Who was John Wayne Gacy? ‘Killer clown’ serial murderer and rapist executed by lethal injection in 1994
The "Killer Clown" is believed to have sexually assaulted, tortured and killed 33 teenagers and young men in Illinois
JOHN Wayne Gacy has gripped and horrified the public like no other modern serial killer.
The "Killer Clown" is believed to have sexually assaulted, tortured and killed 33 teenagers and young men before he was caught - and James "Jimmie" Byron Haakenson has now been identified as one of his victims.
Who was John Wayne Gacy?
Gacy, who was 52 when he died, was born on March 17 in 1942 in Chicago Illinois. Throughout his childhood he was bullied and suffered severe physical abuse at the hand of his alcoholic father.
After a troubled childhood, he became a successful businessman - managing three KFC restaurants - and married Marlynn Myers, with whom he had a son and a daughter.
She divorced him after he was convicted of sexually abusing a 16-year-old in 1968 and sent to prison for 10 years.
He was out on parole in 1970, set up a successful construction business, remarried and became a hard-working community volunteer.
Gacy began wearing a clown outfit to entertain at charity events and children's hospitals as "Pogo the Clown".
How many people did John Wayne Gacy kill?
In January 1972 gacy stabbed a 16-year-old boy to death in his home after picking him up from a bus terminal.
It was the start of a sickening spree that cost an estimated 33 young boys and teenagers their lives.
He would often ply his victims with drink or drugs and then trick them into being handcuffed - often as part of his clown persona.
Gacy would then rape and torture the men before strangling them with a rope. Many are believed to have died from asphyxiation after he stuffed cloth down their throats.
He buried many of the bodies beneath his own home.
How was he caught?
Cops were investigating Gacy over the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest in 1978 when Gacy, worn down by constant surveillance, cracked and confessed to his vile crimes.
The inhuman murderer was imprisoned for 14 years, before being put to death by lethal injection in 1994.
Only 27 of the men Gacy killed were ever identified.