The 'Perfect' Crime

Real Stories

On November 10, 1923, Nathan Leopold committed to travel six hours from Chicago to the University of Michigan. Accompanied by his friend and lover, Richard Loeb, they intended to break into Loeb's former fraternity. But all they had taken was a typewriter, a few watches, some penknives, and around $80 in loose change. Leopold was agitated on the way back to Chicago because the robbery had been a big effort for a small payoff. When Leopold finally stopped complaining, Loeb began to discuss his idea of committing the 'perfect' crime. While they continued to travel through the country roads toward Chicago, they broke into several homes and started a few fires, but none of their crimes had been published in the media. Loeb desired to commit a crime that would create a huge buzz - abduction and homicide of a child. After plotting their plan through the winter, in May, they kidnapped a child they knew had a wealthy father who would pay the ransom. Following the abduction, they beat the boy's skull with a chisel, jammed a rag down his throat, and disposed of the body. When the two returned to the city, Leopold dropped the ransom letter into a post box. However, their plan to execute the "perfect" crime failed. The following day, a passerby spotted the child's lifeless body, and soon the police traced Leopold by finding the eyeglasses he dropped near the body. On May 31, ten days after the homicide, both young men came clean and revealed to the state's attorney how they had slayed Bobby Franks. Nathan Leopold confessed that they had killed Bobby only for the thrill of it. At the time of the murder, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold were 18 and 19 years old. They were sentenced to 99 years in prison.