Oct. 18, 2025
"THE KILLER CLOWN: JOHN WAYNE GACY'S 33 VICTIMS - PART 1"
Reid Carter presents Part 1 of a two-part series on John Wayne Gacy, timed with Peacock's new series "Devil in Disguise." Gacy was a successful Chicago contractor, Democratic precinct captain, and community pillar who dressed as Pogo the Clown for children's parties. He was also one of America's most prolific serial killers. Between 1972-1978, he murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men, burying 29 in the crawl space under his suburban home. December 1978: 15-year-old Robert Piest disappeared after meeting Gacy about a job. That investigation finally exposed the horror beneath Gacy's house.
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Callaroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Reed Carter. Saturday, October eighteenth,
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twenty twenty five. Peacock just released Devil in Disguise, a
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new series about John Wayne Gacy, the killer Clown, one
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of America's most prolific serial killers, thirty three victims, twenty
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nine bodies buried in the crawl space under his suburban
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Chicago home. This weekend, We're doing a two part special
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on Gaysey. Today, his double life, his victims, and the
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investigation that finally exposed him. Tomorrow, the trial death row,
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his execution, and the legacy of the man who created
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the killer clown trope in American horror. John Wayne Gacy
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was a pillar of his community. Successful contractor, democratic precinct captain,
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hosted elaborate street parties for hundreds of neighbors, performed as
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Pogo the Clown at children's hospitals and charity events, photographed
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with First Lady Rosalind Carter. Respected business man, good neighbor,
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family man. And at night he was hunting teenage boys,
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luring them to his house with promises of construction work,
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torturing them, murdering them, burying their bodies in the dirt.
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Crawl space under his ranch house at eight two one
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three West Summerdale Avenue in unincorporated Norwood Park Township, Illinois.
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For six years between nineteen seventy two and nineteen seventy eight,
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John Wayne Gacy operated with impunity. Police questioned him multiple times.
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Victim's families reported their sons missing after being seen with Gaysey,
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but nobody connected the dots. Nobody searched his house, Nobody
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looked under the floor boards until December nineteen seventy eight,
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when fifteen year old Robert Peaste told his mother he
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was meeting a contractor about a summer job. That contractor
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was John Wayne Gacy. Robert never came home, and when
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police finally searched Gaysey's house, they found a chamber of horrors,
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a crawl space filled with decomposing bodies, limes spread over
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corpses to mask the smell. Twenty nine victims buried in
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neat Rose, four more dumped in the Desplains River when
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he ran out of space. I'm reed, Carter, this is
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celebrity trials today. The killer clown, John Wayne Gaysey, thirty
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three victims, six years of murder, and the investigation that
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finally stopped him. John Wayne Gaysey was born March seventeenth,
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nineteen forty two, in Chicago. Father was an abusive alcoholic
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who beat him regularly and called him a sissy. Gaysey
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desperately sought his father's approval but never received it. Classic
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psychological set up for what came later. Need for control,
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desire to prove masculinity, hatred of weakness. But young Gaysey
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appeared normal, friendly, outgoing, joined the Boy Scouts, active in
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his school. By age eighteen, he was working in politics,
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volunteering for Democratic candidates, attending rallies, making connections. He loved politics,
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loved being seen as important. Nineteen sixty four, Gaysey married
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Marln Myers. She was the daughter of a successful Kentucky
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businessman who owned KFC franchises. Gaysey moved to Waterloo, Iowa
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to work in his father in law's business, became a manager,
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had two children with Marlyn. Joined the j CS the
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Junior Chamber of Commerce, became vice president of his chapter.
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He was mister community Service, mister civic pride. Everyone loved John.
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Nineteen sixty eight, everything collapsed. Gaysey was charged with sexually
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assaulting a teenage boy, the son of a j C's colleague.
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Gaysey had lured the boy to his house, given him alcohol,
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and attacked him. When the boy reported it, Gaysey paid
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another teenager to intimidate him into not testifying. December nineteen
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sixty eight, Gaysey was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to
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ten years at the Iowa State Reformatory in Animosa. Marlyn
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divorced him. He lost everything. His father died during his imprisonment,
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meaning Gaysey never got the approval he'd spent his life seeking.
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But in prison, Gaysey was a model inmate, worked as
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a cook, joined the prison jac's chapter. Got early parole
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after serving eighteen months. Released June nineteen seventy, returned to Chicago,
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moved in with his mother, started rebuilding. Nineteen seventy one,
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Gaysey started p DM Contractors painting, decorating, and maintenance, small
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remodeling business. He was good at it, hard working, reliable,
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built a solid reputation. Hired teenage boys as workers, paid
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them well, taught them construction skills, acted like a mentor.
