Karen Conti, a fledgling lawyer in the early 1990s, took on the case of defending John Wayne Gacy, a notorious serial killer known as the “Killer Clown.” Despite her fear, she wanted to confront evil and became the only female lawyer on Gacy’s death row defense team. She spent hours talking to Gacy and found him to be an average, friendly man with a horrific side that committed unimaginable evil acts.
Gacy, a contractor during his killing spree, was responsible for the rape, torture, and murder of at least 33 young men and boys in Norwood Park Township near Chicago. Despite his arrest in 1978 and the discovery of dozens of bodies, Conti believes there are likely more victims. She highlighted the challenges in connecting Gacy’s travels to potential new victims due to the lack of digital law enforcement databases at the time.
After being called to defend Gacy in a civil rights case just months before his execution, Conti saw it as an opportunity to stand up against the death penalty. She remained part of Gacy’s defense team through his final appeals until his execution by lethal injection in 1994. Despite his impending death, Gacy maintained his sense of humor, even joking with the guards about holding his hand in the electric chair.
Conti expressed her belief that Gacy may have had more victims than the officially documented 33 murders. She speculated that there could be up to 20 additional victims, possibly involving politically connected figures. Although there is no definitive evidence of co-conspirators, Conti suspected that there were others involved in Gacy’s crimes, but prosecutors did not want to complicate the case during the trial.
During her time defending Gacy, Conti and her partners faced death threats, bomb threats, and intense scrutiny from judges and the public. Her reputation suffered, but she continued her work diligently. She described having an “amiable relationship” with Gacy, despite his sociopathic and narcissistic tendencies. She believed that he wanted to be caught by the police and was relieved to be behind bars, as he feared he would continue killing if released.
Conti’s interactions with Gacy shed light on his troubled past, including sexual abuse, childhood head injuries, and repressed homosexual tendencies. She believed that his murders were a form of self-destruction, indicating a pattern of escalating violence and the need for more victims. Despite the challenges and threats she faced, Conti remained dedicated to fulfilling her legal obligations and provided insight into the mind of one of history’s most notorious serial killers.
