John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown

John Wayne Gacy was a prolific American serial killer who buried most of his victims in the crawlspace under his house in Cook County, Illinois. What started as an investigation to find one missing teenager ended up being one of the most disturbing true crime cases in history.

With 27 victims found buried mud under his house, 2 elsewhere on his property, and 4 recovered from the Des Plaines River, Gacy had quickly become the most frightening and least funny clown and serial killer that had ever lived. While he mostly dressed up as a police officer while he was cruising for victims, it was his work as a registered clown at children’s parties and his charming trickery that earned him the title of “The Killer Clown”. He had learned many tricks and charms to con his victims into the rope and handcuffs that would end their life, using what he called “the rope trick” to strangle them to death as he read them passages from the Bible. A sadistic sexual predator with an insatiable need to belittle, torture, and violate young boys and men- this case is hauntingly unforgettable and disturbing in every sense.

When he was caught in December 1978 following a complacent slip-up in target selection, he displayed no signs of remorse for what he had done, instead, blaming his victims for killing themselves and using his fourteen years on death row to prove his innocence. He was a businessman, politician, community leader, family man, and friend who shocked the world with the evil and depravity that nobody knew he was capable of.
What exactly did the man who holds the record for having the longest sentence ever imposed on a mass murderer get up to? Let’s investigate!