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Nineteen seventy two, Gaysey bought a ranch house at eight
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two one three West Summerdale Avenue, single story home with
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a basement and crawl space, perfect for a contractor who
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needed storage. He lived there alone after separating from his
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second wife. That house became his killing ground, but publicly,
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Gaysey was thriving. PDM contractors grew. He joined Democratic Party
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politics again, became a precinct captain, organized elaborate street parties
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for his neighborhood. The annual summer party attracted hundreds. Gaysey
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would grill food, provide entertainment, spend thousands of dollars, being
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the generous neighbor. And he created Pogo the clown, designed
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the costume himself, clown makeup with sharp angles instead of rounded.
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Pogo had a creepy edge. Even then. Gaysey performed at
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children's hospitals, charity events, Democratic Party fundraisers, got photographed with politicians.
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May nineteen seventy eight, met First Lady Rosalind Carter at
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a Democratic event. She signed a photo to John Gasey
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best wishes Rosalind Carter. That photo would later become infamous.
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Who knew Gaysey described him the same way, generous, hard working, helpful,
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good neighbor. Yes he drank too much sometimes, Yes he
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bragged constantly about his connections. Yes he could be aggressive
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and controlling with his workers, but overall solid guy, pillar
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of the community. Nobody knew about the crawl space, about
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the bodies decomposing beneath his living room, about the teenage
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boys who'd accepted construction jobs and never made it home.
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John Wayne Gacy's greatest skill wasn't construction, It was deception.
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He fooled everyone. Police questioned him multiple times about missing boys.
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He'd explain they ran away or moved on to other jobs,
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or were unreliable teenagers, and police believed him because why
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wouldn't they. He was a respected businessman, Democratic precinct Captain
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Pogo the Clown. How could he be a murderers? Thirty
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three victims. That's the confirmed number. Gaysey himself claimed there
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were more. Some bodies were never identified, some boys he
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killed but couldn't remember details. The true number might be higher.
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Gaysey's hunting ground, Chicago's Greyhound bus station. Teenage runaways, boys
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from troubled homes, kids who'd run away and wouldn't be
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immediately missed. He'd offer them work PDM Contractors is hiring
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need reliable guys, pays well. Or he'd offer shelter. You
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can crash at my place until you get on your feet.
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Other victims boys he employed at PDM, Teenagers he met
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through community events, young men he encountered at gay bars,
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friends of his workers who came by the house. Anyone vulnerable,
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anyone trusting, anyone who believed John Gasey was who he
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appeared to be. The pattern. Lure them to eight two
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one three West Summerdale, offer alcohol or marijuana, get them relaxed,
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then overpower them. Was large, over two hundred pounds strong
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from construction work. He'd use what he called his handcuff trick.
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Demonstrate how to escape handcuffs, then put them on the
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victim and reveal there was no escape. Once restrained, Gaysey
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would torture them hours. Sometimes he'd rape them, strangle them slowly,
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then revive them to prolong the experience. His preferred murder
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method a garrot made from rope with a wooden handle,
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called it his rope trick. He'd strangle victims to death
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while sexually assaulting them. Then he'd drag the bodies to
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the crawl space three feet of clearance between the dirt
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floor and the floor joists above. Gaysey would strip the victims,
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stuff their underwear in their mouths, and bury them in
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shallow graves, spread lime over the bodies to control decomposition, smell,
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cover them with dirt, return upstairs and continue his life.
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Some victims we know by name. Timothy McCoy fifteen January ninth,
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eighteen seventy two, Gasey's first known victim. John Butkovich seventeen
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July nineteen seventy five, worked for PDM. Buried under Gasey's garage.
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Gregory Godzick seventeen December nineteen seventy six also worked for PDM.
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John Sick nineteen January nineteen seventy seven Gasey sold his
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car after murdering him. John Prestige fourteen March nineteen seventy seven,
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Matthew Bowman nineteen July nineteen seventy seven, Robert Gilroy eighteen
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September nineteen seventy seven. Many remain unidentified. Decomposition in the
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crawl space was advanced. Dental records helped identify some others
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were matched to missing persons reports, but several bodies were
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never connected to names. They're listed as Victim ten, Victim
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twenty six, Victim twenty eight teenage boys who died in
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Gaysey's crawl space, and nobody ever claimed them. By nineteen
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seventy eight, Gaysey's crawl space was f twenty nine bodies
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buried in what should have been a storage area. The
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smell was overwhelming. Gaysey told visitors it was moisture problems,
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sewage issues, dead rodents. He'd spread more lime put down
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concrete in some areas to seal in the smell, but
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anyone who spent time in that house noticed the odor.
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When the crawl space couldn't hold more bodies, Gaysey changed
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his disposal method, drove to the I fifty five bridge
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over the day Plains River, waded the bodies and dumped
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them in the water. At least four victims ended up
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in the river between nineteen seventy eight in December when
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he was caught. The victims shared commonalities male teenagers or
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early twenties, white working class, many from troubled backgrounds, some
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were gay or questioning, All were vulnerable in some way.
