John Wayne Gacy Research Paper

Lauren Monroe

Wendy L. Eddy

English 1213 Sec 311

17 February 2016

The Perpetrator John Wayne Gacy was a notorious serial killer in the United States, he was found guilty of murdering thirty-three boys and young men. He was most famously known as “Pogo the Clown” because he would attend children hospitals and parties for adolescence and entertain them. In later years after his murders, Gacy became known as the “Killer Clown” by people all over America. Gacy had been convicted of sexual assault in 1968 and was soon exposed of killing thirty-three boys, who he had buried the majority under his home, garage and yard. John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17th, 1942, In Chicago, Illinois. Gacy was a victim of abuse during his childhood. He and

During the 1970s he became a Democratic Precinct Committee Officer, and worked on becoming a self-made building contractor in Chicago. Gacy performed at childrens parties as the famous “Pogo the Clown” and enjoyed organizing social gatherings. He was an admired man in his community. (John Wayne Gacy Biography). The man everyone trusted and admired was living a double life, he was married and divorced having step children along with having children of his own, he participated in the charitable and political activities that went on in his town while also engaging in the vicious and brutal killings. He ended up being convicted of sexual assault in 1968 of two teenage boys. He was condemned to ten years in prison but was a “model” prisoner and was released on parole in 1970. He ended up getting arrested the following year when another teen boy accused him of sexual assault. When the young man did not show up for his trial, the charges on Gacy ended up being dropped. Two more young men accused him of rape and Gacy was then questioned for their

“The bodies of most of the victims were unearthed in the crawl space under Gacy's middle-class home in the Chicago suburbs….He enticed many young men to his home for homosexual liaisons, tying or handcuffing his partners then strangling or choking them. Gacy was a successful contractor, was active in the community, and often dressed up as a clown for parties. He has the distinction of having been convicted of more murders than anyone else in American history.” (John Wayne Gacy #237).

The police acquired a search warrant for his house, they discovered a roll of film that belonged to the victim: Robert Piest. “A second search warrant was executed when three lime-covered bodies were found in the crawl space.” (John Wayne Gacy #237). Gacy lead the police to the location of the other bodies buried under his house. He claimed that he had lured the boys into his home, precisely with sex or promising them a job. Twenty-nine bodies were discovered on Gacy’s property while the other four were found by a river. “Gacy recanted his confession and did not testify at trial, where he asserted an insanity defense unsuccessfully.”(John Wayne Gacy #237). On the morning of May 10, 1994, at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois the 52 year old serial killer died of lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 12:58