On May 21, 1924, 18-year-old Richard Loeb lured a 14-year-old acquaintance, Bobby Franks, into his vehicle. They then picked up Loeb's friend, 19-year-old Nathan Leopold. The two men bashed in Franks' head with a chisel, stuffed a rag down his throat, removed his clothing, poured acid on him, and stashed his body ten miles from home in a culvert. Then they set about making a ransom demand from the boy's family. The ransom was never paid, as Franks' body was found the next day.
Leopold and Loeb held no animus toward Franks; he was just a convenient victim for their experiment in committing the perfect crime. It was far from perfect, though, and the two were soon arrested. The ghastly crime made national news, mostly because Leopold and Loeb were from wealthy and prominent Chicago families, and were considered to have bright futures. They also showed no remorse for the murder, and had only the thinnest of motives. There would not be a "trial of the century," because both pled guilty to the crime. Instead, there was a hearing before a judge on whether they should receive the death penalty or life imprisonment. And the renowned attorney Clarence Darrow was arguing for leniency. Interestingly, Bobby Franks himself had argued against the death penalty in a debate competition shortly before his murder. Read about the sensational case of Leopold and Loeb at Smithsonian.
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