Richard Honeck
Encyclopedia
Richard Honeck an American murderer, served one of the longest custodial sentences ever to terminate in a prisoner's release in American criminal history. Jailed in November 1899 for the murder of a former school friend, Honeck was paroled from Menard Correctional Center
in Chester, Illinois
on 20 December 1963, having completed 64 years and one month of his life sentence, and served a total of 23,418 days in jail.
operator and son of a wealthy dealer in farm equipment, was 20 years old when he was arrested in Chicago
in September 1899 for the killing of Walter F. Koeller. He and another man, Herman Hundhausen, had gone to Koeller's room armed with an eight-inch bowie knife
, a sixteen-inch bowie knife, a silver-plated case knife
, a .44 caliber
revolver
, a .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber revolver, a club, and two belts of cartridges. They also carried a getaway kit consisting of two satchels filled with dime novel
s, obscene etchings, and clothes from which the names had been cut.
Koeller, who was later found by the police sitting in a chair stabbed in the back, had testified for the prosecution some years earlier when Honeck and Hundhausen were charged with setting a number of fires in their home town of Hermann, Missouri
. According to a confession made by Hundhausen, the two men had sworn revenge and planned Koeller's murder in considerable detail. Honeck, Hundhausen said, had stabbed the dead man with the eight-inch bowie knife, which was discovered "smeared with coagulated blood".
, where in 1912 he stabbed the assistant warden with a hand-crafted knife. He served 20 days in solitary confinement for that infraction, and was shackled with a ball and chain
for six months, but had a clean record after moving to Menard Correctional Center, where he worked for 35 years in the prison bakery.
In the decades between his conviction and the time his case came to public notice again in August 1963, Honeck received one letter – a four-line note from his brother in 1904 – and two visitors: a friend in 1904, and a newspaper reporter in 1963.
reporter Bob Poos brought attention to Honeck's case in 1963 after seeing reference to it in the Menard prison newspaper.
In a follow-up report, Poos noted that the aged murderer had subsequently received a mailbag of 2,000 letters, including a proposal of marriage from a woman in Germany
, offers of employment, and gifts of money in sums ranging from $5 down to 25 cents. Honeck, who was permitted under prison rules to answer one letter per week, observed: "It'll take a long time to deal with these."
"I guess I'd have to be pretty careful if I got paroled," the 87-year-old prisoner concluded when interviewed by Poos. "There must be an awful lot of traffic now, and people, compared with what I remember."
, Oregon
. Honeck died in 1976 at the reported age of 97.
Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby (1885-1987) served 66 years at Indiana State Prison
from 1908 to 1974 after stabbing a man in 1907 during a poker game/bar fight.
Paul Geidel
, {1894-1987} who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, served 68 years and 245 days in various New York state prisons. He was released on May 7, 1980, at the age of 86. Geidel's case differed from Honeck's in several key respects. First, he was initially sentenced not to life imprisonment but to twenty years to life, but later declared insane, being incarcerated not in a prison but in a hospital for the criminally insane. Secondly, Geidel was offered parole at an earlier date than was Honeck – in 1974, when he had served only 63 years. Geidel had become institutionalized and declined release, voluntarily choosing to remain confined for an additional six years.
William Heirens
, the "Lipstick Killer," confessed to three murders in the aftermath of World War II
, and was convicted, sentenced to three life terms, and sent to prison on 5 September 1946. He exceeded Honeck's record of time served in August 2010, and remains incarcerated. If he survives, Heirens – who was born in 1928 – will become America's longest serving prisoner, beating the record set by Geidel, on 9 May 2015.
Menard Correctional Center
Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It is a state prison housing maximum-security and high medium-security adult males.The average daily population as of 2007 is 3,410. Menard Correctional...
in Chester, Illinois
Chester, Illinois
Chester is a city located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County and is located south of St. Louis, Missouri.-History:...
on 20 December 1963, having completed 64 years and one month of his life sentence, and served a total of 23,418 days in jail.
Koeller murder
Honeck, a telegraphTelegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
operator and son of a wealthy dealer in farm equipment, was 20 years old when he was arrested in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in September 1899 for the killing of Walter F. Koeller. He and another man, Herman Hundhausen, had gone to Koeller's room armed with an eight-inch bowie knife
Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its...
, a sixteen-inch bowie knife, a silver-plated case knife
Case knife
A case knife is a name used throughout the American South to refer to a table knife, i.e. a knife intended for use at the dining table. The origin of this usage comes from a time when inns did not customarily provide eating utensils with meals. The table fork was relatively new, and was often...
