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.
Confirmed Murder Victims
- Paula Atkinson Cupit, 24 — August 13, 1974 — The Abbey Resort, Fontana, Wisconsin: Cupit was working as a maid at the lakeside resort when she disappeared during her shift. A coworker searching the guest rooms found her body inside Room 606. Cupit had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and stabbed through the heart. Her neck had been broken, and investigators documented mutilation and bite injuries. Police believed the killer locked the room during the attack and left using keys taken from Cupit. Macek later pleaded guilty to her murder and received a life sentence.
- Nancy Lossman, 27 — September 9, 1974 — 210 Elmhurst Road, Crystal Lake, Illinois: Lossman, the manager of an apartment building, was killed inside her residence. Firefighters discovered her body after responding to a deliberately set fire on the first floor. She had been strangled with a cord and had distinctive bite marks on her body. Those marks were preserved as evidence and later became central to the prosecution of Macek. He eventually admitted killing Nancy as part of a negotiated guilty plea and was sentenced to 200 to 400 years in prison.
- Lisa Lossman, 3 — September 9, 1974 — 210 Elmhurst Road, Crystal Lake, Illinois: Lisa, Nancy Lossman’s young daughter, was found dead in the bathroom of the family’s apartment. A bra had been tied around her neck, a towel covered her face, and her head had been placed in the toilet. Macek was indicted for Lisa’s murder along with Nancy’s, but the charge relating to Lisa was dismissed under the agreement in which he pleaded guilty to killing Nancy. Lisa is nevertheless generally counted among his three confirmed victims because she was killed during the same attack attributed to him.
The Murder of Paula Atkinson Cupit
On August 13, 1974, Paula Atkinson Cupit reported for work as a maid at The Abbey Resort in Fontana, Wisconsin. During the afternoon, another employee realized that Cupit had not been seen for several hours. A search of the rooms assigned to her eventually led to Room 606, where her body was found on the floor beneath two blankets.
An autopsy determined that Cupit had been sexually assaulted and subjected to several forms of violence. She had been strangled with enough force to break her neck and stabbed in the heart. Bite injuries and mutilation distinguished the crime from an ordinary robbery or impulsive assault. Her keys were missing, suggesting that the killer had taken them to leave the locked room without immediately drawing attention.
The resort offered a $5,000 reward for information, and a large team of investigators worked on the case. Authorities ruled out Cupit’s husband and a man who had previously rented the room. The FBI was asked to assist in preparing a psychological profile, but the murder remained unsolved until Macek’s later crimes brought him to the attention of investigators.
The Lossman Murders
Less than one month after Cupit’s death, a fire broke out at an apartment building at 210 Elmhurst Road in Crystal Lake, Illinois. After firefighters extinguished the flames on September 9, 1974, they found the bodies of Nancy Lossman and her three-year-old daughter, Lisa. The fire appeared to have been set in an attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the killings.
Nancy was found unclothed with a cord around her neck. Investigators also discovered bite marks that appeared to have been inflicted during the attack. Lisa was located in the bathroom under particularly disturbing circumstances. Nancy’s six-year-old son, Robert, survived because he had been sleeping in a closed bedroom. He suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital but could not identify the attacker.
The bite marks on Nancy’s body were photographed and preserved. Years later, forensic specialists compared the evidence with Macek’s dental characteristics. Although Macek had arranged to have his teeth removed after the murders, investigators obtained X-rays and produced models of his gums and remaining dental structures. Four forensic experts reportedly concluded that the preserved bite evidence linked him to Nancy’s murder.
The Wauwatosa Hotel Assault
On October 14, 1974, approximately five weeks after the Lossman murders, another hotel employee was attacked at a Holiday Inn in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The surviving victim was sexually assaulted and bitten in a manner that investigators considered similar to the attack on Paula Cupit. Because she survived, police obtained a description of her assailant and additional information about the crime.
Macek was eventually identified through his known methods, prior arrest photographs, and the similarities between the attacks on hotel employees. Detectives examining the Wauwatosa assault recognized that the offender’s behavior closely resembled the circumstances surrounding Cupit’s murder. Macek later pleaded guilty to a rape charge arising from the Holiday Inn attack.
The Attempted Murder of Sharon Lee Kulisek
On July 26, 1975, twenty-year-old Sharon Lee Kulisek was doing laundry at the Clothes Hamper Self-Service Laundry in Woodstock, Illinois. Kulisek noticed Macek behaving suspiciously and called the police. Before officers arrived, Macek attacked her and repeatedly struck her in the head.
Police reached the laundromat within minutes. They found the telephone off the hook and followed a trail of blood to the rear of the business, where Kulisek was discovered gravely injured. She was transported to Rockford Memorial Hospital. Her injuries were severe enough to cause temporary blindness, but she survived.
Macek was arrested nearby and charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery. He was initially released while awaiting trial, but he later disappeared before a scheduled court appearance. Authorities declared him a fugitive. After being recaptured, he pleaded guilty to attempting to murder Kulisek and received a sentence of 50 to 70 years in prison.
Flight and Capture
After failing to appear for trial in Illinois, Macek fled the state. Investigators traced him to San Bernardino, California, where police took him into custody on December 5, 1975. Illinois initially sought his return for the attack on Kulisek, but Wisconsin authorities also wanted him for the Wauwatosa rape and the developing investigation into Paula Cupit’s murder.
