Speck was captured two days later when an emergency room doctor at Cook County Hospital thought a patient he was treating for self-inflicted gashes looked familiar. Speck also has a foul mouth on him and Ford realizes that there is only one way to communicate with him. Peter McNamee washes the 1957 Chevrolet owned by his girlfriend, Nina Jo Schmale, whom he planned to marry after graducation, circa 1966. If that one girl wouldn`t have spit in my face, they`d all be alive today.''. When Farris thinks about growing up with Suzie, he thinks about the kitchen. They're walking home from church, dressed in matching blue coats and hats and black patent leather shoes, each clutching an Easter basket. Her father, Charles, was a former Marine who expected as much from his five daughters as he did from his son. Richard Benjamin Speck (December 6, 1941 - December 5, 1991) was an American mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped, and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital on July 13, 1966. Dr. John Schmale found a box of old slides in his waterlogged basement and opened a flood of memories. Richard Benjamin Speck (December 6, 1941 - December 5, 1991) was an American mass murderer who killed eight student nurses in their South Deering, Chicago, residence via stabbing, strangling, slashing their throats, or a combination of the three on the night of July 13-14, 1966. "I think there was somebody up there who was hiding me from him. "I'm in," said Gloria, who phoned her mother every night to say she was back and safe. 8 Dead Nurses In One Night: The Horrible Story Of Richard Speck Another sister wired the news to their father in their hometown. Theyre smiling and wearing regular clothes. Corazon Amurao, center, the nurse who survived the massacre of eight of her fellow student nurses, walks between another nurse and William Ruddel, Bridewell jail superintendent, from Bridewell's Cermak Memorial Hospital after a second visit to the building where Richard Speck was being held on July 19, 1966. Speck's jury trial began April 3, 1967, in Peoria, Illinois, three hours southwest of Chicago, with a gag order on the press. Growing up, Nina pronounced "Nigh-nah" was a good student, well-liked, quiet but with a sense of humor. And the mail. His sister and seven of her fellow student nurses and nurseswere murdered 50years ago in one of Chicagos darkest crimes. Editor's note: This story was first published on April 28, 2016, and is being republished to mark the 50th anniversary of the murders. Elmhurst Blotter: Man charged with battery for allegedly punching a security guard at a bar, Hinsdale police blotter: multiple thefts reported by patients at Hinsdale Hospital, Glenview police blotter: Harwood Heights woman charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. God was so nice," she said in an email to Martin. Opening the box at first meant to me that I was going to reopen her death. ''I burned that tattoo off with a cigarette. "She laughs a lot.". "She is doing very, very well," said William Martin, 79, the former assistant state's attorney who was the lead prosecutor in the case. I watch her comedy show. There were nine women staying at the townhouse and one by one, Speck tortured and killed the student nurses. She'd bring him water, fluff his pillow, hold his hand, tell him that she loved him. It was the kind of childhood that half a century later people look back on and call simpler, innocent, a time when city kids were raised to be independent and unafraid. From left are Mary Ann Jordan, Judith Dykton, in cap, Suzanne Farris, Nina Jo Schmale, an unidentified woman and Pamela Wilkening, seated. In May 1966, Valentina Pasion boarded an airplane in the Philippines, headed for Chicago. Nursing students were under strict rules during the 1960s, but still they found time for fun. Pam had been quiet, studious and decisive since she was a girl in south suburban Lansing. Who Is Richard Speck? Pat lived above Joe Matusek's Club, the tavern her father ran in the 10800 block of South Michigan Avenue. There was a man with a gun in the house. It was Gloria, 22, calling from the townhouse to say that her fiance had just dropped her off. There was also Billy. It took Nina a while to choose nurse. Before long, she, Merlita and Cora were huddled in a small bedroom closet, holding the door shut. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}G. Gordon Liddys Wild Career After Watergate. Many, like Schmale, have boxes of photos and mementos they've never opened. At Thornton Fractional South High School, she attended almost every basketball and football game with her closest girlfriends, but she didn't play sports. The kitchen door opened onto a narrow alley where Nina parked her Bel Air and where a hospital shuttle picked up and delivered students. She had the guts to move (under the bed), which saved her life," Martin said. ", "But work is easier than in the Philippine Islands," she continued, "only the patients are as big as water buffalo.". Look at her. I`m not a violent man.''