The 1966 Chicago Nurse Dorm Massacre
The night of July 14, 1966, remains one of the darkest in Chicago’s history. Eight student nurses living in a South Chicago Community Hospital dormitory were brutally murdered by a drifter named Richard Speck, a crime that shocked the nation and became a defining case in American true crime history.
The Intrusion
Speck, 24 at the time, was no stranger to the law. Raised in Texas after being born in Illinois, he drifted through a life of petty crimes, hard drinking, and bar fights. His only steady mark was the tattoo on his arm: “Born to Raise Hell.”
On that July night, Speck armed himself with a gun and a butcher knife, broke into the dormitory, and systematically bound and gagged the young women inside. The residents were all nurses, dedicated to caring for others. Speck showed no mercy.
The Massacre
One by one, Speck murdered his captives with cold precision and shocking brutality. His victims, later described as selfless and saintly, were eulogized across the country.
Unbeknownst to him, there was one more person in the apartment than he realized. Corazon Amurao, a nurse who had a friend staying over that night, managed to hide under a bed. She listened in silence as her fellow nurses were killed. The friend, not expected by Speck, was among the victims. Amurao’s survival would prove crucial.
The Arrest and Trial
Amurao later identified Speck as the killer, sealing his fate in court. The trial was swift: the jury deliberated for just 49 minutes before finding him guilty. Speck was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
But in 1972, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling declared the death penalty unconstitutional. Speck’s sentence was reduced to more than 1,200 years in prison, ensuring he would never be free again.
The End of Speck
Speck lived out his remaining years behind bars. Disturbing reports later suggested he adapted disturbingly well to prison life, allegedly trading favors for drugs and living without remorse.
He died in 1991, still incarcerated. No one claimed his body. In the end, his ashes were scattered anonymously—erased, as much as possible, from the world he once terrorized.
Legacy
The Richard Speck murders stand as a chilling reminder of vulnerability, violence, and survival. The courage of Corazon Amurao, who endured the horror and later testified against him, ensured that justice was delivered, even if the full weight of the law was never carried out.
