American History

RETROPOLIS
Two teen prodigies shocked America with a cynical murder 100 years ago

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb killed a child for the thrill — and to prove that people with superior intellects could get away with it.

By Christopher Klein
May 20, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT



Nathan Leopold, 19, far right, and Richard Loeb, 18, second from right, are seen during their arraignment in a Cook County, Ill., courtroom in July 1924. (AP)

Teenagers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb cruised around a leafy section of Chicago on the idyllic spring afternoon of May 21, 1924, searching for a neighborhood boy to kill. ... The duo weren’t motivated by vengeance, greed or hate. They wanted to kill a child for the simple thrill of it, and to prove to themselves that people with superior intellects could get away with murder.

The awkward, aloof Leopold and the charming, gregarious Loeb differed in personality, but they shared a privileged upbringing in Chicago’s exclusive Kenwood neighborhood, as well as a fascination with crime. The 18-year-old Loeb, who a year earlier had become the youngest graduate in University of Michigan history, fancied himself a master criminal, while Leopold, a 19-year-old University of Chicago law student, obsessed over German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of intellectually superior “supermen” to whom laws and moral codes didn’t apply.

“Leopold had difficulty making friends and was very appreciative that Loeb was a close friend,” said Simon Baatz, author of “For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Chicago.” “The friendship developed into a sexual relationship, with Loeb the dominant partner, and he agreed to have sex with Leopold if he accompanied him on his acts of petty crime.” ... Once shoplifting, vandalism and fraternity house thefts lost their appeal, the prodigies sought stimulation in something more sensational: murder.

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Baatz said the case became a sensation because of the killers’ wealth and social status, which ran counter to the then-popular theory that crime was confined to the lower classes. “The murderers went against the grain of popular belief in criminology,” he said. “The idea was that only the poor and working-class people committed crimes, which was the basis behind eugenics.” ... What also made the case so unusual was the remorseless response from Leopold and Loeb. “Far from expressing regret or contrition, they actually said if they had the opportunity, they would do it again,” Baatz said. ... “It is no crime to use a human being in the interest of scientific research,” Leopold told a newspaper reporter. “A thirst for knowledge is highly commendable, no matter what extreme pain and injury it may inflict upon others. A six-year-old boy is justified in pulling the wings from a fly if by so doing he learns that without wings the fly is helpless.”

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Christopher Klein, a freelance writer, is the author of four books, including “When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom.” His website is christopherklein.com.