Twisted Facts About John Wayne Gacy

1. He murdered at least 33 boys and men

Image Source/ mysteryrunJohn Gacy was one of the worst serial killers in history. He committed the most heinous crimes; he was convicted for murdering 33 boys and young men. He would first torture his victims and then sexually assault and rape them before brutally murdering them.

2. His father abused him

Image Source/ mysteryrunIt is a common characteristic of serial killers that during their childhoods they experienced some kind of trauma. In the case of John Wayne Gacy, he was abused and beaten by his father who seemed to hate him. His first memory of his childhood was being hit with a belt, and the second was being hit in the head with a broom and being beat unconscious.

3. He had a heart condition

Image Source/ businessinsiderJohn Wayne Gacy had a heart condition that he lived with. He would have many seizures as a result and it meant that for a lot of his childhood, he missed school having to spend much of the time in hospital. The doctors advise Gacy to not participate in any sports or physical exercise.

4. He worked as a janitor in a mortuary

Image Source/ ThoughtcatalogJohn Wayne Gacy as we know was obsessed with bodies and corpses. And in 1960 his father bought him a car which spurred Gacy to temporarily move to Las Vegas. It was when he was here that he started working as a junior janitor in a mortuary, which of course, meant that he was spending a lot of time around dead bodies.

5. He was a necrophiliac

Image Source/ guyfivelyThis was actually when John Gacy started to commit acts of necrophilia. During his time as janitor, he took it as an opportunity due to the fact he was always around dead bodies. He revealed that he committed two acts of necrophilia during this time.

6. He was close with the females in his family

Image Source/ tameshamHaving the abusive relationship with his father led him closer to his mother who was called Marion Elane Robinson as well as his two sisters. But this in fact led to more abuse from his father who called him girly and a mummy's boy and took it as another opportunity to taunt him.

7. He had two children

Image Source/ infasmostJohn Wayne Gacy actually had two children with Marlynn Myers after the pair had got married. This was during the stage where he had a steady job, and he had a wife. And then the couple went on and had two children together, called Christine and Michael.

8. He got married

Image Source/ historicmytseriesJohn Wayne Gacy was gay. However, when he took up his job as the manager at the local Nunn-Bush Shoe Company, he met a co-worker. She was called Marlynn Myers and the two of them started dating. Two months later, he had proposed and the two of them go married.

9. He started trying to seduce his employees

Image Source/ mortonponyexpressEverything was going well for Gacy. He had a good salary, a wife and two children in a nice home. But Gacy started to do things such as visit prostitutes and watching a lot of pornography. He even started to try and seduce some of his male employees whilst he was at work.

10. His first conviction was sexual assault

Image Source/distractify.comJohn Wayne Gacy joined an organisation called Jaycees. He made a friend at the club. But he the sexually assaulted his friends' son and ended up begin convicted of this. He indicted in 1967 and charged with sodomy. This was the start of his crimes to come.

11. Antisocial Personality Disorder

Image Source/ wiselyveganBefore his trial he had to undergo a psychological examination to see what Gacy's mental state and state of mind was like. They discovered, that Gacy had an antisocial personality disorder and therefore would be a continuous threat to those around him and society in general.

12. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison

Image Source/ ComplexAfter his conviction, combined with his psychology evaluation he was sentenced to 10 years in prison initially. This sentence stared December 3, 1968. The prison environment was actually something that suited John Wayne Gacy, the routine and the structure.

13. He never saw his family again

Image Source/ thelistloveAfter John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to 10 years in prison, his wife the very same day, filed for a divorce. And after this day, John Wayne Gacy never saw either his wife or his two children ever again. At this point, they realised Gacy was no longer safe to be around and did not want to associate as his family.

14. He only served 18 months of 10 years

Image Source/ denofgeekWhen John Wayne Gacy was first sentenced to 10 years, it seemed that this dangerous criminal would no longer be a threat to society for some time. Yet, he only served 18 months of his 10 years sentence before he was released on parole. If he had been properly watched or kept in prison, it would have save multiple lives.

15. His father was an alcoholic

Image Source/ wusa9.comAs we know, Gacy's relationship with his father was extremely turbulent. His father was completely abusive to his son. He was also an alcoholic which fuelled his violent rages and tempers when he would get regularly drink and get drunk. He was a World War I veteran.

16. He was arrested in 1971 and his parole board wasn't notified

Image Source/ thoughtcatalogTo think that the murders could have been prevented is a really horrendous thought. But once he was released, he was then on parole. So, when he was released, he committed another crime and was arrested for the same reasons he was in prison in the first place. But - the parole board was not notified. So, the charges were dropped and Gacy went free.

17. He was arrested again and remarried in the same week

Image Source/ PinterestAgain, Gacy seemed to have another bout of life where he continued with his work and seemingly no crimes. But then just a week before he was getting remarried to Carole Hoff he was arrested again, this time on account of aggravated battery and reckless conduct.

