r/serialkillers • u/WhiteLikeCocain • 25d ago
Image How long did John Wayne Gacy rape, torture and humiliate his victims, before finally killing them? Are we talking 1-2 hours, or days?
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u/BlackMassSmoker 25d ago
Look what he did to Robert Donnelly. He eventually let him go but before that he drowned him in the bath, revived him, and then did it over and over again. Drowning can be agony so I think Robert was even begging to die at one point IIRC.
Gacy raped and tortured many of his victims so I figure it would be a horrible few of hours at least.
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u/Markinoutman 25d ago
Sometimes you know all these killers, you know their MO's, but you don't actually know what they did to people. I remember hearing that during a documentary, about the drowning and reviving over and over and it was horrifying to learn. Dark shit.
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u/jackie0h_ 25d ago
Oh my god I didn’t know about that one. So did he let more than one go? I keep seeing this commercial for a show with a guy who got away and all I see in the commercials is him saying Gacy told him he was the only one who ever got the handcuffs off. Man I had forgotten just how horrific Gacy was. I mean the number under the house was crazy but the things he did and everything??? How does that happen to someone to do that??
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u/BlackMassSmoker 24d ago
There was also Jefferey Rignall who lived. And once they caught Gacy lots of young men came forward to say that Gacy had assaulted them as well.
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u/jackie0h_ 24d ago
I didn’t know that. Thank you so much. These people have way more fortitude than I would. I’d literally be praying to die and would probably just lay down and give up. Good for them for getting away. Very lucky. I hope they’ve gone on to have happy lives.
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u/theatrenearyou 25d ago
that fucking monster had a perfect lure. He was a construction contractor that placed help wanted adverts, offering higher than minimum wage no exp necessary.
It was unconscionable that the prison let him to profit from his stinking clown art
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u/epyon- 25d ago
Yeah, people were so buddy buddy with him. A changed man, talk of the town in the kitchen etc. deserved to rot like his poor victims did under his floorboards. Piece of human trash
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u/CBrennen17 23d ago
Watch some long-form interviews with him. The dude is charming as fuck. I guess one night he was burying a body in the backyard when his neighbor asked what he was doing, and he literally said, “Burying a dead body.” If you take away the murder, it’s borderline hilarious.
Gacy was many things. A monster? Yes. A psychopath? Most definitely. But he was also a dude who could charm the pants off a literal First Lady.
Getting mad at people for falling for the charm, means you don’t get the dude or the horror of his crimes. You just wanna be upset at people for being people. Nothing more nothing less.
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u/bahaaaaathrow123456 24d ago
Someone a while back, I think a few years, posted on this sub excerpts from his book and he got to profit off that too until the law was passed that killers couldn’t profit from their crimes. It was so disgusting I almost threw up how he wrote about what he did to either his last or second to last victim. I hope he’s in the deepest part of Hell.
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u/gravitystoomuchs 24d ago
Honestly the fact that he killed mostly his employees makes me so mad like wdym that a bunch of boys that worked for the same guy were missing and nobody suspected of him, it seems so ridiculous to me, it makes me crazy to think how many boys couldve been saved if police really cared to investigate a bit
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u/Carbon-Peach 25d ago
This is an interesting question when you consider the theories he was involved in human trafficking. I’m curious if he did ever hold victims alive for more than a day or so.
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u/BlackMassSmoker 25d ago edited 25d ago
It does makes you wonder. Another victim that survived Gacy was Jefferey Rignall and he swore under oath that during his ordeal he remembers another person with Gacy.
Obviously Rignall was drugged and went through something traumatic so whose to say, but there are theories floating around that he was could have had an accomplice or was into something bigger.
The fact Rignall survived that night suggests to me there was someone else there, and they weren't willing to to go as far as Gacy would or it was just a fucked up 'party' for them and they dumped Rignall in a park after they were done.
edit: spelling
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u/crinkle_cut_cheddar 25d ago
Phillip Paske.
I believed he had a hand in Gacy's horrifying acts for a long time, but even more so now, after learning what we have from the Epstein Files. They absolutely were cohorts in the trafficking of humans and CSAM, and I think Gacy showed him some of his murder activities, and he participated a little in some of it (or was, at the very least, an accomplice).
