16 Historical Crimes That Rocked Chicago

H.H. Holmes.Holmes enjoyed being one of the country's first known serial killers. Holmes designed and built his own hotel. He named it theThe World's Fair Hotel.The establishment opened just before the World Columbian Exhibition in 1893.

Cecil Adams of.The Straight Dope.Cecil Adams writes, "The building was a gaudy three-story structure. It had shops on the first floor and a bizarre maze of windowless rooms, false floors, secret passages, trapdoors, and chutes above. Holmes changed contractors many times and moved workers often so no one understood the floor plan or the building's purpose.

Holmes confessed to 27 murders. He claimed to have killed up to 200 people in his castle. Holmes left after the fair ended. Police caught him and hanged him in 1896.Holmes confessed to 27 murders, claiming he killed up to 200 people in his castle. Holmes left after the fair ended. Police caught him and hanged him in 1896.

Holmes's hotel, called the "Murder Castle," burned down in 1895.

On Valentine's Day, 1929, seven members of an Irish gang were.gunned down in a garage.. Two men disguised as police officers lined the Irish gangsters against one wall of the garage. They opened fire with two others in civilian clothes.

One man survived at the scene.But he refused to name the killers. He died shortly after. Despite some suspects and solid clues, no arrests happened for the massacre.

Al Capone, the notorious leader of theSouth Side Italian Gang.orchestrated the attack.

On the evening of July 13, 1966,Richard Speck.broke into a townhouse in the Jeffrey Manor neighborhood. Speck held nine student nurses from the South Chicago Community Hospital hostage in a room. He killed eight nurses while one hid under a bed.

Police arrested Speck in 1966 after he went to a hospital. A doctor working there saw his "Born to Raise Hell" tattoo in the papers.

Initially sentenced to death, Speck's sentence became life imprisonment after capital punishment seemed unconstitutional in 1972. Speck died from a heart attack in 1991.1991.

Years later, in 1996, avideo shot in prison surfaced., showing an aged Speck three years before he died, boasting about his crimes. The killer said on the tape, "If they only knew how much fun I was having in here, they would turn me loose.

John Wayne Gacy.Gacy assaulted and killed 33 known young boys between 1972 and 1978; the death count was likely higher. Gacy became known as the "Killer Clown" because he appeared at parades and events as "Pogo the Clown," a character he created.

Gacy lived in Norwood Park, a small community north of Chicago. He took several victims from the Windy City. He either hid their bodies under his house, buried them elsewhere on his property, or dumped them in the Des Plaines River.

Lethal injection executed John Wayne Gacy on May 10, 1994.

Two wealthy University of Chicago students, Nathan Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb, kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks, who was Loeb's cousin.Nathan Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb.Loeb kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks, Loeb's cousin.

Loeb lured Franks into a car, claiming he would give him a ride home. While driving, Leopold struck Franks with a chisel, gagged him, and pulled him into the backseat where the boy died. The men then drove to Wolf Lake.Wolf Lake.They disposed of the body in Hammond, Indiana.

The motive behind Leopold and Loeb's actions intensifies the crime's disturbing nature. Leopold and Loeb planned the entire murder months ahead of time.The plan was an exercise.The pair used their intellectual superiority to test societal limits. They created a fake ransom letter to hide their involvement. They believed the plan was perfect.

Leopold left his glasses near Franks' body, a piece of evidence. After questioning, both men confessed to the murder. They received life sentences plus 99 years in prison.

Another inmate murdered Loeb. Leopold was paroled in 1958. He lived the rest of his life in Puerto Rico, dying of a heart attack in 1971.

Events surrounding the death of John Dillinger.Gangster John Dillinger.Events surrounding John Dillinger are contentious. Anna Sage, one of Dillinger's girlfriends, agreed to help FBI agents catch Dillinger. Sage told agents she, Dillinger, and another girlfriend would see a movie on July 22, 1934, and she would wear an orange dress to help identify the trio.

FBI agents led by Agent Melvin Purvis.Agent Melvin Purvis.Agents gathered outside the Biograph Theatre that evening, waiting for Dillinger, Sage, and the other woman. Details become unclear here. Some claim Dillinger identified the men as FBI agents, ran ahead of the women, and put his hand in his coat, signaling he reached for a gun. Others argue Dillinger just ducked into an alley. Regardless, the notorious criminal died in gunfire.

In Elk Grove, IL, northwest of Chicago, 16-year-old Patricia Columbo.Patricia Columbo.Columbo began a strange sexual affair with Frank Deluca, a 39-year-old married man who ran a pharmacy. Columbo often stayed at Deluca's house, with Columbo's family fully aware.

