The Compendium: An Assembly of Fascinating Things
May 19, 2026 · 1 hr 34 min · 24 segments
John Wayne Gacy was never just a killer clown - he was a respected man hiding mass murder in plain sight. This episode unpacks the real story of John Wayne Gacy, beginning with Robert Piest’s…
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Elizabeth Piest arrived to pick up her 15-year-old son Robert, who had just finished his shift.
He asked if she minded hanging on just a couple minutes while he spoke to a man about a possible job.
But Adam, two minutes turned into 10 minutes, which turned into 30 minutes, and when Elizabeth eventually went to see what the hold-up was, Robert was nowhere to be found.
He managed to kill more than 30 men and boys, and then burying them under his house, which he shared with his wife and two stepdaughters.
What I thought I knew about John Wayne Gacy is actually very wrong, because he was not going around killing people dressed as a clown.
The reality was far more terrifying in that he preyed on his victims under the guise of actually a very well-respected member of the community.
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