The Redbird Word 2022 Halloween Issue

true crime spotlight...............................................................................
33 Bodies Found Dead At the Home of the “Killer Clown”
By: Cole Tarrant
On Netflix’s “Conversations with a Killer,” John Wayne Gacy said, “Clowns can get away with anything,
clowns can get away with murder.” Gacy was a killer clown whose alter ego gave him the mindset to assault and
murder 33 boys and young men.
Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1942. It seemed he had a pleasant childhood. However, his childhood was far
from ideal.
His dad physically and mentally assaulted him. Gacy tried to earn his dad’s approval, but never could.
Around 1964, Gacy met his first wife Marlynn Myers. After getting married they moved to Waterloo, Iowa,
where they expanded their family. During Gacy’s marriage, Gacy would become associated with KFC.
His father-in-law would employ Gacy to manage 3 KFC restaurants, where he started seducing boys. A KFC
employee would be his first victim. Gacy brought the boy to his house, gave him alcohol, and strangled him till he
fainted.
He didn’t kill his first victim. After he strangled the boy, he took him home and fired him from his job. Gacy was
caught in 1968 and was charged with sexual assault and sodomy for luring boys into his home. He was sentenced to
10 years in prison but was released on parole after 18 months for being a model prisoner
“18 Months?,” Junior Sarah Martin said. “It should have …. been 10 years then reduced to 7 at maximum.”
Knowing of her husband's wrongdoings, Myer filed for a divorce. Gacy would return to Chicago and establish a
construction business called PDM Contractors. He also provided entertainment at parties dressed up as Pogo the
Clown.
Gacy built a solid reputation in Chicago and was respected by his friends, neighbors, and the police. This helped
Gacy prolong his evil acts because the police respected him. Even as teens started disappearing, the police wouldn’t
investigate.
On July 1975, a teenager who worked for Gacy disappeared. The teen’s parents begged the police to investigate,
but they never did. "They had reasons not to look into him,” Martin said. "But, he was still linked in some way.”
In 1976, Gacy started killing and assaulting young men. He believed this gave him power and freedom. In the
documentary “Conversation with a Killer” Gacy said, “I’m a power person, I enjoy power.” In just a few years
Gacy had managed to kill 33 people.
Police would finally catch Gacy after a 15-year-old walking to Gacy’s house disappeared. When the police got
involved, they discovered a class ring, clothing for smaller individuals, and other suspicious items. Police would find
29 bodies hidden underneath Gacy’s house.
“They …….. found the bodies, the Cadaver dogs smelled them underneath the crawlspace,” Senior Adam Hunter said,
“My Grandma …….. lived around the area of John Wayne Gacy when she was younger.”
Gacy would be arrested and convicted of the murder of 33 boys and men and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
His last meal would be a dozen fried shrimp, french fries, a pound of strawberries, and an entire bucket of KFC
chicken.
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