The chilling story behind Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes on Netflix

Netflix has just released a new true crime series, Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes, which recounts the true story of the serial killer through new tapes and recordings. The three-part series is directed by Joe Berlinger and features previously unheard audio from John Wayne Gacy’s discussions with his legal team.

In the 1970s, Gacy managed to kill 33 people before he was caught, burying bodies in his back garden. Here’s what you need to know about the true story of the case of John Wayne Gacy, as told in the Netflix Coversations with a Killer series.

via Netflix

Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes shares the true story of the serial killer with new recordings

John Wayne Gacy is a convicted serial killer and sex offender from Chicago, Illinois. Gacy was an aspiring politician, beloved local contractor, and part-time clown-for-hire who murdered 33 young men between 1972 and 1976. The majority of his victims were found buried under his house, in the quiet northwest suburbs of Chicago. Other bodies were found in the nearby Des Plaines River.

He was a killer and rapist, who became known as the “Killer Clown”, because of his job dressing up for birthdays and occasions. He also worked as a local contractor, and hired young men to help him – many of which were later reported missing. It took Gacy being arrested for two sexual assaults before police began to look into him as a potential suspect in the disappearances. After he had been investigated, police found the bodies under his home.

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He would lure his victims to his home and subject them to periods of rape and torture before killing them. He usually lured victims alone, but on a few occasions had what he would call “doubles” – where he killed more than one person in a single day. John Wayne Gacy was convicted of murdering at least 33 people and sentenced to death in 1980. He was executed by lethal injection and died in 1994.

via Netflix

This wasn’t even the first time John Wayne Gacy had become known by the authorities. Before the murders, he served 18 months in prison for sexual offences towards a teenage boy.

Fifty years after his crimes, DNA scientists are still trying to identify all of his victims, but thanks to 60 hours of unearthed audio between Gacy and his defence team, Netflix has provided fresh perspective on the narcissistic mindset of the murderer and a deeper understanding of how he operated for so long with impunity. The three-part documentary also features new interviews with key participants – some of whom have never talked before, including gut-wrenching testimony from one of Gacy’s survivors – all in search of answers to a crucial question: How was a public figure like Gacy able to get away with murder for so long?

Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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