kid in a candy store, very naive,” Kruks said. “He was prostituting for survival, both material and emotional. He needed love and a little security.”