True Crime Friday: The Chicago Ripper Crew Serial Killers
The Early Childhood of Chicago Ripper Crew
Not much is known about the early childhoods of the ripper gang. There were reports that the gang members were abuse and neglected by their parents. Which is one of the common traits of serial killers. Robin Gecht was the notorious leader of this group. Edward Spreitzer said the gang members were afraid of Gecht and would do anything he said as to not to get on his bad side. Gecht once cut the breast off of one of his victims while she was alive. This statement is telling of the other mutilations he and the other gang members did to the victims. It is a grim story.The Known Victims of Chicago Ripper Crew
- Linda Sutton
- Lorraine Borowski
- Shui Mak
- Sandra Delaware
- Rose Davis
- Rafael Tirado
The Known Survivors of Chicago Ripper Crew
- Angel York
- Alberto Rosario
- Beverley Washington
The Unknown Victims of the Chicago Ripper Crew
The authorities believe that there was at least seventeen to twenty victims of the ripper gang. We may not know their names but they have not been forgotten.Lady Justice
Gecht was arrested October 20, 1982 when his van was spotted by the police. It had been reported that the van was seen in the area were the gang had killed their rival. Gecht was able to post a bond and was released. Authorities arrested Gecht again on November 5, 1982. The other gang members were soon arrested. Andrew Kokoraleis was arrested on November 7, 1982, and so was Spritzer. They both confessed to up to seventeen to twenty murders. They both were indicted and held without bonds. Thomas Kokoraleis the brother of Andrew Kokoraleis was arrested on November 12, 1982. He confessed that he and the others had taken women and girls back to Gecht's place in which they called it the "satanic chapel.” The pact was made to rape and torture women and girls and make sacrifices to the devil. They would eat parts of the severed breasts of their victims. They had saved over fifteen breasts in a box for their pleasures.Everyone associated with the gang confessed with the exception of Gecht, who maintained his innocence. Gecht was sentenced to 120 years in prison. He is serving his sentence in Danville Correctional Center. His parole date is set as October 10, 2042, he will be 88 years old. Edward Spreitzer was sentenced to death but it was overturned to life in prison without parole for his role in the murders. In 2003, the governor of Illinois commuted everyone on death row to life in prison. Andrew was convicted of murder and aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to death on April 30, 1987, and was executed by lethal injection on March 17, 1999. The governor signed legislation to stop executions in 2003. Andrew Kokoraleis who was executed by the state making him the last prisoner to die by the hands of State of Illinois.
The jury spared Thomas’s life and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Thomas Kokoraleis was eventually paroled and now lives a quite life in Illinois. He keeps a low profile. According to the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry website (ISP) as of 2024, Kokoraleis currently resides in Peoria, Illinois. At the time of his arrest, Thomas Kokoraleis was a painter with no criminal record.