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John Wayne Gacy's Killing Spree Will Be Focus of New Scripted Show — Here's What to Know
The upcoming scripted show about John Wayne Gacy (inspired by the Peacock docuseries of the same name) aims to take the focus away from the killer clown and place it on the victims.
A limited scripted series about one of the most horrifying killers in America is coming to Peacock.
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy unpacks the crimes of the real-life convicted killer responsible for the unthinkable murders of 33 people, primarily young men and teen boys. Starring Michael Chernus (Severance, Dead Ringers) as the titular role, the 1970s-based dramatized series (inspired by the Peacock docuseries of the same name) "peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in heartrending stories of his mostly gay victims; exploring the grief, guilt, and trauma of their families and friends; and exposing the systemic failures, missed opportunities and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror," according to the show's official description.
Before the premiere of Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, learn more about the sadistic killer known as “The Killer Clown."
Who was John Wayne Gacy?
John Wayne Gacy was a Chicago-raised man who went on to rape, torture, and kill 33 male teens and young men between 1972 and 1978, most of whom were found in the crawlspace of his home in Norwood Park Township, part of the greater Chicago area. For years, Gacy would go undetected, primarily due to his status as an upstanding citizen and well-respected member of the community.
The son of an allegedly abusive, alcoholic father, Gacy’s earliest crimes came to light in the 1960s after he, his wife, and two children moved to Waterloo, Iowa. Gacy managed several of his father-in-law’s Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food restaurants and even joined a national civic group. But in 1968, Gacy was accused of sexually abusing several teenage boys, reported The New York Times. He served 18 months of a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of sodomy pertaining to a single victim, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The victim died by suicide, allegedly due to the mental trauma caused by the abuse, according to Waterloo NBC affiliate KWWL.
Then divorced, Gacy returned to Chicago — where he was allowed to serve his parole — and became what appeared to be a model citizen, ultimately moving into the now-infamous murder house on West Summerdale Avenue, where he lived up until his 1978 arrest, reported Newsweek.
Gacy married once again, and for nearly a decade, the well-liked neighbor hosted annual parties at the residence. He even dressed up as “Pogo the Clown” and entertained children at parties, hiding his secret life as a disturbed killer.
Gacy owned and operated his own construction business, PDM Contractors, which sometimes gained him easy access to his young, male victims. Other times, Gacy cruised the Chicago streets and either abducted or lured them back to his home, sometimes presenting himself as a policeman. Typically, Gacy would ply his victims with alcohol and/or drugs, handcuff them, and rape and torture them.
Most of the victims died by ligature strangulation before Gacy crudely moved the bodies into his crawlspace.
Who were John Wayne Gacy’s victims?
Gacy’s first-known victim was 15-year-old Tim McCoy, who — unlike the others — was stabbed to death in Gacy’s home in January 1972 after Gacy found him at Chicago’s Greyhound bus stop. He would be one of the 26 bodies discovered under Gacy’s home and wouldn’t be identified for another 14 years.
The unassuming family man murdered a still-unidentified teen in 1974. In 1975, Gacy killed one of his teenage construction employees, John Butkovitch, 18, who’d quit the PDM company and disappeared when going to pick up his final paycheck, according to The Chicago Tribune.
His next victim would be unidentified until 2021 when DNA connected him to missing North Carolina man Francis Wayne Alexander.
The killer’s horrific crimes would significantly increase when his wife divorced him and moved out of the home with her two children in 1976. That year alone, beginning with Darrel Samson, Gacy brutally murdered more than a dozen young men and teens.
A complete list of Gacy’s known victims was previously covered by Oxygen.com, though many at the time were thought to be runaways. According to the Tribune, Gacy frequently scoured the city's gay bars for his victims, including 20-year-old Timothy O'Rourke, whose body was discovered in the Illinois River.
Authorities wouldn’t place Gacy on their radar until the disappearance of his final victim, 15-year-old Robert Piest. Witnesses last saw Piest talking to Gacy at a local pharmacy about prospective construction work with PDM, and searches for the teen led authorities to Gacy’s home, where the bodies were discovered.
Piest was found dead in the Illinois River in the spring of 1979.
Ultimately, Gacy was convicted for all 33 murders and died by lethal injection in 1994.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office still hopes to put names to the remaining five victims who remain unknown.
What is John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise?
Based on the 2021 NBC docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise (now available to watch on Peacock), Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy is a scripted dramatization “based on the harrowing crimes of one of America’s most notorious serial killers and the rigorous investigation that ultimately brought him down,” according to the show’s description.
As announced on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, an exciting lineup will act as principal cast on the series, including Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us, Terminator: Dark Fate) as Detective Rafael Tovar, James Badge Dale (Savant, 1923) as Chief of Detectives Joe Kozenczak, Michael Angarano (Oppenheimer, This Is Us) as Sam Amirante, Chris Sullivan (This Is Us, Mercy) as Lead Prosecutor Bill Kunkle, and Marin Ireland (The Irishman, The Umbrella Academy) as Elizabeth Piest.
Actor Michael Chernus previously had this to say after he was confirmed to star: “I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity,” he said. “While Gacy was the perpetrator of these horrific crimes, I’m relieved that he won’t be the main focus of the series.”
Patrick Macmanus (Dr. Death, The Girl from Plainville) serves as showrunner. Executive producers include Noah Oppenheim and Liz Cole for NBC News Studios, Ashley Michel Hoban, Ahmadu Garba, and Kelly Funke for Littleton Road Productions.
Where can I watch John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise?
A premiere date for Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy has yet to be announced, but the series will exclusively debut on Peacock.
