What Happened to John Wayne Gacy's House? Inside the Home Where He Hid More Than 25 Bodies

John Wayne Gacy's humble and unassuming ranch-style location had horrors hidden underneath it.

Neighbors in Norwood Park Township, Ill., knew Gacy arsenic a successful contractor who dressed arsenic "Pogo nan Clown" for kids' parties and children's infirmary visits and was progressive successful section politics, moreover erstwhile gathering First Lady Rosalynn Carter. However, beneath nan makeup, amiable veneer and his seemingly normal brickfront location lurked unbelievable acheronian — and a putrid odor that yet did him in.

In December 1978, Gacy confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering dozens of boys and men, immoderate arsenic young arsenic 14 years old, and hiding galore of their bodies successful a crawl abstraction nether nan house.

In March 1980, Gacy, dubbed nan "Killer Clown," was convicted of 33 murders and received nan death penalty. He died by lethal injection astatine property 52 connected May 10, 1994.

Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy explores his double life, nan investigation that led to his apprehension and really his murders impacted nan victims' families. All 8 episodes of nan series, successful which Severance prima Michael Chernus plays nan serial killer, premiered connected Peacock connected Oct. 16.

Here is everything to cognize astir what happened to John Wayne Gacy's location aft his apprehension and really constabulary recovered nan victims it contained.

Where did John Wayne Gacy live?

Gacy owned a ranch-style location astatine 8213 West Summerdale Ave. successful Norwood Park Township, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

He described nan interior of his location successful a 1992 question and reply pinch CBS News.

"It's not a location wherever you unrecorded and you activity 9 to 5 and travel location and it's for illustration a location wherever you unrecorded in," Gacy said. "The surviving room was a backstage agency section, 1 of nan bedrooms was a terrarium, nan room was much for illustration a accelerated nutrient kitchen."

He utilized nan agency for his contracting business, P.D.M. Construction, and often fto his workers lodge location arsenic well.

One point Gacy near retired of his explanation of his location was nan crawl abstraction nether nan house. Investigators recovered a trap doorway starring to nan crawl abstraction — which nan Chicago Tribune reported was astir 40 feet wide — successful Gacy's garage.

What did John Wayne Gacy's location smell like?

Gacy's sister, Karen Kuzma, revealed successful Investigation Discovery's Evil Lives Here that nan first point she noticed astir Gacy's location was nan smell.

"There was a smell arsenic you walked successful nan location and done nan house," she said. "It conscionable had this old, musty smell. The location wasn't built connected a slab, [there] was ungraded underneath it, and if you don't screen that, it smells."

Kuzma added that their mother didn't announcement nan odor astatine all, but that Gacy said it was "coming from nan world underneath" nan house, which she recalled was only astir 3 feet deep.

She said that later on, erstwhile Gacy was successful Cook County Jail, he told her, "I should person cemented nan crawl space. I don't cognize why I didn't cement nan crawl space." Later, nan smell would beryllium portion of what made authorities fishy him of murdering section honors student Robert Piest, 15, who worked astatine a drugstore that Gacy visited nan time he went missing.

Former Des Plaines serviceman Mike Albrecht recalled to NBC Chicago that erstwhile constabulary were assigned to surveil Gacy aft Piest's disappearance, nan part-time comedian would effort to pal astir pinch officers and induce them into his house. When 1 of Albrecht's partners, Bob Schultz, was successful nan bath of Gacy's location connected Dec. 20, 1978, nan furnace came on, bringing pinch it nan smell of dormant bodies from underneath nan house.

"That odor from nan heat, from nan crawl space," Albrecht recalled. "Bob said correct away, 'It smelled for illustration a morgue!' "

Where did John Wayne Gacy hide his victims?

Gacy was arrested connected Dec. 21, 1978, and Albrecht took nan killer's first statements.

"He went into item connected what he had done to Rob Piest," Albrecht recalled to NBC Chicago. "And Rob Piest and 4 others were thrown into nan Des Plaines River because his crawl abstraction was excessively crowded. He said, 'Give maine a portion of insubstantial and I’ll tie a sketch for you.' It’s astonishing really nonstop that sketch was!"

Gacy told investigators that he buried 26 of his victims nether nan crawl abstraction of his house, 1 successful a trench adjacent to his driveway, 1 nether his car shed and 1 nether an summation he'd made to nan home, according to nan Chicago Tribune.

When he ran retired of room successful nan crawl space, Gacy began disposing of his victims' bodies disconnected nan I-55 span into nan Des Plaines River. CBS News reported that nan bodies were wrapped successful integrative and covered successful lime.

What happened to John Wayne Gacy's location aft he went to prison?

Gacy's location was demolished, and nan spot was razed successful April 1979.

The Chicago Tribune reported that nan quiet batch wherever Gacy's location erstwhile stood became a tourer attraction for existent crime fans and shade hunters successful nan 1980s.

A caller ranch-style location pinch 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms was built connected nan batch successful 1986, according to Realtor.com, and nan spot has a different thoroughfare number than it had erstwhile Gacy lived there.

Today, a neighbour told nan Chicago Tribune, it still attracts group from retired of municipality who want a glimpse astatine wherever Gacy's horrific murders took place.

"If you've sewage 2 guys successful a car, aliases an out-of-state plate," they said, "it's astir apt Gacy."

How overmuch is John Wayne Gacy's spot worthy today?

Records bespeak that nan erstwhile Gacy spot was sold successful 2004 for $300,000. In July 2019, it was listed for waste astatine $489,000. After respective value changes and re-listings, nan location sold successful March 2021 for $395,000.

Real property appraiser Orell Anderson told Realtor.com that nan value cuts were apt basal because buyers "have to person an inducement [to live] successful a spot wherever a horrific arena occurred."

"When these houses travel up for sale, immoderate group bargain nan spot reasoning if they tear it down and alteration nan reside a small spot and do immoderate cosmetic fixes, nan stigma will spell away," Anderson explained. "The stigma runs pinch nan land, not nan house."