Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-06-03
M|LL|ONA|RES' SONS
CONFESS To KILLING
CHICAGO SCHOOL BOY
Slew to Get Money They Say.
Chauffeur's Story Breaks
Smooth AIibis

day confessed to kidnapping ana
Staying, ten days ago, of Robert
Franks, thirteen-year-oid son OF
Jacob Franks, another millionaire
according to States Attorney Grove.
| The boys who confessed are Ma
| than Leopold, Jr., and Richard Loeb,
| both university students and both
residing within a few blocks of the
Franks home in fashionable south
side residential district.
They kidnapped the boy as he
| walked home from school, strangled
him in their automobile, concealed
| kis body and demanded a $4,000
ransom from the parents, according
| to Mr.. Grove.
A pair of spectacles led to their
| arrest, and the chance remark of a
| chauffeur resulted in their break
| down and confession when the au-
| thorities, after hours of questioning,
were virtually convinced the youths
| had established alibis and were CON-
sidering releasing them.
| Their motive was a puzzle, States
: Attorney Grove declaring that they
| wanted excitement and the $4,000
ransom, while friends asserted they
could not need the money and doubt-
ed the truth of the confession.
Both youths have records as bril-.
| liant students, one being the young
est ever graduated from the literary
college of a leading midwestern uni
versity and the other doing special
work at a university here.
Sons of MilliOnaires
Leopold is the son of Nathan Leo
| pold, Sir, wealthy paper box manu-
| tacturer, and Loeb is the SON Of AL.
bort Loeb, vice president Of Chi
cago mail order house. AT one time,
according to Mr.. Grove, the boys
said they considered kidnapping a,
relative Of julius Rosenwald, multi
millionaire head Of this mail order
| firm.
The boys confession, the states
attorney believes, clears up one OF
the most mysterious crimes in Chi.
cago's history.
Robert Franks disappeared on the
afternoon of May 81, as he was go
ing from a private school to his
| home, few blacks distant.
That night a man, posing as
George Johnson" telephoned the
boys mother that her son was be-
ing held for ransom and the next
day the father received a letter de
manding $4,000 for the boys re-
lease and instructing him further
orders would follow.
In the afternoon came telephone
call to Franks from johnson in-
structing Franks to take the money.
which he had ready, to a drug store,
the address Of which Franks did not
know. A few minutes afterward the
nude body of boy found stuffed into
a culvert in q. south side swamp
was identified as his son.
According to the states attorney,
Leopold and Loeb said they con.
ceived the plant to kidnap someone
and hold them for ransom of $10,-
900 last November. They picked the
Franks boy, whom they knew. as a
victim on the spur Of the moment,
when they saw him walking home
from school.
Struck With Chisel
Inviting him into a rented auto
mobile in which they were riding.
they said, according to Mr.. Grove,
that they struck him over the head
with a chisel when he resisted and
then strangled him. The chisel.
tossed from their auto, was found
later and is a part Of the evidence
against them.
For hours they drove about the
city with their victim huddled in
the tonneau Of the car covered by a
robe.
That night they said, according to
Mr.. Grove, they disrobed their VIC
tim, applied acid to his face in an
effort to make Identification impos-
sible, and drove to the swamp where
they concealed the body in the cul.
vert. They then burned the cloth
ing at Loeb's home, according to
their confession, disposed Of the
shoes and belt on a prairie, and rode
about the city for a time; finally re-
!. turning home, where Loeb notified
the Franks family that Robert was
held for ransom while Leopold pre-
pared the ransom letter.
Then they threw the typewriter
on which the ransom letter was pre-
pared in a lagoon and when their
plans to collect ransom miscarried
| because Franks did not understand
their instructions, Loeb pretended
to assist the police in finding the
drug store from which he made one
of the calls to Franks.
The only clue from which the
authorities had to work was pair.
| of spectacles with tortoise shell rims
| and Of distinctive" make. Identifi-
cation of the owner of the glasses
| in city of three million persons.
| assumed the proportions Of looking
! for q needle in a hay stack but the
| police, realizing that their only hope
of solving the mystery lay in find
! ing the owner OF the slaSSas. set to
| work canvassing every optlcian,
| optical supply and manufacturing
| house in Chicago, eventually extend
ing their search to other cities.
After u weeks hunt a Brooklyn
| firm was found which said it made
the spectacles. It's Chicago agencies
! were then canvassed. Thousands of
! records were carefully scrutinized
until one was found which tailed
with the description Of the glasses in
question
Opticians Record Found
Such record was found by an
optician Wednesday night and the
| trail led direct to the Leopold home,
few blocks from that of Franks.
Leopold and Loeb, has bosom friend.
were arrested at once.
Then came the surprise.
Leopold readily admitted owner.
ship of the spectacies, expl lining
that he is an ornithologist and in his
study of birds had visited the swamp
were the body was found many
times AMI probably had lost his
glasses on one of these trips The
boys told a straightforward story Of
their activities on the day Robert
Eranks disa red decla inex thew