Table of Biography
Richard Speck was a serial murderer who raped one woman and tortured and murdered eight Chicago Community Hospital student nurses. At the trial, he was convicted and sentenced to death but the sentence was later overturned.
Early Life
Richard Speck was born in Kirkwood, Illinois, United States on December 6, 1941. Moreover, his zodiac sign was Sagittarius and he was 49 years old at the time of his death. His real birth name is Richard Benjamin Speck also known as Richard Franklin Lindbergh. His father’s name is Benjamin Franklin Speck and his mother’s name is Mary Margaret Carbaugh.
After his birth, his family moved to Monmouth, Illinois with his seven siblings. However, his father died from a heart attack at the age of 53 in 1947 when Richard was just six years old. A few years later, his mother fell in love with Carl August Rudolph Lindberg and married on May 10, 1950, in Palo Pinto, Texas. During this time, he and his siblings suffered from abuse from their stepfather.
Richard Speck studied in third grade at the local school in rural Santo, Texas. After a year, his parents moved to East Dallas, and studied from fourth through eighth grade at Dallas public schools. After that, he repeated the eighth grade at J L Long Jr High School but refused to speak in class. He later enrolled at Crozier Technical High School for ninth grade but failed every class and did not return for the second semester.
Death
Richard Speck died on December 5, 1991, in Joliet, Illinois, United States at the age of 50.
Richard Speck – Net Worth 2023
According to online sources, the estimated net worth of Richard Speck was around $1.1 million US dollars. However, there is no further information about the criminal sources of income and salary.
Professional Life
Richard Speck was an average student at committed several juvenile crimes during his early age and student life. In 1955, he committed his first crime of trespassing and the police arrested him for the first time. At the age of 16, he dropped out of school and started doing odd jobs around 1960. Moreover, he became a compulsive drinker at this time.
He was arrested for the second time in 1963 when he was found faking a coworker’s paycheck and sentenced to three years in jail for forgery. After serving 16 months of jail time, he received parole and came out of prison. However, he immediately returned to prison for attacking a woman in the parking lot of her apartment building with a knife one week after his release. Later, he bought a second-hand car and used it to rob a grocery store in 1966.
He left on a bus to Illinois helped by his sister Carolyn to escape his 42nd after this incident. After a while, he returned to his hometown Monmouth, and committed his first murder in April 1966. With a blow to the stomach, he killed a 32-year-old barmaid working at a local tavern in Monmouth in his first murder.
Caption: Richard Speck attending the court (Source: WGN Radio)
He began working as a crewman on the freight ship “Clarence B Randall” on April 30, 1966, after his brother-in-law Gene Thornton suggested him. Soon after, he suffered severe appendicitis and had to be removed for an emergency operation on May 3. He applied for a seaman’s card at the National Maritime Union on July 8, 1966. Later, he was offered a place on a ship but lost out to a seaman with more experience.
More Work and Crimes
On July 13, 1966, he returned to the NMU and spent the rest of the day drinking at a local tavern. He then approached a 53-year-old woman at the bar and took her to his room, and raped her. Later that night, he dressed in black and walked to the nurses’ boarding house with a handgun and switchblade. He held the eight hostages captive in a room before stabbing or strangling them one by one. After that, he reached the dormitory and killed Patricia Matusek, Pamela Wilkening, Nina Jo Schmale, Suzanne Farris, Nina Jo Schmale, Merlita Gargullo, Nina Jo Schmale, Valentina Pasion, and Gloria Davy with a knife at 11 p.m.
Caption: Richard’s victims eight nurse students (Source: NBC News)
He held the eight hostages captive in a room for several hours before stabbing or strangling them one by one. Gloria Davy was his last victim, whom he raped before strangling him. Cora Amurao was the lone survivor of the attack because she hid under a bed when he was out of the room and stayed there until early the next morning. Dr. LeRoy Smith was the first to identify him on July 16, 1966. Cora Amurao was the lone survivor of the attack because she hid under a bed when he was out of the room. The jury found him guilty of all eight murders on April 15, 1967, after a 12-day trial. In November 1968, Speck was sentenced to death but his punishment was reduced to 50 years in jail. On December 5, 1991, he died from a heart attack after spending 25 years in prison.
Achievements
Talking about Richard Speck’s awards and nominations, he hadn’t won any of them previously. Considering his actions and crimes, there is no chance that he will ever receive any kind of awards or nominations after his death.
Relationship Status
Richard Speck met Shirley Malone, a 15-year-old girl, at a Texas State Fair in October 1961 and she became pregnant as a result of their relationship. On January 19, 1962, the couple married each other and his wife gave birth to a daughter named Bobby Lynn on July 5, 1962. However, he spent much of the marriage in and out of prison, and his wife filed for divorce in 1966.
Richard Speck was the murderer of the eight student nurses at the South Chicago Community Hospital during the summer of 1966. Moreover, he was also responsible for several acts of violence against his family and others but escaped from the police.
Caption: Richard arrested in Dallas, Texas (Source: Wikipedia)
Body Measurements
Richard Speck stood at the height of 6 feet 1 inch tall with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Besides that, there is no further detail about the murderer’s other body measurements.
Richard Speck – Social Media
Richard Speck was not active on any social media platforms because there were not any kind of social media platforms. Moreover, he spent most of his time in prison for several crimes.