. What he did, however, is known, because Cora, a 4-foot-10 nurse from the land of the concealed knife, escaped his sight at one point and hid under one bed, then another, until he was gone. According to news accounts published at the time, Merlita, 23, was quiet, shy, hardworking, efficient, pretty and blessed with a rich singing voice. Patricia Matusek was murdered along with five fellow nursing students and two visiting nurses in 1966 on Chicago'sSouth Side. Phil taught public school, had a sailboat and was nice to him, the kid brother. What made headlines about the interview was Speck`s confession, after years of proclaiming his innocence, that he had, indeed, done the murders: ''Yeah, I killed them. Around 10:30 p.m., she went upstairs to bed, in the high bunk in the room she shared with Merlita. The Richard Speck massacre: 50 years later - ABC7 Chicago The next morning, Pat's mother called Kubasek, worried. ''You`re talking about two different categories of people,'' Speck said. The murders continue to have a profound impact on American crime and American society, Martin said. After she married and had three children, she told her kids that Aunt Gloria had died in a car crash. After it was aired on TV, Wilkening obtained a copy of the video. "I don't believe this," Schmale said to his wife on that day half a century later, gazing inside the box. Media coverage splashed Speck's image all over the front pages and, in a desperate bid to escape, Speck tried to commit suicide on July 19, 1966, by slashing his wrists in the seedy hotel he was staying in. Speck was the seventh of eight children. Pat was born in 1945, the year World War II ended, to Joe and Bessie Matusek, both of Czech descent. Attorney William J. Martin, 79, talks about Corazon Amurao Atienza, the lone survivor of the Richard Speck murders. There, next to his kitchen near the village of Mahomet, 140 miles south of Chicago, the lost women flickered back to life. Childhood friends of Patricia Matusek share memories with Matuseks niece, who never met her. Their parents slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Jack Wilkening, brother of Pamela Wilkening, remembers his sister and the days surrounding her 1966 murder along with seven other student nurses and nurseson Chicago'sSouth Side. By the time Nina entered nursing school, she was three or four years older than most of her classmates and worried that she was over the hill. A funeral parlor jammed with mourners. Atienza became friends and learned to play penny-ante poker with the policemen and bodyguards who watched over her for an entire year while she was in protective custody. In that small room, with its linoleum floor and overhead light, Suzie taught him how to make a grilled cheese sandwich and how, if you mixed sour cream and dry onion soup mix, presto, you had French onion dip. Life magazine cited her "pancit," made of noodles and vegetables with pork. Losing his parking spot as he carted all that food here and there. Mary Ann had family responsibilities. Ate an early supper with Merlita and Tina. On April 15, after 49 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Speck guilty and recommended the death penalty. 5 Things To Know About Richard Speck | Crime History | Investigation '', He said that if he were ever paroled, and someone annoyed him, ''I`ll be back in prison. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune). Richard Speck full prison video : r/masskillers - Reddit "Time is moving on," he said one afternoon, sitting in his peaceful yard under the old, low-hanging trees. (Schmale family ). Cook County Assistant States Attorney William Martin, left, watches as witness Corazon Amurao uses a scale model of the townhouse crime scene to detail the murder of eight nurses by Richard Speck, center background, during Specks 1966 trial in Peoria, Ill. (R.K. Davidson). (Schmale family ). Billy died at 42, with Susan as his caretaker. Here's an image she holds on to, one her father captured on a Super 8 movie camera: A sunny Easter morning. Repacking it. ''Look at this.'' The Untold Truth Of Murderer Richard Speck - Grunge An impressive and brazen mimic, Mary Ann made everyone around her laugh. Why were they here, and her sister wasn't? The student nurses' white and pale-gray uniforms had to be strictly starched, their crisp white caps perfectly placed a tough trick on bouffant hair. News item: Richard Speck dies in prison, of a heart attack, the day before his 50th birthday. `Parents ought to be careful about their kids,'' Richard Speck said. Lori realized it was time to tell the truth. She roller-skated in the basement of the family's three-bedroom bungalow. Peter McNamee washes the 1957 Chevrolet owned by his girlfriend, Nina Jo Schmale, whom he planned to marry after graducation, circa 1966. She hit her head against a brick wall and suffered a slight concussion. During this period he had the words "Born to Raise Hell" tattooed on his arm, a sentiment that wife Shirley had experienced firsthand: She filed for divorce in January 1966. Murder made Richard Speck famous. Richard Speck attack survivor: 'Somebody up there was hiding me from On July 15, 1966, the Chicago Tribune's front page reported the news with the headline "Search for Mass Slayer." Richard Benjamin Speck[1][2] (December 6, 1941 - December 5, 1991) was an American mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped, and murdered eight stude. "Did I just see Grandpa on the television?" Many people are unaware of the case, which was the first random mass murder of the 20th century. Martin talked recently in his Oak Park law office about Cora's bravery. