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In fact Leopold and Loeb had already committed many crimes and had even attempted murder. The Loeb family had an estate in Charlevoix, Michigan, which the boys regularly visited. During a visit in the summer of 1920 they were caught in a compromising position by the student who had a summer job there, Hamlin Buchman. Outraged at what he saw as their perversion he wrote to Sam Leopold and Allen Loeb about what he had seen; worse from the boys’ point of view, he also later wrote to the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity to urge them not to admit “a pair of cocksuckers.” In the wealthy and influential circles their families moved in this threatened social disaster, and they moved quickly to limit the potential damage. Allen Loeb travelled to Charlevoix to help sort out the mess, and his intervention helped later when Loeb applied to the fraternity. He also advised his brother never to be seen alone with Leopold; they should always have a “chaperone” with them who could vouch for their behavior. The problem had been largely controlled, but this wasn’t enough for Leopold and Loeb. They wanted to hit back at Buchman and ending their friendship with him wasn’t enough; they wanted him dead.
Leopold said later that they had spent months searching for a foolproof way of killing Buchman. The problem was that they couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t leave them implicated in his death. Finally they had an idea. By staging an accident they hoped to eliminate Buchman without attracting any suspicion. Drowning is a common cause of death now, especially among adolescent males, and it was just as common in 1920. A water-related accidental death, then, was likely to be accepted as a tragic mishap. The method they decided on was to go out in a canoe with Buchman then capsize it and let him drown. They actually attempted this, but the plan failed; Buchman escaped death by swimming to shore.
The failure of this attempt didn’t deter Leopold and Loeb from crime. Loeb spent much of his spare time playing cards, and by 1921 was regularly cheating. This didn’t provide enough excitement, though, and he moved on to other crimes. Petty thefts provided some amusement at first, then vandalism was his next step; he began to throw bricks through car windshields and store windows. Leopold joined in, driven by a twisted pact he had made with Loeb.
Loeb’s fantasy world placed him in the center as a popular, gifted and powerful figure, worshipped by others. Leopold’s hero worship gave him the chance to experience the same feeling in real life. At the same time Loeb was worried that Leopold’s constant desire for sex ran the risk of them being caught again. The solution came to be known as “the compact.” Loeb would think of crimes and Leopold would help him commit them. In return they would arrange a date and time to have sex. This let Loeb control the risks while also getting him a compliant partner for his misdemeanors. Leopold was also worried, but for a different reason - he was frightened of the consequences of the crimes they committed. The lure of sex with Loeb drove him on, though.
The crimes got worse. Cars were stolen. Prank phone calls turned to fake fire alarms and then to arson. In 1923 a friend of Loeb’s went on holiday with his family. The two planned to burgle the house and they went prepared for violence. In their car they had ropes to tie up the maid and a pistol to kill the night watchman. Luckily the car broke down on the way and the plan came to nothing.[7] Finally they took the fateful step of planning another attempt at murder.
The chain of events that led to this decision was a complex one. In November 1923 they planned to burgle two fraternity houses in Ann Arbor. One was the Delta fraternity that had led Leopold on then refused to pledge him; remembering the humiliation he wanted revenge. The other was Zeta Beta Tau, which had accepted Loeb. At first it seemed perfect; both would get revenge on the frats they hated and Leopold would get his perk for helping Loeb. When they set it in motion and drove back to Ann Arbor, though, a problem surfaced. It was one that had come up before, and was leading to increasing tension between them.
Their trip to Michigan took place on November 10, 1923.[8] The break-in at Zeta Beta Tau was no problem. The takings were slim - they got away with $80 in cash, an Underwood portable typewriter and a handful of watches and penknives - but both of them had generous allowances and it wasn’t really about the money anyway. When it came to the other robbery, though, Loeb started to get second thoughts. He didn’t know the layout of the building and worried that this made the risks unacceptable. It wasn’t the first time he’d backed out of a crime - he loved making plans but often held off from actually carrying them out - and as always it enraged Leopold. Part of this was that he saw his promised sexual reward disappear; another part might have been that he idolized Loeb and hated to have his illusions challenged. Either way he wasn’t happy, and he badgered Loeb into going ahead with it. In the end they did break into the Delta frat house, but it was a half-hearted attempt and they only stole a camera.
In the car on the return journey Leopold let his frustration bubble over. The relationship was too one-sided, he said. He always agreed to join in whatever plan came up, but still Loeb kept his distance. The robbery he’d wanted had been a farce, and other cancelled crimes had denied him the rewards he craved. The lingering bitterness over the New Year incident spurred him on. It was going to take a lot for Loeb to smooth the waters this time.
Of course Loeb, with the charm Leopold could never resist, delivered. Calming Leopold by professing his loyalty and affection, he suggested that they cement their relationship more closely. Up to now nothing they had done had made it into the newspapers; some thefts and fires just weren’t attention-grabbing enough. There wasn’t much chance of the frat house burglaries changing that. There was one crime guaranteed to get a media reaction, though - murder. Loeb now proposed that they kidnap and murder a boy from a wealthy family; they could demand a ransom, which would be a huge challenge to collect without being caught, and the crime would be famous. It would be a bold and decisive act, and nobody would ever know who’d done it. Of course, one other aspect that Leopold might not think of was that it would give Loeb more control over him. He could never risk a secret like that being revealed. Far from making the relationship more equal Loeb’s proposal would give him more power than ever.
Leopold didn’t see the potential drawbacks, though, and threw himself into the plan. The intention was to confirm their role as Übermenschen by committing a crime that dull-witted, mundane people would never have the imagination or intellect to solve. The process of planning this perfect crime would increasingly occupy them for the next six months.
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