• 1924 – University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb (both pictured) murdered a 14-year-old boy in a thrill killing out of a desire to commit a "perfect crime".


Richard Loeb (left) and Nathan Leopold (right)

Leopold and Loeb


Leopold in August 1924

Born: Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr.; November 19, 1904; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: August 29, 1971 (aged 66); Puerto Rico
Criminal charge: Murder, kidnapping
Penalty: Life + 99 years' imprisonment


Loeb in August 1924

Born: Richard Albert Loeb; June 11, 1905; Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: January 28, 1936 (aged 30); Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
Cause of death: Homicide (from 58 inflicted wounds from a razor attack)
Criminal charge: Murder, kidnapping
Penalty: Life + 99 years' imprisonment

Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971)[1] and Richard Albert Loeb (/ˈloʊb/; June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, were two American students at the University of Chicago who kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on May 21, 1924. They committed the murder – characterized at the time as "the crime of the century"[2] – hoping to demonstrate superior intellect, which they believed enabled and entitled them to carry out a "perfect crime" without consequences.

After the two men were arrested, Loeb's family retained Clarence Darrow as lead counsel for their defense. Darrow's twelve-hour summation at their sentencing hearing is noted for its influential criticism of capital punishment as retributive rather than transformative justice. Both men were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 99 years. Loeb was murdered by a fellow prisoner in 1936. Leopold was released on parole in 1958. The case has since served as the inspiration for several dramatic works.

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Episode review: Columbo Goes to College

Lost Hyde Park: Springtime is for Lovers

Susan O'Connor Davis May 25, 2021

The rambling house that once stood at 4754 South Greenwood was built about 1886 for Charles van Kirk, one of the founders of the Board of Trade. Much of the original Victorian ornament was removed by the time the Nathan Leopold Sr. family lived there. This image, taken in 1924 after the shocking murder of a Kenwood teen, appeared in the Daily News.

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Nineteen years old and exceptionally intelligent, Nathan Leopold had mastered numerous languages and was an avid birdwatcher. His parents were wealthy German-Jewish immigrants; his father made a fortune in the family shipping business among other concerns. Nathan was only sixteen when he entered college and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1923 with high honors. That spring he was taking law classes with plans to attend Harvard Law School — all expected his future to be bright.

Described as “impossibly good looking,” Richard was the third son of Albert Loeb, the vice-president in charge of the massive Sears-Roebuck mail order business. Richard graduated from high school at fourteen and become one of the youngest graduates in University of Michigan history although the experience was not an easy one for him. Several years younger than his classmates, he was a lackluster student, more interested in detective stories and petty acts of crime than his studies.

Anna and Albert Loeb raised four sons in this mansion at 5017 South Ellis, which was designed by Arthur Heun in 1910. He was the architect of some of the most distinguished houses in Chicago, and country estates in the exclusive suburb of Lake Forest on the city’s North Shore. Loeb’s son Richard and his friend Nathan Leopold believed their high intellect made them capable of committing the perfect crime. Their gruesome plot was conceived in this mansion, within two blocks of where they kidnapped and brutally murdered their neighbor Bobby Franks.

The relationship between Loeb and Leopold was described as stormy and intense, and more than platonic. Leopold was aloof and egotistical, while the handsome Loeb was outgoing and sociable. Their lawyer, Clarence Darrow, would later say their friendship was “weird and almost impossible” and it led the two boys to do together what they almost certainly would never have done alone — commit murder.

As Beulah Annan awaited her fate, Wednesday, May 21st, dawned cloudy and chilly. After classes at the Harvard School for Boys ended that afternoon, Bobby Franks umpired a baseball game, then started his three block walk home. Loeb and Leopold would have been familiar to him when they pulled up in a rental car and offered a ride. After Bobby stepped onto the running board at Forty-Ninth and Ellis, he was never seen alive again.

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