, a .44 caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
, a .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber revolver, a club, and two belts of cartridges. They also carried a getaway kit consisting of two satchels filled with dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s, obscene etchings, and clothes from which the names had been cut.
Koeller, who was later found by the police sitting in a chair stabbed in the back, had testified for the prosecution some years earlier when Honeck and Hundhausen were charged with setting a number of fires in their home town of Hermann, Missouri
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....
. According to a confession made by Hundhausen, the two men had sworn revenge and planned Koeller's murder in considerable detail. Honeck, Hundhausen said, had stabbed the dead man with the eight-inch bowie knife, which was discovered "smeared with coagulated blood".
Prison
Honeck spent the first years of his sentence in Joliet PrisonJoliet Prison
Joliet Correctional Center was a prison in Joliet, Illinois, United States from 1858 to 2002. It is featured in the motion picture The Blues Brothers as the prison from which Jake Blues is released at the beginning of the movie...
, where in 1912 he stabbed the assistant warden with a hand-crafted knife. He served 20 days in solitary confinement for that infraction, and was shackled with a ball and chain
Ball And Chain
"Make This Love Right" , is a single written and produced by New Jersey house music producer Romanthony. The song was released on Azuli Records of New York in 1993. The song was something of an anomalous cultural craze in the city of Cork, Republic of Ireland, in the late 1990s where it became an...
for six months, but had a clean record after moving to Menard Correctional Center, where he worked for 35 years in the prison bakery.
In the decades between his conviction and the time his case came to public notice again in August 1963, Honeck received one letter – a four-line note from his brother in 1904 – and two visitors: a friend in 1904, and a newspaper reporter in 1963.
Media attention
Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter Bob Poos brought attention to Honeck's case in 1963 after seeing reference to it in the Menard prison newspaper.
In a follow-up report, Poos noted that the aged murderer had subsequently received a mailbag of 2,000 letters, including a proposal of marriage from a woman in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, offers of employment, and gifts of money in sums ranging from $5 down to 25 cents. Honeck, who was permitted under prison rules to answer one letter per week, observed: "It'll take a long time to deal with these."
"I guess I'd have to be pretty careful if I got paroled," the 87-year-old prisoner concluded when interviewed by Poos. "There must be an awful lot of traffic now, and people, compared with what I remember."
Later life and death
According to a later newspaper article, Honeck was released upon the intervention of his niece, Clara Orth, and the two eventually settled in SutherlinSutherlin
Sutherlin can refer to:* William T. Sutherlin, most famous for opening his home to Jefferson Davis and his cabinet the week before Robert E. Lee surrendered* Sutherlin, Oregon...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Honeck died in 1976 at the reported age of 97.
Honeck's time served compared
The time served by Richard Honeck has been exceeded since his release in at least three cases.Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby (1885-1987) served 66 years at Indiana State Prison
Indiana State Prison
The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security Indiana Department of Corrections prison for adult males; however, minimum security housing also exists on the confines. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana, about east of Chicago. The average daily inmate population in November 2006 was 2,200. ...
from 1908 to 1974 after stabbing a man in 1907 during a poker game/bar fight.
Paul Geidel
Paul Geidel
Paul Geidel was the longest serving American prison inmate whose sentence ended with his release. After being convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, Geidel served 68 years and 245 days in various New York state prisons...
, {1894-1987} who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, served 68 years and 245 days in various New York state prisons. He was released on May 7, 1980, at the age of 86. Geidel's case differed from Honeck's in several key respects. First, he was initially sentenced not to life imprisonment but to twenty years to life, but later declared insane, being incarcerated not in a prison but in a hospital for the criminally insane. Secondly, Geidel was offered parole at an earlier date than was Honeck – in 1974, when he had served only 63 years. Geidel had become institutionalized and declined release, voluntarily choosing to remain confined for an additional six years.
William Heirens
William Heirens
William George Heirens is a convicted American serial killer who confessed to three murders in 1946. Heirens has been called The Lipstick Killer due to a notorious message scrawled in lipstick at a crime scene...
, the "Lipstick Killer," confessed to three murders in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was convicted, sentenced to three life terms, and sent to prison on 5 September 1946. He exceeded Honeck's record of time served in August 2010, and remains incarcerated. If he survives, Heirens – who was born in 1928 – will become America's longest serving prisoner, beating the record set by Geidel, on 9 May 2015.