1 00:00:01,709 --> 00:00:10,919 ♪♪ 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,040 Gacy: They paint the image that I was this monster. 3 00:00:16,459 --> 00:00:20,129 I don't believe in hitting... Hitting children. 4 00:00:20,209 --> 00:00:23,129 And I don't believe in spoiling a child, either. 5 00:00:25,959 --> 00:00:28,459 I always felt, if you serve other people, 6 00:00:28,542 --> 00:00:30,632 it'll come back to serve you. 7 00:00:35,292 --> 00:00:37,672 I've always believed that way with generosity. 8 00:00:37,751 --> 00:00:44,831 ♪♪ 9 00:00:44,918 --> 00:00:51,958 ♪♪ 10 00:00:52,042 --> 00:00:59,042 ♪♪ 11 00:00:59,125 --> 00:01:00,915 Welcome to "very scary people." 12 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,380 I'm Donnie wahlberg. 13 00:01:02,459 --> 00:01:05,249 For most of the 1970s, John Wayne Gacy 14 00:01:05,334 --> 00:01:07,544 had everyone in Chicago fooled. 15 00:01:07,626 --> 00:01:11,076 He was known as a model citizen and a pillar of his community, 16 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:15,167 but he was living a double life, a life no one knew about. 17 00:01:15,250 --> 00:01:17,170 John Wayne Gacy had managed to become 18 00:01:17,250 --> 00:01:20,250 the most prolific serial killer of his time, 19 00:01:20,334 --> 00:01:22,254 without anyone noticing. 20 00:01:22,334 --> 00:01:25,714 But at the end of 1978, Gacy's secret life 21 00:01:25,792 --> 00:01:28,832 would be revealed for all the world to see. 22 00:01:28,918 --> 00:01:31,828 Here is part 2 of "evil secret." 23 00:01:33,083 --> 00:01:42,043 ♪♪ 24 00:01:42,125 --> 00:01:47,375 Godzik: It was December 11, 1976. 25 00:01:47,459 --> 00:01:50,289 My brother had planned to go out with his girlfriend, 26 00:01:50,375 --> 00:01:55,745 and he spent part of the evening with her. 27 00:01:55,834 --> 00:02:03,294 And he said to her that he was gonna see her the next morning. 28 00:02:03,375 --> 00:02:08,165 We were worried the next morning because he didn't come in, 29 00:02:08,250 --> 00:02:11,750 knock on our door, and say, "hey, mom, I'm home." 30 00:02:11,834 --> 00:02:14,754 And my mother kept saying, "there's something wrong. 31 00:02:14,834 --> 00:02:16,754 There's something wrong." 32 00:02:16,834 --> 00:02:19,254 So my mother called the police. 33 00:02:19,334 --> 00:02:23,634 This was in the '70s, when a lot of teenage boys ran away. 34 00:02:23,709 --> 00:02:28,129 So police just didn't take their disappearances seriously. 35 00:02:28,209 --> 00:02:33,919 And they said to my mother, "well, what do you want us 36 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,920 to do about it? Kids run away all the time. 37 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,420 You just got to give it time. They'll be back." 38 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:45,630 That's why John Gacy got away with it for so long... 39 00:02:45,709 --> 00:02:48,919 Nobody was looking for these kids. 40 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:56,170 But like almost all criminals, he got stupid, got lazy, 41 00:02:56,250 --> 00:02:59,880 got to the point where he was just plain careless. 42 00:02:59,959 --> 00:03:07,749 ♪♪ 43 00:03:07,834 --> 00:03:09,754 Albrecht: Robert piest was a great kid. 44 00:03:09,834 --> 00:03:13,674 Everybody had just great things to say about him. 45 00:03:13,751 --> 00:03:17,171 Duke: He went missing after his shift at the nisson pharmacy, 46 00:03:17,250 --> 00:03:18,880 and Gacy was the logical suspect 47 00:03:18,959 --> 00:03:23,379 because he was the last one known to have seen Rob piest. 48 00:03:23,459 --> 00:03:26,459 Sullivan: Gacy drove him to his house, 49 00:03:26,542 --> 00:03:29,792 knowing full well the owners of the drugstore 50 00:03:29,876 --> 00:03:33,786 knew that Gacy was the one who was with piest. 51 00:03:33,876 --> 00:03:40,376 That's when everything began to fall apart for John Wayne Gacy. 52 00:03:40,459 --> 00:03:45,709 Amirante: And he, of course, denied ever having left with Rob. 53 00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:47,382 Jackson: The police searched Gacy's house 54 00:03:47,459 --> 00:03:52,329 and find possessions of other local boys who had gone missing. 55 00:03:55,083 --> 00:03:58,883 They found some property, some jewelry, driver's licenses, 56 00:03:58,959 --> 00:04:00,419 whatever it may be. 57 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:04,170 We were pretty well set in our minds that he was guilty. 58 00:04:04,250 --> 00:04:06,670 And he was... at least, he was a person of interest 59 00:04:06,751 --> 00:04:09,631 to take a real good, hard look at. 60 00:04:12,042 --> 00:04:14,462 Amirante: The scariest thing about John Gacy, 61 00:04:14,542 --> 00:04:16,332 the absolute scariest thing, 62 00:04:16,417 --> 00:04:18,537 is that he was not a scary guy at all. 63 00:04:18,626 --> 00:04:21,126 Hachmeister: Everyone that they talked to just swore up 64 00:04:21,209 --> 00:04:22,669 and down that Gacy was, like, 65 00:04:22,751 --> 00:04:27,881 the best guy that they ever knew, just a great guy. 66 00:04:27,959 --> 00:04:31,749 Broderick: He was gregarious and outgoing. 67 00:04:31,834 --> 00:04:35,464 "He'd give you the shirt off his back" kind of guy. 68 00:04:35,542 --> 00:04:40,882 Cahill: John was actually rather well-liked by his neighbors. 69 00:04:40,959 --> 00:04:42,669 He was the guy that would be out there 70 00:04:42,751 --> 00:04:45,251 when it snowed, plowing their sidewalks. 71 00:04:45,334 --> 00:04:49,884 This guy was so nice. And he was trusted. 72 00:04:49,959 --> 00:04:51,249 He wanted to make people laugh, 73 00:04:51,334 --> 00:04:53,714 and he particularly wanted to help kids. 74 00:04:53,792 --> 00:04:57,002 Sneed: And he became a clown. 75 00:04:57,083 --> 00:04:59,753 And he did a lot of functions for charity 76 00:04:59,834 --> 00:05:03,134 that involved him dressing up as the clown. 77 00:05:05,959 --> 00:05:07,499 That was the good side of him. 78 00:05:07,584 --> 00:05:13,754 ♪♪ 79 00:05:13,834 --> 00:05:19,794 ♪♪ 80 00:05:19,876 --> 00:05:22,166 Sullivan: Then, the other side of the coin was, 81 00:05:22,250 --> 00:05:26,920 "my god, how many disappearances was he involved in?" 82 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,250 [ Telephone rings ] 83 00:05:30,334 --> 00:05:33,214 Then one day, they got their answer. 84 00:05:33,292 --> 00:05:36,082 After cops searched Gacy's house, he calls his lawyer 85 00:05:36,167 --> 00:05:39,167 and says he wanted to talk about Rob piest. 86 00:05:39,250 --> 00:05:40,750 Amirante: One day he called me. 87 00:05:40,834 --> 00:05:42,504 He said, "it's very, very important I talk to you. 88 00:05:42,584 --> 00:05:44,674 I have to tell you something." 89 00:05:46,334 --> 00:05:49,424 Gacy sits down, and he tells me the same old... 90 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:55,290 About Robbie piest, vehemently, unequivocally denied. 