John Wayne Gacy, one of the worst serial killers in American history, served time at Anamosa from 1968-70. He was sentenced to 10 years for Sodomy from Black Hawk County. The crime was chillingly similar to the multiple murders he committed years later in Chicago -- sexual attacks on young men. His term at Anamosa was uneventful. Much as he was in Waterloo before coming here, he was a tireless worker and active in various causes including the prison Jaycees chapter, of which he became president. He spent many hours developing a miniature golf course inside the walls, which is still in use today.
After his release from the Iowa correctional system, Gacy went to Chicago to live with his mother. In the years following he cemented his position in the pantheon of America's worst serial killers. In 1980 he was tried and convicted of the murder of 33 young men and, in 1994, was executed via lethal injection by the State of Illinois.
WHO-TV Christmas Interview 1969
Gacy was considered one of the leading "citizens" of the prison. Here he is interviewed by WHO-TV for a "Christmas at Anamosa" special in 1969. Gacy described in detail the elaborate Christmas meal he and the other kitchen workers were planning.