’ residence by special delivery), the boys asked for ten thousand dollars. They were very specific in their demands and clearly stated the details of delivery. However, things did not go as smoothly as Nathan and Richard anticipated. The day before the father of Bobby Franks could deliver the money, his son’s body was found in the culvert. Eventually, the police made a thorough investigation of the evidence. They recovered the chisel used in the murder, the typewriter used to write the ransom note, a pair of unique eye glasses dropped at the site, and had conflicting alibis of both Nathan and Richard. The eyeglasses, which had a special hinge on them, had been sold to only three individuals. One was a lawyer who was out of town at the time of the murder. Another was a woman who had worn her own pair to the police station when asked to come in to be questioned. The third pair was sold to none other than Nathan Leopold, Jr. Furthermore, the details, times, and circumstances of the crime did not match up with the alibis of Nathan and Richard. “When the two were confronted with this incriminating evidence, Loeb broke down and confessed. After that, Leopold had no other choice but to confess as well”(David 29-30). On June 6, 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were indicted by a grand jury for the kidnapping and murder of Bobby Franks.“As Leopold and Loeb’s trial approached, citizens cried out for the death penalty. Frightened for his son’s life, Richard’s father, Jacob Loeb, visited the nation’s most famous defense attorney, Clarence Darrow”(Leibowitz 72). After contemplating the circumstances surrounding the case and moral issues involved, Darrow accepted Loeb’s request to represent and defend both boys in the murder trial. Because of family affluence, Nathan and Richard were able to obtain the leading and most prominent defense attorney of the time. Darrow...