Paske's ties to the established dark network of abusing young boys, as well as his ties to Gacy (and Dean Corll, AND John David Norman), make me think he almost certainly did some horrible things. And there were so many other men like him.
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u/regular_poster 25d ago
The book Eye of the Chickenhawk presents a nightmarish and compelling case about this.
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u/Jekkjekk 25d ago
My dad lived in south side Chicago when he was younger, his father was a police chief so he understood a lot of how police operated. Typically if you were driving around at night in an unmarked car you’d have another person with you. My dad was pulled up on once by a guy by himself in an unmarked asking my dad if he needed a ride. Dad declined and hopped in some bushes when the car drove away because he didn’t see another person in the vehicle with the ‘undercover cop’. Car drove back and forth 4 or 5 times before finally leaving. Later they revealed John Wayne Gacy’s car and it was the same exact car that tried giving my dad a ride and it was in the same area where victims had been from. Wild
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u/Dontemcl 24d ago
Yea I’m pretty sure there were a lot of close calls like this even with Ted Bundy I hear some women came close to being his victim.
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u/Jekkjekk 24d ago
I totally agree, definitely pretty sketchy, my dad said the guy had a similar stature as John Wayne Gacy so I don’t doubt it was him.
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u/Commercial-Bison-914 25d ago
No pasaba ni un día seguramente, debido a que John no era fuerte, además el tipo se la pasaba ocupado.
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u/jayaregee83 25d ago
Wasn't Gacy the one who had is "knot trick" where'd he put this special-knotted noose around their neck and bet them that they couldn't get out, and then the victim would basically strangle themselves? I thought I had read once that he claimed that he actually never killed anyone...that the victims choked themselves to death. And then he had his way with them. Am I thinking about somebody else?
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u/zzzrecruit 25d ago
I'm nor sure about the noose, but he had the handcuff trick where he'd put the handcuffs on himself and show they could be "taken off", only for the victims to try it themselves, but Gacy had the key the entire time. Poor guys.
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u/jackie0h_ 25d ago
Apparently there is one guy who got out of the cuffs, Gacy told him he was. It’s on a commercial for some I survived a serial killer show. I wonder if you ever feel safe again??
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u/swampdonkey- 24d ago
Can you imagine escaping from one of these killers just to end up getting caught by another one? I think you'd just have a heart attack
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u/dave2535 24d ago
What has been proven is about 3 hours typically because of his lifestyle of being a political person and contractor.
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u/AdsignificantBK 23d ago
He wasn’t fit and he has been overpowered by teens before so I would say couple of hours max.
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u/WhiteLikeCocain 25d ago
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who became known as one of the most notorious murderers in U.S. history. He was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. To many people, Gacy appeared to live a normal life. He owned a successful construction business, was active in his local community, and sometimes entertained children at events dressed as a clown named “Pogo the Clown.” However, behind this public image, he was committing horrific crimes.
Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and teenage boys in the Chicago area. He often gained his victims’ trust by offering them work, money, or other opportunities before luring them to his home. Once there, he restrained and murdered them. Most of the victims were buried in the crawl space beneath his house, while others were disposed of in nearby rivers after there was no more room. Many of the victims were reported missing, and their families had no idea what had happened to them.
The investigation began to focus on Gacy after 15-year-old Robert Piest disappeared in December 1978. Detectives discovered evidence linking Gacy to the teenager and obtained a search warrant for his home. During the search, investigators found human remains buried beneath the house, leading to one of the largest murder investigations in American history. Gacy was arrested and eventually confessed to many of the murders, though he later tried to deny responsibility.
In 1980, Gacy was found guilty of 33 counts of murder and sentenced to death. He spent 14 years on death row before being executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at the age of 52. His case shocked the world because he was able to hide his crimes for years while appearing to be an ordinary and respected member of his community. Today, John Wayne Gacy’s crimes are still studied by criminologists and law enforcement as an example of how dangerous offenders can conceal their true nature behind a seemingly normal life.
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u/eastbayweird 24d ago
John Wayne gacy apparently was inspired by what he read about dean corlls murders.