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune). He was in need of surgery to repair his severed artery, and was watched over by a dozen policemen who were determined to ensure that his days of making lucky escapes were over. We kind of lost her, Lori said. He unearthed his ancient 35 mm slide projector, marveled that the bulb still worked and began projecting images on a wall. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. ''I know it keeps up their morale. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune). Michigan authorities also wanted to question him about his whereabouts during the murder of four other females, aged between 7 and 60, as his ship had been in the vicinity at the time. She was home on the night of July 13, when her brother Phil stopped by. When Speck realizes he's being played, he. The first floor consisted of a living room, a powder room and a kitchen. The two were destined to be roommates in a townhouse on Chicago's South Side. Richard Speck was a murderer notorious for killing eight student nurses in 1966. Siouchoff was the student who, on the night of the murders, rang the back doorbell of her friends' townhouse, in search of bread, then left when no one answered. Whatever confluence of forces saved her, Cora Amurao made it through the night alive. Years later, when Nina moved into the townhouse where she died, she installed an old "Schmale Rd" street sign in her bedroom. ''Some of them women`s gotta be nuts. Student nurses Patricia Matusek, left, and Suzanne Farris, circa 1966. Speck found work on a ship, and it began to seem like bodies turned up wherever Speck had been. All of the bedrooms were upstairs, and none had a phone. Mary Ann was the fourth of the six kids of Philip and Mary Jordan. The interview only goes south when Holden oversteps the bounds his newfound. Speck's trial began on April 3, 1967, and his claim that he had no recollection of the eight murders committed placed Corazon Amurao in the spotlight as the star witness. Kubasek hurried to her car and drove to the townhouse. He instantly recognized his mother's cursive handwriting. Bottom row from left are Patricia Matusek, Valentina Pasion, Nina Jo Schmale and Pamela Wilkening. Pamela Wilkening, left, Mary Ann Jordan, right, and Suzanne Farris, second from right, are shown with other student nurses having fun with a South Chicago Community Hospital School of Nursing banner, circa 1966. After his father died, his mother married an abusive alcoholic who savagely abused Speck and his seven siblings. Richard Speck - Wikipedia All Rights Reserved. Subscribe. What the camera couldn't catch were the girl's thoughts, the confusion she felt at the spectacle of all these other graduates. Her childhood resume wasn't flashy. In this interview, Speck confessed to the murders for the first time publicly and said he thought he would get out of prison "between now and the year 2000", at which time he hoped to run his own grocery store business. Its a typical 1950s school photograph, small, black-and-white, cropped with pinking shears, showing Suzie at about 10, wearing what looks like her Brownie uniform. Before long, the Davy home was packed with people, and every room, it seemed, was packed with roses, so many roses the scent made Lori sick. She worked at the hospital from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Like the other Filipina nurses, she sent money home. No scuffs were allowed on their white saddle shoes. Despite the horror of what happened, Atienza carries warm memories of her friends, Martin said. In 1972, Speck's death sentence was commuted to 50 to 100 years in prison, when the U.S. Supreme Court abolished capital punishment. She wanted to make her sister look like her sister, Kubasek said, choking up on the word sister., Student nurses Patricia Matusek, left, and Suzanne Farris, circa 1966. Richard Speck, in full Richard Benjamin Speck, (born December 6, 1941, Kirkwood, Illinois, U.S.died December 5, 1991, Joliet), American mass murderer known for killing eight female nursing students in a Chicago town house in 1966. The doctor had just had a dinner break and had seen the front page of a newspaper featuring the killer's face. Parts of the confession were almost certainly bogus; Speck said that he had not killed all eight nurses-that an accomplice, whom Speck later shot to death, had killed one of the nurses, while Speck killed the other seven. Serial Killer: Richard Speck - Full Documentary - YouTube Cora came from Batangas, a province south of Manila known for its volcano, its beaches and the balisong, a traditional folding pocket knife in which the blade can be concealed. For the past few years, Schmale, a friendly, white-haired man of 78, has searched for a way to honor exactly those aspects of his sister and her friends, a way that would emphasize not how they died but how they lived, that would focus on them more than on their killer. A couple of days after his basement flooded, John Schmale finally mustered the energy to head downstairs and investigate the damage. Speck'S High Life Shouldn'T Have Been a Shock We were just totally out of our minds.''