John Wayne Gacy's Unsettling Connection To Kentucky Fried Chicken

John Wayne Gacy, also known as the Killer Clown, is one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States. He was convicted of murdering more than 30 boys, whose bodies were discovered hidden in a crawl space underneath his home in Chicago's Norwood Park Town (per AP News). For about six years, Gacy was able to abduct and kill his victims all while being a seemingly upstanding member of society.

Gacy joined and supported organizations in his community, had encounters with politicians, and enjoyed the company of influential people. In 1964, Gacy met his first wife, Marlynn Myers. According to Newsweek, the two met at a shoe company in Illinois where they were both employed. They wedded after dating for half a year, and they relocated to Waterloo, Iowa, where they expanded their family. While there, Gacy worked as a manager for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Marlynn Myers' father owned three branches of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Iowa, and he tasked his son-in-law to manage the fast-food restaurants. By 1967, John Wayne Gacy and Myers had two children — Michael and Christine. Unbeknownst to Myers, her husband was living a double life. It was during their marriage that Gacy began seducing young boys. As reported by The New Yorker, one of the boys he attacked was an employee at one of the Kentucky Fried Chicken branches. Gacy brought the boy to his home, served him alcohol, and strangled him until he fainted. When he came to, he drove the boy home and fired him from his job days after. He did all that on the night Myers gave birth to their daughter in a hospital.

Gacy had been luring boys into his home, and in 1968, he was charged with sexual assault and sodomy. Although he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes, he was released on parole for being a model prisoner after just 18 months. Learning about her husband's illicit activities, Myers filed for divorce. Gacy never saw his ex-wife and two children again (via Infamost).

Upon John Wayne Gacy's release in 1970, he moved to Chicago. He established his own construction business — PDM Contractors — while also providing entertainment at parties dressed up as Pogo the Clown. He married a woman named Carole Hoff, whom he had known since childhood. Despite seemingly living on the straight and narrow, Gacy continued luring young boys into his home and sexually abusing them before he murdered them. Per The Cinemaholic, his marriage with Hoff didn't last long; they were divorced in 1976.

Gacy's numerous crimes finally caught up to him in 1978. He was charged with murdering several men and boys and used an insanity plea as his defense during the trial. However, the jury saw through his facade and found him guilty, as reported by ATI. He was sentenced to death.

Inmates on death row are often given the opportunity to choose their last meal before execution. Gacy requested a dozen fried shrimps, French fries, a pound of strawberries, and perhaps his favorite — an entire bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken (via CBS News). He was executed via lethal injection on May 10, 1994.