‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’: Who Is the Birdman aka Richard Speck Featured in the Series?

Netflix's latest drama series Monster: The Ed Gein Story focuses on the crimes of serial killer and body snatcher Ed Gein, however, he's not the only criminal we get to meet during the series.

Across eight episodes the show portrays dramatized versions of Ted Bundy, Jerry Brudos, and in the final episode, Richard Speck aka Birdman. But who was this mass murderer in real life?

Here's everything you need to know about him.

In episode 8 “The Godfather,” we get to meet one of Ed's fans, Richard Speck aka Birdman. Around the 21 minute mark, the episode heads to a prison in Illinois where a guard approaches the door of a man who is introduced as “Birdman” and told he has a male visitor.

Birdman is transported to another cell where he has sex with an inmate in exchange for drugs. Following the pair having sex, Birdman confesses how much he idolizes Ed Gein, and how he read comic books and magazine articles about Ed while growing up.

He then confesses to his own crimes, revealing he robbed a house full of nurses and after one spat at him, and he ended up killing them all—apart from one, who managed to hide and was the eventual reason for his arrest. Birdman went onto say how he was given the death penalty, but Illinois removed it and so he's now hoping to get out on parole.

Later on in the episode we then see Richard aka Birdman writing to Ed and sending him Polaroid pictures of his breasts. He then goes onto reveal that he himself has an admirer who is influenced by his crimes, just like how Birdman was by Ed.

Richard Speck was born in 1941 and in 1966 he killed eight female nurses in a Chicago house. He then went into hiding and reportedly tried to commit suicide. He was taken to a hospital where he was subsequently arrested after a doctor noticed his tattoo “Born to Raise Hell,” which was noted by the lone survivor of the nurses' house attack.

Speck was sentenced to life in prison and was expected to get the death penalty. However, after Illinois ruled out the penalty, his sentence was changed to eight consecutive terms of 50 to 150 years. Despite applying for parole, he was never successful and died in prison at the age of 49 in 1991.

During his time in prison, a video was released of Speck in which he appeared to have grown breasts, due to the use of female hormone drugs.

According to reports, Speck acquired the nickname of Birdman after being inspired by another serial killer, Robert Stroud, aka the original Birdman, who was known as the Birdman of Alcatraz.

Speck kept a of sparrow that flew into his cell and according to John E. Douglas' book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, after finding out he was no longer allowed to keep a pet, Speck threw the bird into a fan, killing it and was believed to have said: “If I can't have it, no one can.”

Robert Stroud aka the Birdman of Alcatraz was one of Alcatraz's most famous inmates. His life was even turned into a movie in 1962 called Birdman of Alcatraz.

He was born in 1890 and was sentenced to life in prison after brutally murdering a bartender in 1909. During his time in prisoned he stabbed a fellow inmate and later stabbed a guard.

While imprisoned he also developed a keen interest in canaries and over the years went onto write two books about the species and raise nearly 300 of them.

In episode eight of Monster, Richard Speck writes Gein many letters; however, in reality it is not known for sure if the pair ever had any correspondence.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is available on Netflix now.