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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Chloe Cawood & Chiara Fiorillo

Creepy self-portrait painted by serial killer clown John Wayne Gacy on sale for £7k

A creepy self-portrait said to have been painted by serial killer John Wayne Gacy has gone up for sale for $8,000 (£7,100).

The chilling artwork, which comes with the killer's signature and is titled 'Patches the Clown', is available to buy on Cult Collectibles.

The dark website recently hit headlines after listing infamous cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer's urn, said to have once contained his ashes, for $250,000 (£222,000).

The urn is still available, potentially due to the high asking price, but true crime fanatics can still get their hands on other grisly pieces for a cheaper price, among them Gacy's painting.

Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender who assaulted and murdered at least 33 young men and boys at his home in Illinois, US, between 1972 and 1978.

John Wayne Gacy's 1978 mugshot (Des Plaines Police Dept / SWNS)

The artwork, which appears to be a self-portrait of a clown, carries chilling connotations as Gacy also worked as a clown during his active killing years.

He regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as 'Pogo the Clown' or 'Patches the Clown', personas he had devised.

The painting features bright bold colours and portrays a sad-looking clown holding balloons with a forest of trees behind him in the background.

The reverse of a self-portrait allegedly by serial killer John Wayne Gacy (Jam Press)

In the bottom left corner, a signature can be seen, reading "J.W Gacy".

The listing also displays the back of the painting, which shows the brand of the canvas used and a title supposedly written by the killer clown.

The back reads: "Patches the Clown. John W. Gacy. Oil 781-93".

The website is also selling Jeffrey Dahmer's Urn (Jam Press)

Alongside the price of the painting, the listing reads: "Patches the Clown as painted by serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

"Please note that the back of the painting is upside down (the signature and text is flipped when held upright.)"

Gacy was sentenced to death and was executed on May 10, 1994.

The notorious killer clown also made an appearance on the final episode of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Gacy's last lawyer Karen Conti, who worked for him just before he was executed, said he was the type of person that could "rape and kill a person then eat a ham sandwich with the body".

Ms Conti said: "He told me one evening that he watched Silence of the Lambs. I said ‘John, how did you feel about that?

"Wasn't it terrifying?

"He said: 'oh no you don't understand, when you're John Gacy you're rooting for the killer. And then I had to rethink that whole movie, thinking here he is rooting for Hannibal Lecter.

"When you deal with someone who is a sociopath, you come to realise they're a façade. He's not a real person, he's a shell of a person."

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