1. John Wayne Gacy The Killer clown

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Crimes Crime Year Victim Punishment Murder 1977 Matthew Bowman
Robert Gilroy
John Mowery
Russel Nelson
Robert Winch
Tommy Boling
David Talsma

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Art Work

12. 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)

13. 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.