Editing John Wayne Gacy

In 1978, after one of Gacy’s victims, Robert Piest, was reported missing, police learned that Gacy was the last person known to have seen him. After obtaining a search warrant, police discovered the bodies of 29 boys and young men in or near Gacy’s house; four other bodies were found in the nearby Des Plaines River. Indeed, the area of the house had emitted a foul stench for years, but Gacy had told his houseguests and his wife that the smell was the result of moisture buildup.  

In the hours leading up to Gacy's execution, a crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered outside the correctional center; most of whom were fervently in favor of execution, although several protesters against the death penalty were also present. Some of the supporters of the execution wore t-shirts that alluded to the previous community services of Gacy as a clown and that carried satirical slogans such as "There are no tears for the clown." Protesters against the death penalty present watched a silent candlelight vigil.