Between March 17, 1942, and May 10, 1994, John Wayne Gacy, an American serial killer and sex offender, raped, tortured, and killed at least 33 young men and boys.
In Waterloo, Iowa, Gacy was found guilty in 1968 of sodomizing a young boy. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, but only served eighteen months of it.
He murdered his first victim in 1972, twice more by the end of 1975, and at least 30 more victims after divorcing his second wife in 1976.
As a result of the investigation into the disappearance of Robert Piest, a teenager from Des Plaines, Gacy was taken into custody on December 21, 1978.
The 33 homicides that made up his conviction—all of which were perpetrated by one individual—were the most in American judicial history.
Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980. While on death row at the Menard Correctional Center, he spent a lot of time painting. He was executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at the Stateville Correctional Facility.
Why was John Wayne Gacy called the “Killer Clown”?
Gacy frequently performed as “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown,” two personalities he created, at philanthropic events and children’s hospitals.
Because of his public performances as a clown before his crimes were discovered, he earned the moniker “Killer Clown.”
