CBA Record September 2017

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The random murder of 14 year old
Bobby Franks, son of a wealthy
Kenwood family, horrified and
frightened Chicago in 1924.
Albert Loeb lived in Kenwood with his
wife and four sons: Allan, Ernest, Richard,
and Thomas. Loeb was a lawyer and was
one of the founders of the law firm now
known as Arnstein & Lehr. He was also
one of the organizers of the Standard Club.
Later, Loeb became Vice President and
Treasurer of Sears Roebuck.
In 1924, Loeb’s son Richard graduated
from the University of Michigan and then
attended graduate school at the University
of Chicago where he met Nathan Leopold,
who was in the University’s law school.
Over time and during long philosophi-
cal discussions, Loeb enticed Leopold to
commit the “perfect crime;” in this case,
the motiveless murder of a random victim.
The two young men rented a car and
drove randomly through their Kenwood
neighborhood looking for someone to kill.
While driving, the men saw Loeb’s cousin
and neighbor, Bobby Franks. They enticed
Franks into their car and brutally killed
him. Shockingly, on the way to hiding
Franks’ body, they stopped and ate lunch.
The two murderers then used Leopold’s
portable typewriter to type a ransom note
which they mailed to Bobby Franks’ father.
Bobby’s body was discovered as Franks’
father was on his way to pay the $10,000
ransom demand. The crime was horrible,
lurid and senseless.
At the time, my uncle, James Mulroy,
my father’s brother, worked as a “cub
reporter” for the Chicago Daily News, a
competitor of the Tribune. The Franks
murder captivated the city and particularly
mesmerized the competitive news media.
Uncle Jim, a graduate of the University of
Chicago, and his reporter partner, Alvin
Goldstein, were assigned to the Franks
story and spent days searching for infor-
mation about the crime which they hoped
would be put in their newspaper under
their bylines.
While disposing of Franks’ body, Leop-
old’s eyeglasses had fallen from his pocket
and were recovered by the police, who
traced them to Leopold. Leopold at once
became a suspect in the murder.
Learning of the glasses development,
Mulroy and Goldstein focused on the
typewriting in the ransom note. Because
Leopold was gaining traction as a suspect,
the reporters decided to use their Univer-
sity of Chicago contacts and speak to some
of Leopold’s law school class mates. When
they spoke to the students, the reporters
learned that Leopold had typed the law
school study group notes and had distrib-
uted them to his fellow group members.
The reporters were able to get some of
Leopold’s typewritten notes, and when
they compared the notes with the ransom
note, it was clear that the typing matched.
Uncle Jim and his partner reported their
findings to the police. Ultimately, and pos-
sibly because of this evidence, both boys
confessed to the murder.
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
BY JUDGE THOMAS R. MULROY
A Mulroy’s Brush with Chicago History
The Chicago
Bar Association
OFFICERS
President
Judge Thomas R. Mulroy
Circuit Court of Cook County
First Vice President
Steven M. Elrod
Holland & Knight LLP
Second Vice President
Jesse H. Ruiz
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Secretary
E. Lynn Grayson
Jenner & Block LLP
Treasurer
Maurice Grant
Grant Law LLC
Executive Director
Terrence M. Murphy
Assistant Executive Director
Elizabeth A. McMeen
BOARD OF
MANAGERS
Jonathan B. Amarilio
Alan R. Borlack
Hon. Thomas M. Durkin
Mark B. Epstein
Hon. Shelvin Louise Marie Hall
Robert F. Harris
Michele M. Jochner
Michael J. Kaufman
Daniel M. Kotin
Pamela S. Menaker
Paul J. Ochmanek, Jr.
Matthew A. Passen
Mary Robinson
John C. Sciaccotta
Helene M. Snyder
Andrew W. Vail
Greta G. Weathersby
Zeophus J. Wiliams
8 SEPTEMBER 2017