The compelling true story behind Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, explained

John Wayne Gacy had a dual life in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s. To neighbors and coworkers, he was a friendly contractor who operated PDM Contractors, worked as a clown named Pogo for children's parties, and was a Democratic precinct captain. He even took a photo with First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1976.

Under this exterior normalcy, Gacy preyed on vulnerable young men and boys. Between 1972 and 1978, he enticed at least 33 victims, largely teenagers between the ages of 14 and 21, to his residence with promises of employment or parties. There, they were s*xually assaulted, tortured, and killed.

Most of their bodies were concealed in a crawl space beneath his house in Norwood Park, sprayed with lime to accelerate decomposition. Others were dumped in the Des Plaines River. The offenses went undetected until 15-year-old Robert Piest went missing in December 1978, prompting a police investigation that uncovered the whole extent of the atrocities.

Peacock's eight-episode limited series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy brings this history to life. All episodes were released on October 16, 2025.

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John Wayne Gacy's early life and first brush with the law

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (Image via Unsplash/ @ Kyan Tijhuis)

John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood on March 17, 1942. He was the middle of three children from a working-class family. His father, John Stanley Gacy, was an employee of a phone company and a chronic alcoholic. Records indicate the older Gacy frequently insulted and physically abused his son, calling him weak and spanking him with switches or belts.

Young Gacy managed to do well in school despite this adversity. He completed high school in 1960 and attended business college briefly. As per the Chicago Tribune, he did odd jobs, such as working as a mortuary attendant, before going into sales. Gacy also married Marlynn Myers in 1964. He and his wife moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant owned by her father.

John Wayne Gacy excelled at the position, getting promoted and becoming a member of local organizations such as the Jaycees. He gave barbecues and fund-raisers, establishing himself as friendly and ambitious. Complaints did arise regarding his treatment of young male employees. In May 1968, Gacy was charged with enticement of two teenage boys to his residence for s*xual intercourse.

He was found guilty by a court of sodomy and other charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in Iowa State Men's Reformatory. According to the New York Times, he spent less than three years and was paroled on June 18, 1971, for good conduct. Back in Chicago, John Wayne Gacy divorced and began PDM Contractors in 1972, specializing in remodeling. He briefly remarried in 1972 but broke up by 1976.

Gacy returned to community work as Pogo the Clown at hospitals and parades. He contributed to politics and charities, restoring confidence. However, complaints of attacks on youths from 1972 onwards were ignored, in part because of his status.

This time laid the groundwork for unbridled escalation, as police records subsequently showed disregarded leads on missing persons involving him, as per the Chicago Tribune.

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The murders: A pattern of deception and violence

John Wayne Gacy murdered 33 people (Image via Unsplash/ @ JOSHUA COLEMAN)

John Wayne Gacy's confirmed killings started in January 1972 with 18-year-old Timothy McCoy. Gacy invited the hitchhiker home after picking him up near a bus station. A kitchen dispute led Gacy to stab McCoy repeatedly. He buried the body under his garage floor. Over the next six years, the pattern repeated. Gacy targeted runaways, hustlers, and job seekers from Chicago's North Side neighborhoods like Uptown.

Victims included 17-year-old John Butkovich in 1976, who was killed after confronting Gacy over unpaid wages from PDM, as per the Chicago Tribune. To draw in targets, Gacy offered construction work or invited them to parties with free alcohol and drugs. Once at his 8213 West Summerdale Avenue home, he demonstrated a handcuff trick as a former cop, securing their wrists.

He then applied chloroform via a rag to subdue them. Assaults involved torture with tools like a homemade rope trick, a plywood board with holes for a rope to tighten around the neck, allowing strangulation without bruises. Most died from asphyxiation or neck compression. Gacy sometimes stabbed if angered. By mid-1978, the crawl space held 28 bodies in shallow graves, covered with lime and concrete.

When full, he drove to the I-55 bridge over the Des Plaines River, weighing five victims with tires and concrete before dumping them. The 33rd was Piest. Autopsies showed all suffered s*xual trauma. John Wayne Gacy later told interrogators he saw victims as junkies unworthy of pity. Neighbors noted a foul smell from the house, which was blamed on sewer issues or dead animals.

According to the New York Times, this oversight delayed detection as the body count grew.

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The investigation triggered by a missing teen

John Wayne Gacy was executed in 1994 (Image via Unsplash/ @ Markus Winkler)

Robert Piest, a 15-year-old honors student, vanished on December 11, 1978, his mother's birthday. He had visited Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines for a holiday job, but left to meet Gacy about subcontracting work. Piest's parents, Harold and Elizabeth, filed a missing person report that night. Lt. Joseph Kozenczak of Des Plaines Police took the case.

As per the New York Times, a pharmacy receipt tied Piest to Gacy, who admitted the boy visited but claimed he left unharmed. Kozenczak placed Gacy under surveillance starting December 12. Officers watched him dine out, attend a party, and return home. On December 13, a search warrant yielded books on torture and a photo album with naked boys; however, there was no sign of Piest.

John Wayne Gacy's evasive answers raised flags. By December 20, tips linked him to other disappearances. Police arrested him at 10:30 pm on December 21 for Piest's murder, finding marijuana and weapons in his car. As per the New York Times, the next morning on December 22, Gacy confessed during questioning by Detectives Rafael Tovar and Michael Albrecht.

He admitted to killing at least 30 since 1972, drawing a crawl space diagram marking graves. Excavation began on December 26, uncovering 29 bodies by January 1979: 26 in the crawl space, one under the garage, and two in the yard. Divers recovered four more from the river in spring 1979, including Piest on April 9,

A second warrant on December 22 found high school rings and IDs confirming the victims. Earlier probes into the 1975 assaults had stalled due to Gacy's clout and prejudice against gay-leaning cases. The Piest case bridged departments, exposing 33 deaths, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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Trial, conviction, and path to execution

John Wayne Gacy's trial began on February 6, 1980, before Judge Louis B. Garippo in the Criminal Courts Building of Chicago. Indicted on 33 murders in addition to s*xual assault, he entered not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutor William Kunkle offered Gacy's confession, which he later recanted under coercion. Testimony included the rope trick implement, handcuffs, and 116 Polaroids of tied-up victims.

As per the New York Times, in six weeks, 125 witnesses testified. Survivor Jeffrey Rignall described his 1978 kidnapping: Gacy chloroformed him, took him to the house, and tortured him with acid and a drill before leaving him in Lincoln Park. Rignall identified Gacy, which supported the charges against him. Families remembered missing loved ones; one mother fainted looking at her son's bracelet.

John Wayne Gacy's ex-wife and staff reported his moodiness and the crawl space digging instructions. According to the Chicago Tribune, defense psychiatrists alleged multiple personalities, but prosecution experts found him sane and manipulative. The 12-member jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Gacy guilty on March 13, 1980 U.S. record for most murders by an individual.

In the sentencing phase, jurors suggested death sentences for all 33 victims within 90 minutes. As reported by The New York Times, Judge Garippo sentenced Gacy to death for 12 murders committed after 1976 and to life imprisonment for the remaining 21. There was cheering in court. Appeals took 14 years, contesting claims of sanity and jury prejudice. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed in 1984; the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in 1986 and 1992.

John Wayne Gacy made more than 500 motions from Menard prison, presenting himself as wrongly accused. On May 10, 1994, at Stateville Correctional Center, he was given a lethal injection at 12:58 am after a blocked IV delay. His last words condemned state killing.

Twenty-two family members of the victims watched through video, finally gaining closure. The execution attracted protesters but closed a saga that reformed missing persons procedures, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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