The Killer Clown

1. The Killer Clown John Wayne Gacy By: Julie McDonald

2. Childhood • Born in Chicago Illinois on March 17, 1942 • Troubled relationship with his father • Physically abusive • Alcoholic • Age 11 he was hit in the head with a swing and he had severe head trauma what would go unnoticed until he was 16 when they found a blood clot that had been forming in his brain • He was put on medication to dissolve the clot

3. Teenage Years and Older • Attended 4 high schools • Never finished his senior year • Dropped out and ran away from family and home • Returned when he ran out of money • Never went back to high school, but enrolled and graduated from Northwestern Business College

4. 1st Marriage • Married Marlynn Myers • Parents owned franchises of KFC, Gacy was offered a manager position • Had 2 children: son and daughter • Rumors began about his homosexuality • Gacy cheated on his wife regularly • “Gacy’s Club” • A place where teenage boys could come and drink, Gacy would try and make sexual advances towards them • 2 boys accused him of sexual assault- he paid another boy to beat up his accusers. • Sentenced to 10 years

5. While in Prison/ Starting Over • Wife filed for divorce shortly after he was convicted • Never saw his children again • Father died • Paroled after 18 months • Lived with his mother • Hide his criminal records • New job • Chief at a Chicago restaurant • Bought a new house

6. February 12, 1971- A teenage boy claims Gacy forced him into his car and forced him to have sex with him. Charges where dropped when the boy never came to court. • Chicago police didn’t follow up on the case • June 22, 1972- A teenage boy accused Gacy of flashing a police badge and forcing him to have sex. Charges were Dropped.

7. 2nd Marriage • Married Carole Hoff- who already had 2 daughters • Hide his past from his new family • Gacy started his own business • PDM Contractors • New trouble • Gacy would stay out all night • Carole found disturbing items • IDs from young men, items of clothing.. • Divorced in March 1976

8. Disappearing Employees • John Butkovich- went missing and was never found • Gregory Godzik- parents urged police to talk to Gacy, nothing happened • John Szyc- a man who knew all the victims disappeared • Lead to clues from other attacks on young boys

9. Gacy’s Downfall • He killed a boy in his neighborhood • Robert Piest • 15 years old • Old a friend he was going to a house to talk to a man about a construction job • Police searched Gacy’s house and found suspicious items • Class rings, small clothing, handcuffs, drivers licenses • An odor was coming from under the house

10. Gacy’s Downfall cont. • He confessed to an employee to over 30 killings • Police searched his house and found human bones in the crawl space • Confessed to the police to over 30 killings that were mostly buried under his house • Drew the police a diagram to how he buried them

11. Confessing All • Told police • He would pick up teenage males or male prostitutes • Handcuff them at his house and muffle their screams with stuffing clothing in their mouths • He would kill them by strangling them with a rope • He would keep the bodies with him for as long as possible- until they decomposition started taking place

12. Sentenced to death on march 13 1980 • Spent 14 years on death row • Executed on May 10, 1994 • He was know as “the killer clown” because he would dress up in a Pogo the clown costume when he would throw block parties in his neighborhood.

13. References • http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/gacy.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy • www.carpenoctem.tv/killers/gacy.htm