John Wayne Gacy The Killer clown
Background Born March 17, 1942 in Chicago Middle child Father was a drunk Father would abuse his family Gacy never cried during his father’s tantrums Heart condition kept him from playing with other kids at school Enjoyed gardening, cooking, and baking, which upset his father Father saw heart condition as a failure Confused about his sexuality
Background Fast-food chain manager in the 60s Self-made building contractor in 70s Dressed as a clown for community events Married and divorced twice, had biological and step children
Crimes Crime Year Victims Punishment Sexual assault 1968 2 teenage boys 10 years in prison, released in 1970 for good behavior Sexual Assault 1971 Teenage boy Charges dropped Murder 1972 Timothy McCoy 1974 Unidentified teenage boy 1976 Darrel Sampson Michael Bonnin William Carrol
Crimes Crime Year Victim Punishment Murder 1976 4 undidentified males 2 teenage boys Gregory Godzik Kidnapped and murder Kenneth Parker and Michael Marino 1977 John Szyc 2 unidentified teenage boys Jon Prestidge
Crimes Crime Year Victim Punishment Murder 1977 Matthew Bowman Robert Gilroy John Mowery Russel Nelson Robert Winch Tommy Boling David Talsma
Crimes Crime Year Victim Punishment Rape, torture 1977 Robert Donnelly No charges, convinced police it was consensual Murder 1978 William Kindred Battery Jeffrey Rignall arrested Timothy O’Rourke Frank Landingin James Mazzara
Last Crime Des Plaines, Illinois 1978 15 year old Robert Piest goes missing Mother tells police he was last seen going to Gacy’s house for a job interview December 21, 1978: Police search Gacy’s house and find evidence of many crimes (class ring, clothing too small for Gacy, various drivers licenses, handcuffs, books on homosexuality) Police also found a photo receipt from the pharmacy where Piest worked
Arrest December 22, 1978: Gacy confesses to committing 25-30 murders Majority of victims buried in a crawlspace beneath the house, others thrown into the Des Plaines River Brought to trial February 6, 1980, charged with 33 murders Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic at Menard Correctional Center Pled not guilty by reason of insanity Sentenced to 12 death sentences and 21 natural life sentences Also convicted of sexual assault and taking indecent liberties with a child
May 9, 1994 Moved to Statesville Correctional Center Final words spoken were “Kiss my ass” Lethal injection Confirmed dead at 12:58 AM on May 10
Art Work
Cultural References To Catch a Killer (movie 1992) Gacy (movie 2003) 8213:Gacy House (movie 2010) American Horror Story: Freak Show Twisty the Clown (tv show 2014)
Labeling Theory/ Social Control Theory Growing up, Gacy’s dad labeled him as a failure. Because of his sexual preferences and heart condition, he ade Gacy feel like he was different from everyone else. Gacy collapsed under the pressure of trying to live up to his father’s expectations. This caused his to just believe what his dad said was true; he was a failure. The psychological damage caused by his father led him to commit these terrible crimes. Gacy wanted to seem normal to his community and he wanted people to like him, so he could also fall under the social control theory. He was involved in the community, so everyone liked him. However he could not escape the shadow of shame his father put on him for being different as a child. This led him to become the sick serial killer he was. If his father wouldn’t have been so hard on him as a child, maybe his life would have turned out differently and he would still be around today.