91 00:05:55,375 --> 00:05:58,205 I took the newspaper with Robbie piest's picture. 92 00:05:58,292 --> 00:06:00,922 I threw it in front of him, and I said, "look at this kid. 93 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,170 John, look at him. He's a good kid. He's missing." 94 00:06:05,250 --> 00:06:06,630 He looked at the picture. 95 00:06:06,709 --> 00:06:12,039 He said, "you know what? This boy... this boy's dead." 96 00:06:14,959 --> 00:06:16,169 I said, "what do you mean?" 97 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:17,790 He goes, "I've been a judge, jury", 98 00:06:17,876 --> 00:06:20,916 and executioner of many, many people. 99 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,710 Even now my hair stands up on end 100 00:06:22,792 --> 00:06:24,422 thinking of hearing those words. 101 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:28,750 He said, "I'm gonna tell you the whole story from the beginning. 102 00:06:28,834 --> 00:06:30,884 It started in 1972. 103 00:06:30,959 --> 00:06:33,039 I was cruising around"... 104 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:37,830 Broderick: He's cruising the greyhound bus station, 105 00:06:37,918 --> 00:06:43,788 and he sees a kid that looks kind of on his own. 106 00:06:43,876 --> 00:06:48,286 And he talked to him and said, you know, "you look lost," 107 00:06:48,375 --> 00:06:50,455 or something like that. 108 00:06:55,918 --> 00:06:57,668 He'd cruise around Chicago, 109 00:06:57,751 --> 00:07:00,881 looking for young men to have sex with. 110 00:07:00,959 --> 00:07:05,169 He had just enough charm to be able to pull up to the curb, 111 00:07:05,250 --> 00:07:08,460 roll the window down, and said, "hey, you looking for a job?" 112 00:07:08,542 --> 00:07:10,672 Or, "you want to take a ride?" 113 00:07:10,751 --> 00:07:16,131 Gacy took that guy to his house. They had sex. 114 00:07:24,459 --> 00:07:30,669 And the boy came into the bedroom 115 00:07:30,751 --> 00:07:32,541 with a knife in his hand. 116 00:07:32,626 --> 00:07:38,536 ♪♪ 117 00:07:38,626 --> 00:07:44,706 ♪♪ 118 00:07:50,292 --> 00:07:54,922 ♪♪ 119 00:07:57,042 --> 00:08:02,962 ♪♪ 120 00:08:20,459 --> 00:08:23,039 Cahill: Gacy went to the kitchen, 121 00:08:23,125 --> 00:08:26,455 and he saw that the table had been set for two 122 00:08:26,542 --> 00:08:32,632 and the boy had been making breakfast for him. 123 00:08:32,709 --> 00:08:34,629 That's why he had the knife in his hand. 124 00:08:34,709 --> 00:08:36,169 But John said, "what are you gonna do 125 00:08:36,250 --> 00:08:39,790 when a guy comes into your bedroom with a knife?" 126 00:08:39,876 --> 00:08:43,706 After the first young man that he killed with a knife, 127 00:08:43,792 --> 00:08:45,462 there was blood all over. 128 00:08:45,542 --> 00:08:48,672 This obviously wasn't an efficient way to do things. 129 00:08:48,751 --> 00:08:51,671 And he said it took so long to clean up the house 130 00:08:51,751 --> 00:08:53,961 after he stabbed him to death. 131 00:08:54,042 --> 00:08:56,292 Duke: Gacy described how, from then on, 132 00:08:56,375 --> 00:08:59,875 he would trick his victims into putting on handcuffs. 133 00:08:59,959 --> 00:09:07,419 ♪♪ 134 00:09:07,500 --> 00:09:09,170 While they're struggling to get out of handcuffs, 135 00:09:09,250 --> 00:09:15,250 he would put a rope around their neck 136 00:09:15,334 --> 00:09:17,884 and turn it with a hammer handle. 137 00:09:17,959 --> 00:09:20,789 And they would be convulsing on his floor. 138 00:09:20,876 --> 00:09:23,416 Didn't bother him in the least. 139 00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:25,920 Didn't bother him talking him about it. 140 00:09:28,334 --> 00:09:31,254 Duke: Six hours went by with Gacy spilling his guts, 141 00:09:31,334 --> 00:09:35,294 going through his victims one by one. 142 00:09:35,375 --> 00:09:36,915 He had such a memory. 143 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,170 He had just an exhaustive memory, 144 00:09:40,250 --> 00:09:42,830 the way he said he handled each victim. 145 00:09:47,125 --> 00:09:49,915 Amirante: How he killed them, what he did to them. 146 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,460 Officer: What was your initial emotional response? 147 00:10:04,500 --> 00:10:05,830 Amirante: I aged so much that night. 148 00:10:05,918 --> 00:10:08,458 It was the longest night of... Of my life. 149 00:10:08,542 --> 00:10:11,332 Never showed any remorse, 150 00:10:11,417 --> 00:10:14,207 as if they weren't people at all. That's how he felt. 151 00:10:14,292 --> 00:10:16,042 He was just... it was phenomenal. 152 00:10:16,125 --> 00:10:18,705 But the cops would soon discover for themselves 153 00:10:18,792 --> 00:10:20,882 just how deep this went. 154 00:10:23,334 --> 00:10:25,834 Hachmeister: They started tearing up the flooring 155 00:10:25,918 --> 00:10:28,128 and working in the crawl space. 156 00:10:36,375 --> 00:10:38,875 Reporter: This morning, police searched Gacy's home. 157 00:10:38,959 --> 00:10:41,039 They became suspicious when 15-year-old 158 00:10:41,125 --> 00:10:42,415 Robert piest disappeared 159 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,250 after he allegedly was last seen with Gacy. 160 00:10:45,334 --> 00:10:47,754 They started tearing up the flooring 161 00:10:47,834 --> 00:10:52,884 and working that way in the crawl space. 162 00:10:52,959 --> 00:10:56,539 Albrecht: It was probably like a lot of other crawl spaces 163 00:10:56,626 --> 00:10:58,126 that people have. 164 00:10:58,209 --> 00:11:01,329 It was just dirt and Clay. 165 00:11:01,417 --> 00:11:05,667 Hachmeister: And the very first dig with the shovel, 166 00:11:05,751 --> 00:11:08,331 they struck a human bone. 167 00:11:08,417 --> 00:11:11,577 So, it was at that time that I arrested John for murder. 168 00:11:15,334 --> 00:11:17,044 Reporter: Two bodies were removed by police, 169 00:11:17,125 --> 00:11:19,455 who then stopped their search for the day. 170 00:11:19,542 --> 00:11:22,292 But they are emptying this house of its contents this evening 171 00:11:22,375 --> 00:11:26,075 so that the search for more bodies can continue tomorrow. 172 00:11:27,959 --> 00:11:31,379 Boschelli: When I saw on the news that John Gacy 173 00:11:31,459 --> 00:11:33,209 had murdered all those people, 174 00:11:33,292 --> 00:11:36,712 I was so overwhelmed, you couldn't put it in words. 175 00:11:36,792 --> 00:11:40,042 I could not believe that a friend that I grew up with 176 00:11:40,125 --> 00:11:44,035 could end up doing such a terrible, terrible thing. 177 00:11:46,209 --> 00:11:50,629 John and I grew up back in the early '50s, 178 00:11:50,709 --> 00:11:52,419 on the northwest side of Chicago. 179 00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:54,460 We both went to the same school. 180 00:11:54,542 --> 00:11:58,172 When Johnny and I met, we became best friends. 