. Suzanne Farris, left, and Gloria Davy pose at the dinner table, circa 1966. Then one day last fall, she found a voicemail from John Schmale. Sickeningly mesmerizing because, as much as we hate to admit it, it is possible to talk to a mass murderer as a human being. He plays a lot of solitaire. In recent months, John Schmale has tried, with no luck, to find friends and relatives of Tina and Merlita, hoping to connect with them for the 50th anniversary commemoration. She walked off the stage, shoulders back, carrying a diploma dated July 14, 1966. That day was December 7th, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor that pushed the United States into World War Two. A native Tagalog speaker, she began learning English in first grade. It is being republished for the anniversary with updated sections, including one about Atienza. Mary Ann brought her Irish humor, her sense of duty and her talent for friendship to nursing school and to the townhouse on East 100th Street. She waved and waited for Pat to go inside. I watched `Magnum Force` the other night. Suzie was lucky. ''Dillinger and them guys, that was the Depression, they were robbing banks because that was their only way to survive. The real-life Speck who tortured, raped, and murdered eight Chicago student nurses in a. But she still can't stand the smell of roses. He wonders what it would have been like to grow old with a sister, his sister. On a trip to Florida with her classmates not long before she died, she sent a postcard home to report that immediately after their plane landed, they had gone to Mass. Nina was 19 when she announced to her family, "I'm going to nursing school.". Secretary. Cora has gone on to have a life that appears normal. In 1991, while still in prison, Speck died of a heart attack. Episode #1.9: Directed by David Fincher. Richard Speck - Video, Tattoo & Daughter Chicago Tribune's Mary Schmich contributed. And yet news of Speck continued to haunt them. Lori would ride her bike over, do the dishes, pick up the clothes scattered around the living room. Pat asked. You climbed down to the ledge on 100th Street? Nursing school exposed Pam and her classmates to life's wide range of joy and trouble. She liked clothes, and since the family didn't have a lot of money, she made her own. ''Because any kid can end up to be like me. In the spring of 1966, she stepped into an airplane bound for Chicago. Catherine Ceniza Choy, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, writes about the three exchange nurses extensively in "Empire of Care," her history of Filipino nurses in the United States. For years, whenever July 14 comes around, John Farris has found himself depressed for a week before and after. ''. Q. (Schmale family). (Chris J. Walker / Chicago Tribune). (Schmale family ). Who are the victims of the mass murderer? They shoved their beds edge to edge in a single room and lay there at night listening to the newly hired security guard's shoes click along the hallway tiles. Only one of her siblings, a brother, is still alive. In the family's two-bedroom Cape Cod home, Suzie and her older sister, Marilyn, shared a bedroom. In winter they went sledding. It was a close-knit community where almost no one locked their doors. Speck is in jail for murdering and raping a group of women. Jack Wilkening is 79 now, retired from his job as a Standard Oil cashier. Although she declined to be interviewed for this story, she has exchanged emails recently with John Schmale. The image suggests who she was, serious and slightly removed from the fun. He pulled it out recently as he talked for the first time publicly about the sister he lost when he was 15. In 1996, five years after he died, a video surfaced of Speck in prison, doing drugs and engaging in lewd acts with other prisoners. She did, however, like her volunteer job at an elder-care facility known as the poor farm, and she made friends with her patients, even brought them Christmas presents. During their first two years, all the nursing students were required to live in dorms attached to the hospital, but in their third and final year, in the hot Chicago summer of 1965, Nina and five others moved into one of the three townhouses the hospital rented on East 100th Street. She began working at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington and then at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Clint Eastwood, he always plays good. He was referring to letters he received in his prison cell every week from women-female admirers who, he said, wanted to correspond with him. After Speck was arrested for burglary and assault, he fled to Chicago to seek shelter with his sister, Martha, a couple of months later. He had no doubt. Fifty years later, Pat Matusek's two best childhood friends are the primary custodians of her past. Nursing students were under strict rules