John Wayne Gacy

Words: 978
Pages: 4

Twenty-nine dead and decaying bodies and skeletal remains were found in the crawl space and four other bodies were found at the bottom of the Des Plaines River. Could this be the beginning of a homicide investigation? John Wayne Gacy, (also known as the “Killer Clown”), the man that was considered to be an outstanding citizen by so many people, was really a psychopathic serial killer. John Wayne Gacy was a man that was abused by his father as a child, and that is part of what led him to dressing up as a clown, and murdering thirty-three young men.
John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942. Gacy’s life seemed to be normal on the outside, but it was really twisted at the core (Doyle 56). Like many other serial killers, John Gacy grew up in an
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The officer’s found a trap door leading to a dark, flooded, dirt floor crawl space (“Inside”). Once they drained the water, the police found skeletal remains (“Inside”). While digging for the bodies adiopocere was discovered (“Inside”). The odor of the skeletal remains was unbearable. Police also found wallets, ID’s, men’s jewelry, and other personal items of the young men discovered (Crime). Gacy could not fit all thirty-three bodies in his crawl space. He could only fit twenty-nine in it. Eventually, Gacy told police of the additional bodies and their exact locations. Gacy informed police that when he ran out of room in the crawl space, he began to throw the bodies off of a bridge into the Des Plaines River (Doyle 75). The police searched the river and found four more bodies (Doyle 75). After that, it was clear that John Wayne Gacy, the friendly guy who threw block parties and dressed up as a clown to entertain hospitalized children, was a serial killer. Gacy was arrested ten days after a very intense investigation was conducted. Police interrogated him, but Gacy insisted that he did not know anything about the disappearance of Rob Piest. The interrogation was cut short when Gacy started complaining about chest pains and said that he had a history of heart problems (“Inside”). Evidence gathered from Gacy’s house left little doubt of his guilt. Gacy was found guilty and sentenced to death. The court ordered that Gacy be executed by lethal injection, but it would be fourteen years before the sentence was carried out (Lassieur 71). Gacy was a very organized man and he seemed to have his life together for a while. Gacy was an organizer and doer. He enthusiastically impressed officials and his fellow inmates while he was in prison (Doyle 63). Gacy stated in his unpublished manuscript