John Wayne Gacy Jr. murdered people.
John Wayne Gacy . His victims were typically lured to his address by force or deception , and all but one of his victims were murdered by either asphyxiation or strangulation with a makeshift tourniquet ; his first victim was stabbed to death . Convicted of 33 murders , Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13 , 1980 for 12 of those killings . Gacy became known as the `` Killer Clown '' because of his charitable services at fundraising events , parades , and children 's parties where he would dress as `` Pogo the Clown '' , a character he devised himself .