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Best Known For
John Wayne Gacy is credited as one of the most vicious serial killers in U.S. history, with 33 victims.
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John Wayne Gacy - Childhood (1:02)
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John Wayne Gacy - Being Different
As a young man, serial killer John Wayne Gacy learned he was attracted to men. His conflicting notions of his sexuality contributed to his eventual madness.
John Wayne Gacy - First Murder
The serial killer John Wayne Gacy brought home a young man from the bus station. He snapped, and committed what would become his first of many murders.
John Wayne Gacy - Childhood
The serial killer John Wayne Gacy's childhood was overshadowed by an abusive father.
Aileen Wuornos - Meeting Tyria Moore
In the Spring of 1986, Aileen Wuornos met Tyria Moore while cruising Florida's biker bars. The pair soon became inseparable.
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Play NowJohn Wayne Gacy. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:42, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544.
John Wayne Gacy. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"John Wayne Gacy." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 12:42 http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544.
"John Wayne Gacy," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"John Wayne Gacy," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544 (accessed May 21, 2013).
John Wayne Gacy [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544.
John Wayne Gacy, http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544 (last visited May 21, 2013).
John Wayne Gacy. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, John Wayne Gacy confessed in 1978 to killing 33 boys and young men, most of whom had been buried in the crawl space under his house. He would sometimes dress as his alter ego, Pogo the Clown, and said the killings were committed by an alternate personality, Jack Hanson, although psychiatrists said he did not have multiple personalities. He was executed in 1994 at the Stateville Correctional Institute in Crest Hill, Illinois.
Early Life and Career
Notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. The son of Danish and Polish parents, Gacy was a self-made building contractor and Democratic precinct captain in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s. Well-liked in his community, Gacy married twice and had two children.
Serial Killings
On December 21, 1978, a police search of Gacy's house uncovered evidence of his involvement in numerous horrific acts, including murder. Within days, Gacy confessed to killing 33 boys and young men, the majority of whom had been buried in his crawl space.
Gacy lured his victims to his home with the promise of construction work, eventually sexually assaulting, torturing and strangling them with rope. When he killed, he sometimes dressed as his alter ego, "Pogo the Clown."
Trial, Conviction and Death
Gacy told police that the murders had been committed by an alternate personality, Jack Hanson. However, during his trial in 1980, psychiatrists testified that Gacy was not a multiple personality.
Ultimately convicted of committing 33 murders, Gacy became known as one of the most vicious serial killers in U.S. history. He was sentenced to serve 12 death sentences and 21 natural life sentences.
John Wayne Gacy died by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois.
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