Richard Benjamin Speck was a mass murderer who systematically killed eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital: Gloria Davy , Patricia Matusek , Nina Schmale , Pamela Wilkening , Suzanne Farris , Mary Ann Jordan , Merlita Gargullo and Valentina Pasion in Chicago on July 14, 1966.
Richard Speck was born December 6, 1941, in Kirkwood, Illinois. He was the seventh of eight children and raised in a religious family. His father died when he was six, and he was frequently beaten by his drunken step father. He was married, although about 6 months before the murders, in January 1966, his wife Shirley filed for divorce.
Prior to the nurse murders, he is known to have been arrested for burglary and stabbing, although getting away with the rape of Virgil Harris (65) on April 2, and beating to death of Mary Kay Pierce on April 13, avoiding in-depth interrogation.
When his identity was leaked to the press, he attempted suicide by cutting his wrists with a broken bottle. He was identified and arrested on July 19, 1966 at the hospital he was admitted to, by Cora (Corazon) Amurau, another student nurse who had luckily escaped by hiding silently under a bed while her housemates were being killed. Speck, who was quite fond of various types of pills, did not notice Amurau and left the house in a drug-induced haze.
Admitted to not having any recollection of the murders, he was declared sane but a sociopath after being examined. Jury trial began April 3, 1967 at Peoria County, three hours south of Chicago, with a gag order on the press. Cora Amurau also testified at the trial.
The trial was concluded on April 15, 1967, and the jury found Speck to be guilty of the murders. He was given the death sentence which he avoided when the Supreme Court changed its ruling on capital punishment. Speck was re-sentenced to 50 to 100 years in prison. However, he died on December 5, 1991 from a heart attack. On autopsy, he was found to have an enlarged heart and occluded arteries. His body was not claimed and he was cremated.
Speck became a notorious prisoner after pictures and videos of him in prison were made public. In the videos, Speck was shown using drugs and having sex with a fellow male inmate. He also appears to have altered his body to grow female-like breasts with hormone treatment. This video was used to argue for the death penalty.
External links
Books
- Breo, Dennis L.; Martin, William J.; (1993). Crime of the Century: Richard Speck and the Murder of Eight Nurses. Bantam Books, Incorporated. ISBN 0553560255
- Altman, Jack; Ziporyn, Marvin, M.D.; (1967). Born to Raise Hell: The Untold Story of Richard Speck. The Man, The Crime, The Trial. Grove Press.
Last updated: 05-17-2005 11:30:32
