The Murder of Bobby Franks

On Wednesday May 21, 1924, the pair put their plan into action.  They rented a car under a false name and loaded their “gear” into it, which consisted of a pair of rubber boots, ether, hydrochloric acid, rope, a gag, two guns, and a chisel.  Leopold left his own car in the possession of his chauffeur, which would later prove a huge mistake.  The pair then drove to a local school to seek out a victim.  After several unsuccessful hours, they came across Bobby Franks, a neighbor and extended relative of Loeb. 

Bobby Franks, Aged 14

  They lured Frnaks into their vehicle and hit him in the head with a chisel.  Initially, they planned to use the chisel to knock their victim unconscious, then strangle him at a pre-determined dumping site. Instead, Bobby was merely stunned and began to scream and bleed.  Blood from his head trauma stained the interior of the car while Leopold and Loeb subdued him.  They then drove across the Indiana border to their dumping site.  In the meantime, they removed Bobby’s clothing and dumped some of his belongings on the side of the road.  Once it was dark, the pair brought the body to a culvert at Wolf Lake, which was a site where Leopold often went bird watching.  They first poured acid of the face and genitals of the body to make it unrecognizable.  They shoved the body into a drainpipe, but not far enough in, as one of Bobby’s feet protruded.  On the way home, they stopped at a drugstore, where they called the Franks family and notified him that Bobby had been kidnapped.  They also mailed a ransom note from this location.  Once they returned to Leopold’s home Leopold retrieved his car, and they attempted unsuccessfully to clean the bloodstains from the rental car. 

The Wolf Creek Culvert where Bobby's Body was found.