John Wayne Gacy

Also known as Pogo the Clown, The Killer Clown, Gacy, J. W. Gacy, John Wayne Jr. Gacy, John Gacy, John Wayne Gacy Jr.

John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in Norwood Park Township, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He became known as the "Killer Clown" due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes.

OverviewAI-generated

John Wayne Gacy was a male citizen of the United States born in Edgewater on March 17, 1942. He was named after John Wayne and resided in Cicero and Norwood Park Township. Gacy was a member of the Democratic Party and had two children. His native language was English.

Gacy was convicted of murder, sexual assault, sodomy, and torture. He was arrested and subjected to capital punishment, which was his manner of death. He died by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994. Gacy was also known by the nicknames Pogo the Clown and The Killer Clown.

Synthesized by Vinony from 26 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Chicago, Illinois, USA

John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was a European-American serial killer and pederast who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown", personas he had devised. He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public services as a clown prior to the…

Known for

The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders — Self (archive footage)2023
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes — Self (archive footage)2022
John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise — Archive footage2021
John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster — Archive footage2019
Deadly Legacy — Self2018
Monster in My Family — Self (archive footage)2015
The Seventies — Self (archive footage)2015
Serious Serial Killers2012
Twisted — Self (archive footage)2010
Born to Kill? — Self (archive footage)2005

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Key facts

Born: ( 1942-03-17 ) March 17, 1942, Chicago , Illinois, U.S.
Died: May 10, 1994 (1994-05-10) (aged 52), Stateville Correctional Center , Illinois, U.S.
Other name: The Killer Clown
Criminal status: Executed by lethal injection
Spouses: Marlynn Myers ( married"}]]}'>m. September 1964"}]]}'>1964 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. September 18, 1969"}]]}'>1969 ) Carole Hoff ( married"}]]}'>m. 1972 ; divorced"}]]}'>div. March 2, 1976"}]]}'>1976 )
Convictions: Iowa , Sodomy , Illinois , Murder (33 counts), Indecent liberties with a child, Deviate sexual assault
Criminal penalty: Death
Victims: 33+
Span of crimes: 1972–1978
Country: United States
States: Illinois Iowa
Date apprehended: December 21, 1978
Imprisoned at: Anamosa State Penitentiary (Iowa), Menard Correctional Center (Illinois)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Wayne
Named after: John Wayne
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Edgewater
Place of death: Stateville Correctional Center
Political party: Democratic Party (United States)
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Religion: atheism
Field of work: serial murder
Mass: 230
Image: John Wayne Gacy.jpg
Height: 69
Number of children: 2
Residence: Norwood Park Township
Convicted of: blackmail
Significant event: capital punishment

Show 14 more facts

date of birth: 1942-03-17
date of death: 1994-05-10
cause of death: lethal injection
Commons category: John Wayne Gacy
manner of death: capital punishment
name: John Wayne Gacy
nickname: The Killer Clown
IPA transcription: GAY-see
start of work period: 1972-00-00
end of work period: 1978-00-00
last words: Kiss my ass.
had as last meal: Fragaria
name in native language: John Wayne Gacy
different from: evil clown

Sources (3)

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Encyclopedic overview

John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in Norwood Park Township, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He became known as the "Killer Clown" due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes.

Gacy committed all of his known murders inside his ranch-style house. Typically, he would lure a victim to his home and dupe them into donning handcuffs on the pretext of demonstrating a magic trick. He would then rape and torture his captive before killing his victim by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a garrote. Twenty-six victims were buried in the crawl space of his home, and three were buried elsewhere on his property; four were discarded in the Des Plaines River.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Wayne Gacy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.