181 00:11:58,250 --> 00:12:01,460 Johnny was the most incredible person you'd ever want to meet. 182 00:12:01,542 --> 00:12:04,132 John's mother was incredible. 183 00:12:04,209 --> 00:12:08,669 Both of his sisters loved Johnny very much. 184 00:12:08,751 --> 00:12:11,831 We had dreams and hopes, like anybody would. 185 00:12:11,918 --> 00:12:14,078 He wanted to be the next governor. 186 00:12:16,334 --> 00:12:19,134 But John had a hard rock to climb. 187 00:12:19,209 --> 00:12:22,669 His father laid on him constantly. 188 00:12:22,751 --> 00:12:26,001 There are a lot of stories about his childhood 189 00:12:26,083 --> 00:12:28,463 that are supposed to somehow explain 190 00:12:28,542 --> 00:12:30,422 how he got to be the way he is. 191 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:33,040 If anything can be pointed to, 192 00:12:33,125 --> 00:12:35,955 it's the relationship with his father. 193 00:12:36,042 --> 00:12:41,382 Gacy's history as a kid started with his father 194 00:12:41,459 --> 00:12:47,379 looking at his newborn son and naming him John Wayne. 195 00:12:47,459 --> 00:12:50,789 He wanted John Wayne. 196 00:12:50,876 --> 00:12:53,206 And what he got, unfortunately, 197 00:12:53,292 --> 00:12:59,382 was a sickly, overweight, sort of clumsy kid 198 00:12:59,459 --> 00:13:01,669 who didn't have a lot of friends, 199 00:13:01,751 --> 00:13:05,381 played with his sisters primarily, was teased, 200 00:13:05,459 --> 00:13:07,749 and did get beat up a few times. 201 00:13:07,834 --> 00:13:10,884 My dad was domineering, in fact. 202 00:13:10,959 --> 00:13:12,249 He had a different set of values, 203 00:13:12,334 --> 00:13:14,964 but also a very stern individual. 204 00:13:15,042 --> 00:13:21,042 Many occasions I would be present where Mr. Gacy... 205 00:13:21,125 --> 00:13:24,035 "Johnny, you're so damn stupid and dumb." 206 00:13:24,125 --> 00:13:27,245 He'd say, "but, dad, I am smart." 207 00:13:27,334 --> 00:13:28,884 "No, you're not. You got no sawdust up 208 00:13:28,959 --> 00:13:30,499 in that head of yours." 209 00:13:30,584 --> 00:13:34,924 And I think that's probably where you first hear the words 210 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,670 that echo through John's life... 211 00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:40,831 "dumb and stupid." 212 00:13:42,584 --> 00:13:48,884 At times, he would be very physical with John. 213 00:13:48,959 --> 00:13:51,249 My dad drank a lot, and when he drank a lot, 214 00:13:51,334 --> 00:13:54,884 yeah, he was abusive to my mother and to me. 215 00:13:57,626 --> 00:13:59,746 His father... he would come home from work, 216 00:13:59,834 --> 00:14:02,294 drink in the basement. 217 00:14:02,375 --> 00:14:04,955 And quite often when he emerged, he was drunk. 218 00:14:05,042 --> 00:14:11,212 He would take a razor strop and... and beat him quite often. 219 00:14:14,375 --> 00:14:18,325 'Cause of all the abuse, the name-calling, 220 00:14:18,417 --> 00:14:20,207 Johnny lost himself. 221 00:14:20,292 --> 00:14:23,632 He lost everything that he once believed in as a boy, 222 00:14:23,709 --> 00:14:25,539 and dreams and hopes. 223 00:14:25,626 --> 00:14:26,786 I saw it happen. 224 00:14:26,876 --> 00:14:28,456 That affected Gacy. 225 00:14:28,542 --> 00:14:32,382 His psychological motivation in life 226 00:14:32,459 --> 00:14:35,579 was to try to please his dad. 227 00:14:38,250 --> 00:14:39,500 When Johnny was a little boy, 228 00:14:39,584 --> 00:14:42,584 he had another trauma in his life. 229 00:14:42,667 --> 00:14:45,877 He was molested by a contractor. 230 00:14:45,959 --> 00:14:49,129 Cahill: John's father knew a contractor. 231 00:14:49,209 --> 00:14:51,209 John was always interested in building. 232 00:14:51,292 --> 00:14:52,832 He'd ask Gacy, "would you want to go out 233 00:14:52,918 --> 00:14:55,288 and look at a couple of work site that I'm working on? 234 00:14:55,375 --> 00:14:57,325 And then I'll take you to get some ice cream." 235 00:14:57,417 --> 00:15:01,077 He would take Gacy out, and he got him to one his sites. 236 00:15:01,167 --> 00:15:04,497 And what he wanted to show him was a wrestling hold. 237 00:15:04,584 --> 00:15:08,004 The hold involved putting Gacy's face down in his crotch 238 00:15:08,083 --> 00:15:10,173 and holding it there. 239 00:15:11,918 --> 00:15:13,668 It happened a few more times. 240 00:15:13,751 --> 00:15:16,671 Each time, the wrestling hold got held a little bit longer 241 00:15:16,751 --> 00:15:18,381 and got a little more emphatic. 242 00:15:18,459 --> 00:15:24,129 He never told his father that the contractor had molested him. 243 00:15:24,209 --> 00:15:26,499 He knew he'd get whipped for it. 244 00:15:26,584 --> 00:15:32,794 ♪♪ 245 00:15:32,876 --> 00:15:36,746 Boschelli: One night, Johnny invited me over, and I said, "what is it?" 246 00:15:36,834 --> 00:15:39,044 He said, "I want to show you something." 247 00:15:41,417 --> 00:15:44,667 "Will you go in my closet?" "For what?" 248 00:15:44,751 --> 00:15:47,881 He said, "I want you to pull that shopping bag out." 249 00:15:50,626 --> 00:15:52,166 I pull out the shopping bag, 250 00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:57,210 and there were women's attire sitting in the bag. 251 00:15:57,292 --> 00:16:01,632 He said, "how would I look dressed up as a woman?" 252 00:16:01,709 --> 00:16:03,379 I was astounded. 253 00:16:03,459 --> 00:16:06,459 And we never, never talked about it ever again. 254 00:16:08,334 --> 00:16:11,044 Cahill: I think it was '64 that he claimed he had 255 00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:14,285 his first homosexual experience. 256 00:16:14,375 --> 00:16:19,535 He was drinking at a friend's house, woke up, 257 00:16:19,626 --> 00:16:25,746 and they "got into it," is the way he put it. 258 00:16:25,834 --> 00:16:29,044 Wilkinson: And the man was performing oral sex on him. 259 00:16:29,125 --> 00:16:31,995 And Gacy said, "well, I felt bad to ask him to stop, 260 00:16:32,083 --> 00:16:33,333 and, besides, I liked it. 261 00:16:33,417 --> 00:16:35,167 And when he finished, I did it to him," 262 00:16:35,250 --> 00:16:37,790 and that was, according to him, 263 00:16:37,876 --> 00:16:40,206 the first time he'd ever been with a man. 264 00:16:42,792 --> 00:16:45,882 But then something happened. 265 00:16:45,959 --> 00:16:50,129 It was, I think, a major psychological blow to him. 266 00:16:50,209 --> 00:16:55,709 ♪♪ 267 00:17:00,792 --> 00:17:02,632 Sullivan: I remember driving to his house, 268 00:17:02,709 --> 00:17:04,629 and there were so many cars around 269 00:17:04,709 --> 00:17:06,579 because this had leaked out. 270 00:17:06,667 --> 00:17:11,327 Reporter: It had turned into a circus, an amazing spectacle. 271 00:17:11,417 --> 00:17:13,877 John Wayne Gacy was also pogo the clown, 272 00:17:13,959 --> 00:17:15,709 who loved to make kids laugh. 