John Gacy Research Paper

In order to be considered a serial killer, a person has to kill three people or more in separate events. Ever since the beginning of humanity, serial killers have been active. The story about the vampire named Dracula was based on one of the earliest serial killers named Prince Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler. Another one of the earliest serial killer is Countess Elizabeth Bathory, “who killed hundreds of virgins and bathed in their blood”. In earlier times, humans did not have all the materials that modern serial killers use now. Modern day serial killers can use technology to kill and dispose of the body easier. Law enforcement uses the same type of technology to find them and capture them. Why do serial killers kill? Most serial

John Gacy was born March 17, 1942 in chicago illinois to a father who was an abusive alcoholic. When Gacy was a senior he dropped out of high school but later graduated from business college. He was raised in a Roman Catholic family. At the age of eleven Gacy was struck with a playground swing in the frontal lobe and treated for blood clots which caused some blackouts and lack of empathy for others. “The frontal lobe is considered responsible for much of the behaviour that makes possible stable and adequate social relations, (courtauld).” He then got married and moved to Waterloo, Iowa wher he became to manager of a restaurant that belonged to his wife's family. During his job as a manager in 1968, he was arrested and convicted for homosexual acts with a young employee. He was sentenced to ten years in prison but was released after eighteen months and then his wife divorced him. He was also arrested for attempted rape but then accused another young male and the case made it to court. After he was released he bought a house and threw neighborhood cookouts to try to act normal and even got a job as Pogo the clown. “Gacy was active in local organizations and politics. He frequently visited hospitals dressed as a clown to entertain sick children. At the same time, Gacy targeted teenage boys and young men. He brought them to his house, where he tortured, raped, and murdered them, (funk).” he would then dispose of the bodys under his house. He was active between 1972-1978. Gacy was convicted of 33 murders of young teenage males and was executed with a lethal