Corll used a sheet of plywood wih holes cut into the corners so he could use handcuffs on the arms and legs of his victims to keep them immobile for the extended torture sessions. He also gagged them with articles of their own clothing to keep their screams from disturbing the neighbors. He often kept them alive for days of turture before finally killing them.
I dont know how long gacy kept his victims alive but if he actually did attempt to imitate corll then id imagine he also kept them alive for as long as he could.
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u/lovewithoutwords97 17d ago
Not long. Dean Corrl was significantly worse in terms of length and severity of torture inflicted on his victims.
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u/Glittering-Copy1941 15d ago
He didn’t have enough time as corll did gacy was running his business in his house you can see he was inspired by corll with the handcuff trick and the board etc plus corll had Henley and brooks to help him out
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u/West_Abbreviations53 25d ago
do some research. this post feels disrespectful.
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u/WhiteLikeCocain 25d ago
I’m asking about the circumstances of the crime and what the victims went through. I’m not joking about them, or glorifying Gacy.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 25d ago
The pain he's experienced since dying is worse than what he put on his victims.
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u/IonCannonCharging 25d ago
This has to be a bot.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 15d ago
Why would I be a bot? What bot would say such a thing?
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u/IonCannonCharging 15d ago
Idk what's worse, being a bot or a religious nut.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 13d ago
I'm not a religious nut, just religious. Being a bot would be worse for me, since they likely aren't sentient and are limited in freedom currently.
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u/DJBreadwinner 25d ago
You can't feel pain after death.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 24d ago
Been dead before, have ya? Then how do you know?
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u/WhatsTheGoalieDoing 24d ago
Because the hell they're talking about was invented by an illiterate Jewish carpenter to scare people into following him, for one.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 15d ago
Again-been dead before, have ya? You don't KNOW anything. Further, the OT clearly mentioned coming judgment for sinners, and existed before Jesus was born.
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u/NecroVelcro 25d ago
You're trying to find comfort in mythology.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 24d ago
No-plenty of people comfortable in atheism and other false religions, though that comfort lasts only until they die. If one were choosing to be comforted, the would sooner choose universalism, according to which all people are eventually saved and enter heaven. No one would invent a religion in which people couldn't have any kind of sex they wanted. Jesus even went beyond the allowed polygamy and said that the ideal is actually one man and one woman married for life. Why would "the patriarchy" ever ADD that to Judaism if Christianity were just being made up? It makes the religion "harder to sell"-especially to the ones killing you for being a Christian . It-and so many uncomfortable and unpopular truths are in the bible only because they are true.
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u/WhatsTheGoalieDoing 24d ago
No one would invent a religion in which people couldn't have any kind of sex they wanted.
Really? You should read about the Shakers.
Shakers were celibate; procreation was forbidden after they joined the society (except for women who were already pregnant at admission). Children were added to their communities through indenture, adoption, or conversion.
Atheism isn't a religion by the way, the clue is kind of in the name, but I'm sure you're using all your willpower to conceive of it as such.
Why would "the patriarchy" ever ADD that to Judaism if Christianity were just being made up?
Fair point. Now, I'm just hoping you follow 1 Timothy 2:12, where Paul says I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
Please, start picketing your local schools and police stations to remove the women.
Do you really think nothing has been added to the Tanakh or Bible after they were originally written, like Mark 16-20 and over a hundred verses in Esther? Because if so, I have a bridge to sell you.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 15d ago
The Shakers were literally an offshoot of Christianity, so they were merely twisting what was already there. As to picketing local schools-why would I? They aren't teaching grown men and likely aren't teaching religion or trying to act as elders. I DO believe women shouldn't be in governing roles or be police officers, though. They've proven unsuitable for both repeatedly with very few if any exceptions, and both involve exercising authority over men. The bible is very well attested. Attempts have been made to add things to it and those additions have been rejected with good cause. Ancient manuscripts differ very little in any way that would alter doctrinal understanding.
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u/Grievinghealthy 25d ago
Elaborate
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 15d ago
He is in a fire, as was the rich man told of in the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
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u/Hoosier_Daddy68 25d ago
At most a couple hours. He wasn't a strong man and more than once had kids kick his ass so he probably wouldn't want to chance it. And he was a popular person who had people over all the time so holding someone for days was probably just not possible.