273 00:17:15,792 --> 00:17:19,332 His neighbors knew him as "Johnny," the life of the party. 274 00:17:19,417 --> 00:17:24,577 He was a very good neighbor, and we socialized with him. 275 00:17:24,667 --> 00:17:28,077 But John Gacy had been living a lie since childhood. 276 00:17:28,167 --> 00:17:32,207 And he realized he had to hide his feelings from everyone. 277 00:17:32,292 --> 00:17:38,632 John had inclinations that his father found disgusting. 278 00:17:38,709 --> 00:17:42,289 He knew his father hated homosexuals. 279 00:17:42,375 --> 00:17:44,745 His father would have absolutely, 280 00:17:44,834 --> 00:17:46,504 positively killed him. 281 00:17:46,584 --> 00:17:49,504 So John Wayne Gacy did what everyone did back then. 282 00:17:49,584 --> 00:17:51,834 He got married, he had two kids, 283 00:17:51,918 --> 00:17:54,168 and he kept his secret life a secret. 284 00:17:54,250 --> 00:18:00,130 ♪♪ 285 00:18:00,209 --> 00:18:04,249 Broderick: He was living in Iowa, and he was working for kfc. 286 00:18:04,334 --> 00:18:07,134 He had a normal job. He was a member of the jaycees. 287 00:18:07,209 --> 00:18:09,709 He had a wife. He had a normal life. 288 00:18:09,792 --> 00:18:12,712 He wanted to show his dad that he should be proud 289 00:18:12,792 --> 00:18:15,462 of what he's doing in his life. 290 00:18:15,542 --> 00:18:18,082 Cahill: I think his dad might even have said, 291 00:18:18,167 --> 00:18:20,707 "John, I was wrong about you." 292 00:18:20,792 --> 00:18:24,132 That was a very significant moment for John 293 00:18:24,209 --> 00:18:30,539 because he had sought his father's approval all his life. 294 00:18:30,626 --> 00:18:33,536 There was some evidence during those years 295 00:18:33,626 --> 00:18:39,666 that John was gonna be a normal, suburban guy. 296 00:18:39,751 --> 00:18:45,631 But then after finally winning his father's approval, 297 00:18:45,709 --> 00:18:48,959 something happened. 298 00:18:49,042 --> 00:18:51,082 It turned out that John Gacy's normal, 299 00:18:51,167 --> 00:18:54,327 suburban life wasn't as normal as it seemed. 300 00:18:54,417 --> 00:18:58,247 He was living a secret life no one else knew about, 301 00:18:58,334 --> 00:19:01,674 where he was seeking out young men for sex. 302 00:19:01,751 --> 00:19:05,791 So, he gets involved with a boy in Waterloo, 303 00:19:05,876 --> 00:19:10,626 the son of someone he knows, and he molests him. 304 00:19:10,709 --> 00:19:13,249 And the boy goes to the police. 305 00:19:13,334 --> 00:19:16,464 And Gacy is charged with sodomy. 306 00:19:19,250 --> 00:19:23,290 So what Gacy does is find another kid 307 00:19:23,375 --> 00:19:26,285 and offer to pay off his car loan 308 00:19:26,375 --> 00:19:30,035 if he will bully the other boy out of testifying. 309 00:19:32,959 --> 00:19:36,079 So, Gacy's accomplice takes the other boy 310 00:19:36,167 --> 00:19:38,457 out to a cornfield somewhere and sprays 311 00:19:38,542 --> 00:19:40,382 mace in his face and beats him up 312 00:19:40,459 --> 00:19:45,129 and tells him not to testify and leaves him. 313 00:19:45,209 --> 00:19:47,629 When the boy makes it back to civilization, 314 00:19:47,709 --> 00:19:51,289 he goes to the police and tells them what has happened. 315 00:19:51,375 --> 00:19:53,825 Jackson: So Gacy is charged with three other felonies 316 00:19:53,918 --> 00:19:55,628 related to beating this kid up, 317 00:19:55,709 --> 00:19:58,129 but these charges are ultimately dropped 318 00:19:58,209 --> 00:20:00,039 when Gacy pleads guilty to sodomy. 319 00:20:00,125 --> 00:20:04,325 He had a 10-year jail sentence for the sodomy conviction. 320 00:20:04,417 --> 00:20:07,377 He did very well in jail. He was a model prisoner. 321 00:20:07,459 --> 00:20:10,879 He helped other prisoners in the jail community. 322 00:20:13,667 --> 00:20:19,377 In 1969, his father passed away of cirrhosis of the liver. 323 00:20:19,459 --> 00:20:23,749 It was, I think, a major psychological blow to him. 324 00:20:23,834 --> 00:20:28,834 Broderick: His father died believing that his son was a total failure. 325 00:20:28,918 --> 00:20:33,208 He in prison for this horrendous charge. 326 00:20:33,292 --> 00:20:39,332 He was exactly what he had called him all of his life. 327 00:20:39,417 --> 00:20:42,077 Duke: This was obviously devastating for Gacy, 328 00:20:42,167 --> 00:20:44,327 but then he caught a break. 329 00:20:44,417 --> 00:20:47,417 Cahill: They paroled him because of his good behavior. 330 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:49,250 He was out in 18 months. 331 00:20:49,334 --> 00:20:51,544 He's free to start a new life. 332 00:20:55,459 --> 00:21:00,039 1971, John, bought a house just north of Chicago, 333 00:21:00,125 --> 00:21:03,745 at 8213 west summerdale Avenue. 334 00:21:03,834 --> 00:21:08,884 Gacy lived in a real populated area, single-story homes, 335 00:21:08,959 --> 00:21:11,579 brick homes, you know, older homes. 336 00:21:11,667 --> 00:21:18,037 Cahill: Working-class, striving for middle-class neighborhood, 337 00:21:18,125 --> 00:21:20,325 hardworking men and women. 338 00:21:20,417 --> 00:21:25,207 He met an old high-school girlfriend that he had dated... 339 00:21:25,292 --> 00:21:26,672 Carole. 340 00:21:26,751 --> 00:21:30,501 She had two children, two little girls of her own. 341 00:21:30,584 --> 00:21:39,674 He and Carole eventually and really very quickly got married. 342 00:21:39,751 --> 00:21:40,961 Duke: But it's not long before Gacy 343 00:21:41,042 --> 00:21:43,422 is back to pursuing his secret life, 344 00:21:43,500 --> 00:21:46,000 and Carole starts to suspect something. 345 00:21:46,083 --> 00:21:50,423 I was finding a lot of books in the house of nude men. 346 00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:52,380 He would not have much to do with me. 347 00:21:52,459 --> 00:21:54,039 We hardly had any sex. 348 00:21:54,125 --> 00:21:57,535 And he found it very difficult to have anything to do with me. 349 00:21:57,626 --> 00:22:00,576 He did a lot of masturbating, which I knew about. 350 00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:04,247 Duke: And it wasn't long before their marriage falls apart. 351 00:22:04,334 --> 00:22:07,004 After Carole moved out with the girls, 352 00:22:07,083 --> 00:22:14,333 John had the house at 8213 summerdale to himself. 353 00:22:14,417 --> 00:22:19,247 John actually called those years from '76 to '78 354 00:22:19,334 --> 00:22:21,424 his cruising days. 355 00:22:25,417 --> 00:22:28,827 Broderick: John Wayne Gacy had sex with hundreds at least... 356 00:22:28,918 --> 00:22:32,788 And maybe more... kids. 357 00:22:32,876 --> 00:22:34,916 But he wasn't looking for victims, 358 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,830 he was looking to have sex with someone 359 00:22:36,918 --> 00:22:38,748 that wouldn't tell on him. 360 00:22:38,834 --> 00:22:42,634 Because more than anything else, Gacy did not want people 361 00:22:42,709 --> 00:22:47,209 to find out that he was homosexual, period. 