John Wayne Gacy Thesis

To meet the requirements of a serial murder, the FBI standards states two or more persons must be murdered by an offender, male or female, over a period of time. Hickey stated, “Multiple murder is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and fascinating phenomena of modern-day crime. We are frequently reminded of how vulnerable we can be when persons who decide to kill us can do so with relative ease” (2016, p. 1). As early as the beginning of the twentieth century, serial murderers have become more prevalent in society. Holmes and DeBurger (1988) stated “Since that time, more than fifty major serial killers have been identified; estimates of the number of victims involved range from five per killer to more than 100” (As cited in Sparks, 2001,

Gacy’s childhood appeared to be normal, as he was raised by his mother who according to Cahill (1987), “…was born in Wisconsin to parents of Scandinavian descent. She was a pharmacist by vocation, but after the marriage, Marion gave up her career to raise the couple’s three young children” (As cited in Sparks, 2001, p. 257). John had quite a nice relationship with his mother and sisters growing up. According to Linedecker, “The teenager was closer to his mother and sisters. The bond between the young man and his mother was particularly strong, and she affectionately called him “Johnny”” (1980, p. 19). John was able to relate to his mother in more ways than one. According to Sparks, he stated, “According to Gacy’s mother, Marion, John was just like her. He could not sleep more than four hours a night, was overweight, was concerned for others, and disliked being alone” (2001, p. 258). Gacy’s father, worked as a skilled machinist in order to provide for his family. However, contrary to his loving relationship with his mother, Hickey stated, “His father was an alcoholic and frequently mistreated the family by beating his wife, abusing his son, and terrorizing his daughters. Gacy could never seem to gain the approval of his father regardless of the efforts he made” (2016, p. 370). Regardless of what Gacy tried to do as a child, nothing was ever adequate enough for his father, even when his

Sullivan and Maiken stated, “Gacy himself told the court’s psychiatrists that his psychosexual history began between the agree of six and ten, when a teenage daughter of one of mother’s friends undressed him and played with him. He also recalled wrestling at age eight or nine with a contractor who liked to pin Gacy’s head between of under his legs” (2000, p. 236). However, this was not the only occurrences the youth had experienced. Wilkerson (1994) noted, “John experienced his first sexual contact at the age of 5 when a 15 year old mentally retarded female Gacy to her house, pulled down his pants, and played with his penis” (As cited in Sparks, 2001, p. 259). It was around the time when John joined Boy Scouts though which he knew he was different from other children his age. In the documentary about Gacy, it noted that he had begun to suffer an identity crisis, which made him want to dress up as a woman, in his mother’s clothing, to see how he would look. At an early age John had developed an interest in silk. Accoridng to Sparks, “As a teenager, John Wayne continued to hide his mother’s silk clothing in his bed and, at age 14 Gacy stope some underwear from neighborhood clothes lines. Gacy’s mother discovered this underwear and punished him” (2001, p. 259). Confused about his sexuality, John decided to keep his thoughts a secret from those who would be able to help him the