Serial killer, rapist and torturer of 33 young men and boys, suburban Chicago, 1972–1978
John Wayne Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys in suburban Chicago between 1972 and 1978, burying most victims beneath his own home.
Quick Facts
Who Was John Wayne Gacy?
John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. Known to the world by the chilling aliases "The Killer Clown" and "Pogo the Clown," Gacy would go on to become one of the most prolific and disturbing serial killers in American criminal history. His crimes — rape, torture, and murder — were carried out over a six-year period in suburban Chicago, and their discovery shocked the nation.
Gacy's criminal history predated his murder spree by more than a decade. In 1964, he was found guilty of sodomizing two young boys and served 18 months in custody. In 1968, he was again convicted, this time for sodomy of a teenage boy in Waterloo, Iowa. He was sentenced to 10 years but served only 18 months before being released — a failure of the justice system that would have catastrophic consequences.
