Chapter 42 Section 17

Just as petty theft progressed to car theft, so did their other crimes.Richard and Nathan first called the school to harass the teachers, and later developed into false reports of fire and police, first smashed car windows and shop windows on the road, and gradually developed into arson. Once, Richard and Nathan called Harvard School to find a teacher by name.The secretary told them the teacher was in class, and Richard insisted that he had something very urgent to do.When the teacher rushed to the office, Richard told him on the phone: "Put the phone up your ass, please." Ten minutes later, they made a second call to a teacher who said The teacher couldn't answer because of something, so Richard left a message and said, "Tell him he can pull out the microphone now."

On another occasion, while they were having lunch with two friends at the Coop-Carleton, Richard called the police to say the restaurant was on fire.Hearing the siren of the fire truck approaching from far away, the two friends ran away in fright, but Richard and Nathan stayed in the hotel as if nothing had happened, watching the farce they directed. The report of the experts recorded such an incident: "The patient (referring to Richard - the author's note) went on to say that once he and his friend planned to burn the shed on a vacant lot. They drove their respective cars first. Stopping five blocks away, the patient got into his companion's car and the two drove to an open lot where they set fire to the shed after pouring gasoline on the floor and walls.

"They went back to the parking lot five blocks away, took the patient's car and went to the fire scene, so the patient had the opportunity to appreciate the chaos they created, talk to the crowd, and hear if they could guess the cause of the fire. , and provide some unrealistic solutions. The patient said that he can get a great psychological satisfaction from it." Richard Lowe's greatest wish was that their criminal activities could attract public attention, so after each crime, he would buy back all the newspapers the next day and check for relevant reports one by one.After several disappointments, Richard decided to rob. In the summer of 1923, they planned to ransack the empty house of a friend's family while they were on vacation in New York. They had rope, chisels and revolvers ready, but some impromptu accidents failed. .

One day in November of the same year, Richard and Nathan drove more than 200 miles back to the University of Michigan Annenberg where they had studied, planning to burglary in a house that Richard shared with several students.Richard had lived there for two years and knew the structure of the house and the habits of the students like the back of his hand.They sneaked in in the early hours of the morning and stole everything they could, not because of need, but just to make the case bigger and cause a bit of a stir.The Ang Dewu brand portable typewriter that later typed out the ransom demand letter was one of the stolen goods in this operation.The second criminal then came to Nathan's residence and committed the crime again, because he happened to meet a student who got up at night and only stole a camera.

On Monday, November 13, 1923, a message of less than 50 characters was published in the "Local Newsletter" column of the third page of the "Annaber Times News": "The police are investigating the incident between 3:00 and 5:00 this morning. Theft at the student dormitory on Wassitenau Street. Stolen items include watches, cash, typewriters, medals, pens, etc.” According to Nathan Leop's confession, it was from then on that the two criminals began to brew a larger criminal activity. On Monday, July 21, 1924, Chicago's much-anticipated "People of Illinois v. Nathan Leopard Richard Lowe," or, more commonly, the kidnapping-murder of Bobby Fanks , in the courtroom of Chief Justice John Gavelli on the sixth floor of the Crown Court building in the city centre. The 63-year-old John Gavelli has been a judge for 14 years. He is not tall, with gorgeous hair and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. In terms of appearance and temperament, he looks more like a learned professor.

The chief defense attorney of the defense, Dr. Claren Darrow, was dressed very neatly today, but still not as luxurious and chic as his two clients, and was constantly wiping sweat because of the hot weather—the court had not yet installed Air Conditioner - The neatly folded handkerchief in the left breast pocket quickly crumpled.Although they have been together for less than two months, Nathan Leop has changed his initial impression of Kraren, and he admires this old man in the legal field with all his heart, and he will listen to his words and follow his advice.Many years later, Nathan even praised Kraren as a hero in his autobiography, because defending two notorious murderers in a highly publicized case requires some courage to "go against the grain" of.

Claren Darro spoke first.Later, some reporters believed in the report that he was actually the first to speak.In response to the media's speculation and comments at the time, Krazhin pointed out that he knew that this morning's hearing was an opportunity for the defendants to make any motions on the case.But first, the defendant does not intend to request a "off-site trial", because his two clients believe that the public's bad impression of them has spread all over the United States. Also not available.Second, if the prosecution proposes to separate the cases of murder and kidnapping, the defendant will not have any objections.

Clara spoke for more than ten minutes, then changed the subject: "Frankly, none of us believe that the two defendants can or should be acquitted. We believe that they must be permanently isolated from society... After careful consideration and full discussion, we have decided to withdraw the plea of ​​'not guilty' raised by our side in the preliminary trial, and the two defendants pleaded 'guilty' to all the charges charged." "Guilty?" Claren's last two words were like a blockbuster, shocking everyone in the courtroom, especially the prosecutor, Chief Prosecutor Robert Corot, even though he was still able to maintain his composure and sit upright on the prosecution bench. .Nathan's father, Nathan Leop Sr., stood up from his seat in a daze, as if he was lost.Richard's uncle, Jake Lowe, wept with his head bowed and his face covered.Only the two defendants remained expressionless, as if they were unmoved.At the same time, reporters flocked out, scrambling to report this "breaking news" to their editors.