John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1942. Raised in an Irish Catholic family in a working, middle-class neighborhood, Gacy reportedly had a relatively normal childhood. In September 1964, Gacy married Marlynn Myers, with whom he had two children. At the time, Gacy was extremely active in the community and was, by most accounts, a model citizen. Gacy volunteered for several community organizations and was well known for often dressing as a clown to entertain small children at charity events. In the spring of 1968, however, Gacy's seemingly normal life took a drastic turn for the worse.

In May of 1968, a grand jury indicted Gacy for sodomy with a teenager, Mark Miller. Just four months later, Gacy again faced charges in state court. This time, a grand jury charged Gacy with hiring a man to beat up Mark Miller, a potential prosecution witness. Gacy eventually pleaded guilty and...