362 00:22:49,125 --> 00:22:52,125 Maybe the kid just offhandedly said, 363 00:22:52,209 --> 00:22:54,459 "you don't want your neighbors to know about this, do you?" 364 00:22:54,542 --> 00:22:58,332 I mean, anything that would give him the idea 365 00:22:58,417 --> 00:23:00,537 that these kids might tell on him 366 00:23:00,626 --> 00:23:04,496 could result in the kid's death, easily. 367 00:23:04,584 --> 00:23:09,544 The kids who died were the ones that made him feel 368 00:23:09,626 --> 00:23:14,826 that he was gonna be found out, for whatever reason. 369 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,040 Police today found six more bodies 370 00:23:20,125 --> 00:23:21,875 under the John Gacy house, 371 00:23:21,959 --> 00:23:25,169 all appearing to have been teenaged boys and young men. 372 00:23:25,250 --> 00:23:28,330 It was two years from when my brother disappeared. 373 00:23:28,417 --> 00:23:30,037 We were sitting in front of the TV, 374 00:23:30,125 --> 00:23:32,825 and they were bringing the bodies out, and my mother said, 375 00:23:32,918 --> 00:23:35,668 "your brother can be one of those guys." 376 00:23:43,125 --> 00:23:48,665 ♪♪ 377 00:23:48,751 --> 00:23:51,331 Welcome back to "very scary people." 378 00:23:51,417 --> 00:23:54,377 When police descended on John Wayne Gacy's home 379 00:23:54,459 --> 00:23:57,749 and began searching for the bodies of missing young men, 380 00:23:57,834 --> 00:24:00,634 they were hoping to find the remains of Rob piest, 381 00:24:00,709 --> 00:24:03,169 but instead what they found was a crime scene 382 00:24:03,250 --> 00:24:05,630 beyond anything they had imagined. 383 00:24:05,709 --> 00:24:07,829 And as the public watched the terrifying story 384 00:24:07,918 --> 00:24:09,458 unfold on television, 385 00:24:09,542 --> 00:24:13,002 families of missing young men waited on pins and needles 386 00:24:13,083 --> 00:24:14,963 to find out if their loved ones 387 00:24:15,042 --> 00:24:17,132 were among the victims. 388 00:24:19,542 --> 00:24:21,632 Reporter: Cook county sheriff's police and des plaines 389 00:24:21,709 --> 00:24:24,209 detectives had this house under surveillance 390 00:24:24,292 --> 00:24:27,632 for about two weeks. Last night about 9:00 pm, 391 00:24:27,709 --> 00:24:29,829 officers armed with warrants entered the house, 392 00:24:29,918 --> 00:24:33,958 arrested its owner, 36-year-old contractor John Gacy. 393 00:24:38,042 --> 00:24:41,252 Reporter: They suspect there are several more bodies buried here. 394 00:24:41,334 --> 00:24:43,924 Officer: It's suspected because of the looks of the area 395 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,500 down in the crawl space. 396 00:24:45,584 --> 00:24:49,254 There are some other mounds and appears to be more there. 397 00:24:49,334 --> 00:24:51,004 I had never seen anything like this before. 398 00:24:51,083 --> 00:24:53,173 I had never heard anything like this before. 399 00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:56,460 I had never experienced anything like this before. 400 00:24:56,542 --> 00:24:58,042 Albrecht: The evidence technicians... 401 00:24:58,125 --> 00:25:01,705 They were digging with spoons to get all the evidence. 402 00:25:01,792 --> 00:25:05,332 And really, that was an archeological dig. 403 00:25:07,167 --> 00:25:08,667 It was a very slow process. 404 00:25:08,751 --> 00:25:11,081 Reporter: Are you men sifting by hand through the dirt 405 00:25:11,167 --> 00:25:13,247 to catch any kind of a trace of evidence, hair, teeth? 406 00:25:13,334 --> 00:25:16,924 Yes, for the most part, yes. 407 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,790 Reporter: So you've got about half or three-quarters 408 00:25:19,876 --> 00:25:22,456 of this crawl space yet to go through? 409 00:25:22,542 --> 00:25:24,632 I would say about three-quarters. 410 00:25:26,417 --> 00:25:28,997 Finder: What I'll never forget was the stench. 411 00:25:29,083 --> 00:25:32,793 It just overwhelmed a person's olfactory sense. 412 00:25:32,876 --> 00:25:35,626 This was a mass graveyard. 413 00:25:35,709 --> 00:25:39,329 Hachmeister: They were slowly but surely pulling out bodies 414 00:25:39,417 --> 00:25:42,537 and transporting them with the paddy wagon 415 00:25:42,626 --> 00:25:45,496 back to the medical examiner's office. 416 00:25:45,584 --> 00:25:49,294 Finder: But when the body bags were brought up, 417 00:25:49,375 --> 00:25:51,665 they were almost limp. 418 00:25:51,751 --> 00:25:54,131 Bodies weren't brought up. 419 00:25:54,209 --> 00:25:58,959 Gelatinous material was all that was left. 420 00:25:59,042 --> 00:26:05,132 Sure, the bones, to the extent they existed, teeth, 421 00:26:05,209 --> 00:26:07,249 sometimes skulls. 422 00:26:07,334 --> 00:26:10,004 On our job, we see a variety of horrific things, 423 00:26:10,083 --> 00:26:12,173 but this was out of the norm. 424 00:26:12,250 --> 00:26:17,830 ♪♪ 425 00:26:17,918 --> 00:26:23,418 ♪♪ 426 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:25,630 Police today found six more bodies 427 00:26:25,709 --> 00:26:27,249 under the John Gacy house, 428 00:26:27,334 --> 00:26:30,834 all appearing to have been teenaged boys and young men. 429 00:26:32,375 --> 00:26:33,995 Godzik: We were sitting in front of the TV 430 00:26:34,083 --> 00:26:37,043 and they were bringing the bodies out and my mother said, 431 00:26:37,125 --> 00:26:40,535 "your brother can be one of those guys." 432 00:26:40,626 --> 00:26:43,876 It was two years from when my brother disappeared. 433 00:26:43,959 --> 00:26:46,669 Reporter: Nine bodies, identities unknown, 434 00:26:46,751 --> 00:26:50,461 victims of a man who probably did not know their names. 435 00:26:50,542 --> 00:26:56,882 Gacy was the headline every day for the next two or three weeks. 436 00:26:56,959 --> 00:26:58,709 How many bodies were taken out of the house that day, 437 00:26:58,792 --> 00:27:01,212 how many the next day, and so forth, on and on. 438 00:27:01,292 --> 00:27:08,382 ♪♪ 439 00:27:08,459 --> 00:27:11,289 Godzik: It was new year's Eve. 440 00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:15,705 Cops ring the doorbell, and they tell you to sit down. 441 00:27:15,792 --> 00:27:18,792 They said, "we just want you to know your brother 442 00:27:18,876 --> 00:27:22,456 is identified with the Gacy case." 443 00:27:22,542 --> 00:27:23,792 My brother was the fourth body 444 00:27:23,876 --> 00:27:27,576 that was recovered from the home. 445 00:27:27,667 --> 00:27:30,917 It is very, very devastating, 446 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,210 but it was a relief to know it's over. 447 00:27:34,292 --> 00:27:36,882 So you have two years of, like, "could it? 448 00:27:36,959 --> 00:27:40,669 Would it? Maybe. Could be. I don't know." 449 00:27:40,751 --> 00:27:42,831 It's finality. 