In 1924, two intelligent young men set out to commit a perfect crime. Leopold and Loeb both were in their teenage years and already in college at the University of Chicago. The duo kidnapped and murdered a fourteen-year-old boy by the name Bobby Franks. The lack of remorse exhibited by the two friends was found to be more appalling to the American public as a whole. According to Baatz, (2008), Bobby Franks was kidnapped by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, after which they went on to murder him and dump him in a culvert. The suspect’s parents went on to hire Clarence Darrow to as their attorney. Leopold and Loeb confessed to murdering Bobby in their car using a chisel and then later dumped away his body. After which they came up with a plan to extort money from the victim’s family.
Postmortem results indicated that Bobby had succumbed to head injuries that had been inflicted by a blunt object. Bobby was struck a number of times on the head with a chisel while he was seated on the passenger seat. Loeb and Leopold were using a rental car while committing this heinous crime. From this particular description, the wounds on Bobby's body are likely to include deep lacerations on the head. Death by blunt object indicates fractures on the skull as well as brain trauma due to the force of the blunt object. It is also likely that his wounds would appear slit-like as is the case with the human skin. Bovsun (2014) points out that upon the removal of such an object the skin tends to contract to leave a wound.
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To link the suspects to the crime, police used a number of objects found at the scene where Bobby’s body had been dumped. A pair of sunglasses was the first component of evidence that would link Loeb and Leopold to the crime. While the sunglasses were a common commodity at that time in the broader American market, this particular pair had a unique hinge mechanism, and due to their price, they had only been purchased by three customers, among them Nathan Leopold. In his defence, Leopold claimed that there was a likelihood his glasses had dropped during a bird-watching trip. Another key piece of evidence found the crime scene was a typewriter. The typewriter which had been used to write the ransom notes. This typewriter was later linked to Leopold’s class notes back at the University of Chicago.
To further incriminate themselves, the two suspects had earlier recorded a statement stating that on the night of the murder they had used Leopold's car to pick two women and later drop them off. This was, however, refuted by Leopold’s driver who said that he was repairing the car on the same night. Categorizing such a crime requires an individual to focus on the motive and drive behind such the criminals ( Bovsun, 2014). Leopold and his counterpart had gone out to kidnap and ask for a ransom. In this case, therefore, killing the victim came about as an afterthought. The goal of the duo was to commit a perfect crime and exit without any scuffle. However, realizing that they were a likelihood of being apprehended, they decided to stop the whole game by killing the victim and dumping his body away. One way of looking at this case is that it is a heinous hate crime.
The nature of the murder, coupled with the personality of the suspects indicate an emotional factor in the crime. As the case continued to unfold, a great deal of social and psychological factors came to light. Not only did the suspects lack remorse for the crime committed, but they also seemed to enjoy the media attention that they were being showered. The role of parenting, educational flaws and the need for national reevaluation of its values all surfaced during the trial. The suspect’s attorney managed to negotiate for the elimination of a death sentence and instead allowed for life sentences.
In regards to the nature and conduct of the investigation, the Leopold and Loeb case was by no means in line with all the investigative techniques. Primarily, a normal investigation entails recording a crime scene, with all its evidence and any vital clue. Secondly, physical evidence is then collected and persevered to minimize any form of tampering. The victim is later identified after which attention shifts to establishing the cause of death before a motive can be created (Osterburg and Ward, 2010). It is from here that suspects can be questioned and arrests made.
In the case of Leopold and Loeb case, the unfolding of events resulted in a change of investigation techniques. The identification of the body alongside the arrival of the ransom letter already established the motive of the crime as well as the identity of the victim. Secondly, the discovery of Leopold's sunglasses as well as his typewriter forced the suspects to confess to their crime eliminating the need for endless questioning of suspects and the search for additional information. This case remains as one of the most shocking and widely covered stories in America during the twentieth century. It also brought to light the various influences and factors that go into the determination of a court case like never before.
References
Baatz, S. (2008). Leopold and Loeb's Criminal Minds. Smithsonian Magazine . Retrieved on 6 January 2018, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/leopold-and-loebs-criminal-minds-996498/.
Bovsun, M. (2014). Thrill of the kill: 90 th anniversary of Leopold and Loeb’s horrific murder of boy . Retrieved on 6 January 2018, from http://www. Nydailynews.com/news/crimes/thrill-kill-article-1.1796537.
Osterburg, J. W., & Ward, R. H. (2010). Criminal investigation: A method for reconstructing the past . Routledge.
