John Wayne Gacy Net Worth, Biography, Career, Life Of Crime, And Death.

By Twist On Apr 17, 2024

Are you afraid of clowns? A lot of people are. But for people who were alive in the 1970s and know the story of John Wayne Gacy, the fear of clowns may be justified.

Learn about John Wayne Gacy Net Worth, Biography, Murders, and his Death in the article below.

What is John Wayne Gacy Net Worth and Who Was He?

Was an American serial killer accused of raping and killing 33 men, teenagers, and youth. He was also known by the name “Pogo”, “Pogo the Clown” or “The Killer Clown”, since Gacy used to disguise himself as a clown as part of his social activities in the community where he lived.

Gacy committed his murders between 1972 and 1978. When he was caught, it was discovered that 26 of his victims had been buried in the basement of his own house. Another 3 were buried in other places of the house, while another 4 were thrown into a river near its domicile. He was sentenced to 12 death sentences and 21 life sentences.

John Wayne Gacy net worth is estimated to be around $5 million.

Table of Contents

his profile

Full Name	John Wayne Gacy
Also Known As	Pogo the Clown The Killer Clown
Date of Birth	March 17, 1942
Died	May 10, 1994 (52 years)
Cause of death	Execution by lethal injection
Children	Michael Gacy Christine Gacy
Parents	John Stanley Gacy Marion Elaine Robison
Spouses	Marlynn Myers (1964-1969) Carole Hoff (1972-1976)
Criminal Status	Executed
Criminal Penalty	Death
Victims	33+
Span of Crimes	1967 – 1978
Imprisoned at	Menard Correctional Center
John Wayne Gacy Net Worth	$5 million

Biography and early life

Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, to John Stanley Gacy and Marion Elaine Robison in Chicago, Illinois, America.

He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public performances as “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown”, personas he had devised, prior to the discovery of his crimes. All of his murders were committed inside his ranch-style house in Norwood Park Township.

His conviction for thirty-three murders (by one individual) then covered the most homicides in United States legal history. Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980.

He grew up very close to his mother and his two sisters. His father was an alcoholic and was very abusive to his wife and kids. John was often beaten by his father.

he earned a degree from Northwestern Business College. He joined the Junior Chamber of Commerce in his community. During this time, Gacy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow member. Gacy might have also been molested as a child by a family friend. Due to the abuse from his father as a young boy, Gacy did not report these early incidents of abuse.

career

Gacy worked as a fast-food chain manager during the 1960s and became a self-made building contractor and Democratic precinct captain in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s.

Well-liked in his community, Gacy organized cultural gatherings and was active in political organizations and the Jaycees civic group.

First crime and murders

On November 7, 1968, Gacy pleaded guilty to one count of sodomy in relation to Voorhees, but not guilty to the charges related to other youths. Gacy claimed Voorhees had offered himself to him and that he had acted out of curiosity.

His story was not believed. Gacy was convicted of sodomy on December 3 and sentenced to ten years imprisonment, to be served at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

However, within 24 hours of his release, Gacy had relocated to Chicago.

With the money that he saved up from odd jobs, he started his own construction company. Eventually, he moved to a quiet neighborhood outside of Chicago called Norwood Park. This was the house where police would eventually discover the bodies of close to 30 young boys whom Gacy had murdered.

Gacy opened his home to young boys that he employed or who just needed a place to crash for the night. He would often develop sexual relationships with them. He considered himself bisexual, but would only go on to commit violent acts against young boys.

But these reports didn’t stop Gacy from being a leader in the community. Gacy was a prominent figure in Norwood Park politics and the local Moose club. Through the Moose Club, Gacy spent some free time dressing up as “Pogo the Clown” and other various clown characters. Dressing up as a clown, Gacy later told interviews, was a form of relaxation.

He would visit hospitals or birthday parties as “Pogo the Clown” twice a month. Gacy’s crimes were usually committed when he poses as a police officer or simply picked up young boys from nearby Greyhound stations. And this happened, in secret, from 1972 until Gacy’s arrest in late 1978.

Gacy’s first known murder occurred on January 3, 1972. He then lured a 16-year-old named Timothy Jack McCoy from Chicago’s Greyhound Bus Terminal into his house and later stabbed im repeatedly in the chest.

Some of the kids Gacy killed in his home are John Butkovich, Robert Piest, and many others, some remain unidentified.

investigation

On December 11, 1978, 15-year-old Robert Piest went missing. It was reported to police that the boy was last seen by his mother at a drugstore where he worked before he headed out to meet Gacy to discuss a potential construction job.

Ten days later, a police search of Gacy’s house in Norwood Park, Illinois, uncovered evidence of his involvement in numerous crimes, including murder. It was later discovered that Gacy had committed his first known killing in 1972, taking the life of 16-year-old Timothy McCoy after luring the youth to his home.

After a lengthy period of police surveillance and investigation, and the discovery of several trenches filled with human remains in the crawl space beneath his house. Gacy eventually confessed to killing about 30 people.

Charges

On January 10, 1979, John Wayne Gacy was charged with the murder of seven young boys. He pleaded not guilty, despite his admittance of guilt to a larger number of murders. But the numbers kept inching higher and higher.

On March 17th, 1979, 32 bodies were linked to John Wayne Gacy and 11 had been identified. On April 23, John Wayne Gacy was indicted for an additional 26 murders, bringing the total up to 33.

The trial of John Wayne Gacy took place in February 1980. During the trial, Gacy tried to be acquitted on the grounds of insanity. It didn’t work. A month later, the trial ended and a jury took less than two hours to come to an agreement. He was guilty and he would be sentenced to death.

While Gacy was on death row, more victims would be identified. These victims were as young as 14 years old. As Gacy appealed his case (and was repeatedly denied,) forensic examiners would continue to match the remains found in his home to missing boys.

In 1981, eight victims were still unidentified but laid to rest. The last victim to be identified was Timothy McCoy, John Wayne Gacy’s first victim. The 16-year-old was killed on January 3, 1972.

Death

Gacy was imprisoned at the Menard Correctional Center in Illinois for almost a decade and a half, appealing the sentence and offering contradictory statements on the murders in interviews.

Though he had confessed, Gacy later denied being guilty of the charges and had a 900 telephone number set up with a 12-minute recorded statement declaring his innocence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr016CY4HM0

As both anti-death penalty forces and those in favor of the execution made their opinions known, Gacy died by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois.