Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck

Growing up in rural Texas, Richard Speck endures physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his stepfather. The constant mistreatment shapes his early behavior and sense of self, fueling instability and aggression. This abusive childhood sets a pattern that follows him into adulthood.

During his teenage years, Speck slides into delinquency and later faces psychiatric counseling. He avoids the therapy by hopping a train out of town, starting a restless period of moving from place to place. The escape marks a pattern of instability that will persist for years.

Speck marries a woman named Sissy, but their volatile relationship ends in divorce, with abuse a constant undercurrent. After the divorce, he moves to Chicago, seeking a fresh start.

After the divorce, Speck moves to Chicago where he meets Sharon, a student nurse. The encounter with Sharon introduces him to a social circle that will later become the setting for his crime.

One night in 1966, Speck, intoxicated and desperate for money, breaks into Sharon's dormitory with eight roommates. He experiences a psychotic break during the burglary and rapes and murders Sharon and seven of the other women, with one roommate surviving by hiding.

In the days after the killings, Speck drifts through motels and bars in a drunken haze. He confesses his crimes to a prostitute, who is assaulted, while responding officers confiscate his firearm, unaware of the mass murder.

Speck ends up in a flophouse and attempts suicide by slitting his wrists. He survives and is hospitalized for treatment.

A physician treating him notices the tattoo reading Born to Raise Hell on his arm and realizes he is the killer sought by the police. Speck is arrested and later identified at the hospital by Sondra Azano, the sole survivor.

Speck is charged with multiple murders and initially sentenced to death. His sentence is later commuted to 400–1,200 years to be served at Joliet Correctional Center.

While imprisoned, Speck refuses to attend parole hearings and remains uncooperative with therapy. He resigns himself to life behind bars, spending years in confinement.

Speck dies of a heart attack in Joliet in 1991, ending his long prison sentence. His death closes a notorious chapter that continues to provoke discussion about violence and punishment.

Four years after his death, a video from prison surfaces showing Speck with hormones and doing drugs, bantering with his cellmate. The leaked footage renews public interest in the case and adds a grim epilogue to his story.