The Killer Clown: Here is what happened to John Wayne Gacy's children, Michael and Christine

TW: mentions of rape, murder

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Between 1972 and 1978, John Wayne Gacy tortured, raped and killed 33 young boys and male teenagers. The man nicknamed the 'Killer Clown' or 'Pogo the Clown' was executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at the age of 52.

John Wayne Gacy left behind two ex-wives, Carole Hoff and Marlynn Myers, and two children, Michael and Christine Gacy. Twenty-nine years after the death of one of history's most notorious serial killers, let's take a look at what happened to his children.

Michael and Christine grew up fatherless

Michael and Christine Gacy were born in February 1966 and March 1967, when John was still married to his first wife, Marlynn Myers. However, the romance between the two lovebirds did not last. In November 1968, John Wayne Gacy was charged with attempted rape of some of his teenage employees. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

However, he only spent 18 months behind bars, and was released in 1970 after having fooled the prison administration and, in particular, the psychiatrists in charge of examining his dangerosity.

But after he came out of prison, John Wayne Gacy did not reunite with his wife and children. In fact, horrified by the accusations against her husband, Marlynn Myers had divorced him in 1969 and obtained sole custody of Michael and Christine. He never saw them again.

They have always lived anonymously

When Marlynn Myers obtained sole custody of Michael and Christine, the two children were aged 3 and 2. They were therefore very young, and had not yet had time to really bond with their father. They would never have the opportunity to do so, least of all when the Gacy name hit the headlines in 1978 for the sad reasons we all know. When the world heard of John Wayne Gacy's horrendous crimes, Michael and Christine Gacy were then aged 12 and 11. While Marlynn Myers spoke out about her ex-husband's actions, her children did not, and have always avoided the spotlight.

Since then, John's sister Karen Kuzma has said 'the name Gacy name has been buried', in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010. She also said she no longer had any contact with her nephew and niece.

Today, Michael and Christine Gacy have certainly changed their names so as not to be associated with their father's name, and have never spoken out in any way (books, films, interviews...) about John's crimes. Away from the cameras and the hustle and bustle, Michael and Christine will celebrate their 57th and 56th birthdays this year.

here’s John Wayne Gacy delighting local children at a birthday party https://t.co/eWtb4Kv5zm pic.twitter.com/0qpPrVgnzs
— Erik Strobl 🦝 (@erikstrobl) August 29, 2020

John Wayne Gacy in popular culture

Let's face it, even if serial killers are some of the worst people you'll find in this world, they're still people we often find fascinating. There are countless documentaries, dramas, books and studies about them. The best proof of this is the recent Netflix series based on Jeffrey Dahmer, a cannibalistic serial killer who terrorized the United States between 1978 and 1991.

And there's nothing wrong with being interested in these horrible people, as long as you don't become one of them. So, here are some recommendations of things you should watch if you're interested in John Wayne Gacy's life and crimes, or if you fancy a bit of a scare.

Conversations with a Killer: the John Wayne Gacy tapes (2022)

This is a mini-series of three 1-hour episodes available on Netflix. You can take a look at the killer clown's itinerary and how he managed to fool a large number of people by pretending to be a good, law-abiding citizen. The series summarizes nearly 60 hours of footage from the 'killer clown' interrogation tapes, as well as testimonies from his loved ones and one of his surviving victims.

Dear Mr. Gacy (2010)

In this film, a criminology student attempts to contact John Wayne Gacy shortly before his execution to obtain information about his state of mind and motivations as a serial killer. The film takes elements from reality and mixes them with fictional events and conversations. In a way, it's like the Netflix series Mindhunter.

It (1986, 1990, 2017)

When you think of a killer clown, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the films It. The films are based on a novel by Stephen King about children tormented by Pennywise, an evil, killer clown like John Wayne Gacy. Even though Stephen King denies having been inspired by him, the cinematographic works and the portrayal of Pennywise continue to fuel the legend that the serial killer partly inspired one of the kings of horror's works. In novels and films, It is certainly responsible for a rise in coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.