Infamous Murderer & Serial Killer Profiles - #2 John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy Jnr with First Lady Rosalynn Carter (licence-free image)

Welcome to part-two of my profile of some of the world's most infamous serial killers; last week we focused on Dennis "The Kindly Killer" Nilsen, this week it's the turn of John "The Killer Clown" Wayne Gacy Junior. As before, the idea behind these profiles is not to glorify or demonise these people or to justify their killings, but to try to understand who these people were and what drove a seemingly normal baby/child to become a sadistic killer. 

Every profile will consist of the same set of questions, and the answers will be compiled from a series of different sources (biographies, court records and personal testimony, where possible), but where information is not known or information is incorrect, this will be amended over time. 

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Profile #2: John Wayne Gacy Junior. Between 1972 and 1978, John Wayne Gacy (a self-employed construction worker, charity-fundraiser and children's entertainer; raped, tortured and murdered at least 33 young men and boys, burying their bodies under his home in Chicago.

• PERSONAL DETAILS:
• Birth Name: John Wayne Gacy Jnr
• Date of Birth: 17th March 1942 (St Patrick’s Day)
• Place of Birth: Edgewater Hospital in Chicago (Illinois)
• Weight: 230 lb (104 kg)
• Height: 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
• Hair Colour: Light brown
• Eye Colour:  Blue
• Nickname: Often dubbed by the media as The Killer Clown as Gacy would perform at charity fundraisers and children’s parties as Pogo the Clown. He was also known locally (at his own request) as the Colonel as he’d give away free Kentucky Fried Chicken strips to friends when he managed three KFC franchises in Waterloo (Iowa), but at home, during his turbulent childhood, Gacy was affectionately nicknamed “Johnny” by his mother and sisters.
• Star Sign: Pisces
• Disabilities: None.
• Health Issues: Numerous. Aged 17, Gacy was diagnosed with a “heart arrhythmia” (an irregular heartbeat that caused fainting spells) and was believed to have been brought on by anxiety, although this diagnosis was never medically confirmed and his father often accused him of “faking it”. Because of this ailment, Gacy avoided sports hence he was overweight and was ineligible for military service, which his WW1 veteran father saw as another failing of his unmanly son in a family of three children (two daughters and one son). Throughout his childhood and teens, Gacy was also hospitalised on many occasions with seizures, caused by blunt force trauma to his head, caused by his abusive father and a childhood accident.
• Sexual Orientation: Gacy's homosexual feelings stirred in his teenage years, but he was unable to "come out" openly as he knew his violent father would disapprove, so he hid his true feelings until his thirties. Aged six, when Gacy’s mother tried to protect him from his father’s beatings, Gacy Snr ridiculed his son for being a “sissy” and a “momma’s boy” who would “probably grow up queer”. Gacy always sought his father’s approval but was regarded by him as “dumb, stupid and never good enough”. Although homosexual, John Wayne Gacy Jnr was married twice with two children (Michael & Christine and two step children to his second wife). It’s worth noting that although John Gacy Snr never sexually abused his son, Gacy first sexual experience was when he was molested by a male family friend aged 7, which he never told his father about for fear of being beaten. It wasn’t until 1975 that Gacy admitted to his second wife that he was a bisexual, although it is often debated whether Gacy was actually a homosexual masquerading as a heterosexual.
• Personality: John Wayne Gacy Jnr was seen as diligent, hard-working and contentious by those he sought the approval of - Junior Chamber, Democrat Party and Loyal Order of the Mooses fraternity, of which he was a member of all three – he even met with President Carter’s wife owing to his charity work. But after years of abuse by his father, Gacy was unemotional, uncaring and apathetic for other people’s feelings and needs. 