during the 1960s, but still they found time for fun. News item: Another Speck parole hearing at Stateville Correctional Center. Jack Wilkening, brother of Pamela Wilkening, remembers his sister and the days surrounding her 1966 murder along with seven other student nurses and nurseson Chicago'sSouth Side. Bottom row from left are Patricia Matusek, Valentina Pasion, Nina Jo Schmale and Pamela Wilkening. In the Davy family, according to Lori, grieving openly for Gloria was considered weakness, especially by her father, the military man. A photo shows four of the eight slain student nurses at South Chicago Community Hospital, circa 1966. But to hear Speck talk about himself in his own voice was repugnant and hypnotic. So do their lives. Richard speck video - YouTube Amurao, she believes, saved her life. He managed to deflect police questioning and escape once again, but police discovered some of Harris' personal effects in his vacant hotel room that conclusively tied him to her attack. Law- enforcement officials familiar with the 1966 mass murder said there was no chance an accomplice existed. By the time Pat was 5, she had another best friend, also named Arlene Arlene Kubasek and through the years the three girls laughed a lot together. Richard Speck | The Chicago Nurse Killer - YouTube His horrifying violence had made him a murderous celebrity on the level of John Dillinger. One went into nursing. On many of those days she walked home crying, yet it was her afternoons with Tommy that made her think she could be a nurse. For many years she worked as a nurse at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Now 73, she has two children and several grandchildren. Together they helped prepare Pat's body for burial, at the funeral home run by Arlene Baskys' dad, next door to Joe Matusek's bar. Suzie was the kind of girl people might call pretty, perky, popular. Grace Jordan wasn't the only family member to stir Mary Ann's interest in nursing. He hates knowing that anyone who Googles the name "Nina Schmale" lands on the name "Richard Speck.". Netflix's 'Mindhunter': All the Real Serial Killers, From Ed - Newsweek By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. But any kid can end up just like me.'' When. Mary Ann is 8. John Farris liked his sister's boyfriend. Grief will always be tangled in that youthful happiness. Another time, according to a different news account, Tina wrote her sister saying she wished she could live in Chicago forever. "She showed the indomitability of her spirit by continuing her path as a nurse and dedicating her life to helping others and raising a family, but you can never get something like this out of your life," Martin said. Speck, however, seemed to have a knack for making a quick escape and keeping police forces guessing. John and Nina grew up on an acre of land near suburban Wheaton, a remnant of the Schmale family farm. She loved Elvis, cats and the color pink. And I don`t know what I`d do without it. "It was just awful," Siouchoff said. He's still searching for the words to explain to his three children who his sister was, what happened to her. Politicians delivering food to the wake. She climbed out on a window ledge and screamed for help, at which point concerned neighbors summoned the police. Mindhunter: 10 Most Chilling Quotes From The Netflix Show - Screen Rant Tina was known as a good cook. ''Because any kid can end up to be like me. Now, with the 50th anniversary of the massacre by Speck approaching, we are recuing our report on the compelling interview with the sole survivor of this grisly attack. "The families are slowly disappearing.". Once, remarking on her diligence and steady temperament, her brother told her she'd make a good military nurse. "She was kind of your average good kid who was really dedicated to being a caregiver.". Me, I`m not like Dillinger or anybody else. 'Mindhunter' Episode 9 Recap: Born to Raise Hell | Decider Thats why he and his wife established the Nina Jo Schmale Scholarship Fund at Wheaton College; Ninas name, and hers alone, is now attached to something good. I wanted to get rid of it. It was Wednesday, July 13, shortly after 11 p.m. Richard Speck was already upstairs. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Speck then rounded the nurses up and ordered them to empty their purses, before tying them all up. Speck's death came as a relief to Wilkening and to the families of the other women he killed. The doctor had just had a. Amurao had arrived the previous day to identify the killer in person, but Speck was not well enough. In November 1962, Speck married Shirley Malone, and they had a daughter, Bobby Lynn, soon after. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune). Richard Speck captured the nation's attention during the summer of 1966 after murdering eight female students who lived together on Chicago's South Side. Speck, a companion and a third man who did the taping did not appear to be fearful of being caught. "Coming back from the past.". Next door was a funeral home, run by Arlene Baskys' dad.
Eddie V Purple Drink,
Difference Between Law And Social Control,
Continuum Global Solutions Salary,
Articles R