The affair lasted three more years. Columbo and Deluca, both estranged from their families, killed Columbo's parents and brother for her inheritance money. They crept into her family home around the early hours of May 4, 1976, and shot her mother and father. Columbo then beat her brother and stabbed him over 100 times with scissors.

Acquaintances of Deluca told police he asked for their help before committing the murder with Columbo. Ironically, Columbo's family already removed her from their will, meaning no inheritance existed.

William Heirens was convicted of killing three women in 1946.William Heirens became known as the "Lipstick Killer" after leaving a chilling message on his second victim's wall.William Heirens became known as the "Lipstick Killer" after leaving a chilling message on his second victim's wall.:For heavens

Sake catch me
Before I kill more
I cannot control myself
Heirens got his wish after leaving a bloody fingerprint at the crime scene. Eyewitness accounts combined with this led to his arrest. Heirens became Chicago's longest-serving inmate in 2012, spending over 65 years in prison.

Heirens got his wish after leaving a bloody fingerprint at the crime scene. Other eyewitness accounts led to his arrest. In 2012, Heirens held the record as the longest-serving inmate in Chicago history, spending over 65 years in prison.

On December 28, 1956, after seeing the new Elvis Presley film "Love Me Tender"Violence surrounded the 1968 Democratic Convention.Protesters gathered near the International Amphitheater on August 25, 1968, despite being barred from assembling. Police, wearing riot gear, bombed the protesters with tear gas and moved through the crowd, beating protesters and journalists documenting police actions.

On December 28, 1956, after seeing the new Elvis Presley film,Coroners found the deaths had "undetectable" causes, avoiding identification. Puncture marks in Patricia's chest also lacked explanation.sisters Barbara and Patricia GrimesThe Ripper Crew was a Satanic-influenced cult. It included Robin Gecht, a former employee of serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr., Edward Spreitzer, and brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis.Ransom letters reached Loretta Grimes, the girls' mother, but they came from a mental patient. This made him an impossible suspect.

Walter Kranz called police, claiming a dream told him the Grimes sisters were dead. He also claimed to know where their bodies lay. Police released Kranz because no evidence linked him to the crimes. Still, the sisters' bodies appeared less than a mile from Kranz's prediction.

Coroners found the cause of death for the case "undetectable"—not inconclusive, but hidden to avoid any identification. Puncture marks in Patricia's chest also remained unexplained.

Edward Bedwell was the only person arrested and tried for the crime. He confessed, but the confession was later withdrawn because it occurred under duress. The murders remain unsolved.

The Ripper CrewThis group was a Satanic-influenced cult. It included Robin Gecht, a former employee of serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr.Edward Spreitzer, and brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis.The gang abducted and mutilated their victims before dumping their bodies in Chicago and nearby suburbs.

The gang wasarrested in 1982Only AndrewKokoraleis was executed. Spreitzer's death sentence got commuted at the last minute. Gecht, though the gang's ringleader, left little evidence linking him and received 120 years.Thomas Kokoraleis received 120 years.Parole released Thomas Kokoraleis.He served 37 years in prison before release.

Rod Blagojevich served as Illinois's governor from 2003 to 2009. He faced impeachment.The impeachment occurred on January 8, 2009. In 2011, he was jailed for trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat after Obama won the presidency in 2008.On January 8, 2009, this happened. In 2011, he faced prison for trying to "auction off" Barack Obama's senate seat after Obama won the presidency in 2008.

Former police commander Jon Burge...Jon Burge...Burge received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2011 for lying under oath about years of severe suspect interrogation abuse. Burge and his men used electrocution via exposed wires of a hand-cranked telephone, among other torture methods.Burge and his men used electrocution.They used electrocution via the exposed wires of a hand-cranked telephone.

September 2015 became one of Chicago's bloodiest months.The Chicago Tribune reported this. The Chicago Tribune reported shooting deaths rose 50% since the prior year. Over two weekends, 50 people were shot or killed, a number not seen in years.

September totaled 57 homicides. Another 351 people were wounded in shootings across Chicago neighborhoods.

In November 2015, ...Tyshawn Lee, the 9-year-old son of a ranking Chicago gang member, was shot.Dwright Boone-Doty shot Tyshawn Lee execution-style.The shooter was Dwright Boone-Doty.Dwright Boone-Doty was a member of a rival gang, acting as retaliation. Boone-Doty planned to kidnap and torture the child.Boone-Doty's original plan was to kidnap and torture the child.Boone-Doty planned to torture the child. Boone-Doty planned to torture the child..

On May 4, 1886, a riot erupted in Haymarket Square. Police and labor protestors clashed after a bomb hit the police, causing gunfire and chaos. Seven police officers and one civilian died; many others were injured.

Eight men faced charges for the bombing. Little evidence linked them to the crime. Four convicted men were hanged. One committed suicide while awaiting execution. The other two received life sentences.