Killer clown John Wayne Gacy issued warning about victims in final words before lethal injection
'Killer clown' John Wayne Gacy had a chilling admission before being given the lethal injection after spending years on death row for his horrific crimes.
The American convict was one of the most notorious criminals of his time, a known serial killer and rapist who was responsible for killing at least 33 boys and men in Chicago.
Each murder was carried out in Gacy's home in Norwood Park, with the bodies later being found buried in his garden.
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Gacy was born on 17 March, 1942 and had a troubled upbringing, being physically and mentally abused by his alcoholic father while also being bullied at school for being overweight.
On top of that, he was sexually abused by the teenage daughter of a family friend, later being assaulted by another family friend when he was older.
Despite realising that he was attracted to men at a young age, he went on to marry a woman named Marlynn Myers in 1964, settling down in Iowa where he managed three Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants and had two children.
But he would later join the Waterloo Jaycees, a club of men who would do things like wife swap, engage in prostitution, porn and take drugs.
Gacy would then move onto luring teenage boys, some from his managed restaurants, to his basement with the promise of alcohol and porn, but he would then force them into sexual acts.
He was then convicted of sodomy in 1968, which led to his wife divorcing him. But Gacy would only serve two years of his 10-year sentence.
After this, he moved back to Chicago, remarried, and began performing as 'Pogo the Clown' at a number of parties.
In the Chicago area, he tortured, sexually assaulted and murdered several young men, leading to his arrest in December 1978 after he murdered his final victim, 15-year-old Robert Piest.
A police investigation led to Gacy, who admitted to killing Piest in addition to 32 others. 29 bodies were recovered from his property while it emerged that four other bodies were dumped in the Des Plaines River.
At the time, he was considered the worst serial killer in American history, and was on death row for 14 years before the date of his execution.
On 10 May, 1994, Gacy was given a three-drug lethal injection to end his life, as crowds gathered outside the prison to fight for and against the death penalty.
His last words have been said to have been 'Kiss my a**', but it turns out that this is just the stuff of urban legend, as prison officials said that his last words were about his execution being unreasonable, and that 'taking his life would not compensate for the loss of the others'.
You could believe that, but William Kunkle - a chief prosecutor during Gacy’s trial - then reported that Gacy didn't actually say anything at all while awaiting the lethal injection, adding further confusion.
What is for certain though, is that Gacy didn't have the last word, as crowds outside the prison cheered, according to reports.
The day before his death, Gacy was eerily calm according to reports, enjoying his final meal, which included some KFC chicken, as a picnic with his family.
Gacy spoke about sports and other everyday subjects with visitors, seemingly unfazed about what was to come the next day.
Joshua Nair