Detectives George Hendel and Louis Tomaselli were among the investigators who recognized the similarities between Macek’s known assaults and the Cupit case. The pattern included attacks on female hotel employees, sexual violence, strangulation, and biting. As investigators compared reports from Wisconsin and Illinois, Macek emerged as a suspect in several previously unconnected crimes.
Trials and Sentences
Macek’s prosecutions occurred in both Wisconsin and Illinois. In Wisconsin, he pleaded guilty to a rape charge connected to the Wauwatosa Holiday Inn attack. He was initially committed to Central State Hospital in Waupun under Wisconsin laws concerning sexually dangerous offenders.
On February 22, 1977, Macek pleaded guilty to murdering Paula Atkinson Cupit. He received a life sentence. Charges involving rape and mayhem were dismissed as part of the plea arrangement, although the details of Cupit’s assault remained part of the documented case.
Illinois authorities also prosecuted Macek for the murders of Nancy and Lisa Lossman. He initially pleaded not guilty. The case relied heavily on the preserved bite marks found on Nancy’s body and the opinions of forensic dental specialists. In November 1977, Macek admitted killing Nancy in exchange for the dismissal of the charge involving Lisa. He received a sentence of 200 to 400 years in prison.
Although the Lisa Lossman charge was dismissed, investigators maintained that the mother and daughter had been killed during the same criminal episode. The dismissal was a product of the plea agreement and did not amount to a finding that another person had killed Lisa.
Possible and Suspected Victims
Investigators considered Macek a possible suspect in several other deaths, but he was never convicted of those crimes. The evidence in these cases ranged from similarities in the victims’ injuries to disputed statements and unconfirmed reports of confession. These individuals should therefore be described as possible or suspected victims rather than confirmed victims.
- Christine Rothschild, 18 — May 25, 1968 — University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin: Rothschild, a university student, was found stabbed to death outside Sterling Hall. Because the crime was sexually motivated and occurred in Wisconsin during the period when Macek’s violent behavior was developing, police briefly examined him as a possible suspect. No charge was filed, and the case has never been conclusively connected to him.
- Sally Kandel, 14 — September 12, 1972 — Near Carol Stream, Illinois: Kandel was found beaten to death in a cornfield west of her home. Richard Milone was convicted of her murder, but forensic odontologist Dr. Lowell Levine later questioned whether bite evidence attributed to Milone might instead have been made by Macek. Other experts disputed Levine’s conclusion. Reports also circulated that Macek had confessed in a letter to Milone’s parents, but the existence and authenticity of such a letter were never established.
- Cindy Becker — May 13, 1975 — Nippersink Creek near Spring Grove, Illinois: Becker’s body was found in the creek, and the McHenry County sheriff identified Macek as a possible suspect. Macek had reportedly lived near Becker at one time. Investigators did not obtain sufficient evidence to charge him with her death.
- Michele Baker, 18 — July 4, 1975 — McHenry, Illinois: Baker was found drowned in a creek. One published account reported that Macek admitted killing her while speaking with a psychiatrist. He was investigated but never charged, and the reported confession did not result in a conviction.
The Use of Bite-Mark Evidence
Bite-mark evidence played a major role in identifying Macek during the 1970s. Investigators observed similar injuries on Paula Cupit, Nancy Lossman, and at least one surviving assault victim. The marks led police to believe that the same offender might be responsible for crimes occurring in different jurisdictions.
The Lossman investigation became especially significant because Nancy’s body was exhumed so that the preserved injuries could be studied again. Specialists compared the evidence with Macek’s dental records, X-rays, and models of his mouth. Macek had already had his teeth removed, a circumstance that complicated the examination but did not prevent prosecutors from presenting forensic opinions linking him to the crime.
Modern forensic science has raised serious questions about the reliability of bite-mark identification as a method of proving that a specific person caused an injury. In Macek’s case, however, the dental conclusions were considered persuasive at the time and were combined with his history, methods, movements, and later guilty plea.
Imprisonment and Death
Macek remained confined in Wisconsin after receiving sentences that effectively ensured he would never be released. At various points, he was housed in a secure state hospital and within the Wisconsin prison system. Officials and investigators involved in his cases generally considered him extremely dangerous and unlikely to be rehabilitated.
On March 2, 1987, Macek was found hanging in his cell at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin. He had used shoelaces attached to an air vent. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at Waupun Memorial Hospital. His death was ruled a suicide. He was approximately thirty-nine years old.
Legacy of the Case
Richard Otto Macek’s crimes crossed jurisdictional boundaries at a time when communication between local agencies was slower and less centralized than it is today. The connection between his Wisconsin and Illinois offenses was made through cooperation among detectives who recognized common patterns in attacks that had initially appeared unrelated.
His known victims included an employee murdered while performing her ordinary duties at a resort, a mother and small child killed inside their home, and women who survived devastating sexual and physical assaults. The preserved evidence from Nancy Lossman’s body, the statements of surviving victims, and Macek’s guilty pleas ultimately allowed authorities to hold him responsible for a portion of his violence.
Questions remain about the full extent of his crimes. Investigators at one time examined him in connection with multiple unsolved murders, but only three deaths are generally attributed to him as confirmed victims. The cases of Christine Rothschild, Sally Kandel, Cindy Becker, and Michele Baker remain either officially unresolved, disputed, or attributed to circumstances that never produced a conviction against Macek.
