LOOKING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD
On March 13, 1980, John Wayne Gacy Jr. was sentenced to death for the murders of thirty-three young men and boys. Gacy lived on death row for fourteen years. On May 10, 1994, the man known as the Killer Clown was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center, near Joliet, Illinois. But all these years later, questions remained unanswered. Those closest to the case were left to wonder: Were there more victims out there? Did Gacy really act alone? What will DNA evidence turn up in the case? Will the Gacy case ever be put to rest?
I decided to take a look back and reflect upon that time in my life. As I continued to process the murders, I realized that this case was something that would stay with me forever. Ive always told people that I dont want Gacy on my headstone. But when I thought about it, I realized I would be tied to this caseand to this manfor the rest of my life.
I prosecuted John Wayne Gacy Jr. I was part of the team that finally brought down one of the deadliest serial killers in the history of the United States. While Gacys execution provided closure for some, others would never heal. I realized the only way to move forward was to look back.
I reached out to some of my old colleagues from the Gacy case. Back then, we existed on little sleep. We worked in a tiny office, on borrowed desks. We had no budget, no real guidance; time was definitely not on our side. Any potential mistake we made could have cost us everything. In the end, of course, we did get Gacy. We brought him to justice. We lived with the satisfaction of knowing he would never kill again.
All those years ago, when I first sat down with Peter Maiken to write Killer Clown, I didnt have a crystal ball. I couldnt look into the future and imagine that all this time later, people would still be interested in this case. Yet, the fascination with Gacy has never gone away.
This was true crime. These murders werent fictional. This really happened. The Gacy case will forever be a part of Chicago history. It will forever be a part of American history. People will always want to know what made Gacy tick. I understand that.
In my mind, John Wayne Gacy Jr. has had enough attention over the years. It was time to hear from the men who led the Gacy investigation. I wanted to show people what made our team connect. I was curious to see what these men remembered about Gacy. I wanted to know how the case impacted their lives. They each had their own thoughts and theories to share. We had all gone our separate ways, but we remained friends over the years. We each had our own stories to tell. These are just a few of those stories. It all started the day Gacy was sentenced.
EMERGING FROM THE VERDICT
Over the years, people have asked me what it was like on the day the Gacy verdict came in. Was I anxious? Was I exhausted? I was all of those things; we all were. Of course, I had a lot of feelings that day. But the first thing I always remember is my father, John Tully.
He came down from Roselle for the closing arguments; it was the first time that my father had ever been to the Criminal Courts Building for a trial. He was planning on staying over at my house for a while, because we were certain the jury would be out for at least a few days.
Once we wrapped up closing arguments, we headed to the bar. True to form, after any criminal case at Twenty-sixth Street, everybody went to Jeans. It was a great little place, where you had to enter through the back door, though I never understood why. We walked into the bar; my dad ordered a drink and was quickly settling in. He was a very down-to-earth person, so naturally he made friends with all the cops in the room. He took a spot near the door. It didnt take long for Dad to joke around with everyone in the place. He busted their chops a little bit; and in no time, he was making everyone laugh.
After everyone had a few drinks, the bell rang. When the bell rang at Jeans, that meant that a jury was in. The call always came to the bar because everybody was always there: cops, prosecutors, public defenders, everyone. So when the bell rang, we were all confused. It had been less than two hours. We werent sure if there was another trial going on at the time. Then somebody called out, The Gacy jurys in.
I dont know if it hit me at that point, but I can clearly recall my dads face. He was shorter than I was. He looked up at me and asked, Whats that bell mean?
I said, Dad, the jurys in.
He asked, Already? He was clearly surprised.
I nodded.
Dad had just ordered a martini. It still had the olive in it! He shook his head and said, Well, Charlie, that just aint fair. My dad called all of us Charlie, as in the Peanuts character, Charlie Brown. The nickname stuck with me. I even named my dog Charlie.
Of course, we put our drinks down and headed back to court. My dad never got to finish his martini that day. He never got to eat that olive. He never got to finish his jokes.
We left it all behind and walked back to Judge Louis Garippos courtroom for the decision.
When it was all over and the verdict came back, I drove my dad back home to Roselle. Sure, he was proud of me. However, he never got to party like he wanted to at Jeans that dayall because of the bell.
As I look back, the moment that bell rang in Jeans, everything in our lives changed. All of our teams hard work had come down to that moment. Hours upon hours of surveillance, paperwork, interrogationall those months of preparation for the trialit all hinged on the verdict. That bell signaled to us that the trial was over. Gacys fate had been decided.
