How and When Did Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy Die?
What happened to the notorious serial killer and subject of Peacock's new series, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy?
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In 1978, the U.S. populace at large was introduced to notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Arrested on December 21, 1978, Gacy would eventually confess to and be convicted for the murder of over 30 young men from the suburbs of Chicago.
Peacock's new dramatic series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (streaming now) is a scripted adaptation of Gacy's (Michael Chernus) arrest and the ensuing investigation of his crimes, told primarily from the perspective of Detective Rafael Tovar (Gabriel Luna), prosecutor William J. "Bill" Kunkle Jr. (Chris Sullivan), Lt. Joe Kozenczak (James Badge Dale), and Elizabeth Piest (Marin Ireland), the mother of Robert Piest, Gacy's last victim.
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The eight-episode series is based on research and accounts featured in the 2021 Peacock docuseries of the same name produced by NBC News Studios. Showrunner Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death) has broken the series into individual hours that tell the sequence of events stemming from Gacy's arrest, but also fictionalized stories of some of his victims and how they came to find themselves in the killer's orbit.
Who was John Wayne Gacy, the subject of Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy?
A lifelong resident of Illinois, John Wayne Gacy grew up with two siblings in a family with an alcoholic father. He testified that he was verbally abused by his father for being a "sissy," so when Gacy was sexually molested by a family friend, he never told his father because he was afraid of his reaction.
Gacy had a heart condition and was overweight most of his life. He was very sickly during his teen years, and spent time in hospitals for chronic issues. Once he turned 18, Gacy became a community organizer and eventually an entrepreneur.
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In Illinois, Gacy was an assistant precinct captain for a local Democratic Party candidate. He then moved to Las Vegas and became a mortuary attendant. He returned to Illinois and worked as a management trainee for the Nunn-Bush Shoe Company and a manager for three KFC restaurants owned by his father-in-law.
In 1971, Gacy established a part-time construction business, PDM Contractors, where he hired high school students and young men, which is where he groomed many of his eventual victims. He was also an active clown club member and volunteer for the United States Junior Chamber, or Jaycees.
What were John Wayne Gacy's crimes?
Gacy admitted he lived a secret life where he allowed himself to explore his sexual impulses with young men until his arrest in 1967 on sodomy charges for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, and was granted parole after serving 18 months.
Gacy's mother helped him buy a house in Norwood Park Township, Illinois, where he lived and committed all his murders. He lived there until his arrest in December 1978. He buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space of that home, and one under the concrete of his garage. Gacy was eventually brought to trial on February 6, 1980 and was charged with 33 murders.
How did John Wayne Gacy die?
After the jury deliberated for just 110 minutes, Gacy was found guilty of 33 charges of murder and sexual assault and taking indecent liberties with Robert Piest. He was sentenced to death for each murder charge, with an execution date of June 2, 1980. He continued to appeal his sentence for 14 years while he was on death row.
Gacy took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which denied his final appeal in October 1993. Based on that verdict, the Illinois Supreme Court formally set his execution date for May 10, 1994, when he was administered lethal injection and confirmed dead at 12:58 a.m.
All eight episodes of the limited dramatic series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy are now streaming exclusively on Peacock.