FAMILY HISTORY:

• Parents: John Stanley Gacy (1900–1969), an auto repair machinist and his wife Marion Elaine Robinson (1908–1989), a housewife. The family were of Polish / Danish ancestry, hence the family name was previously spelled Gatza and Gaca.
• Siblings: Karen (youngest sister) and Joanne (older sister)
• Sibling Order: Gacy was the second of three children, and the only son
• Injury/Traumatic Event as a Child: John Gacy Snr was a violent alcoholic who regularly beat and abused his wife and children, often using a leather strap, a belt, a razor strop (which is a tough leather strap used for sharpening shaving blades) and - aged just four years old - Gacy was beaten across the head with a broomstick so hard that he was rendered unconscious. These beatings became so frequent, that Gacy became apathetic and emotionally hardened to both the beatings and other people.
• Deceased Parent: Just before his death of cirrhosis of the liver on Christmas Day 1965, John Wayne Gacy visited his father. Now aged 23 years old, Gacy was married to Marlynn, had two children and was running three successful KFC franchises – a period of his life which he described as “perfect”. John Stanley Gacy Sr apologized to Gacy for the physical and mental abuse he had inflicted upon his son before proudly stating "Son, I was wrong about you”. Unfortunately, when Gacy Snr died, his son was already in prison for a sexual offence against a teenager. When Gacy heard that his abusive father had died, he collapsed and sobbed uncontrollably, and when he requested supervised compassionate leave from prison to attend his father's funeral, his request was denied.
• Head Injury or Accident as Child: As above, aged six, John Wayne Gacy Jnr was rendered unconscious by being beaten about the head by his father with a broomstick. Also, aged 11 years old, Gacy was accidentally struck on the forehead by a swing and caused a blood clot on the brain (but this wasn’t diagnosed until he was 16) and resulted in him blacking-out on numerous occasions, possibly exacerbated by his congenital heart arrhythmia.
• Bed-Wetter (as child): Yes, until late childhood, for which he was punished
  
• Fire-Starter (as child): No, although in later life he used red-hot fire-pokers for torture
  
• Animal Abuser (as child): No, Gacy owned and loved two pet dogs
  
• Pets: Unlike many serial killers, Gacy was not known to abuse animals. In his pre-teen years he had two dogs, the second of these was a Spaniel called Prince.
• Abandoned / Fostered: No.
• Marital Status: Married and divorced twice; first to Marlynn Myers in 1964 and divorced in 1969, and Carole Hoff in 1972 and divorced in 1976. Marlynn petitioned for divorce on the same day that Gacy was sentenced to 10 years for the “oral sodomy” of a 15 year old boy.
• Children: Michael & Christine (born to Marlynn). 

WORK:

• Jobs: Aged 18 years old, Gacy ran away from home, drove to Las Vegas (Nevada) and became a mortuary attendant. Here he slept in a fold-out bed behind the embalming room, and on one evening he climbed into the coffin of a deceased teenage male, embracing and caressing the corpse. In 1963, Gacy was a trainee manager at Nunn-Bush Shoe Company, in 1964 he managed three Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in Waterloo (Iowa) owned by his father-in-law; in 1970, having been released from prison, Gacy got a job as a short-order cook in Waterloo, and finally in 1972, Gacy set up his own construction company - PDM Contractors (which stands for “Painting, Decorating and Maintenance”).
• Training: As a mortician’s assistant, Gacy learned about embalming, dissection and the liquefaction of bodies. All skills whihc would come in handy later in life. 
• Military Service: None. Ineligible owing to heart arrhythmia and blackouts.
• IQ / Education – IQ of 118. Although a high-school drop-out, owing to repeated hospitalisation for seizures and heart arrhythmia between the ages of 14 to 18, Gacy applied and graduated from Northwestern Business College in 1963, and during his first incarceration at Anamose State Penitentiary, Gacy completed 16 high school courses and obtained a diploma in November 1969. 

