Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy’s Former Property Sold After Over a Year on the Market
The new owner bought the home at a discounted rate
John Wayne Gacy murdered 33 young men and boys during a six-year time span between the years of 1972 and 1978.
The Chicago home where Gacy lived, committed murders, and where dozens of his victims were found, was demolished in 1979, a year after his arrest. The lot sat empty until 1986 when a 2,500 square foot brick house was built on the site in the Norwood Park Township.
And in 2019, the house was listed for sale.
It was on the market for more than a year
The house finally sold at a deeply discounted rate. It was a great deal for a home in the area, as long as the new owners aren’t put off by the terrible history of the property.
According to records from Zillow, the house sold in 2004 for $300,000. It stayed off the market until it was listed for sale in July of 2019 for $489,000. After multiple price drops and several pending sales that didn’t go through, the house finally sold for $395,000 in April of 2021.
Zillow estimates the price of the house to be worth $420,084 and lists similar homes in the area around $400 to $500K.
The Zillow description of the 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house highlights features such as vaulted ceilings, skylights, a second-floor loft, a double-sided fireplace, and close to public transportation. “This is a must-see house!”
Since the house went on the market in July 2019, three pending sales were reported but didn’t go through. The reason why is not given, but it does lead one to speculate if the potential owners may have discovered the macabre history of the site before the sale was final and called it off.
Whether the new owner is not squeamish about the gruesome history, or whether he even knew about it at the time of sale is unclear. In Illinois, realtors do not need to disclose a history of violent crimes or rumors of hauntings for a property, although they have to tell the truth if asked about it.
Original owners knew it was Gacy’s former property
According to a Chicago Tribune article from 1988, the property was bought by Hoyne Savings & Loan Association in 1984 and sold to Chicago resident, Patricia Jendrycki. She built the home for her parents and they knew “what they were getting into.”
When the house was being built, neighbors interviewed by the Tribune expressed mixed emotions. They were tired of sightseers that drove out to look at the empty property and hoped that a new house would put an end to that.
However, one neighbor told the Tribune, “It’s better than a prairie full of weeds, I guess. But they really should have built a monument for the kids who died here.”
The history of John Wayne Gacy
Gacy was also known as the “Killer Clown” due to his inclination to dress up as a clown and perform at children’s parties. In 1980, Gacy was convicted of the murder of 33 boys and young men, and he was executed in 1994.
Twenty-six of his victims were found buried in the crawl space of his house. Three others were found buried on the property, and three more were found in the nearby Des Plaines River. All but six of the victims have been identified.
Gacy led a bizarre double life where he was a prominent member of his community, divorced twice, and had two children. He was active in the Democratic party and even managed to meet the former first lady Rosalynn Carter and pose for a picture with her at a White House event.
The public’s fascination and horror of Gacy’s murders haven’t waned in the following years. He has influenced many fictional characters on television and in movies.
Recently a new podcast sharing hours' worth of audio where Gacy had spoken to his attorneys before his trial has been released. According to NBC 5 Chicago, the audio, “paints a chilling picture of the killer and his attempts to manipulate even his own attorneys.”
In the Chicago area, the memory of Gacy and the atrocities he committed still looms large.
Note: This article was previously published on News Break.