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All trusted John Gasey enough to go to his house,
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and their families suffered unimaginable horror, reporting suns missing, being told,
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boys that age run away, being assured by police. There's
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no evidence of foul play waiting months or years for answers,
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then learning their sons were tortured and murdered by a
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clown who'd been burying bodies under his house, while the
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community celebrated him as a model citizen. Jeffrey Rignoll survived
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an encounter with Gaysey. March nineteen seventy eight. Rignol, twenty six,
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was walking near Chicago's gay bars when Gaysey offered him marijuana,
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accepted a ride. Gaysey chloroformed him. Rignol woke in Gasey's house,
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restrained being tortured and raped repeatedly. Eventually, Gaysey chloroformed him
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again dumped him in Lincoln Park. Rignol went to police,
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reported the assault, even staked out the expressway for weeks
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and spotted Gasey's car got a partial license plate. Police
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investigated Gaysey, but prosecutors declined to file charges, said it
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was consensual rough sex gone too far. If they'd searched
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Gaysey's house, then twenty nine bodies would have been discovered,
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multiple victims would have been saved, But they didn't search,
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and Gasey kept killing more. In a moment December eleventh,
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nineteen seventy eight, Robert Peaste fifteen years old, was working
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at Nissan Pharmacy in Day Plains, Illinois. It was his
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mother's birthday. Robert planned to meet her after his shift
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so they could celebrate together. Around nine pm, a man
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came into the pharmacy to talk with the owner about
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a remodeling job. The man was John Wayne Gacy. While there,
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Gasey overheard Robert mention he was looking for summer work.
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Gasey said PDM Contractors was hiring pays five dollars an hour,
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Robert should come talk to him. Robert told his mother
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he'd be back in a few minutes, just going to
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talk to a contractor about a summer job. That contractor
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was waiting outside in his car. Elizabeth Peaste watched her
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son walk out. That was the last time she saw
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him alive. When Robert didn't return after twenty minutes, Elizabeth
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went looking. Found Gaysey's business card at the pharmacy immediately
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called police. This wasn't a runaway situation. Robert had told
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his mother exactly where he was going, left his jacket behind,
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said he'd be right back. Something was wrong. Des Plain's
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Police Lieutenant Joseph Cozenzak took the case interviewed the pharmacy owner,
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got Gaysey's information, learned Gaysey had a conviction for sodomy
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in Iowa. That changed everything. This wasn't just a missing
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teen who might have run away. This was a known
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sex offender who was the last person seen with a
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missing boy. December twelfth, police questioned Gaysey. He denied Robert
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ever came to his house, said he didn't remember seeing
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any boy at the pharmacy. His story kept changing. He
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claimed he was with friends that night, gave multiple alibis
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that didn't check out. Cozenzak obtained a search warrant for
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Gaysey's house, but the warrant was limited only searching for
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evidence related to Robert Peaste's disappearance, not a general search
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of the property. December thirteenth, police searched eight two one
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three West Summerdale. Found suspicious items, handcuffs, police badges, a
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receipt from Nissen Pharmacy with Robert's coworker's name, books on homosexuality.
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But they didn't search the crawl space thoroughly, didn't dig
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in the dirt, missed the twenty nine bodies buried beneath them,
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But Cozenzak knew something was wrong. Gasey was lying. His
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story changed constantly. His behavior was suspicious. Cozenzak put Gaysey
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under twenty four hour surveillance. Squad cars followed him everywhere,
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made it obvious they were watching pressure tactic, make Gaysey nervous,
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make him slip up. Gasey responded by acting increasingly erratic,
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complained about police harassment, called his lawyers, constantly invited the
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surveillance officers into his house, offered them food, tried to
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befriend them. Classic manipulation. If they like me, they'll go
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easier on me. December fifteenth, police talked to Gaycy's acquaintances.
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Learned he'd had numerous teenage boys working for him over
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the years, learned several had disappeared, learned about complaints from parents.
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The pattern emerged. This wasn't about one missing boy, this
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was about multiple victims. December eighteenth, police obtained a second
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search warrant, more thorough. This time included authorization to dig
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in the crawl space if necessary, But before they could
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execute it, Gasey's lawyer invited them to search voluntarily. December
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twenty first officers entered eight two one three West Summerdale.
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The smell was overwhelming. Gaysey claimed it was moisture and sewage,
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but it was the smell of decomposition. Death. Officers entered
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the crawl space, saw disturbed earth, suspected graves. They began digging.
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First body discovered, then another, then another. By mourning, investigators
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realized they'd found a mass grave. John Wayne Gacy's house
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was a burial ground. December twenty second, nineteen seventy eight,
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the excavation of eight thousand, two hundred thirteen West Summerdale
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began in earnest crime scene technicians, forensic anthropologists, medical examiners,
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all descending on a suburban ranch house where a killer
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clown had been burying bodies for six years. The crawl
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space was a nightmare, low ceiling. Investigators worked on their stomachs.
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The smell was unbearable. Bodies in various stages of decomposition,
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some reduced to skeletons, others more or recent, all buried
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in shallow graves in the dirt. Gasey was arrested and
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taken to police headquarters. Initially denied everything, then began confessing
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peace by piece admitted to killing thirty or thirty three,
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