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After Gacy’s house was razed in April 1979, the vacant lot became a notorious gathering place in the 1980s, drawing everyone from ghost hunters to rowdy neighborhood teenagers who late at night spun their wheels in the dirt lot and dumped beer bottles. That being said, the second half of this book was a nightmare. The narration gets long-winded and obnoxious almost. There’s an entire chapter during the closing arguments where the author recounts a large portion of his closing argument. Via audiobook, this chapter lasted over an hour, almost an hour and a half. His boss, Dart, added that technology and social media have removed much of the anonymity that allowed serial killers like Gacy to operate in the shadows. But gone are the lines of gawking bystanders, desperate families of missing young men and carloads of curiosity-seekers who choked the streets in the days before that long-ago Christmas, trying to catch a glimpse of the murder house. Amirante said he believed a killer with Gacy’s personal demons would be less likely to exist today.
Sam Amirante is an old school defense attorney, and he spends much of the book talking about his true blue belief in the American justice system, the presumption of innocence, and the right of everyone, even the most heinous criminal, to a fair trial. He comes off as very sincere, registering anger at the many people who didn't understand why a serial killer should even get a trial, and who sent him and his wife death threats and keyed his father's car, among other things.Gacy, for a man of the ’70s, was a traveler. He would travel all over the country for business and pleasure, and how did he turn it off in other places?” Moran said, referring to his urges to kill. He and others who worked during Gacy’s time said the case also tapped a well of homophobia that may have scared off some families from seeking information on their missing loved ones due to the social stigma. the story was well laid out and the commentary was rich. getting to see the behind the scenes of due process and the respect giving to our rights as US citizens was enlightening. Some of his arguments haven't aged well. He takes a somewhat sympathetic attitude towards Gacy's homosexuality and the pressures that forced him to suppress and deny his urges, but you can tell that, at least at the time that Gacy was tried, in 1980, his attitude was a sort of benign contempt. (A final chapter in which he praises the advances that have been made in society's acceptance of homosexuality seemed a little bit of a post-insert.) Likewise, one of the witnesses at Gacy's trial was a transwoman, and Amirante's comments about that person were, well, typical of attitudes towards trans people in 1980.
While dressing as a clown is unique to Gacy, he and Dahmer appeared to be ordinary people leading normal lives. Gacy owned a construction business, was involved in local politics and enjoyed performing for children. Dahmer was well-mannered, served in the military, had a job, and, although he was somewhat of a loner, didn’t appear to be a cannibalistic serial killer. Of course, their timelines crossing has led people to compare the two before, which is likely why it was included in Monster.Image p2p slug: ct-john-wayne-gacy-investigation-major-players-003 Sam Amirante, who along with attorney Robert Motta represented Gacy, says the serial killer was so successful, in part, because of his charming personality. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune)
Image p2p slug: ct-john-wayne-gacy-investigation-major-players-004 Detective Sgt. Jason Moran, of the Cook County sheriff's office, stands in the room where evidence from the Gacy case is kept in Chicago. Since 2010, Moran has helped to identify two previously unknown victims, William George Bundy and Jimmy Haakenson. Six unidentified victims remain. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune) He didn't have much to work with, because his client was an idiot. As the police were closing in with a warrant, Gacy demanded Amirante and his business lawyer both show up one late evening to tell them something. Gacy was apparently a very needy and demanding client, so Amirante was about fed up with him. He’s been able to identify two Gacy victims, William George Bundy and Minnesota native Jimmy Haakenson, and clear four suspected victims who died at the hands of other killers or of other causes. Six unidentified victims remain. Personally, I wanted a bit more of the crime(s) in my true crime book rather than the law and the trial, you know?Today, with airliners crisscrossing the skies above, Norwood Park Township, with its small bungalows and two-flat buildings, resembles other neighborhoods at the edges of the city, popular with municipal workers and ethnic whites. In the aftermath of the gruesome discovery on Gacy’s property, his neighbors had difficulty reconciling the friendly, gentle neighbor with the killer. We believe that there is more to Gacy's appearance in the show. As mentioned, it seems to be an introduction, not just to the coincidence overlap of their timelines and how that plays into Dahmer's story. Still, it may also allude to a second season of Monsterwith John Wayne Gacy as the subject. His is an equally disturbing story to that of Jeffrey Dahmer, with nearly double the amount of victims. The only redeeming quality to this book is the authors open mindedness regarding homosexuality. That it is not a choice, but a defect in the body / brain wiring. Ie Right person wrong body. Sadly, that is the only thing I found redeeming about this book. Bettiker has since become a mentor to Moran, a one-man cold-case squad who was tasked by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in 2010 with finding out the names of the remaining unidentified victims. The retelling of the murders committed by John Wayne Gacy is both compelling and revolting at the same time. It is not idle or morbid curiosity that interests, but more of a need to understand HOW this could happen. How could so many people disappear without being reported? How could so many murders occur without obvious detection? How was he able to repeat the process over and over again? And how could someone do this and NOT be insane?
I think he was being absolutely self-destructive and in the good side of him — the very limited good side of him that was left — clearly wanted to be caught,” Amirante said. “He was sabotaging himself.”These victims were primarily born in the 1950s and their parents were born in the 1920s and ’30s,” Moran said. “That generation, the parents of these victims, was not ready to accept homosexuality, and because the media constantly brought up the gay aspect of this case, Sheriff (Dart) and I thought it may be what kept people from coming forward.” Gacy was a member of a Chicago-area “Jolly Joker” clown club and frequently performed in clown attire and makeup at children’s parties, charity fundraisers, and other events as his alter egos “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown.” Years later, during a conversation with detectives while he was under surveillance, Gacy discussed his work as a clown, remarking, “Clowns can get away with murder.”
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