2. The Ripper Crew
Starting on May 23, 1981, a series of brutal rapes and murders rocked the city of Chicago. The terrifying crime spree started with the disappearance of 28-year-old Linda Sutton. She was found 10 days later; she had been raped and stabbed to death, and her left breast had been removed. This was just the first in a string of 18 murders of women. In every case, the left breast was removed.
The crimes were being committed by a group of four young men who were referred to as “The Ripper Crew” or the “Chicago Rippers.” The group was led by a former John Wayne Gacy employee named Robin Gecht. The other three members were Edward Spreitzer and a set of brothers, Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis.
The foursome would travel around the city in Gecht’s van and either lure women to the van or outright kidnap them. They would take the victims back to Gecht’s apartment in order to sacrifice them. First, they took turns raping the victim, before removing the breast using piano wire. Apparently, they subsequently masturbated onto the amputated breast before dicing it up and then eating it. This was all done while Gecht read aloud from the Satanic Bible.
Their reign of terror came to an end when the group kidnapped prostitute Beverley Washington. They raped her, stabbed her, and removed her breast before dumping her by the railroad tracks. Amazingly, Washington survived the brutal ceremony. She gave the police a description of the men who attacked her as well as the van they drove, and the Crew was soon rounded up.
Once in police custody, three members of the cult confessed to their crimes—all except the leader, Robin Gecht. As a result, Gecht could not be charged with murder, but was given 120 years in prison for the assault on Washington. Thomas Kokoraleis was given 70 years, while Edward Spreitzer and Andrew Kokoraleis were given death sentences. Spreitzer had his sentence commuted to life, while Andrew Kokoraleis was executed on March 17, 1999.
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