12 Common Traits of Serial Killers #4 - Deceit & Manipulation

John Wayne Gacy refused to take responsibility for the 28 boys buried beneath his house, even though he also once said that clowns can get away with murder.

"I think after 14 years under truth serum had I committed the crime I would have known it," said the man the neighbors all claimed to like. "There’s got to be something that would... would click in my mind. I’ve had photos of 21 of the victims and I’ve looked at them all over the years here and I’ve never recognized anyone of them."

Gacy told the investigators: “There are four Johns.” The twisted serial killer claimed that there was John the contractor, John the clown, John the politician, and a fourth personality by the name of Jack Hanley. Gacy said that Jack was the real killer who did all the evil things.

During his pretrial statements, Gacy argued that he didn’t realize the boys were dead until he woke up the next day and was led to believe that “Jack” had committed the murders. Later, he attempted to rationalize his actions by saying that the boys had killed themselves with the ropes around their necks.

Gacy, a master manipulator, was thrilled to assert control over those with whom he interacted. In his own sinister words, he confessed, “I lost count of how many I killed.”