How Serial Killer John Gacy Was Caught

He was described as a pillar of the neighborhood. From their windows, kind neighbors observed him clearing snow for the elderly. He took on the persona of "Pogo the clown" for the neighborhood kids, who laughed at his antics and delighted in receiving a balloon as a reward for good behavior. When this vicious killer's mask was finally taken off, society as a whole was shocked.

As a child, Gacy was hurt in many ways, just like many people who go on to become serial killers. Gacy was abused, humiliated, and bullied. He had no control. This frequently doesn't bode well for the future grownup. He buried his trauma deep within his mind, but when he was an adult, it wouldn't take long for it to manifest itself in fresh ways.

Gacy had no control. However, Gacy seemed to be doing fine for an 18-year-old. Afterward, he joined the campaign of a local Democrat as the latter's assistant precinct captain. It appeared like young Gacy was maturing into a responsible young man.

After he was promoted to manager at a KFC restaurant, he often hosted pool and drinking nights for the young men who worked for him at his home. His horrible response to these unwelcome approaches was to kidnap them first, torment them, and then kill them. He apparently did this repeatedly without arousing even the slightest bit of interest from anyone. After all, he was a respected member of the community, a parade organizer, a wealthy businessman, and a successful fundraiser. His mask remained firmly in place over his face. He was "the devil in disguise," as some afterward described him.

Once you knew that, you would have discovered that he had two clown characters: Pogo, the good-natured clown, and Patches, the occasionally malevolent clown. He would occasionally continue to wear the clown costume, and you would later spot him in a neighborhood bar passed out over a beer.

If you had been able to examine closer, you would have discovered that he had been imprisoned for assaulting a young man. This raises the query, "Why wasn't he looked into?"

Elizabeth Piest, who was out picking up her teenage son who worked at the neighborhood drugstore, went there on December 11th, 1978. She brought all her pals around for a party because it was her birthday. Robert Piest had assisted her in preparing for the party by being a caring son. Robert instructed his mother to wait outside.

He claimed that he only needed to talk to a man about a potential summer employment because it would be much more profitable than his drugstore work. Elizabeth was excited about the upcoming celebration and pleased that her son was assisting in making sure everything went smoothly as she sat in the car. Nevertheless, after 20 minutes had gone, he had still not left the shop. He was never seen again.

She reported Robert missing to the police later that evening after everyone had left and told them about the contractor he had claimed to be meeting. The police quickly learned that the contractor was John Wayne Gacy.

When police investigated this man further, they discovered that he frequently visited the pediatric department of the nearby hospital. He hopped around performing tricks while portraying Pogo the clown to very ill children.

Police have to look into it. Just too many things about Gacy seemed off. The police were authorized to search his home. Numerous sex-related literature and movies, a starter gun, a nylon rope, sedative medicines, police badges, and if that wasn't suspect enough, numerous IDs and undergarments that didn't belong to Gacy were also discovered.

In his bedroom was a large clown painting. Unbeknownst to the police, there was a radio and TV alarm clock nearby that had formerly belonged to one of his victims. Police discovered a drugstore receipt that had once been in Robert Piest's pocket in a trashcan after performing a deeper investigation.

After that, they kept an eye on his home and followed him everywhere he went. At first, Gacy appeared to be enjoying himself as he approached the police car outside of his home and informed the officers of his intended next move. He claimed that as time went on, the cops harassed him without cause and never stopped trying to establish his importance.

Detectives and Gacy once had lunch together. They questioned him about the clown act. Gacy claimed to adore his role as Pogo. "Being a clown, you can get away with murder," he warned them. A former employee of Gacy's was questioned by police after he admitted that Gacy had once requested him to spread lime in a crawl area under his house. They then began the process of obtaining a second search warrant.

Gacy eventually went outside to the surveillance car in an angry rant. He invited the police to come inside for a cup of coffee and a look around, telling them there was nothing suspicious. As one of the police officers flushed the toilet inside the residence, he became aware of something. It wasn't a solid object, but rather a stench—the smell of death, which every detective is familiar with. They desperately needed that second warrant.

Soon after, Gacy showed up at his attorney's office looking frazzled and intoxicated. He informed his attorneys that he had something to say. When they enquired as to what, he brought out a newspaper and pointed to the story about missing youngster Robert Piest, saying, "This boy is dead. He's dead. He's in a river.

Police obtained a second order to search his house on December 21. They discovered a sort of trapdoor as they continued to search. One of the detectives entered the crawl space that followed and began moving through the tunnel at a crawling pace. The smell of decay immediately assaulted his nostrils.

Police initially discovered three bodies, each in varying states of decomposition. They also discovered fragments of bodies. They may have been viewing one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. It was discovered that Gacy had been murdering even when he was sharing a home with his second wife.

He usually took his time. Initially, by tying a rope around their necks and informing them that it was also a game. By twisting a stick, he would progressively bind it so tightly that they could not breathe. While they were in this state of extreme anguish, he tortured some of his victims. Gacy would always blame dead rats for his wife's frequent complaints about the foul odor.

He told her to mind her own business when she complained too much. She inquired about the clothes and wallets she discovered, which appeared to be from young men. Gacy warned her not to pry into his personal business. That’s when she left.

Gacy and the First Lady.

Gacy would pick up any kind of hitchhiker, bring them back to his residence, and show them that photo of himself with the First Lady, according to interviews with survivors conducted by the police.

Usually, this was enough to give the guys a sense of security. The fact that they flatly refused to participate in his handcuff game was the only thing keeping them alive. They didn't tell the police because, sadly, the majority of them viewed law enforcement as their enemy. They’d die if they did participate in the game.

Gacy was committing most of the murders when he was best known for portraying Pogo, so he may have killed and then entertained a group of sick youngsters or the kids of his political allies.

Gacy's presence should have triggered alarms at the local police stations far sooner. John Butkovich, who had worked for Gacy for 18 years prior to 1975, had a disagreement with him about unpaid wages. After that, Butkovich disappeared.

Law enforcement officials spoke with Gacy, but no charges were filed. Keep in mind that he has a very questionable past of hurting young guys. Over a hundred times, the boy's parents contacted the police, demanding that they look into Gacy's actions.

He could have gotten away with so many killings. Perhaps it was his high social status and political ties that kept the cops from noticing him. That, and the fact, he was “Man of the Year.” There was also "linkage blindness," in which individual law enforcement agencies failed to or were unable to make connections between his various offenses.

For a total of 33 killings, Gacy was found guilty. He received a lethal injection on May 10, 1994.