Christine Gacy, The Daughter Of John Wayne Gacy Almost Made It Out Of His House Of Horrors

Christine Gacy's early upbringing seemed typical at first appearance. She was born in 1967 and grew up with her older brother and two parents. Yet her father, John Wayne Gacy, would go on to become one of America's most feared serial murderers.

John was imprisoned for sexually abusing adolescent boys just a year after Christinen Gacy was born. Soon after, he began killing youths and young men. And, by the time he was arrested in 1978, John had killed at least 33 individuals, many of whom he buried beneath his house.

Despite the fact that John Wayne Gacy's narrative is well-known, John Wayne Gacy's children have been kept out of the spotlight.

John Wayne Gacy's Children Perfectly Complement His Seemingly Happy And Perfect Family

John Wayne Gacy was born into a violent family. He was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, and had a difficult upbringing at the hands of his father. John's drunken father would occasionally strike his children with a razor strap.

"My father would often call John a sissy," John's sister, Karen, recounted on Oprah in 2010. "And he wasn't always a happy drunk; occasionally he'd change into a vicious drunk, so we had to be extra cautious."

John had to exercise extra caution since he had a secret: he was drawn to guys. He kept this aspect of himself hidden from his family and his father. Yet John discovered a way to express his desires. He once laid with the body of a dead adolescent boy while working as a mortuary assistant in Las Vegas.

Even so, John Wayne Gacy tried to live a "regular" life. He met Marlynn Myers after getting a degree from Northwestern Business College and married her nine months later, in 1964. They had a son, Michael, in 1966, and a daughter, Christine Gacy, in 1967.

These were the "ideal" years, according to the prospective serial killer. In the late 1960s, Karen recalls her brother feeling like he'd finally been acknowledged by their harsh and dominating father.

"John thought he never lived up to his father's expectations," Karen explained. "This continued throughout later in life until he married and had a son and a daughter."

Although his "perfect" family, John Wayne Gacy had a dark secret. And it would eventually erupt into the open.

Christine Gacy's Childhood in the Absence of Her Parent

Christine Gacy's father was imprisoned for sexual offences when she was around a year old. John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to 10 years in Iowa's Anamosa State Prison after two adolescent boys accused him of sexual harassment. Marlynn got a divorce on the same day as his December 1968 sentence.

On September 18, 1969, she was given a full custody of Michael and Christine Gacy. Regardless of the fact that Marlynn filed for divorce claiming "cruel and inhuman treatment," she stated that the sodomy allegation had come as a surprise.

Marlynn subsequently told The New York Times that she had "issues accepting that John was homosexual," but that he'd been a decent parent. He had never been abusive with her or the children.

Karen, John Wayne Gacy's sister, did not believe the sodomy claim either, because John Wayne Gacy had insistent on his innocence. "I wonder sometimes that if he hadn't been so convincing, maybe the rest of his life wouldn't have turned out the way it did," she remarked on Oprah.

Michael and Christine Gacy grew raised apart from their father from then on. He was never seen by them again. Yet, as they vanished from public memory, John Wayne Gacy etched his name into it. He began killing in 1972.

The horrible crimes of "Killer Clown"

John Wayne Gacy led a double life after being released from jail in early 1970. He worked as a contractor during the day and appeared as "Pogo the Clown" on the weekends. He'd even remarried, this time to Carole Hoff, a single mother of two girls, in 1971.

By night, though, John Wayne Gacy had turned into a killer. John murdered 33 individuals between 1972 and 1978, frequently bringing them to his house with the offer of constructing work. John would abuse, torture, and strangle his victims once they were inside. He'd usually bury the remains under the home.

"There was always this musty smell," his sister Karen remarked of her trips to John's residence during that time period on Oprah. "In following years, he continued repeating that there was water pooling under the home that he was cleaning with lime and that was what the mold smelled like."

Yet, it was not the scent that put a stop to John Wayne Gacy's murder spree. After learning that John would be the last person to see a young teenager, 15-year-old Robert Piest, police became suspicious. After obtaining a search warrant, they discovered evidence in John Wayne Gacy's residence indicating that he had several victims.

"We discovered other pieces of id that belonged to other young male persons, and it didn't take long to establish that there was a connection here that the identities belonged to people who were missing around the Chicago-area," Chief of Police Joe Kozenczak told Inside Edition.

Authorities eventually discovered 29 dead in the crawl beneath John's house, and he quickly confessed to throwing four more into the Des Plaines River - because he'd ran out of room at home.

Christine Gacy's mother told The New York Times, "I simply couldn't believe it." "I was never afraid of him. These murders are difficult for me to comprehend. "I was never scared of him."

John was convicted of 33 charges of murder in 1981. On May 10, 1994, he was given the death penalty and killed by lethal injection.

What Happened to John Wayne Gacy's Kids?

Christine Gacy and her brother Michael have stayed out of the spotlight so far. Karen Gacy, John Wayne Gacy's sister, claims that the majority of the family has responded similarly.

Karen stated on Oprah, "The name Gacy has been buried." "I've never revealed my maiden name... I decided not to tell anyone I had a sibling a number of times because I didn't want that aspect of my life to be recognized."

Karen claims that John's children have moved even more away from their father's legacy. Karen told Oprah that Michael and Christine Gacy both ignored her attempts to reach them.

"I tried to send gifts to the kids. Everything has been returned," she stated. "I often think about them, but if their mom wants a quiet life, I believe she deserves it. It is owed to the children."

Almost nothing else is known about John Wayne Gacy's children. They've never talked publicly about their dad, nor have they given interviews or written books about him. Christine Gacy and Michael stand as a footnote to John Wayne Gacy's terrible tragedy, but their individual experiences are mostly ignored.