​SOCIAL:

• Favourite Food: Although never stated, John Wayne Gacy’s final meal on Death Row consisted of “a dozen deep-fried shrimp, a family bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, French fries, a pound of fresh strawberries and a large Diet Coke”.
• Favourite Music: He was a big fan of REO Speedwagon.
• Favourite Film: Unknown.
• Favourite Book: Unspecified, but he claimed to enjoy reading the work of William S. Burroughs  whose books include Naked Lunch, Junkie and Queer. 
• Favourite Drink:  J&B (Justerini & Brooks) Scotch Whiskey, which he would often drink in his favourite drinking establishment The Good Luck Lounge, located at 4403 N. Elston Avenue, Mayfair, Chicago.
• Smoker: Non-smoker, although he would partake socially of cannabis.
• Hobbies: Gacy loved painting portraits of himself as Pogo the Clown. Once incarcerated, Gacy displayed his work at exhibitions and others were sold at auctions, with prices ranging between $200 and $20,000 each. Gacy benefited from these sales up until 1985, when the law changed. In the months following Gacy's execution, some of these painting were destroyed on a bonfire held in Naperville, attended by 300 people, including the family members of nine of Gacy's victims.
• Religion: Irish Catholic / Roman Catholic
• Drugs/Alcohol Abuse: Gacy smoked cannabis, often to lure his young victims in with the promise of drugs, drink and excitement. Although his father was a violent alcoholic, this didn’t stop Gacy from turning to alcohol himself and plying his young victims with alcohol.
• Political Leanings: Staunchly a Democrat; aged 18 years old he was assistant precinct captain for a Democratic Party candidate in his hometown in Chicago. 

MURDER CAREER:

• Reason for Murder: Unknown; although it is obvious that John Wayne Gacy Jnr was physically and mentally abused by his father and sexually abused by a family friend during his childhood, John Wayne Gacy lead two separate lives; one as a respectable business man, husband and heterosexual family man, who worked tirelessly as a children’s entertainer (for the United States Junior Chamber aka the Jaycees) and as a political supporter and campaign fundraiser for the Democrat Party, and yet was also a rapist, child abuser and closet homosexual who took by force... and in secret.
• Method of Killing: All but one of his victims was asphyxiated or strangled using a makeshift tourniquet. He often lured his young victims with the promise of a lift, alcohol or paid work; plied them with alcohol, pinned them to the ground, sometimes cuffing hands behind their backs or sitting on their chests and strangling them with a tourniquet (once he stabbed his victim with a kitchen knife). Later, Gacy progressed to torturing his victims and using them as “sex slaves”, during which they were raped, whipped and burned with candles.
• Number of Victims: 33 known victims; 25 were conclusively identified by DNA and dental records, 7 remain unidentified and 1 victim’s identity remains disputed (as of May 2017). 
• Length of Career: 3rd January 1972 to 11th December 1978, from first to last known murder.
• Criminal Record: In March 1968, Gacy forced 15 year old Donald Voorhees to perform oral sex on him. On 3rd December 1968, Gacy was sentenced to 10 years in Anamose State Penitentiary for “oral sodomy”, the attempted assault on 16 year old Edward Lynch and – in relation to the Voorhees case – intimidating a witness, when he paid 18 year old Russell Schroeder to beat-up and spray Voorhees in the face with Mace. Gacy served just 18 months of his 10 year sentence. A few months after his release whilst on supervised parole, Gacy was charged with sexually assaulting a teenager on 12th February 1971, but this charge was dismissed when the victim failed to turn up to the court case. On 22nd June 1972, one week before his wedding to Carole Hoff, Gacy was arrested with aggravated battery when he impersonated a policeman in order to lure a youth named Jackie Dee to his car and force him to perform oral sex. Again, the charges were dropped. Interesting fact: In 1975, having been appointed the director of Chicago's annual Polish Constitution Day Parade, Gacy met First Lady Rosalynn Carter (wife of the US President). Although, a convicted sex offender and child rapist, the United States Secret Service vetted and approved John Wayne Gacy to talk to and be photographed with Lady Carter. If you look at the photo, you will see he is wearing an "S" pin, which indicated a person who has been given special clearance by the Secret Service
• Preferred Victims: All victims were teenage boys or young men, aged between 14 and 21 years old and all were white. Some he picked-up at bus stations, on streets, at bars and some of his victims were even employees at his business – PDM Contractors.
• Preferred Murder Location: At Gacy’s own home at 8213 West Summerdale Ave, Chicago. Although the building has been demolished, a family home still resides at that location.
• Perversions: Although, whilst he was working as a mortician’s assistant, Gacy fondled the corpse of a teenage boy, it was never proven that he engaged in any form of necrophilia (sex with a dead body) with any of his victims, or that he cannibalised or ate any body parts. Once his victims were dead, they were buried and forgotten about.
• Disposal: Early in his murderous career, Gacy noticed that when he stored a corpse in a closet, that fluid would often leak out of his victim’s mouth or other orifices, and although he would stuff the corpse’s cavities with their own underwear to prevent “leakage” (a skill he learned as a mortician's assistant), the majority of the corpses were buried under the crawl space of his home. This is also the reason why – when he started to run out of space – he initially considered storing the bodies in his attic, but was worried about “excessive leaking”. The last five of Gacy’s victims were thrown off the I-55 bridge into the Des Plaines River, one of which landed on a passing barge boat. Only four of these corpses were ever found. 

