Richard Honeck

Case record

Richard Honeck (January 5, 1879—December 28, 1976) was an American murderer.

The offence

In November 1899, Richard Honeck was jailed for the murder of Walter F. Koeller. Koeller was a telegraph operator and the son of a wealthy dealer in farm equipment. Koeller was 20 years old when he was arrested in Chicago in September 1899 for the killing of Walter F. Koeller.

Honeck and another man, Herman Hundhausen, went 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 novels, obscene etchings, and clothes from which the names had been cut.

Koeller was later found by the police sitting in a chair stabbed in the back.

According to a confession made by Herman Hundhausen, Honeck and Hundhausen had sworn revenge and planned Koeller’s murder in considerable detail.

Hundhausen said Honeck stabbed the dead man with the eight-inch bowie knife, which was discovered "smeared with coagulated blood".

Background

Honeck and Hundhausen had been charged with setting a number of fires in their home town of Hermann, Missouri, after Koeller had testified for the prosecution some years earlier.

Investigation

Police found Koeller sitting in a chair stabbed in the back.

Prison

Richard Honeck spent the first years of his sentence in Joliet Prison. In 1912, while in Joliet Prison, he stabbed the assistant warden with a hand-crafted knife.

He served 20 days in solitary confinement for that infraction. He was shackled with a ball and chain for six months. After moving to Menard Correctional Center, Honeck had a clean record.

At Menard Correctional Center, Honeck worked for 35 years in the prison bakery.

Other people

Herman Hundhausen

Herman Hundhausen was the other man involved with Honeck in the events leading to Koeller’s murder. Hundhausen made a confession that included details about the plan, revenge motive, and the stabbing by Honeck.

Menard Correctional Center

Menard Correctional Center was where Honeck worked for 35 years in the prison bakery and from which he was paroled.

Assistant warden

The assistant warden was stabbed by Honeck with a hand-crafted knife in 1912 while Honeck was imprisoned in Joliet Prison.

Koeller family

Walter F. Koeller was the son of a wealthy dealer in farm equipment.

Clara Orth

Honeck was released upon the intervention of his niece, Clara Orth. Honeck and Clara Orth later settled in Sutherlin, Oregon.

Associated Press reporter Bob Poos

Associated Press 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.

Timeline

• November 1899 — Richard Honeck was jailed for the murder of Walter F. Koeller.
• September 1899 — Honeck and Walter F. Koeller’s killing are associated with Honeck’s arrest in Chicago.
• 1904 — A four-line note from Honeck’s brother was received in 1904, and a friend visited Honeck in 1904.
• 1904 — Honeck received one letter: a four-line note from his brother in 1904.
• 1912 — Honeck stabbed the assistant warden with a hand-crafted knife in Joliet Prison; he later served 20 days in solitary confinement and was shackled with a ball and chain for six months.
• August 1963 — Honeck’s case came to public notice again in August 1963.
• 20 December 1963 — Honeck was paroled from Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois after completing 64 years and one month of his life sentence.
• December 28, 1976 — Honeck died.
• 1976 — A later newspaper article reported Honeck died at the age of 97.

Trial

Koeller 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.

Sentencing

Honeck was sentenced to life in prison in 1899.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Honeck was paroled on December 20, 1963, having completed 64 years and one month of his life sentence, after serving a total of 23,418 days in jail.

Aftermath

After parole, Honeck settled in Sutherlin, Oregon with his niece Clara Orth. Honeck died in 1976 at the reported age of 97.

Media attention and interviews

In a follow-up report, Poos noted that Honeck had 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 was permitted under prison rules to answer one letter per week, and he said: "It'll take a long time to deal with these."

When interviewed by Poos, the 84-year-old prisoner concluded: "I guess I'd have to be pretty careful if I got paroled," and "There must be an awful lot of traffic now, and people, compared with what I remember."

Honeck’s time served compared with other cases

The time served by Richard Honeck was exceeded since his release in at least three cases:

• Johnson Van Dyke Grigsby (1885-1987) served 66 years and 123 days at Indiana State Prison from 1908 to 1974 after stabbing a man in 1907 during a poker game/bar fight.
• Paul Geidel (1894-1987) was convicted of second-degree murder in 1911 and served 68 years and 245 days in various New York state prisons. He was released on May 7, 1980, at the age of 86.
• William Heirens (1928–2012), the "Lipstick Killer," confessed to three murders in Chicago in the aftermath of World War II. He was convicted and 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 died still incarcerated on March 5, 2012.

Geidel’s case differed from Honeck’s:

• Geidel 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.
• Geidel was offered parole at an earlier date than Honeck—when he had served only 63 years, in 1974.
• Geidel had become institutionalized and declined release, voluntarily choosing to remain confined for an additional six years.