Richard Speck

Richard Speck was born on June 12, 1941 in Kirkwood, Illinois to Benjamin and Mary Speck (biography.com). At a young age Speck began idolizing his father who died from a heart attack when he was 6 years old. His mother, who was very religious, remarried Carl Lindberg who was also an alcoholic and had a 25-year long criminal record which was the polar opposite of Speck's biological father. Lindberg was very psychologically abusive towards Speck which led him to loath his stepfather. At a young age Speck stole his step father's alcohol and drink it. It was meant to get back at his step father but eventually lead to alcoholism. He would later drop out of school which led to a life of drugs and prostitution. His first arrest was at age 13 for trespassing. At age 15, he met and impregnated Shirley Malone who he married. While his child was being born, he was in jail for disturbing the peace. They eventually ended up divorced which led Speck to become very angry towards his ex-wife. Speck went through several jobs. One night he took some money from his sister and spent a few hours in the bar. As Speck was leaving the bar he spotted a woman leaving as well and attacked her at knife point. Speck took her into his apartment where he raped her and took her pistol. He then went walking and came across a town house that happened to be full of nurses. He broke in and found six girls. He led the girls into the main room from their bedrooms. Another soon came into the room. He was very calm as he tied them up. He showed no remorse, holding a normal conversation with the women. He strangled, stabbed and raped these women. Speck did not know that there was another young nurse hiding under the bed at the time he was murdering her friends. She was the only witness to the gruesome murders (Richard Speck: Born to Raise Hell).

As we examine all the facts we learn that Speck was rather tall, not up to societal standards when it came to intelligence and also had a strong background in aggression. Some characteristics of a person with XYY Syndrome would be a tall statue, mental retardation and an unusually high level of aggressive behavior (Bartol). Although he was not necessarily mentally retarded, he was still lacking the very least knowledge needed to be a productive member of society. He struggled in school before eventually dropping out. He was said to be around six feet. By looking at his arrest records you can see that he has led a very aggressive life. He is charged with aggravated assault charges, abusing his wife, raping several women and then murder. With this information one could believe that Richard Speck was suffering from XYY Chromosomal Syndrome.

The Routine Activities Theory is when a crime occurs because the victim is in the wrong place at the right time (Bruns). As the criminal carries about his regular daily routine and sees the opportunity to commit a crime, they are more than likely to take advantage of that opportunity.