In December 1978, the Chicago Police Department began investigating a series of disappearances linked to John Wayne Gacy, a seemingly ordinary suburban resident and well-liked figure in his community. As the investigation unfolded, police discovered the remains of 29 bodies under Gacy's home, and he eventually confessed to killing at least 32 young men. Gacy was arrested, charged with multiple murders, and later convicted of 33 murders, the largest number attributed to one person in US history at the time. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection and executed in 1994.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. In December 1978, Chicago police were investigating a series of murders.
2. The police were searching for evidence in the home of John Wayne Gacy, a well-known and well-liked figure in his suburban community.
3. Gacy was a successful businessman and a precinct captain for the Democratic Party.
4. He was also known for his alter ego, "Pogo the Clown," which he used to entertain at parties.
5. In 1975, an employee of Gacy's construction company went missing, but the police did not investigate Gacy at the time.
6. In 1976, police ran surveillance on Gacy's home related to the disappearance of a nine-year-old boy, but they were unable to build a case against him.
7. In 1977, a young man complained to the police about Gacy, alleging that he had been kidnapped and assaulted by him.
8. Gacy was arrested, but he claimed that the encounter was consensual and prosecutors declined to press charges.
9. In December 1978, Robert Piest, a 15-year-old boy, went missing after telling his mother that he was going to talk to a man about a potential construction job.
10. The police investigated Gacy and found a receipt for a roll of film that belonged to Robert Piest.
11. Gacy was arrested and eventually confessed to the murder of Robert Piest and at least 32 other young men.
12. He told police that he had buried 27 of the bodies on his property and had disposed of the rest in the Des Plaines River.
13. The police found parts of at least three other bodies in the crawl space under Gacy's home.
14. Gacy was charged with the murder of Robert Piest and was later indicted on a total of 33 murders.
15. His trial began on February 6, 1980, and he was found guilty after a five-week trial.
16. Gacy was sentenced to death by lethal injection and spent 14 years on death row before his execution on May 10, 1994.
17. At the time of his execution, only 26 of his 33 victims had been positively identified.
18. The advent of DNA testing helped police identify more of Gacy's unknown victims, including the 2011 identification of William George Bundy.
19. To this day, six victims of the killer clown remain unidentified.