The Horrific Story Of The Chicago Rippers

 

The story of the Chicago Ripper crew is one of sadness and a failed justice system. Although all caught, the Chicago Ripper Crew's ringleader was never convicted of murder, and one of them is even out on parole today. In total, these men killed six women, and we were known to abduct more than eighteen. Though the evidence is insufficient, the modus operandi of their crimes could place them at as many as 17 other murders, and the unrelated shooting of another man in the early 1980s. The sadistic nature of these crimes that make the freedom of these men all the more disheartening.

              For two years, women were found missing and murdered across the Chicago area. The murder victims were all found dead with their bodies mutilated, and their left breast was amputated from their bodies. Most of the murders took place from May 1982 to December 1982; however, they began in 1981.

              The first victim, Linda Sutton, was found on May 23, 1981. She was abducted, killed, and mutilated by the Ripper Crew. The police responded to a call about a foul smell outside a motel when they found her body. She had been stabbed, mutilated, and had her left breast removed from her body. Linda left two children behind when she died. She is believed to be the first victim of the Chicago Rippers crew.

              One year later, on May 15, 1982, Lorry Borowski, was abducted when she was about to enter her workplace. It was said that she vanished out of thin air. Her remains were found October 10, 1982. She had been mutilated and raped, like Linda Sutton. Among the body's remains were Lorry's high heels, cosmetics, and the key, which opened her workplace.

              A few days after the disappearance of Lorry, another woman named Shui Mak went missing on May 29, 1982. She was in her brother's car on the way home when they got into a heated argument. Shui exited the vehicle and was never seen again. The Chicago Rippers crew abducted her. Her remains were found four months later.

              On August 28, 1982, Sandra Delaware's body was found under Chicago's Fullerton Avenue bridge on the north branch of Chicago River. Her body had been raped and mutilated, much like the other three victims.

              The next victim's name is Rose Beck Davis, and she was a 30-year-old woman who was murdered on September 8, 1982. She had been abducted, raped, beaten, and ultimately killed with an axe after being fatally stabbed as well. She was found in Chicago's Gold Coast neighbourhood.

              The last assault had been on a woman named Beverly Washington. On December 6, 1982, she was found near a railroad track outside the city of Chicago. Miraculously, she was alive; however, her body had been badly mutilated and even amputated. She had been beaten almost to death, and her chest had sustained multiple stabs and slash wounds across it. Even her left breast had been amputated from her body. Beverly suffered massive blood loss, but somehow, she managed to cling to life and narrowly avoided becoming the seventh official murder victim of the Chicago Ripper crew.

              Her witness accounts would be the evidence that needs to catch the Chicago Ripper crew eventually and stop them from committing any more heinous crimes in the future.

              In June of 1982, a similar survivor to Beverly Washington had been found. Her name was Angel York, and she had been abducted by the crew and thrown into their van. Her left breast had been slashed, and then they threw her out of their van to die. Luckily, she lived, but she could not produce the witness accounts needed to trace the crimes back to the Ripper Crew.

              At first, the crew's ringleader, Robin Gecht, was released from custody as there was little evidence connecting him to the crimes. However, further investigation led the police to discover that the crew had rented four motel rooms in 1981. The hotel manager told police that it sounded like the men were having a loud party and were engaging in cult-like and satanic rituals. Police then took in Robin Gecht and three other men: Edward Spreitzer, and brothers Thomas and Andrew Kokoraleis.

              Thomas Kokoraleis confessed to police that he and the other men had tortured, raped, mutilated and even cannibalized women at Gecht's "satanic chapel" or house.              

Gecht even had an altar in the "satanic chapel" where they would perform the rituals. They used a wire garrote to sever the woman's breast from her body and then eat breast pieces as part of a ritual. Gecht would even masturbate into the breasts, and then put them in a box for safekeeping.

              Thomas Kokoraleis even said that he saw at least 15 breasts inside Gecht's box at one time.

              The early 1980s was at the high of the "Satanic Panic" in the United States, so having yet another group of men who murdered women in the name of satanic rituals was very scary for Chicago's city. The Satanic Panic was a time in the early 1980s to 1990s, where many cults such as the Charles Manson family and Jonestown, to name a few, took rise into the public eye. This time saw many publicized serial killer cases such as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and the Zodiac Killer. This was a time filled with apprehension and fear. The fact that the Ripper Crew was terrorizing Chicago did not help the situation whatsoever.

              After a series of trials, Spreitzer and the Kokoraleis brothers confessed to the murders. Still, Gecht protested his innocence throughout the entire trials. Thomas Kokoraleis was convicted of murder but was not given the death penalty, only life imprisonment, because he confessed to the police.

              Gecht was given 120 years in prison for the attempted murder and rape of Beverly Washington and was never formally charged for the other murders. He was never even convicted of murder. Andrew Kokoraleis was executed by lethal injection in 1999. It was the last lethal injection in the state of Illinois before it was banned two months later.

              Interestingly enough, during the trial, it came out that Gecht had even worked for John Wayne Gacy, another serial killer. He assaulted and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. However, John Wayne Gacy had nothing to do with the Chicago Ripper's crimes.

              Spreitzer was also supposed to killed be lethal injection; however, he was allowed to live. He is still in prison today.

              Thomas Kokoraleis, now 58 years old, was released from prison on parole on March 29, 2019. He only served 35 years of the originally 70-year murder sentence. He is now registered to live at Wayside Cross Ministries in Aurora, Illinois. This ministry housing accepts convicted criminals to live there.

              When announced that Kokoraleis would live there, the mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin, came out with a statement about Kokoraleis and was very unhappy about his town's new addition.

              Irvin said: "In light of the unspeakable nature of the crimes committed by the Ripper Crew, I would hope that Wayside would reconsider the decision that brought Kokoraleis to Aurora — particularly given the Ministries' proximity to parks, churches and daycare centers," Irvin said. "I disagree with Wayside Cross Ministries' decision to allow Kokoraleis to reside at their facility in Aurora. It is a risk the people of Aurora shouldn't have to take."

              Kokoraleis, on the other hand, in a tear-filled statement to the press, said: "I want to go on with my life and be left alone… And I will do my best to become a productive member of society. I will not be a threat to Aurora and their citizens".

              Who knows if this is true, or if this man will go back to his sadistic and terrible ways.

              Overall, the Chicago Rippers Crew was a terrible group of men who raped, mutilated, and murdered women in Chicago from 1981-1982. Their crimes were heinous, and the victim's families never seemed to get the justice they deserved. The ringleader was never jailed for the murders of these innocent women. One of these criminals is even out on parole.

              Did they deserve a heavier sentence? What do you think? Comment below!