John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender known as the Killer Clown know all about him in this article as like his Family, Parents, Wife, Children, Net Worth and Cause of Death
| Bio | |
| Name | John Wayne Gacy |
| Birthdate ( Age) | 17 March 1942 |
| Place of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | 10 May 1994 |
| Nationality | American |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse/Partner | Carole Hoff (m. 1972–1976), Marlynn Myers (m. 1964–1969) |
| Children | Michael Gacy, Christine Gacy |
| Parents | Name not Known |
| Education | Not Known |
| Profession | American serial killer |
| Net Worth | Not Known |
| Last Update | October 2021 |
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender known as the Killer Clown who assaulted and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children’s hospitals and charitable events as “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown”, personas he had devised.
His conviction for thirty-three murders then covered the most homicides in United States legal history. Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980. On death row at Menard Correctional Center, he spent much of his time painting. He was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
Early Life and Family
John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 17, 1942, the second child and only son of John Stanley Gacy and Marion Elaine Robison.His father was an auto repair machinist and World War I veteran, and his mother was a homemaker.Gacy was of Polish and Danish ancestry, and his family was Catholic.
Gacy was close to his mother and two sisters, but endured a difficult relationship with his father, an alcoholic who was physically abusive to his family.His father also belittled him, calling him “dumb and stupid” and comparing him unfavorably with his sisters.One of Gacy’s earliest memories was of his father beating him with a leather belt for accidentally disarranging components of a car engine he had assembled.His mother tried to shield her son from his father’s abuse, which only resulted in accusations that he was a “sissy” and a “mama’s boy” who would “probably grow up queer”.Despite this mistreatment, however, Gacy still loved his father,but felt he was “never good enough” in his father’s eyes.
In 1949, Gacy’s father was informed his son and another boy had been caught sexually fondling a young girl. His father whipped him with a razor strop as punishment.The same year, a family friend and contractor would sometimes molest Gacy in his truck.Gacy never told his father about this, afraid that his father would blame him.
One of Gacy’s friends in high school recalled several instances when his father ridiculed or beat his son without provocation. On one occasion in 1957, he witnessed Gacy’s father emerging drunk from the family basement to begin belittling, then hitting his son for no apparent reason.Gacy’s mother attempted to intervene as her son simply “put up his hands to defend himself”. According to the friend, Gacy never struck his father back during these altercations.
John Wayne Gacy Wife
John Wayne Gacy became engaged to Carole Hoff, a divorcee with two young daughters whom he had briefly dated in high school. They were married on July 1, 1972.Carole and her daughters moved into Gacy’s home soon after the couple announced their engagement.His mother moved out of the house shortly before the wedding.
By 1975, Gacy had told his wife that he was bisexual.After the couple had sex on Mother’s Day that year, he informed her this would be “the last time” they would ever have sex.He began spending most evenings away from home, only to return in the early hours of the morning with the excuse he had been working late. Carole observed Gacy bringing teenage boys into his garage in the early hours and also found gay pornography and men’s wallets and identification inside the house. When she confronted Gacy about who these items belonged to, he informed her angrily that it was none of her business.
Following a heated argument when she failed to balance a checkbook correctly in October 1975, Carole asked Gacy for a divorce.He agreed to his wife’s request although, by mutual consent, she continued to live at the West Summerdale house until February 1976, when she and her daughters moved into their own apartment. One month later, on March 2, the Gacys’ divorce—decreed upon the false grounds of Gacy’s infidelity with women—was finalized.
Professional Career
In 1960, at age 18, Gacy became involved in politics, working as an assistant precinct captain for a Democratic Party candidate in his neighborhood. This led to more criticism from his father, who accused his son of being a “patsy”. Gacy later speculated his decision to become involved in politics was actually to seek the acceptance from others that he never received from his father.
The same year Gacy’s political involvement began, his father bought him a car. He kept the vehicle’s title in his own name until Gacy had finished paying for it. These monthly payments took several years for him to complete. His father would confiscate the keys to the vehicle if Gacy did not do as he said. In 1962, Gacy purchased an extra set of keys after his father confiscated the original set. In response, his father removed the distributor cap, keeping the component for three days. Gacy recalled he felt “totally sick” and “drained” after this incident.
In Waterloo, Gacy joined the local Jaycees chapter, regularly offering extended hours to the organization in addition to the 12- and 14-hour days he worked managing the three KFC restaurants. At meetings, Gacy often provided fried chicken and insisted on being called “Colonel”.
Although Gacy was considered ambitious and something of a braggart, the other Jaycees held him in high regard for his fundraising work, and in 1967 named him “outstanding vice-president” of the Waterloo Jaycees.The same year, Gacy served on the board of directors.Gacy and other Waterloo Jaycees were also deeply involved in wife swapping, prostitution, pornography, and drug use.
Murders and Investigation
Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys, and buried 26 of them in the crawl space of his house. Gacy usually lured a lone victim to his house, although on more than one occasion Gacy also had what he called “doubles”—two victims killed in the same evening.Several victims were lured with the promise of a job with PDM, others with an offer of drink, drugs, or money for sex.
His victims included people he knew and random individuals lured from Chicago’s Greyhound Bus station, Bughouse Square, or simply off the streets. Some victims were grabbed by force, others conned into believing Gacy (who often carried a sheriff’s badge and had spotlights on his black Oldsmobile) was a policeman.
When Piest failed to return, his family filed a missing person report with the Des Plaines police. Torf named Gacy as the contractor Piest had most likely left the store to talk to about a job. Lieutenant Joseph Kozenczak, whose son attended Maine West High School like Piest, chose to investigate Gacy further. Having spoken with Piest’s mother on the morning of December 12, Kozenczak became convinced Piest had not run away from home.A routine check of Gacy’s criminal background revealed that he had an outstanding battery charge against him in Chicago and had served a prison sentence in Iowa for the sodomy of a 15-year-old boy.
Kozenczak and two Des Plaines police officers visited Gacy at his home the following evening. Gacy indicated he had seen two youths working at the pharmacy and that he had asked one of them—whom he believed to be Piest—whether there were any remodeling materials behind the store.He was adamant, however, that he had not offered Piest a job, and had only returned to the pharmacy shortly after 8:00 p.m. as he had left his appointment book at the store.
Gacy promised to come to the station later that evening to make a statement confirming this, indicating he was unable to do so at that moment as his uncle had just died. When questioned as to how soon he could come to the police station, he responded, “You guys are very rude. Don’t you have any respect for the dead?”
At 3:20 a.m., Gacy arrived at the police station covered in mud, claiming he had been involved in a car accident. On returning to the police station later that day, Gacy denied any involvement in Piest’s disappearance and repeated that he had not offered him a job.
When asked why he had returned to the pharmacy, Gacy reiterated that he had done so in response to a phone call from Torf informing him he had left his appointment book at the store. Detectives had already spoken with Torf, who denied calling Gacy. At the request of detectives, Gacy prepared a written statement detailing his movements on December 11.
How did John Wayne die
Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980. On death row at Menard Correctional Center, he spent much of his time painting. He was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
