Bio

Christopher Richee was born in 1966. As a child, he grew up in a suburban area. He became a handyman and worked at a hotel, where he gained knowledge of the property and its operations.

Richee had a few close relationships. Some of these relationships were complicated. He had multiple romantic partners throughout his life. These relationships sometimes revealed troubling aspects of his personality. Friends and partners reported unsettling conversations, which raised concerns about his mindset.

He had a set of skills that made him a capable worker in maintenance and repairs. He was familiar with the workings of locks and security systems because of his job. This knowledge would become relevant later in his life.

In 1996, Richee was living in the Chicago area, where he was employed as the maintenance manager of a hotel. His life during this time seemed fairly typical, but it would later take a dark turn. Richee's life before this point included various jobs and relationships. However, many of those who knew him would later reflect on signs that hinted at his troubling tendencies.

Murder Story

On December 13, 1996, Christopher Richee committed the murder of Nan Toder in a motel room in Crestwood, Illinois. Nan was a 33-year-old woman visiting Chicago for a seminar. She had taken several precautions for her safety that night. After declining a dinner invitation, she worked out and picked up food on her way back to her room. She locked the door and placed her suitcase against it for extra security.

That evening, she spoke with her mother on the phone around 10 p.m. and then went to bed. Unbeknownst to her, Richee, who was a handyman at the motel, had been planning his crime. He had knowledge of the hotel’s lock system and waited for an opportunity to slip into her room. It was alleged that he had rigged the locked adjoining door between her room and another to appear secure while allowing him entry.

The next morning, housekeepers could not get a response from Nan's room after two wake-up calls went unanswered. They used a key to enter and found Nan's body on the floor between the beds. She had been strangled and stabbed multiple times with a machete. Her body was posed in a shocking manner, and there were no signs of sexual assault or theft.

Richee was one of the first people on the scene after the managers and staff discovered the crime, raising suspicions. Over time, circumstantial evidence tied him to the murder. Witnesses reported odd behavior, such as asking a friend to dispose of a bloody towel and showing signs of anxiety in the days following the murder.

In 2002, Richee was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 2006, his conviction was overturned, and he pleaded guilty to the crime in exchange for a reduced sentence of 40 years, maintaining his innocence despite the plea. The legal proceedings surrounding his case highlighted various courtroom strategies, and the Toder family pursued justice and safety reforms after Nan's death.

Ultimately, Richee was resentenced to 40 years in prison, with the possibility of being released after serving 13 to 14 years due to time already served. The case brought attention to hotel safety and procedures for ensuring guest security.