True Crime Tuesday: John Wayne Gacy

May 02, 2022

True Crime Tuesday: John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy is most infamously known for his murders. John Wayne Gacy was born March 17, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. Gacy grew up with his siblings in a household with an alcoholic and abusive father. In addition to a not so great home life, Gacy had a hard time at school. He suffered a congenital heart condition which prevented him from playing with the other kids at school and eventually, he recognized that we was attracted to men. As you can imagine, in these years (1950s), this was not widely accepted.

Gacy worked as fast food manager throughout the 1960s and actually become a contractor in the 1970s. He married Marylynn Myers during his time working as a fast food manager. Together, they brought a son and daughter into the world. These happy moments did not last long though. After being found guilty of sexually assaulting two young boys, Gacy was sentenced to 10 years in prison (1968); however, Gacy served 18 months in prison and was released on parole. At the time of his release, Marylynn and Gacy had been divorced and Marylynn had sole custody of their children.

After his release, Gacy resided in Chicago and this is when he became a successful contractor. Also during this time, Gacy remarried to a woman named Carole Hoff. Carole made complaints of a foul smell coming from the attic and found wallets that belonged to young boys in Gacy's car; however, this did not amount to anything as Gacy opened up to Carole stating he was bisexual and the smell was due to a leak. Gacy was also somewhat open to Carole about his previous incarceration. In the late 1970s, Gacy and Hoff divorced after Carole discovered Gacy continuously having pictures of naked men.

Gacy was heavily involved in politics and charity work. Gacy often would entertain children at parades and other events (primarily Democratic parties) or locations such as visiting nursing homes or sick children as Pogo the clown.

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The Murders

In July of 1975, a young man who worked for Gacy, John Butkovich went missing. His car was located the next day and the key was in the ignition. John's parents really pushed for Chicago police to investigate Gacy as he was last seen speaking to him; however, they did not pursue this.

After a young prostitute is reported missing in 1976, police begin to keep an eye on Gacy and his home. There are no real developments between this and the end of 1977. There was even a report made by a young man who stated he was kidnapped by Gacy. Officers; however, failed to follow up on this incident as Gacy stated the young man had consented to the sexual acts.

In 1978, a boy visited Gacy to inquire about work - he was not seen again after this. A report was made & this ultimately led to police getting involved and they searched Gacy’s home. During this search, the police located items belonging to the missing individuals such as a class ring and clothing.

During the further investigation, the police located bodies of young men that were buried within Gacy’s home - most specifically buried in a crawl space. In addition to the bodies found, there were additional bodies within the Des Plaines River.

Gacy did confess to the murders; however plead not guilty by insanity after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. This did not change the verdict of finding him guilty and he was sentenced to death. Gacy attempted to appeal the decision; however, the verdict remained guilty and Gacy’s death sentence stood. In 1994, Gacy was executed by lethal injection.

When Gacy passed, there were 8 unidentified victims remaining. In 2011, the case was re-opened and the police were able to identify two of the unknown victims by using new DNA technology that was not available during the 80’s.

Cook County Police are still asking for any potential information or individuals that may have suspicions that the unknown victims may be their loved ones.

Identified Victims