John Wayne Gacy jr, had a undesirable, yet fairly regular childhood, with a few unfortunate events mixed in. His father was a drinker, and was abusive to his mother and his siblings. He was injured at 11, which caused him problems until he was 16, and possibly contributed to his ultimate end as a serial killer.
Dr. Jonathan Pinkus has a theory on what makes a serial killer. There are three Parts of his formula that contribute to an individual a serial killer. Brain injury, mental illness, and abuse are the three possible ingredients that make a serial killer. John Wayne Gacy jr. Had all three things.
1. Brain injury-
When Gacy was 11, he was struck in the head by a swing. This caused a blood clot in his brain which caused blackouts until it was discovered when he was 16. Once discovered, doctors prescribed medication that thinned out the clot. Once the clot was gone, he had no more blackouts.
2. Abuse-
John Wayne Gacy sr. Was an alcoholic. He was frequently verbally and physically abusive to his wife and kids. He would beat Gacy jr, with a belt and call him a "sissy", "stupid", and a "mamas boy". Despite all the abuse, Gacy jr. Still loved his father and craved the love and devotion a normal father gives his son. His father would later die, and he would never get the chance.
3. Mental illness-
During Gacy's trial, he had multiple psychologists give their evaluation of him. He was thought to have an antisocial personality, but was sane and fit to stand trial. He spent around 300 hours being evaluated. His defence lawyers attempted to plead not guilty due to his personality disorder, but the court did not buy it. Gacy had a large number of psychologist evaluate him, which caused some problems, but was most likely done due to the bizarre behaviour, like talking on the phone while killing Robert Piesta. There were many opinions, but some important questions never got answered. The following quote will highlight some of these questions;
" If Gacy had 33 "irresistible impulses," just how was it that he was digging graves in advance? Can one plan for supposed spontaneous homicidal behavior? And if his memory for what he did was so scattered, as Morrison indicates, how did he manage to draw maps of how he had buried each of the victims? How was he able to carry on business over the phone, even as he was in the process of killing Rob Piest? And when he realized he had all these bodies piling up in his crawl space (as he must have each time he buried one there), why didn't he seek help?"
(http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/gacy/11.html)
Gacy is a Quintessential example of Dr. Pinkus' formula theory. The has all three things ( abuse, hints of mental illness, and a brain injury) that, according to Dr. Pinkus, make a serial killer. His bizarre behaviour was never really explained, but after his execution, on request by Dr. Morrison, his brain was examined. They found no trace of abnormalities.
Dr. Jonathan Pinkus has a theory on what makes a serial killer. There are three Parts of his formula that contribute to an individual a serial killer. Brain injury, mental illness, and abuse are the three possible ingredients that make a serial killer. John Wayne Gacy jr. Had all three things.
1. Brain injury-
When Gacy was 11, he was struck in the head by a swing. This caused a blood clot in his brain which caused blackouts until it was discovered when he was 16. Once discovered, doctors prescribed medication that thinned out the clot. Once the clot was gone, he had no more blackouts.
2. Abuse-
John Wayne Gacy sr. Was an alcoholic. He was frequently verbally and physically abusive to his wife and kids. He would beat Gacy jr, with a belt and call him a "sissy", "stupid", and a "mamas boy". Despite all the abuse, Gacy jr. Still loved his father and craved the love and devotion a normal father gives his son. His father would later die, and he would never get the chance.
3. Mental illness-
During Gacy's trial, he had multiple psychologists give their evaluation of him. He was thought to have an antisocial personality, but was sane and fit to stand trial. He spent around 300 hours being evaluated. His defence lawyers attempted to plead not guilty due to his personality disorder, but the court did not buy it. Gacy had a large number of psychologist evaluate him, which caused some problems, but was most likely done due to the bizarre behaviour, like talking on the phone while killing Robert Piesta. There were many opinions, but some important questions never got answered. The following quote will highlight some of these questions;
" If Gacy had 33 "irresistible impulses," just how was it that he was digging graves in advance? Can one plan for supposed spontaneous homicidal behavior? And if his memory for what he did was so scattered, as Morrison indicates, how did he manage to draw maps of how he had buried each of the victims? How was he able to carry on business over the phone, even as he was in the process of killing Rob Piest? And when he realized he had all these bodies piling up in his crawl space (as he must have each time he buried one there), why didn't he seek help?"
(http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/gacy/11.html)
Gacy is a Quintessential example of Dr. Pinkus' formula theory. The has all three things ( abuse, hints of mental illness, and a brain injury) that, according to Dr. Pinkus, make a serial killer. His bizarre behaviour was never really explained, but after his execution, on request by Dr. Morrison, his brain was examined. They found no trace of abnormalities.