ITV’s drama Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (originally made for Peacock) revisits one of the most disturbing true-crime cases in modern US history – that of a serial killer with a clown obsession. The series dramatises the crimes of John Wayne Gacy, a seemingly respectable businessman and community figure who, behind closed doors, murdered dozens of young men and boys in the 1970s.
Gacy’s crimes took place largely in and around Chicago, Illinois, during the mid-to-late 1970s, a period when missing teenagers and young men were often dismissed as runaways – something Gacy exploited and that meant he went undetected for a number of years.
He was finally caught in 1978 after the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest, on his mother’s birthday, triggered a police investigation that quickly unravelled Gacy’s carefully curated ‘friendly neighbour’ image. A search warrant, mounting witness accounts, and eventually the horrific discovery of bodies buried beneath his home all sealed his fate.
Here’s the true story of John Wayne Gacy, the real people involved and what happened once he was caught…
Who was John Wayne Gacy?
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who presented himself as a hardworking, civic-minded family man. Born in 1942, Gacy grew up in a turbulent home life and, as an adult, repeatedly sought status and admiration. By the 1970s, he was living in the Chicago suburbs, running a contracting business and cultivating connections in local politics and community organisations.
On the surface, Gacy’s life looked stable: he owned a home, employed workers, and appeared socially active. But behind that façade, he targeted vulnerable young men and boys — often those looking for work, those experiencing financial hardship, or those who were easier to isolate. Many victims were lured with promises of employment through his construction business, while others were approached more casually and then coerced or attacked.
Gacy’s public persona also included performing as a clown at community events and parties, sometimes using the name ‘Pogo the Clown’ (or ‘Patches the Clown’). While the clown image has become central to his notoriety, it’s important to note that it was only one part of his broader mask: he used charm, perceived respectability, and social access to deflect suspicion.
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He was ultimately convicted of murdering 33 people.
Was John Wayne Gacy married?
Yes, twice: first to Marlynn Myers in 1964 and later to Carole Hoff in 1972. Gacy shared two children with Myers, a son and a daughter, but the family fractured following Gacy’s 1968 conviction for sodomy involving a teenager (for which he served jail time). Following the split, Myers was said to have been granted full custody of their children, and Gacy reportedly had no further contact with them.
At Gacy's 1980 trial, Hoff testified about their marriage, describing him as having been a "warm and gentle" partner initially, but said his behaviour became erratic as time went on and that he would often be home late. Hoff also commented on the foul smell that came from the basement in their home, which Gacy told her was down to a plumbing issue.
How many victims did he have?
John Wayne Gacy was convicted of murdering 33 people, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in US history. Investigators believed the majority of his murders occurred between 1972 and 1978, with the highest concentration in the mid-to-late 1970s. Most of his known victims were teenage boys and young men.
In the aftermath of his arrest, the scale of the crimes became clear in a way that shocked even seasoned investigators. A large number of victims were found buried in the crawl space (the gap between the ground floor and the foundation on which a house is built) beneath Gacy’s home, while others were disposed of elsewhere, including in waterways. The discovery process was lengthy and traumatic, involving painstaking forensic work and identification efforts that continued long after the initial searches.
Not every victim was found right away. Some remained unnamed for years and one, Francis Wayne Alexander, wasn’t formally identified until some 45 years later in 2021, thanks to advances in DNA forensics and technology.
While 33 is widely accepted as the confirmed total, many believe the true number of men who lost their lives because of Gacy could be higher.
How was John Wayne Gacy caught?
Gacy’s downfall began with the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Piest in December 1978. Piest vanished after leaving his job at a pharmacy in Des Plaines, Illinois, and witnesses reported he had been seen speaking with a man later identified as Gacy. Unlike many earlier disappearances that were brushed off as runaways, Piest’s case generated immediate pressure and a focused investigation.
Police began building a case through interviews and surveillance. They looked into Gacy’s background and quickly found troubling allegations, including prior criminal history and reports of inappropriate behaviour toward young men. Investigators also spoke to people in Gacy’s orbit – and the more police dug, the more his seemingly wholesome image began to crack.
A key turning point was the accumulation of evidence that justified search warrants. During searches of Gacy’s property, investigators found items (including a ring later identified as belonging to Piest, and sexually explicit material involving young men) that raised serious red flags.
A further inspection of Gacy’s home uncovered the bodies buried beneath. The discovery transformed the case from a missing-person investigation into a mass murder inquiry almost overnight.
Gacy was arrested and later confessed to many of the murders, though his accounts were inconsistent and often self-serving. In 1980, he was convicted of 33 counts of murder and sentenced to death.
What was John Wayne Gacy called the ‘Clown Killer’?
The ‘Clown Killer’ label has become inseparable from John Wayne Gacy’s story because he sometimes performed as a clown at community events, children’s parties and charity functions. His personas included ‘Pogo’ and ‘Patches’.
After his conviction, Gacy leaned into the clown imagery in a different way by producing paintings of clowns while in prison. In 2022, one of Gacy’s paintings sold for $10,000 in an auction.
What happened to John Wayne Gacy’s brain?
After Gacy was executed by lethal injection on 10 May 1994, his family agreed to an examination of his brain by Dr Helen Morrison (a forensic psychiatrist who had spent years interviewing him) – in the hopes that some reason as to why he was such a dark character might be revealed.
Dr Morrison examined Gacy’s brain for signs of lesions, damage or tumours, particularly in the areas linked to control and empathy, but ultimately found no biological explanation for Gacy’s behaviour.
What happened to John Wayne Gacy’s lawyer?
John Wayne Gacy’s defence was led by a young attorney Sam Amirante, who tried to argue that Gacy could be found not guilty by reason of insanity; something the jury ultimately rejected which led to him being convicted.
Despite the overwhelming evidence and the horrific nature of the crimes, Amirante argued that Gacy was "out of control" and driven by uncontrollable impulses. After Gacy was sentenced to death, Amirante’s work is often cited as a textbook example of a lawyer upholding the constitutional right to a fair trial, regardless of the defendant's character.
Following the Gacy trial, Amirante went on to be appointed as an Associate Judge in the Cook County Circuit Court in 1988, where he served with distinction for nearly two decades.
In 2011, he wrote a book about his experience of defending the Clown Killer, John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster.
