John Wayne Gacy is among the most infamous serial killers of all time, having been convicted of as many as 33 murders between 1972 and 1978. Now, a Peacock limited series, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, set to release on October 16, 2025, will delve into the life and crimes of the serial killer and sex offender.
Ahead of the series, here’s what you need to know about him.
Who was John Wayne Gacy?
Born to John Stanley Gacy and Marion Elaine Robison on March 17, 1942, John Wayne Gacy reportedly shared a troubled relationship with his father, who abused him. When he was 20, he fled from his home and eventually started working at a mortuary in Las Vegas. He later confessed to sleeping in a coffin beside a dead boy during this time.
Gacy eventually moved to Illinois, where he married and started a family. He later moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where his wife’s father owned several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. He managed them and was a respected member of the community there until he was accused of sexually assaulting two high school boys.
This led to a prison term of 18 months and his divorce. Eventually, he remarried his high school girlfriend, Carole Hoff, but the marriage started suffering when Carole began finding wallets belonging to young men in Gacy’s car.
Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy lured many young men whom he sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered. All this while, he also owned and operated a remodeling business, was a respected member of the community, and volunteered at children’s hospitals as a clown, earning him the nickname “Killer Clown.”
How many murders did John Wayne Gacy commit?
John Wayne Gacy was convicted of 33 murders, out of which he buried 26 bodies in the crawl space of his house. While the real number of victims could be even more, this was the official count of victims when Gacy was convicted. At the time, this marked the most homicides in United States legal history.