​ARREST/SENTENCE:

• Detection: On 11th December 1978, Gacy visited a Des Plaines pharmacy and offered 15 year old employee Robert Jerome Piest a job at $5 per hour. When Piest failed to return, Gacy’s house was searched and a two-man surveillance team were assigned to follow Gacy. Feeling cocky, on 19th December 1978, Gacy invited the detectives inside his house and one of them noticed a smell of rotting corpses emanating from a heating duct.
• Arrested: On the 22nd December 1978, Gacy admitted he had "been the judge, jury and executioner of many, many people". He confessed to 25 to 30 murders, all of whom he falsely claimed were of teenage runaways or male prostitutes.
• Trial: The trial began on 8th February 1980, where Gacy was charged with 33 counts of murders before Judge Louis Garippo. Although the case was heard in Cook County, the jury composed of residents of Rockford because of the saturation of local press coverage. The trial lasted five weeks, but the jury only needed to deliberate for less than two hours and on the 13th March 1980, John Wayne Gacy was found guilty of twelve counts of murder which warranted a death sentence.
• Prison: John Wayne Gacy Jnr spent 14 years on Death Row at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois.
• Type of Prisoner: Although Gacy never showed any remorse for his victims, he occupied his time in prison by painting self-portraits. Throughout his incarceration, Gacy maintained his innocence and even claimed that some of his victims were murdered by his employees, who had keys and access to his home/business whilst he was away. Gacy was attacked twice during his incarceration on Death Row by fellow inmates; first by Henry Brisbon (the I-57 killer) who stabbed him in the upper arm with a sharpened wire, and second by William Jones who stabbed him in the head. Both injuries were superficial.
• Parole: having been sentenced to death, Gacy was not eligible for parole. Therefore on the 9th May 1994, Gacy was transferred to Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill for execution; he had a picnic with his family and that evening was executed by lethal injection. The procedure took 18 minutes. His final words were simply "Kiss my ass. Gacy's death was confirmed at 12:58am on 10th May 1994. At his post-mortum, his brain was removed and is now held in trust by Dr Helen Morrison in an attempt to isolate common personality traits of violent sociopaths. The brain of John Wayne Gacy showed no signs of abnormality. 

The next profile will be on: Dr Harold Shipman

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If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at my other articles: such as serial killers and their diets, favourite drinks, height, IQ, star signs, lunar cycles, dates of birth, reasons for killing, music, nicknames, last meals and whether they're alive or dead... to name but a few. ​

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Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.