John Wayne Gacy, Chicago, Illinois, USA

[Eat Shit And Die]

Default John Wayne Gacy AKA The Killer Clown

Background information

Birth name: John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Born: March 17, 1942(1942-03-17)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: May 10, 1994(1994-05-10) (aged 52)
Crest Hill, Illinois, USA
Cause of death: Lethal injection
Sentence: Death

Killings

Number of victims: 33
Span of killings: 1972–1978
Country: United States
State(s): Illinois
Date apprehended: December 1978

[Eat Shit And Die]

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Rape
Number of victims: 33
Date of murders: 1972 - 1978
Date of arrest: December 21, 1978
Date of birth: March 17, 1942
Victims profile: Boys and young men
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Status: Executed by lethal injection in Illinois on May 10, 1994


Summary:

John Wayne Gacy was convicted of 33 murders of mostly teenage boys. He was sentenced to death for 12 of those murders (12 proved to have been committed after Illinois had passed post-Furman death penalty), and to natural life in prison for the others.

The bodies of most of the victims were unearthed in the crawl space under Gacy's middle class home in the Chicago suburbs.

Evidence showed that the defendant led a double life, engaging in charitable and political activities at the same time he was committing a series of sadistic torture murders. 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.

On December 11, 1978, a 15-year-old Des Plaines high school sophomore, Robert Piest, disappeared shortly after leaving work at a pharmacy where Gacy had recently completed a remodeling job.

Police put Gacy under surveillance, and when it was learned that two teenage employees of Gacy, Gregory Godzik and John Butkovich, also had recently disappeared, the police obtained a search warrant for Gacy's home. A roll of film belonging to Piest was seized in the ensuing search.

A second search warrant was executed and three lime-covered bodies were found in the crawl space. Gacy pointed officers to the precise locations of certain bodies in the crawl space and stated that he had lured the victims to his home, either expressly for sex or through the promise of employment, and then strangled them. A total of 29 bodies were recovered on the property and 4 more were discovered in a nearby river.

Gacy recanted his confession and did not testify at trial, where he asserted an insanity defense unsuccessfully.

Citations:

People v. Gacy, 468 N.E.2d 1171 (Ill. 1984) (Direct Appeal).
People v. Gacy, 530 N.E.2d 1340 (Ill. 1988) (PCR).
Gacy v. Welborn, 994 F.2d 305 (7^th Cir. 1993) (Habeas).
Gacy v. Page, 24 F.3d 887 (7^th Cir. 1994) (Habeas/Stay).

Final/Special Meal:

A dozen deep fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe chicken from KFC, a pound of fresh strawberries and French fries.

Final Words:

"Kiss my ass".

[Eat Shit And Die]

Victims

Known Gacy victims, with date of disappearance.

Timothy McCoy, 18, January 3, 1972
John Butkovitch, 17, July 21, 1975
Darrell Sampson, 18, April 6, 1976
Randall Reffett, 15, May 14, 1976
Sam Stapleton, 14, May 14, 1976
Michael Bonnin, 17, June 3, 1976
William Carroll, 16, June 13, 1976
Rick Johnston, 17, August 6, 1976
Kenneth Parker, 16, October 25, 1976
Michael Marino, 14, October 25, 1976
Gregory Godzik, 17, December 12, 1976
John Szyc, 19, January 20, 1977
Jon Prestidge, 20, March 15, 1977
Matthew Bowman, 19, July 5, 1977
Robert Gilroy, 18, September 15, 1977
John Mowery, 19, September 25, 1977
Russell Nelson, 21, October 17, 1977
Robert Winch, 16, November 10, 1977
Tommy Boling, 20, November 18, 1977
David Talsma, 19, December 9, 1977
William Kindred, 19, February 16, 1978
Timothy O'Rourke, 20, June 1978
Frank Landingin, 19, November 4, 1978
James Mazzara, 21, November 24, 1978
Robert Piest, 15, December 11, 1978

Unidentified victims

Eight of Gacy's victims are still unidentified. It is also believed that there may have been other victims never identified or found who were buried at other locations.

The ninth unidentified victim, case file, 959UMIL was identified in June 2007 as Timothy McCoy from Nebraska. McCoy was Gacy's first known and identified victim.