450 00:27:45,709 --> 00:27:48,789 Reporter: Gacy's home has become a tourist attraction. 451 00:27:48,876 --> 00:27:51,076 Every day for a week, outsiders came here 452 00:27:51,167 --> 00:27:54,747 to see bodies brought out of Gacy's house. 453 00:27:54,834 --> 00:27:57,174 His neighbors will never forget that. 454 00:27:57,250 --> 00:28:00,000 You see bodies in your sleep. 455 00:28:00,083 --> 00:28:01,713 You see him in your sleep. 456 00:28:01,792 --> 00:28:03,672 It's just too much. 457 00:28:03,751 --> 00:28:06,461 Reporter: And the police have found, at last count, 458 00:28:06,542 --> 00:28:10,502 27 bodies buried under his house and garage. 459 00:28:10,584 --> 00:28:12,714 Hachmeister: He actually ran out of room in the crawl space 460 00:28:12,792 --> 00:28:16,002 and he had no more room to put any bodies down there. 461 00:28:16,083 --> 00:28:19,133 I think one was buried under the barbecue grill, 462 00:28:19,209 --> 00:28:20,879 one under the garage floor. 463 00:28:20,959 --> 00:28:29,459 ♪♪ 464 00:28:29,542 --> 00:28:30,752 Finder: What we didn't know... 465 00:28:30,834 --> 00:28:33,544 And didn't know for some months... 466 00:28:33,626 --> 00:28:35,576 Was where was Rob piest? 467 00:28:35,667 --> 00:28:40,457 Duke: Rob piest, Gacy's last victim, wasn't found on Gacy's property. 468 00:28:40,542 --> 00:28:42,882 Gacy told police he disposed of his body elsewhere, 469 00:28:42,959 --> 00:28:44,709 along with many others. 470 00:28:44,792 --> 00:28:47,672 Well, he essentially ran out of room under his house. 471 00:28:47,751 --> 00:28:49,881 Hachmeister: And he thought it'd be best to start throwing them 472 00:28:49,959 --> 00:28:52,329 off the bridge into the des plaines river, 473 00:28:52,417 --> 00:28:55,457 a fair distance away from where he lived. 474 00:28:55,542 --> 00:28:59,212 We started at the 55 bridge over the des plaines river. 475 00:28:59,292 --> 00:29:01,292 We worked two boats on the north side of the river, 476 00:29:01,375 --> 00:29:04,875 two boats on the south side of the river. No luck. 477 00:29:04,959 --> 00:29:07,379 Duke: The search went on for months, but nothing was found. 478 00:29:07,459 --> 00:29:09,249 And so then the following spring, 479 00:29:09,334 --> 00:29:11,714 the searchers focused on a different area. 480 00:29:11,792 --> 00:29:17,632 It turns out that, within eyeshot of that bridge, 481 00:29:17,709 --> 00:29:24,039 there is a nuclear plant where they had a dam. 482 00:29:24,125 --> 00:29:28,705 And that's where some of the bodies actually got tied up 483 00:29:28,792 --> 00:29:30,752 and were found. 484 00:29:30,834 --> 00:29:34,924 Including the body of Rob piest. 485 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,960 Finder: And it wasn't until his body was recovered 486 00:29:37,042 --> 00:29:40,422 in the des plaines river that the mystery was solved. 487 00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:47,460 Reporter: It was an emotional time for relatives of the victims. 488 00:29:47,542 --> 00:29:49,792 Reporter: The 36-year-old contractor went to court 489 00:29:49,876 --> 00:29:51,996 in an emotion-packed trial. 490 00:29:58,292 --> 00:30:07,542 ♪♪ 491 00:30:07,626 --> 00:30:11,626 Morrison: Nobody ever thought even in their wildest dreams... 492 00:30:15,334 --> 00:30:17,924 ...that this meek person who was 493 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,500 so all involved in his community, 494 00:30:22,584 --> 00:30:27,504 in his work, could have done the crimes that he committed. 495 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:33,750 Man: People just can't believe 496 00:30:33,834 --> 00:30:36,504 that this is the John Gacy that we knew. 497 00:30:36,584 --> 00:30:38,384 The John Gacy that we knew was just 498 00:30:38,459 --> 00:30:41,789 a warm, wonderful, public-spirited person. 499 00:30:41,876 --> 00:30:46,076 And to see this now, it's just unbelievable. 500 00:30:46,167 --> 00:30:52,787 You didn't expect it from him. I had... he was a nice guy. 501 00:30:52,876 --> 00:30:55,416 Woman: Gacy was very charming. He was manipulative. 502 00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:57,920 He was witty, and he was very intelligent. 503 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,880 And you wouldn't know he was a serial killer 504 00:30:59,959 --> 00:31:01,249 unless you knew what he did. 505 00:31:01,334 --> 00:31:02,504 I don't know how he went about it, 506 00:31:02,584 --> 00:31:03,794 to tell you the truth, if he did. 507 00:31:03,876 --> 00:31:05,376 And I would never... this is something 508 00:31:05,459 --> 00:31:07,499 that I would never even think of him doing. 509 00:31:07,584 --> 00:31:13,544 ♪♪ 510 00:31:13,626 --> 00:31:15,956 Reporter: The 36-year-old contractor went to court 511 00:31:16,042 --> 00:31:18,042 in an emotion-packed trial. 512 00:31:18,125 --> 00:31:21,415 My defense was that he was not guilty by reason of insanity 513 00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:25,000 because he was suffering from a severe mental disease. 514 00:31:25,083 --> 00:31:26,543 As a result of that mental disease, 515 00:31:26,626 --> 00:31:28,956 he cannot appreciate the criminality of his act, 516 00:31:29,042 --> 00:31:32,332 nor conform his conduct to the requirements of law. 517 00:31:32,417 --> 00:31:35,627 In order to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, 518 00:31:35,709 --> 00:31:38,329 the defense has to prove that Gacy 519 00:31:38,417 --> 00:31:41,127 doesn't know the difference between right and wrong 520 00:31:41,209 --> 00:31:43,789 at the time that he committed these offenses. 521 00:31:43,876 --> 00:31:45,826 My role in the trial of John Gacy 522 00:31:45,918 --> 00:31:51,578 was to serve as a defense expert in regards to his mental state. 523 00:31:51,667 --> 00:31:57,787 And I was to try to explain, had he been in contact with reality? 524 00:31:57,876 --> 00:32:00,206 Had he not been in contact with reality? 525 00:32:00,292 --> 00:32:08,882 And I tried to explain that this person was not really a person. 526 00:32:08,959 --> 00:32:10,919 Amirante: That was rebutted by the state 527 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,250 arguing that he was methodical in what he did, 528 00:32:14,334 --> 00:32:16,794 and he wouldn't have buried the bodies if he was truly insane, 529 00:32:16,876 --> 00:32:20,496 and he wouldn't have kept doing it over and over. 530 00:32:20,584 --> 00:32:24,884 And we had parents that had to testify. 531 00:32:24,959 --> 00:32:29,669 It was just heart-wrenching, to say the least. 532 00:32:29,751 --> 00:32:34,331 My parents both had to take the stand. 533 00:32:34,417 --> 00:32:40,207 And the weirdest thing of all is when we had to identify him 534 00:32:40,292 --> 00:32:44,382 and you lean over and you say, "yes, that is him." 535 00:32:44,459 --> 00:32:46,079 That to me was the hardest thing, 536 00:32:46,167 --> 00:32:52,247 knowing that that's the guy that did what he did to my brother. 