On May 21, 1924, college friends Nathan Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb thought that they had committed the perfect crime when they kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Their world soon came crashing down as the police discovered the evidence that would lead to their conviction. Yet the facts of the case would prove to be complex and disturbing, and the intense public response would be felt throughout the nation.
The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) looks back at the public furor, the evidence, the media frenzy and the surprising defense plea of the murderers in the exhibition Leopold and Loeb: The 'Perfect' Crime. It opened Friday, May 21—the 80th anniversary of the crime—at CHS, Clark Street at North Avenue.
The brutal death of young Bobby Franks shocked Chicago and America, and when the murderers were discovered to be two brilliant sons of wealthy Kenwood neighborhood families, national headlines resulted.
'Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb had it all. They were brilliant and wealthy. They had all the opportunities offered by the American dream but they chose to use their good fortune to murder a young boy just to see if they could. Chicago and the nation wanted to know why,' said Lonnie Bunch, CHS president. 'Two other factors made the crime and case into a national story—the expanded coverage by the media through extensive photography of the court hearings, and the daring defense presented by Clarence Darrow.'
This new CHS exhibition presents the evidence that was used to convict these remorseless killers, explores the ravenous media coverage the court proceedings and describes the defense mounted by their lawyer, Darrow, who delivered one of his most famous speeches in pleading against their execution.
A key piece of evidence used to connect Leopold and Loeb is held in the permanent collection at CHS—Leopold's prescription eyeglasses, discovered near the culvert where the murderers hid Franks' body. These glasses will be on display, along with the ransom notes, the trial transcript, the psychologists' reports on Leopold and Loeb, the copy of 'Detective Story Magazine' that provided the inspiration for their ransom notes and numerous photographs from the CHS collection.
The search for reasons for the crime continues today, as heard in the lyrics by Chicago's own Billy Corgan—of Smashing Pumpkins fame—in his new song 'Bobby Franks.' A copy of the lyrics in Corgan's hand is included in the exhibition.
Concluding the exhibition is another response to the crime—a set of four original works of art by Chicago area artists. Ed Paschke has produced an oil painting of Leopold and Loeb based upon their criminal mug shots. Carlos Cortez created a woodcut of the two murderers and their lawyer, Darrow. Deborah Maris Lader used a photograph of a playground to create a mixed media piece that examines the fear that parents have of missing children. Finally, Nyame O. Brown's oil painting explores the killers' sense of being above the law and superior to other people. All of the artists based their works on images from the CHS collection.
Leopold and Loeb: The 'Perfect' Crime will be on display at the Chicago Historical Society through Sept. 26, , (312) 642-4600 or visit www.chicagohistory.org .