18. He would handcuff his victims

Image Source/ Thought CatalogJohn Wayne Gacy would lure his victims back to his house. He would then tell him victims that he had a trick for them. He would then handcuff them and tell them that the trick was trying to find a key. He would not unlock his victims; he would keep them handcuffed so that they could not escape.

19. One of his victims escaped

Image Source/ ChicagotimesThere was one occasion where one of John Wyne Gacy's victim's named Anthony Antonucci managed to escape. He was just 15 years old, when John Gacy took him back to his house. He was trying to handcuff the young boy when he managed to escape, and he was on the wrestling team at school meaning he had strength. This happened in 1975. However, Gacy talked his way out of the situation to the point that he did not go to the police.

20. Gacy had someone to dig his graves

Image Source/ NBC New YorkOne of the questions was whether John Wayne Gacy had an accomplice. But he did not. However, he did have someone called David Cram dig ditched under his house. Cram claimed that he did not realise why Gacy wanted these trenched built under his house and that he was totally unaware he would use them as graves.

21. In 1972 he murdered his first victim

Image Source/ justcriminalsIn 1972, John Wayne Gacy murdered his fist victim named Timothy McCoy. He met him at a family party. He took him home and then he used a knife to murder him. This was the beginning of a long killing spree and because of the fact he did not get caught for a long time, Gacy continued to kill and kill.

22. His method of killing was suffocation using a garrot

Image Source/ blogspotJohn Wyne Gacy revealed that with his first murder, he used a knife to kill his victim. Which he later revealed made too much of a mess which is why he then changed his method of killing. So, instead from then on, he started to murder people by suffocating them using a garotte.

23. After killing Robert Piest he was under constant surveillance

Image Source/blogspotAfter Gacy killed a boy names Robert Piest, he was put under constant surveillance which meant that his every move was being watched. This happened because the police found data which they traced back to Gacy, when he offered him a job. From then on, the police had to collect evidence.

24. In 1978 he was arrested again

Image Source/ historicmysteriesAfter he had been put under constant surveillance, this of course led to his arrest. And, eh then confessed. By this point, he had committed a LOT of murders. And, knowing the evidence was undeniable, John Wayne Gacy gave a confession which even included details about the murders.

25. They found 26 bodies under his home

Image Source/ New York Daily NewsAfter getting the evidence they needed to search Gacy's house they went and found the remains of 26 bodies. All of the 26 bodies were found in the crawl space under his house. This was before they even had started digging for bodies. By this point, Gacy had been arrested.

26. He denied it all

Image Source/ altereddimensionsJohn Wayne Gacy had so much evidence of his crimes stacked up against him that there was nothing he could ever say or do. And, after initially giving confessions, Gacy before he died started to deny everything. He had been sentenced to death, and from here on he started to deny it all.

27. He was given the death sentence by lethal injection

Image Source/ USA TodayJohn Wayne Gacy was sentenced to death by lethal injection. The death penalty, which is active in certain states in America, meant that because of the atrocities he had committed, he was sentenced to death. So, he was given a day in which his family attended, and Gacy was killed. His last words...'kiss my a***'.

28. He got involved in politics

Image Source/ All That's InterestingThere was one area that John Gacy found and got involved with, that he actually enjoyed and managed to fit in. This was within politics. He joined the local Democratic group in his town at the age of 18 and started working as an assistant for the group.

29. He loved to dress as a clown

Image Source/ news.comJohn Gacy loved to dress up as a clown and he did it on multiple occasions. Children's parties, charity events - it was his go to outfit. And, due to the fact that John Wayne Gacy was a murdered - it fuelled the image of the terrifying killer clown which for some time became associated with him.

30. He had a degree

Image Source/ criminaliaIn the early 1960s John Wayne Gacy actually managed to get a degree. He graduated with a degree in business from Northwestern Business College. It came a surprise to many, considering John Wayne Gacy did not manage to graduate from high school, partly due to his long stints in hospital.

31. His crimes started when he was only a teenager

image source: chicagotribune.com

It might have been many years later when he committed his first murder, but he was only a teenager when his crimes first began. Gacy was on a hike with a 10 year old boy who he then s*xually assaulted and threatened to kill if the boy put up a fight. He wouldn't be the first to assault before his murders, either.

32. Most of his victims were only children

image source: thenewyorktimes.com

Many of his victims were young men under the age of 30, but some of them were even young teenagers, the youngest being only 14 years old: Samuel Stapleton. There was also a 16 year old, Kenneth Parker, and two 15 year old boys. Aside from those, many others were under the age of 18.

33. He had an alter ego

image source: chicago.suntimes.com

It wasn't just that John Wayne Gacy enjoyed dressing up as a clown, but he considered the clown his complete alter ego. He would dress up as his clown alter ego as much as he possibly could in order to gain access to events and places under the guise of an entertainer.

