Richard Otto Macek: The "Mad Biter"
Overview
Richard Otto Macek was an American serial killer, rapist, and violent offender whose known crimes occurred in Wisconsin and Illinois during the 1970s. Nicknamed the "Mad Biter" and the "Bite Mark Killer," Macek became notorious for attacking women with extreme brutality and leaving distinctive bite injuries on some of his victims. He was convicted of murdering two adult women, admitted responsibility for one of those killings, and received a lengthy sentence after pleading guilty to the murder of the other. He was also prosecuted in connection with the death of a three-year-old girl, although that charge was ultimately dismissed as part of a plea agreement concerning her mother's murder.
Macek's confirmed murder victims were Paula Atkinson Cupit, Nancy Lossman, and Nancy's young daughter, Lisa Lossman. He also committed sexual assaults and an attempted murder, and investigators examined his possible involvement in several additional unsolved deaths. The confirmed killings took place within less than one month in 1974, although his broader pattern of violence extended across several years.
Early Life and Criminal Behavior
Richard Otto Macek was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1948 and was raised in the McHenry area. Publicly available accounts provide relatively little information about his childhood. He left school after completing the eleventh grade and later entered the United States Army. His military service lasted only about six months before he received a dishonorable discharge after reportedly failing to adjust to Army life.
By the late 1960s, Macek had begun accumulating a criminal record. His arrests reportedly included offenses involving voyeurism, aggravated battery, and an earlier attempted-murder allegation involving a woman in Elmwood Park, Illinois. When not incarcerated, he worked at various times as a truck driver, machinist, cook, and factory employee. He married and had children, creating an outward appearance of an ordinary working life while repeatedly engaging in predatory and violent behavior.
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