537 00:32:52,334 --> 00:32:55,794 Woman: John Gacy... He sat there calmly. 538 00:32:55,876 --> 00:32:57,626 He looked neat. 539 00:32:57,709 --> 00:33:00,289 He didn't seem to get upset about anything. 540 00:33:00,375 --> 00:33:01,745 During the closing arguments, 541 00:33:01,834 --> 00:33:07,254 the prosecution reminded the jurors of the victims 542 00:33:07,334 --> 00:33:10,964 by tossing their pictures into the crawl space 543 00:33:11,042 --> 00:33:13,082 set up in the courtroom. 544 00:33:13,167 --> 00:33:15,127 And he just continued to do that. 545 00:33:15,209 --> 00:33:18,129 And that was a very, very powerful thing. 546 00:33:20,459 --> 00:33:21,999 Reporter: It took the jury less than two hours 547 00:33:22,083 --> 00:33:24,923 to reject the defense argument that Gacy was insane 548 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,380 and to find Gacy guilty of murdering 33 young men 549 00:33:28,459 --> 00:33:30,669 during a 7-year killing spree. 550 00:33:30,751 --> 00:33:32,711 Gacy showed absolutely no emotion 551 00:33:32,792 --> 00:33:34,382 as all the murder counts were read, 552 00:33:34,459 --> 00:33:36,709 but he winked before he left the courtroom. 553 00:33:36,792 --> 00:33:39,542 It was an emotional time for relatives of the victims, 554 00:33:39,626 --> 00:33:40,786 and many like Ken piest, 555 00:33:40,876 --> 00:33:43,246 whose brother was killed, want revenge. 556 00:33:43,334 --> 00:33:46,504 - There's only one solution now. - What is that? 557 00:33:46,584 --> 00:33:48,424 I want to see him go to the chair. 558 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:49,710 Reporter: And eugenia godzik, 559 00:33:49,792 --> 00:33:51,832 mother of another victim, tearfully agreed. 560 00:33:51,918 --> 00:33:54,248 I hope he does get the electric chair. 561 00:33:54,334 --> 00:33:55,834 Then that'll make everybody feel better. 562 00:33:55,918 --> 00:33:58,828 I'm sure it'll make the other mothers feel better, too. 563 00:33:58,918 --> 00:34:02,288 Reporter: A jury which found John Gacy guilty of murder 564 00:34:02,375 --> 00:34:04,995 then recommended the death penalty. 565 00:34:06,918 --> 00:34:11,288 Godzik: I believe the death sentence was the best thing for him. 566 00:34:11,375 --> 00:34:16,325 There's no way that he could have been rehabilitated. 567 00:34:16,417 --> 00:34:23,287 It's like, "you know what? One less for the state. Sorry." 568 00:34:23,375 --> 00:34:24,955 Reporter: There, at one minute after midnight, 569 00:34:25,042 --> 00:34:27,962 28 witnesses will watch as a lethal injection 570 00:34:28,042 --> 00:34:30,632 cuts off his breathing and stops his heart. 571 00:34:30,709 --> 00:34:33,039 He took our 33 babies over 14 years ago, 572 00:34:33,125 --> 00:34:35,205 and it's time to go. 573 00:34:38,959 --> 00:34:44,879 ♪♪ 574 00:34:44,959 --> 00:34:49,579 Reporter: The one-time clown, party lover, and mass murderer 575 00:34:49,667 --> 00:34:52,667 now sits on death row, waiting. 576 00:34:55,125 --> 00:34:56,495 If you want to know what my life is like, 577 00:34:56,584 --> 00:35:00,834 I log it every day, for the last 12 years. 578 00:35:00,918 --> 00:35:03,498 All you got to do is ask. I can tell you everything. 579 00:35:03,584 --> 00:35:05,334 I can tell you the first meal they served me here 580 00:35:05,417 --> 00:35:07,747 - because I do it daily. - What do you do all day? 581 00:35:07,834 --> 00:35:10,004 Gacy: Every phone call, everything that I do. 582 00:35:10,083 --> 00:35:12,963 Every time an officer's around me, it's logged. 583 00:35:13,042 --> 00:35:16,292 Every movement that I make is in the book here. 584 00:35:16,375 --> 00:35:22,035 I remember asking him why he kept all that. 585 00:35:22,125 --> 00:35:25,125 "I just want this in case I have to go back to trial, 586 00:35:25,209 --> 00:35:27,709 and I will prove my innocence." 587 00:35:29,709 --> 00:35:33,379 Not long after Gacy confessed to dozens of murders, 588 00:35:33,459 --> 00:35:36,959 he changes his story and says that he's innocent. 589 00:35:37,042 --> 00:35:39,672 Gacy had concocted this elaborate idea 590 00:35:39,751 --> 00:35:41,961 that someone else had committed these murders. 591 00:35:42,042 --> 00:35:45,792 When they paint the image that I was this monster who... 592 00:35:45,876 --> 00:35:48,496 Who picked up, like, these altar boys along the street 593 00:35:48,584 --> 00:35:49,794 and swatted them like flies. 594 00:35:49,876 --> 00:35:51,626 I said, "this is ludicrous." 595 00:35:51,709 --> 00:35:53,749 And I said, "but you confessed." 596 00:35:53,834 --> 00:35:55,714 And he said, "that was meaningless. 597 00:35:55,792 --> 00:35:57,042 I had to confess. 598 00:35:57,125 --> 00:35:58,745 They got me in a place where my lawyer said, 599 00:35:58,834 --> 00:36:01,424 'you better confess, ' so I did." 600 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:03,250 And Gacy had plenty of theories 601 00:36:03,334 --> 00:36:05,584 as to who committed these murders. 602 00:36:05,667 --> 00:36:08,827 Gacy: We have always contended there was others involved. 603 00:36:08,918 --> 00:36:13,128 At the time of my arrest, there was three of the suspects, 604 00:36:13,209 --> 00:36:16,289 all employees of p.D.M. Contractors, all with keys 605 00:36:16,375 --> 00:36:18,205 to the house on summerdale. 606 00:36:18,292 --> 00:36:20,672 Wilkinson: He said, "12 people had keys to my house." 607 00:36:20,751 --> 00:36:23,211 Any one of them could have been using it as a burial ground. 608 00:36:23,292 --> 00:36:24,582 Because I travel a great deal, 609 00:36:24,667 --> 00:36:26,077 they're coming in when I'm not there, 610 00:36:26,167 --> 00:36:28,577 "and they're burying bodies in my crawl space." 611 00:36:30,459 --> 00:36:35,789 Why would John Wayne Gacy confess and then recant? 612 00:36:35,876 --> 00:36:39,206 That's a question that will puzzle shrinks 613 00:36:39,292 --> 00:36:45,462 and people who have looked into this matter forever. 614 00:36:45,542 --> 00:36:47,752 Jackson: For over a decade while on death row, 615 00:36:47,834 --> 00:36:52,334 Gacy stays busy and maintains his innocence. 616 00:36:52,417 --> 00:36:54,577 Reporter: Since he went to jail in 1980, 617 00:36:54,667 --> 00:36:56,917 Gacy's produced hundreds of works. 618 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,750 His style is called "art brut". 619 00:36:59,834 --> 00:37:02,384 Art brut is the art of the criminally insane. 620 00:37:02,459 --> 00:37:07,459 Here is the hi-ho series. And that is self-explanatory. 621 00:37:07,542 --> 00:37:09,792 It's the seven dwarfs. I've done an array of paint... 