Richard Benjamin Speck

Serial Killer

Richard Benjamin Speck and the Murder of Eight Chicago Nursing Students

Background

Richard Benjamin Speck was born on December 6, 1941, in Kirkwood, Illinois. Although he is sometimes described as a serial killer, criminologists generally classify him as a mass murderer because his eight confirmed victims were killed during one continuous attack at a single location. The murders took place during the night of July 13 and the early morning of July 14, 1966, inside a townhouse used as a residence for student nurses in Chicago, Illinois. Speck spent much of his childhood and adolescence in Texas after his widowed mother remarried and moved the family to the Dallas area. He developed a lengthy record of arrests involving intoxication, theft, burglary, assault and other offenses. He drank heavily, had difficulty maintaining employment and frequently moved between cities. His marriage also deteriorated amid allegations of violence and abuse. During the spring of 1966, Speck returned to Illinois and eventually traveled to Chicago, where he attempted to find work as a merchant seaman. By July, he was staying near the waterfront and the South Deering neighborhood while waiting for a position aboard a ship. He spent July 13 drinking in local establishments and wandering through the area near the nursing students' residence.

The Nursing Students' Residence

The victims were students associated with South Chicago Community Hospital. Several of the women lived together at 2319 East 100th Street, a two-story townhouse in Chicago's Jeffery Manor area. The residence allowed the students to remain close to the hospital while completing their professional training. Shortly before 11:00 p.m. on July 13, 1966, Speck entered the townhouse and confronted the women with a handgun and a knife. He announced that he intended to rob them and forced those present into an upstairs room. He tied their hands and attempted to keep them under his control. Additional residents returned home while the attack was underway and were also detained. Speck held the women captive for several hours. He removed them from the room individually or in small groups and killed them in other parts of the townhouse. The victims were stabbed, strangled or suffered a combination of injuries. Gloria Davy was sexually assaulted before she was murdered. The killings continued after midnight, making July 14, 1966, the verified date of death for all eight victims. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Gloria Jean Davy Age: (22), Date of Death: 1966-07-14

Survivors:

Corazon "Cora" Amurao Age: (23), Date of Attack: 1966-07-14

The First Mass Murderer: Richard Speck in Chicago