Serial Killer : John Wayne Gacy

One of the most infamous serial killers and sex offenders in America and around the world is Jeffrey Dahmer. Jeffrey Dahmer is widely known for his killing, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. He killed seventeen males between the ages of 14 and 33. He was so well known the was even mentioned in a Katy Perry song. Fortunately his brutally gruesome killings were put to an end in 1994 when he was convicted and sent to prison.

The Obituary states that John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17th, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois and he spent most of his youth in a small house with his mother, two sisters, and a violent alcoholic father. As John grew up, his long downward spiral towards alcohol abuse, drug habits, and the death of over 30 teenage boys began to rise after his first arrest and sentence of 10 years for sodomizing a young man and the divorce of his first wife in 1968. After serving only 18 months of his 10 years sentence, John was settled back into his old surroundings in Chicago, which where John made a name for himself as the local party clown “Pogo”. Soon after the gratified “Pogo The Clown” made headlines as “The Killer Clown of

Throughout American history, numerous acts of crime have been committed by serial killers that ultimately shocked the nation. A serial killer is defined as “someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval (Serial).” One particular person who is considered one of the most infamous serial killers on earth is Jeffrey Dahmer. The Jeffrey Dahmer case had a significant impact on not only society but on the criminal justice system as well.

On March 17, 1942, John Wayne Gacy was born into an Irish middle-class family. His parents were Marion Gacy and John Gacy Sr. Gacy Jr. had enjoyed a uninteresting childhood until he suffered a head injury at a playground when he was 11. Up until age 16, Gacy had suffered blackouts due to the injury. After all he was put through, he worshipped his father like a hero, despite the fact that his father was an abusive alcoholic with a bad temper and an intense hate for homosexuals. Gacy was often accused and beaten by his father for being sickly.

John Wayne Gacy was born on May 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), 1942 to Marion Elaine Robinson Gacy and John Wayne Gacy, Sr. at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. He was the second of three children. His older sister Joanne had preceded him by two years and two years after his birth came his sister Karen. The Gacy children were raised as Catholics and attended Catholic School (Taylor 2003).

Ever heard of the zodiac killer? He was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in 5 states between December 1968 and October 1969. The general profile for a serial killer is a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. There are many types of serial killers. There are natural born killers who are born willing to kill someone, insane killers which have mental and physical disorders and criminaloids who do not exhibit specific traits. The childhood of a serial killer would typically be someone who is neglected by their family mainly their mothers. They tend to be antisocial and have anger issues. Poor families often cannot provide what the child always wants so they might commit crimes to get want they want. Abused children have a higher chance of being killers also because they have a lot of built up aggression and anger. All can lead to substance abuse which is never a good thing to mix in with a potential serial killer in the making. General behavioral progression from pre-crime to post-crime are that they use killing as a source of relief. Before committing a serious crime they could have built up anger and hatred. They is a high possibility that they are suffering from depression and anxiety too. After killing someone the killer feels relieved. They also feel

Serial killers can be profiled in many ways, but they do not always fit perfectly into one category. Most of the definitions and techniques used to profile these criminals are based on reoccurring patterns and characteristics in their killings. While society may view most of these people as troubled, there are classifications of some serial killers as being well adapted into society. Serial Killers can be characterized as organized or disorganized murders, as well as classified into four different types created by Ronald and Stephen Holmes; serial killers are typed as visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, or power-oriented. Albert Fish is a well-known serial killer who is a good representation of how serial killers do not always fall or stay in one box.

John Wayne Gacy was the most frightening serial killer and the first serial killer clown. The first actual clown serial killer, It was later discovered that he had committed his first known killing in 1972, taking the life of Timothy McCoy after luring the teen to

On Friday, December 22, 1978, Gacy finally confessed to police that he killed at least thirty people and buried most of the remains of the victims beneath the crawl space of his house. According to the book Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Sullivan and Maiken, Gacy said that, "his first killing took place in January, 1972, and the second in January, 1974, about a year and a half after his marriage." He further confessed that he would lure his victims into being handcuffed and then he would sexually assault them. To muffle the screams of his victims, he would stuff a sock or underwear into their mouths and kill them by pulling a rope or board against their throats, as he raped them. Gacy admitted to sometimes keeping the dead bodies under his bed or in the attic for several hours before eventually burying them in the crawl space.

These are some of the most infamous names in the history of murder, but they hid in plain sight, and Manson did not even commit murder. He was so manipulative he could convince others to do his bidding for him. How is that even possible? Surely one would be able to recognize someone who is such a dangerous threat or would they? One of the reasons these killers can be so successful is their ability to blend into their surroundings and at times even be considered a stand up member of the communities they live in, but what is going on inside their brains?

John Wayne Gacy in his early years was shown to have a minor biological impairment. At the age of 11, Gacy was playing near a swing set and was hit in the head causing an accidental blood clot in the brain. The blood clot was not discovered until he was 16 years old and he suffered from blackouts from the clot from the ages of 11 until it was discovered. There was a brain blockage that medications were able to dissolve. Gacy also had a series of health problems that kept him hospitalized for a significant amount of his childhood. His health issues included a heart condition, an erupted appendix, and numerous blackouts and seizures. After Gacy was executed, there were many autopsies that were done on his brain to see if there were

Gary Ridgway grew up like any other ordinary suburban kid. He had a problem of wetting the bed which his mother would make fun of him and embarrass him in front of family and friends. As a young teen, he was always getting into trouble such as stabbing a six year-old boy in the ribs when he was a young teen. In high school Gary continued to go down hill and get bad grades. Gary graduated high school and joined the Navy. While he was in Vietnam, he discovered prostitutes and ended up getting sexually transmitted diseases. Soon after being home from Vietnam, Gary was killing and raping prostitutes on the streets of Seattle, Washington. Gary would go on to murder about 71 young women who he targeted because they were either prostitutes or runaways.

John was born into a hard environment, a split home with no room for the traditional love a child feels. He was forced to mature quick, and was encouraged to be hardy by his grandfather, who was the only survivor out of his brothers. Men during this time period were often expected to withstand dangerous environments or die trying. “His grandfather was the oldest of eight boys and the only one to live past the age of twenty-five. They were drowned, shot, kicked by horses. They perished in fires. They seemed to fear only dying in bed”. This provides one of many instances entailing the dangers of their

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born into a family that would eventually have 11 people in it. John was born in Boston, Massachusetts in a small part of town called Brookline. He played football and did community service as a kid. John’s Father believed that if the kids were willing to do public

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