Chief Detective on the John Wayne Gacy case visits the school

Edward+Jones%2C+one+of+the+lead+detectives+on+the+John+Wayne+Gacy+case%2C+came+to+Central+on+Monday+to+talk+to+the+Constitutional+Law+students.+

Magdalene Halikias

Edward Jones, one of the lead detectives on the John Wayne Gacy case, came to Central on Monday to talk to the Constitutional Law students.

On Monday, Nov. 14, Professor Edward Jones, who was the chief detective on the American serial killer John Wayne Gacy murder case, came to greet the Constitutional Law classes at the school.

“It was really cool to see someone talk about such a crazy famous case,” said Leith Jawich, senior. “It’s these kinds of experiences that make classes like Constitutional Law one of the more interesting classes I’ve taken.”

And John Wayne Gacy’s case was an interesting one. Gacy lured his victims with the promise of construction work, and then captured, sexually assaulted and eventually strangled most of them with rope. When he killed, he sometimes dressed as his alter ego “Pogo the Clown.” He was convicted and later executed for the rape and murder of thirty-three boys and young men between 1972 and his arrest in 1978, 27 of whom he buried in a crawl space under the floor of his house, while others were found in nearby rivers.

Jones was drafted onto the case after the team needed a fifth member for the investigation. Once he was on the case, he had to stay for the entire duration of the trial.

“He was a psychopath, which is a disorder,” Jones explained. “So, he’s sick, but he’s not sick.

He’s bad, but he’s not bad.

— Professor Edward Jones

Students were pleased with the experience and were happy that they could ask many questions. 

“It’s always a nice experience to ask professionals about big events they’ve been involved in,” said Andrew Kladis, senior. “I will definitely remember this class more fondly because of this experience.”