34. He designed his own clown makeup

image source: clownopedia.fandom.com

To make it even more terrifying, he designed his own alter ego clown makeup very carefully, with specific thought put behind every line. He purposefully painted the clown's mouth to have sharp corners so that it would frighten the children who he would meet.

35. And sometimes he would let the cruelty show through

image source: cnn.com

It makes sense why his true, cruel nature would sometimes show through the clown costume if he'd purposefully painted a scary smile. If he encountered a child that he didn't like, he would easily let the mask slip, as it were, and would make sure to punish or hurt them.

36. He started a construction company just to find victims

image source: newsweek.com

Gacy started his own construction company back in the 1970s, which he would then use as a cover for luring victims. He used the business to gain connections with the local authorities or people in the community, and would offer his chosen victims a job to work for him.

37. He would trick them into handcuffing themselves

image source: theirishsun.com

One of the most sadistic things he did was to trick his own victims into handcuffing themselves. He would use the guise of a 'magic trick', where he would lock his own hands in them before secretly using the key to get them open again. His victims would then agree to try and do the same - but of course, he had the key.

38. He didn't see his victims as people

image source: aenetworks.tv

When Gacy was eventually caught for his crimes and questioned, he revealed that he didn't see his victims as people at all. He told his lawyers that he never saw his victims as "human beings". He would also talk about them in a s*xual way, as though they were objects.

39. He had so many bodies hidden he ran out of space

image source: fox13news.com

Gacy owned a rather large property, so the fact he even ran out of space here is chilling. He was originally hiding the bodies of his victims in the crawl space in his home, but he soon had to start hiding them in the garage of the property, too, when he needed more space.

40. He hid the bodies in his marital home

image source: fox13news.com

It's always disturbing to think that a lot of serial killers had wives, husbands or their own families, with them never knowing what the killer was really getting up to. The house that Gacy was hiding his victims was also his wife's home, a home she lived in without knowing anything about what was under her floor.

41. Neighbors attended parties there without knowing what was beneath their feet

image source: thesun.co.uk

As a man of the community, Gacy would also invite people from the community and his neighbors around to his house to host parties or for them to join him at a barbeque. These neighbors would attend not only oblivious to the fact he's a serial killer, but also that his victims' bodies were right beneath their feet.

42. He never regretted what he did

image source: gannonknight.com

Some serial killers may later show regret for what they've done, or at the very least acknowledge that they're evil and what they did was wrong. But Gacy? He never showed any remorse for a single one of his victims - so much so, that his final words were even "kiss my a**".

43. Some of his victims have never been identified

image source: apnews.com

For the sheer amount of victims that were actually found and identified, there were also a lot more that were not identified. Specifically, there are 5 victims whose real identities were never found after their bodies were discovered, with the only thing investigators could learn being their ages.

44. It's believed he killed a lot more than the known victims

image source: cbsnews.com

It's believed that John Wayne Gacy was responsible for the deaths of around 33 young men and boys, but some people believe that he killed a lot more. Some have estimated that he might have killed close to 45 people rather than the 33 that he's known for.

45. He had two clown personas

image source: tripadvisor.com

It's bad enough that this man had one clown persona, nevermind two. But on top of his everyday persona, he also had two clown characters that he liked to slip in and out of. One was Pogo, the more 'fun' clown and one was Patches, who was labelled the more 'serious' one.

46. He should have been caught way sooner

image source: chicagomagazine.com

The tragic fact about the whole case is that he should have been caught much, much sooner - and maybe many lives could have been saved. Not only because of his previous arrest - meaning he should have been being watched - but also because nobody thought to put two and two together about his company being related to the people going missing.

47. He tried to wriggle out of prison by pleading insanity

image source: britannica.com

Because he feared going to prison for what he'd done, he tried the insanity plea - and, specifically, tried to claim he had Dissociative Identity Disorder. One of those identities he was claiming was of course a clown, and the others included a sheriff and a businessman. But nobody believed him due to the level of planning he'd gone into for his crimes.

48. He eventually had to get rid of bodies off the property

image source: chicagotribune.com

Even though Gacy began to hide bodies in his garage after he'd run out of room in the crawl space on his actual property, he even ran out of room here, too. He eventually had to completely remove bodies off the property altogether by throwing them off nearby bridges.

49. He told people the smell was 'damp'

image source: imdb.com

When guests and neighbors attended barbeques or house parties that he would throw, they not only noticed the strange smell, but commented on it, too - only to have Gacy tell them it was just damp. That would have to be a pretty bad case of damp to smell that bad.

50. Even his wife noticed and questioned the strange smell

image source: imdb.com

With it being their marital home, it's no surprise that Gacy's wife, Carol Hoff, also noticed the foul smells coming from her own home. She even got so close as to notice a smell specifically from the crawl space. Gacy dismissed it by telling her that it was a broken sewer pipe.