622 00:37:09,876 --> 00:37:11,536 A different... a variation of paintings, 623 00:37:11,626 --> 00:37:15,456 and I do more or less whatever people want. 624 00:37:15,542 --> 00:37:18,582 Jackson: Gacy appealed his conviction multiple times 625 00:37:18,667 --> 00:37:20,417 over the course of 14 years, 626 00:37:20,500 --> 00:37:24,210 only to be turned down every time. 627 00:37:24,292 --> 00:37:27,832 Gacy: If people don't want to know the truth and the honesty of it, 628 00:37:27,918 --> 00:37:30,208 if they want to be convinced they're brainwashed 629 00:37:30,292 --> 00:37:32,422 into what they believe, then fine. 630 00:37:32,500 --> 00:37:34,040 Then go ahead and kill me. 631 00:37:34,125 --> 00:37:36,375 But vengeance is mine, sayeth the lord, 632 00:37:36,459 --> 00:37:37,879 because you will have executed 633 00:37:37,959 --> 00:37:39,749 somebody that didn't commit the crime. 634 00:37:39,834 --> 00:37:45,794 ♪♪ 635 00:37:45,876 --> 00:37:48,286 Reporter: Earlier today, a helicopter transferred Gacy 636 00:37:48,375 --> 00:37:49,665 to stateville prison. 637 00:37:49,751 --> 00:37:51,251 There, at one minute after midnight, 638 00:37:51,334 --> 00:37:54,634 28 witnesses will watch as a lethal injection cuts 639 00:37:54,709 --> 00:37:58,879 off his breathing and stops his heart. 640 00:37:58,959 --> 00:38:01,669 Duke: For his last meal, Gacy orders a bucket 641 00:38:01,751 --> 00:38:04,171 of Kentucky fried chicken, which is really fitting, 642 00:38:04,250 --> 00:38:06,880 considering he worked there back in the day. 643 00:38:06,959 --> 00:38:09,539 If we look, well, some good distance now 644 00:38:09,626 --> 00:38:12,786 from the walls of the prison, perhaps we see others gathered. 645 00:38:12,876 --> 00:38:15,286 There you see a candlelight vigil, 646 00:38:15,375 --> 00:38:17,575 those folks holding the candles 647 00:38:17,667 --> 00:38:19,827 those who oppose the death penalty. 648 00:38:19,918 --> 00:38:21,918 [ Cheering ] 649 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:25,580 But they were far outnumbered, outnumbered by the t-shirts 650 00:38:25,667 --> 00:38:28,577 that read "no tears for the clown." 651 00:38:28,667 --> 00:38:31,037 He took our 33 babies over 14 years ago, 652 00:38:31,125 --> 00:38:32,955 and it's time to go. 653 00:38:33,042 --> 00:38:36,752 Given the hour here, now 12:04 local time, 654 00:38:36,834 --> 00:38:39,424 the execution of John Wayne Gacy should be, 655 00:38:39,500 --> 00:38:41,830 we are told, now underway. 656 00:38:44,834 --> 00:38:47,544 First step, of course is he's strapped to a gurney. 657 00:38:47,626 --> 00:38:49,826 A saline solution iv starts, 658 00:38:49,918 --> 00:38:54,128 and then eventually the three killer drugs. 659 00:38:54,209 --> 00:38:57,669 When Gacy was given a chance to give a final message, 660 00:38:57,751 --> 00:39:02,081 he said these words... "kiss my ass." 661 00:39:05,375 --> 00:39:11,995 John Wayne Gacy was pronounced dead at 12:58 am. 662 00:39:12,083 --> 00:39:15,583 We're happy to report to the victims' families 663 00:39:15,667 --> 00:39:19,917 and to the hundreds of people that his horror reached out to 664 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,210 and whose lives were affected for all time, 665 00:39:23,292 --> 00:39:26,582 justice has finally been served. 666 00:39:26,667 --> 00:39:29,167 The punishment didn't really fit the crime. 667 00:39:29,250 --> 00:39:30,380 It was too easy for him. 668 00:39:30,459 --> 00:39:31,959 And I know that's terrible, 669 00:39:32,042 --> 00:39:36,882 but I'm really sorry that he really didn't get to suffer. 670 00:39:36,959 --> 00:39:41,499 It took 14 years in the making for this to come to an end. 671 00:39:41,584 --> 00:39:44,754 This should have happened a long time ago. 672 00:39:44,834 --> 00:39:47,504 Godzik: My mother had passed away by that time. 673 00:39:47,584 --> 00:39:52,714 And her one wish was she wanted to push the button 674 00:39:52,792 --> 00:39:55,382 to have him die. 675 00:39:55,459 --> 00:39:58,169 And I just remember looking at my husband, 676 00:39:58,250 --> 00:40:03,380 saying, "it's finally over. It's over." 677 00:40:03,459 --> 00:40:04,749 I think that was the universal opinion, 678 00:40:04,834 --> 00:40:09,924 that this man got what he deserved. 679 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:16,000 ♪♪ 680 00:40:16,083 --> 00:40:18,173 Reporter: The memories of those who were there 681 00:40:18,250 --> 00:40:21,040 will soon be all that remains. 682 00:40:21,125 --> 00:40:24,875 John Wayne Gacy's house was long ago torn down. 683 00:40:24,959 --> 00:40:26,999 A new one now stands in its place. 684 00:40:27,083 --> 00:40:28,753 And the address had been burned forever 685 00:40:28,834 --> 00:40:31,464 into Chicago's collective consciousness... 686 00:40:31,542 --> 00:40:34,832 8213 west summerdale. 687 00:40:37,417 --> 00:40:41,167 When all is said and done, Gacy had a broken brain. 688 00:40:41,250 --> 00:40:43,000 Wilkinson: I think floating around within him 689 00:40:43,083 --> 00:40:45,583 were all sorts of impersonations... 690 00:40:45,667 --> 00:40:48,787 Pogo the clown, John Wayne Gacy the painting contractor, 691 00:40:48,876 --> 00:40:50,456 John Wayne Gacy the husband, 692 00:40:50,542 --> 00:40:53,922 John Wayne Gacy the pedophile, John Wayne Gacy the killer. 693 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,380 He was an amalgamation of all of these things. 694 00:40:59,709 --> 00:41:03,879 He was probably the best con man this world has ever known. 695 00:41:03,959 --> 00:41:06,039 He was the worst of evil. 696 00:41:07,334 --> 00:41:08,924 Gacy: If you believe you've lived your life 697 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,130 the right way, then you do not have nothing to fear. 698 00:41:12,209 --> 00:41:14,829 I've had confession. I have communion. 699 00:41:14,918 --> 00:41:17,498 And I am at peace with myself. 700 00:41:17,584 --> 00:41:23,924 ♪♪ 701 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:30,130 ♪♪ 702 00:41:30,209 --> 00:41:34,919 In the end, police recovered 33 of John Wayne Gacy's victims. 703 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:36,920 But back then, investigators weren't able 704 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:39,210 to identify eight of the bodies. 705 00:41:39,292 --> 00:41:43,422 Then in 2011, more than 30 years after Gacy confessed, 706 00:41:43,500 --> 00:41:47,380 the cook county sheriff's office in Chicago re-opened the case. 707 00:41:47,459 --> 00:41:50,959 Using advances in forensics and DNA technology, 708 00:41:51,042 --> 00:41:53,922 they identified two more of Gacy's victims, 709 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,170 providing at least some closure to those families. 710 00:41:57,250 --> 00:42:00,630 To this day, detectives continue working to identify 711 00:42:00,709 --> 00:42:02,749 the remaining six victims. 712 00:42:02,834 --> 00:42:04,504 I'm Donnie wahlberg. 713 00:42:04,584 --> 00:42:07,214 Thanks for watching.