John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer.

Background
John was raised by an abusive, alcoholic father, who referred to him as "sissy", and a passive mother. He was close to his sisters and his mother, who called him "Johnny". After attending four different high schools, Gacy dropped out before completing his senior year and left his family, heading west. After running out of money in Las Vegas, Nevada, he worked long enough to earn money to travel back home to Chicago. Without returning to high school, he enrolled in and eventually graduated from Northwestern Business College. A management trainee position with the Nunn-Bush Shoe Company followed shortly after graduation, and in 1964, Gacy was transferred to Springfield, Illinois. There he met coworker Marlynn Myers, and they married in September 1964. He became active in local Springfield organizations, joining the Jaycees and rising to vice-president of the Springfield chapter by 1965.

Gacy would later become involved in political activism, construction, and several other fields, all the while racking up minor criminal charges. In 1975, Gacy created the character "Pogo the Clown", which he used to support himself. During this time, his involvement in politics eventually landed him clearance by the U.S. Secret Service. Shortly thereafter, he would begin his murders.

He started with a young juvenile named Tim McCoy, whom he allegedly killed in self defense. He soon murdered a co-worker name John Butkovich. After many years of murdering, Gacy was eventually apprehended in Des Plaines following reports of "bad smells" coming from his home. Police would find the bones of several victims underneath his floor boards.

Gacy was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Prison in Crest Hill, IL on May 10, 1994.

Confession
Gacy would admit to 25-30 murders in the 1970s. When police searched his home, the remains of at least 29 people were found buried in various places in his home.

Modus Operandi
Gacy told the police that he would pick up male teenage runaways or male prostitutes from the Chicago Greyhound Bus station or off the streets, and take them back to his house by either promising them money for sex, offering them a job with his construction company, or simply grabbing them by force. Once they got back to his house, he would handcuff them or tie them up in another way. Gacy would often stick clothing in their mouths to muffle their screams. After this, he would choke them with a rope or a board as he sexually assaulted them, then bury the bodies in his crawlspace. Periodically, Gacy would pour quicklime in the crawlspace to hasten the decomposition of the bodies.

Known Victims

 * Timothy McCoy, 15, January 3, 1972
 * John Butkovich, 17, July 29, 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
 * at least 9 other unnamed victims