What happened during this week (July 14-20) in crime
history – Billy the Kid was shot to death by Pat Garrett (July 14, 1881);
Richard Speck murdered 8 student nurses in Chicago (July14, 1966); Old west
gunslinger Johnny Ringo was found dead (July 14, 1882); John Christie, one of
England’s most notorious killers was executed (July 15, 1953); Fashion designer
Gianni Versace was murdered (July 15, 1997); Jeffery MacDonald’s murder trial
began (July 16, 1979); Casey Anthony was released from jail (July 17, 2011); James
Huberty opens fire at a San Diego area McDonald’s killing 21 people (July 18,
1984); Boxer Mike Tyson raped a Miss Black America contestant (July 19, 1991);
Actress Rebecca Shaeffer was murdered by a stalker (July 19, 1989); Serial
killing couple Alton and Debra Coleman were arrested in Evanston, Illinois
(July 20, 1984); King Abdullah of Jordan was assassinated (July 20, 1951); Kames
Holmes shoots and kills 12 people at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater (July
20, 2012).
Highlighted crime of the week -
On July 14, 1966, eight student nurses were brutally
murdered by Richard Speck at their residence in Chicago, Illinois. Speck
threatened the women with both a gun and a knife, tying each of them up
while robbing their townhouse. Over the next several hours, Speck stabbed and
strangled each of the young women throughout various rooms of the place. One
young woman, Corazon Amurao, managed to escape with her life by hiding under a
bed; Speck had lost count of his victims.
Richard Speck was an alcoholic and a petty criminal with a
long criminal record. He had "Born to Raise Hell" tattooed on his
forearm and periodically worked on cargo boats traveling the Great Lakes. On
the night of July 13, after drinking heavily at several Chicago bars,
Speck broke into the townhouse for student nurses of the South
Chicago Community Hospital. Speck then used his gun to force three nurses into
a bedroom, where he found three more women. Using nautical knots, he then tied
the women's hands and feet with strips torn from bed sheets. By midnight, three
more nurses had come home only to be tied up as well. Speck assured the women
that he was only going to rob them and they wouldn’t be harmed.
After stealing from the women, he took
them into separate rooms, killing them one by one. The remaining women
heard only muffled screams from their roommates. Amurao, who was hiding
under her bed, waited until early the next morning before leaving her
hiding place. She then crawled out onto a second-story ledge and screamed for
help. Police responding to the cries obtained a detailed description of Speck
from Amurao; the sketch was placed on the front page of every local newspaper
the next morning. Speck, who was hiding out at a budget motel, reied to commit
suicide on July 16, but failed. He was arrested the next day at the Cook County
Hospital. With Amurao's identification and his fingerprints left at the scene,
Speck was convicted and sentenced to death. However, in 1972, when the Supreme
Court invalidated the death penalty under which he was sentenced, Speck was
re-sentenced to 400 years in prison. He died in prison on December 5, 1991 from
a heart attack.
Michael
Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagaizine.com
and is the author of numerous books that include the award winning, Murder
and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949 (2012,
Schiffer Publishing). The book was the WINNER of the 2012 International Book
Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards for True
Crime. Visit the author's website for more information www.michaelthomasbarry.com
The book can
be purchased from Amazon through the following link:
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