RICHARD SPECK AND THE STUDENT NURSE MURDERS
Although this-chilling crime was committed in Chicago, its far-reaching impact was felt most profoundly in the Philippines, as the sole survivor—and witness of this killing spree—was a Filipina exchange student nurse, Corazon Amurao of Batangas.
Richard Benjamin Speck, a 25-year-old drifter and drunkard with many criminal records, had gone to Chicago to look for a job.
Unsuccessful in his search, Speck spent his idle days drinking, before accosting and raping Ella Mae Hooper, whose gun he also took.
At about 11 p.m. on July 13, 1966, Speck slipped into a nurses’ apartment house and knocked on the bedroom door of Amurao.
Armed with a gun, Speck herded eight student nurses in a room—including Filipinas Merlita Gargullo and Valentina Pasion—and tied them. Speck then took them out one by one, and proceeded to rape and kill them by stabbing and strangulation
Amurao escaped death by hiding under a bed.
Seven hours later, after Speck had left, Amurao got out of the room through a window and screamed for help.
Two days after, Speck was recognized in a bar; he then attempted suicide after sensing that the police were hot on his trail. He was arrested when he was taken to a hospital.
Speck’s jury trial on April 3, 1967 brought him face to face with Amurao, who positively identified the killer. He was found guilty on April 15 and sentenced on June 5 to die in the electric chair.
Although the Illinois Supreme Court upheld his sentence in 1968, this was overturned due to jury selection issues. Speck died in 1991 of heart attack; he had spent 25 years in prison.
Amurao, on the other hand, returned to the Philippines to resume work in a university hospital, elected as a town councilor and became the wife of lawyer Alberto Atienza.
Amurao is happily settled in Virginia with her family, her heroic part in “America’s Crime of the Century,” now but a blurry vision of her past.
Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Comments
Post a Comment