Résumé:

Click on the button below for an idea of how Gacy's Résumé may have looked:
John Wayne Gacy's was provided by Pat Peterson C.G.

Background:

•  3/17/42 - John was born to John Stanley and Marion Gacy
•      1949 - John took his mothers panties and placed them in paper bag in playground
•      1952 - The Gacy's move to 4505 N. Marmora
•      1953 - Went fishing with John Sr. who, after failing to catch any, blamed John Jr.
•      1963 - John gets job as sales management trainee at Nunn-Bush Shoes
• 1963-65 - John Wayne Gacy's best years
• 1967-68 - Moved up in Jaycee's club and was about to run for president
•  5/10/68 - Arrested for sodomy with a minor
•  8/28/69 - Gacy's appeal of sodomy conviction denied
•  9/18/69 - First wife Marilyn divorces John Jr.
• 12/25/69 - John Stanley Gacy (Sr.) dies, John Jr. in jail; can't go to funeral
•       6/70 - Gacy paroled from 10 year sentence, after 18 months served
•  2/12/71 - Gacy charged with assault on a teenage boy (a homosexual by admission).
                                 Charge dismissed as teenager fails to appear in court.
•     12/71 - Gacy marries Carol Lofgren
•       1/72 - 1st murder committed; Gacy later claims it was accidentally committed
•      1975 - Started to perform for children as POGO the clown
•       8/75 - 2nd murder committed
•     12/78 - John arrested for the murder of 33 teenage boys
•      1980 - Gacy found guilty of all counts of murder and sentenced to death
•  5/10/94 - Executed by lethal injection at Stateville Prison

Thumbnail History:

This brief sketch is based, in large part, upon the book "Buried Dreams" by Tim Cahill, which is a good source of information about John Wayne Gacy.

The basic theme of the book was that John Stanley Gacy (John Wayne's father) through alcoholic abuse, molded John Jr.'s character and that he eventually assumed many of John Sr.'s traits later in life. John Stanley was portrayed as driven by his fear of not being good enough (perceived deficiency) which stemmed from others passing him by in his work environment. John Stanley despised homosexuals and other groups like politicians. John Jr. would adopt these beliefs as John but would, as Jack (his alter ego), do the opposite of John Stanley's behavioral patterns. To correct his perceived deficiencies, John Stanley had to be better than those around him, especially younger people, like John Jr.. John Jr.'s mother Marion would explain that his father had a tumorous growth near the brain and that when he flew off the handle, that John Jr. should not antagonize his father which might lead to a rupture that might kill him, a medical condition.

One episode in Tim Cahill's book had John Jr. assisting his father in painting the house. John Jr. put too much paint on his brush. This resulted in a uneven look that couldn't be corrected. For this John Jr. was called "Stupid and Dumb" by his father and was punished. John Jr. was always being punished. Nothing he did was ever good enough for his father. John Jr. had physical problems, such as what he called an enlarged bottle-neck heart, a medical condition. John Jr. would pass out frequently and was hospitalized many times for fainting and for what appeared to be epileptic seizures. The doctors never could pinpoint John Jr.'s condition which fueled John Sr.'s suspicions that John Jr. was faking to gain attention. Nearly every meal at the Gacy household, during John Jr.'s adolescence was accompanied by an argument. The meals also followed John Stanley's frequent trips to the basement where he would consume alcohol. Early on John Stanley accused John Jr. of being homosexual. John Stanley hated homosexuals. John Jr. had a more liberal view of homosexuals. The teenagers that John (or Jack) would later pick up were either acquaintances of John Jr.'s through his work where he hired a great many teenagers, or male teenage runaways that would congregate near the Greyhound Bus station (a known prostitution site).

As is illustrated in the résumé (above), in the years between 1963 and 1967, John Wayne Gacy was a model citizen. He ran successful businesses, was active in the Jaycee's club, managed political events and volunteered to do citizen police work. And at the same time, he was cruising the streets looking for young victims to punish.

The method that John Jr. used was to handcuff his victims and then strangle them about the neck with a rope. He did other things to the victims that are better not discussed in this brief discussion, (suffice it to say that they were gruesome). Gacy methodically buried 29 of his young victims below his house in a small crawl space. He would use strong chemicals to speed up the decomposition process which created a foul odor within the house. There were at least 4 other victims that were dumped in a nearby river when he ran out of space in the basement.

From the time that John Wayne Gacy was arrested for the serial murders till he was convicted and finally executed took 16 years.