Leopold and Loeb

Gary Arndt (0:00)

In 1924, two young men from wealthy Chicago families believed that they were intellectually superior to everyone around them. Both were exceptionally intelligent, highly educated, and seemingly destined for successful careers. But they also shared a disturbing fascination with crime and an obsession with proving that they were above the rules that govern ordinary people. What followed became one of the most sensational criminal cases in American history. Learn more about Leopold and Loeb in their attempt to commit the perfect crime on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Nathan Leopold was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 19, 1904, into a wealthy German Jewish immigrant family. He was the youngest of three children to his parents, Florence and Nathan. Leopold was considered to be a child prodigy. He was said to have spoken his first words at just four months and three weeks old. However, despite his intelligence, he was considered frail and often spent time at home. Based on many accounts, Leopold was sensitive about his appearance. He was said to have bulging eyes and was smaller in stature. However, this didn't stop the young Nathan from pursuing his interests. He studied 15 languages, five of which he spoke fluently, and his primary interest was natural history, especially birds. His interest in birds earned him national recognition as an ornithologist. He, along with other scientists, found nesting sites for Kirkland's warblers and observed parasitic nesting behavior by other species that threaten them. Leopold attended the University of Michigan at the age of 15 before transferring to the University of Chicago. He graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors and he planned to continue with studies at Harvard Law School after a trip to Europe.

Richard Loeb was born on June 11, 1905 Also from Chicago, Loeb was the third of four children to his parents Anna and Albert. His father was a wealthy Jewish lawyer and his mother was Catholic. Like his counterpart, Loeb was extremely intelligent. We know that he had a passion for history and was an avid reader, especially of crime stories. However, unlike Leopold, he was less self-conscious. He was considered to be handsome and had some athletic prowess. Despite his advantages in intelligence and wealth, Loeb picked up criminal skills early on. He had a history of stealing small items from stores, friends and family. Loeb attended the University of Chicago High School at age 12 He completed his education in just two years. In high school, he used his pickpocketing skills to impress people and to make friends. After high school, Loeb attended the University of Michigan, where he graduated at the age of 17, which made him the university's youngest graduate at that time. After graduating, Loeb returned home and enrolled a few classes at the University of Chicago. Although both boys grew up in affluent households in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood and casually knew each other, they didn't become friends until they were both 15 at the University of Chicago. The two quickly hit it off as they were both in the same mutual friend group. However, the relationship turned sexual in February 1921, which continued throughout the following years. The duo committed numerous smaller scale crimes, including theft and arson. While Loeb reportedly committed to these crimes for fun, Leopold felt that he needed a philosophical justification for his actions. A self-described hedonist, Leopold evaluated every action by balancing potential pleasure against pain, seeking maximum gratification in all areas of his life. Alongside this worldview, he was deeply intrigued by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Superman. An ideal future individual who transcends conventional morality and religion, to define their own purposes and values, thereby unlocking full human potential. Leopold interpreted these supermen as exceptional individuals whose intellect placed them above ordinary social constraints and legal standards. Convinced that he and Loeb embodied this elite status, he believed that executing a perfect crime would demonstrate their intellect to the world and prove their superiority. They decided that the best way to do this was to kidnap and murder a younger child, and at the ages of 19 and 18, the duo set out to do just that. The crime took seven months of intense plotting. They included how they were going to abduct their target, dispose of the body, and hide their involvement. The victim of their quote-unquote superiority was a 14-year-old boy named Bobby Franks. Franks was the son of a wealthy Chicago watchmaker and was from the Kenwood area, the same as Leopold and Loeb. He actually lived across the street from Loeb and had played tennis at his house on a few separate occasions. On May 21, 1924, Leopold rented a car under the name Morton D. Ballard and offered Franks a ride home from school. Franks initially refused because he lived only two blocks away, but Loeb convinced him to get into the car to discuss a tennis racket. What exactly occurred after Franks got in the car remains disputed. However, the common belief is that Leopold sat at the wheel with Franks in the passenger seat. Loeb sat behind the boy in the back seat of the vehicle. Loeb then struck Franks several times in the back of the head with a taped-wrapped chisel. Franks was then dragged into the back seat and gagged until he died.