John Wayne Gacy Jr.
The Clown Killer
Profile
Occupation: Serial Killer
Birth Date: March 17, 1942
Death Date: May 10, 1994
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Place of Death: Chicago, Illinois
Crime Case
Disappeared: December 11, 1978
Robert Piest disappeared from just outside the pharmacy where he had worked just minutes earlier. His mother had come to pick him up from work, had been waiting inside the pharmacy for Robert, but he never returned. His mother began to worry as time passed and searched the pharmacy area but Robert was still nowhere.
And later on, his body was found in the Des Plains River.
MO
Evidence
Item evidences:
- A box containing marijuana and rolling papers.
- Seven erotic movies made in Sweden
- Pills including amyl nitrite and Valium.
- A switchblade knife.
- A stained section of rug.
- Color photographs of pharmacies and drug stores.
- An address book.
- A scale.
- Books such as, Tight Teenagers, The Rights of Gay People, Bike Boy, Pederasty: Sex Between Men and Boys, Twenty-One Abnormal Sex Cases, The American
- Bi-Centennial Gay Guide, Heads & Tails and The Great Swallow.
- A pair of handcuffs with keys.
- A three-foot-long two-by-four wooden plank with two holes drilled in each end.
- A six mm. Italian pistol with possible gun caps.
- Police badges.
- An eighteen-inch rubber dildo was also found in the attic beneath insulation.
- A hypodermic syringe and needle and a small brown bottle.
- Clothing that was much too small for Gacy.
- A receipt for a roll of film with a serial number on it, from Nisson Pharmacy.
- Nylon rope.
Apprehension
Forensic Techniques
When police initially conducted a search of his house, they discovered a strong stench in the crawl space below his house. However, the ground in the crawl space looked untouched so it was assumed it was simply the small of sewage. Police found numerous suspicious items in Gacy's house such as school graduation rings, marijuana, handcuffs, two driver licenses, police badges, and articles about boy's clothing. Three automobiles belonging to Gacy were also confiscated, including a 1978 Chevrolet pickup truck with snow plow attached that had the name "PDM Contractors" written on its side, a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and a van with "PDM Contractors" also written on its side. Within the trunk of the car were pieces of hair that were later matched to Robert's hair.
Hair Analysis was used to identify who the victim was. It was done by collecting a hair sample from the vehicle and sending it to a laboratory. Hair samples are generally collected from the section of the hair closest to the skin, which provides the most accurate information about DNA. Hair samples are washed in special chemicals before testing.
And all of these evidences finally led Gacy to confess that he had killed someone.