The Ripper Crew: Chicago’s Satanic Cult of Torture, Murder, and Cannibalism | Episode 202
In the early 1980s, Chicago became the hunting ground for one of the most gruesome and sadistic cults in American history—the Ripper Crew. Led by Robin Gecht, a man who once worked under serial killer John Wayne Gacy, this gang of four men abducted, tortured, mutilated, and murdered women in the name of Satan. Their horrific crimes, carried out in a red van and a makeshift satanic chapel, remain some of the darkest in Illinois’ criminal history.
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The Red Van and the Rituals
The group—Gecht, brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis, and Edward Spreitzer—cruised around Chicago in a red van with a hidden torture chamber. Inside, victims were subjected to unimaginable horrors: rape, breast mutilation, and ritualistic cannibalism. Some women were even forced to mutilate themselves before being killed, while others were made part of twisted satanic rituals in Robin’s attic chapel.
Victims and Mutilation
Their first known victim, Linda Sutton, was abducted in May 1981 and found behind a motel, her body mutilated with one breast removed. Over the next year, a wave of similarly brutal murders shocked investigators: Lorry Borowski, Shui Mak, Sandra Delaware, Rose Davis, and others, many of them found with severe mutilations and signs of satanic symbolism.
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Survivors and Confessions
The case finally broke when survivor Beverly Washington provided a detailed description of the van and Robin Gecht himself. Thomas Kokoraleis later confessed to the cult’s crimes, revealing a chilling portrait of satanic rituals, a trophy box filled with severed breasts, and a group of men who believed they were serving a demonic purpose.
Arrests and Sentencing
Gecht was arrested but never convicted of murder, only attempted murder and rape. Spreitzer and both Kokoraleis brothers were charged in connection with several murders. Andrew Kokoraleis was executed in 1999, the last Illinois prisoner to be put to death before the state ended capital punishment. The others received life sentences, though Thomas was controversially released in 2019 and remains a registered sex offender.
A Legacy of Horror
The Ripper Crew remains one of the most disturbing cults in U.S. history, and their crimes left a permanent scar on Chicago. From ritual mutilation to satanic altars and cannibalism, their story is a terrifying reminder of how far a delusion can go when masked by devotion.
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