On a hot Chicago night in July of 1966, the life of 21-year-old Suzanne Bridget Farris was brutally cut short in an act of violence that shocked the nation. A popular and ambitious female student nurse, Suzanne was looking forward to a future dedicated to pediatric nursing and was happily engaged to be married the following spring. She was known for her love of fashion, often making her own clothes, and was described as pretty and perky.
On the evening of July 13th, she and her close friend and future sister-in-law, Mary Ann Jordan, returned to the townhouse dormitory they shared with several other student nurses on the city's South Side. Their late arrival, however, coincided with a horrific event already in progress within their home.
Inside the residence at 2319 E. 100th Street, a man named Richard Benjamin Speck had broken in and was holding several of the other nurses hostage. When Suzanne and Mary Ann walked in, they were immediately confronted by the armed intruder. What ensued was a night of terror that would leave an indelible mark on the city's history. The lone survivor of the attack later recounted how the assailant, a 24-year-old drifter with a criminal history, systematically led the young women out of a room one by one. In the ensuing chaos, Suzanne Farris was stabbed 18 times in her chest and neck and was found with white stockings tied around her neck. She, along with seven of her fellow student nurses, did not survive the night.
The discovery of the horrific scene was made after a lone survivor, Corazon Amurao, managed to hide under a bed, escaping the killer's notice. Her screams from a balcony ledge the following morning alerted authorities to the massacre inside. The ensuing investigation quickly focused on Richard Speck, whose fingerprints were found at the scene and who was identified by the surviving victim. Speck was apprehended on July 17, 1966, and was subsequently indicted on eight counts of murder. He was convicted of all eight murders on April 15, 1967, and was initially sentenced to death. This sentence was later commuted to a term of 400 to 1,200 years in prison. Speck died of a heart attack in prison in 1991, the day before his 50th birthday. The case, which became known as one of the most infamous mass murders in American history, brought a tragic and violent end to the promising life of Suzanne Bridget Farris and seven of her peers, leaving a legacy of profound loss and a chilling reminder of random violence.
