Frank G. Spisak Jr. was born on June 6, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a working-class family. His father, a factory worker, relocated the family to Middleburg Heights in an attempt to distance them from the increasing Black population in their Cleveland neighborhood. Frank grew up socially awkward, isolated, and known among classmates for drawing swastikas. He joined the chess club in high school, reflecting early signs of a withdrawn personality. After graduating, he enrolled at Cleveland State University but dropped out after just a year due to financial difficulties.

Spisak’s life took a dark ideological turn when he became involved with the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP), the American offshoot of the original Nazi party. In 1970, he made contact with notorious neo-Nazi figure James Mason, and frequented meetings at the party’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Despite early enthusiasm, by 1975, Spisak had become an outcast in some neo-Nazi circles, with rival groups accusing him of falsely claiming ranks he no longer held.

At the age of 22, Spisak married a woman named Laverne, and the couple had a daughter. He worked low-wage jobs in local factories and continued to immerse himself in Nazi propaganda, frequently reading about Adolf Hitler in his spare time. A head injury sustained during a car accident three years into the marriage reportedly worsened his mental state. During this period, Spisak began a gender transition and started calling himself “Frankie Ann.” He underwent hormone therapy and expressed intent to undergo full sex reassignment surgery, while also engaging in sexual relationships with men. His increasingly erratic behavior and Nazism led to the breakdown of his marriage, and his wife left with their daughter.

After halting his transition, Spisak returned to his hyper-masculine Nazi identity and further spiraled into violent extremism. He amassed a collection of Nazi paraphernalia, swords, and firearms, and immersed himself in literature about Hitler. Despite his racist ideology, he dated a Black sex worker during this time, revealing deep personal contradictions. His increasing obsession with race war and violent ideology laid the groundwork for the deadly spree he would later carry out.

In 1982, Frank Spisak initiated a violent shooting spree across Cleveland State University’s campus and nearby areas. These attacks were racially motivated and intended to spark a so-called "race war," in line with Spisak’s neo-Nazi beliefs. He was inspired by Adolf Hitler and carried out his crimes in a style similar to lone wolf terrorism.

The spree began on February 1, 1982, when Spisak gunned down 57-year-old Reverend Horace Rickerson in a restroom on campus. Just moments earlier, he had been reading a book about Hitler in the university library. After the murder, he returned to the scene, witnessing a crowd gathering and encountering Timothy Sheehan, a campus maintenance worker he would later kill. Spisak later described feeling “accomplished” after the murder.

Spisak then partnered with fellow neo-Nazi Ron Reddish. The two began patrolling Cleveland looking for Black men to target. On one occasion in June 1982, they attacked John Hardaway, a Black man eating at a local café. Hardaway was shot five times but miraculously survived.

Shortly after that, Spisak returned to the university and attempted to shoot a female student inside a chemistry lab. The attempt failed, and he was chased away. However, no one knew he was the perpetrator. Fearing recognition, he began stalking Timothy Sheehan and eventually shot and killed him on August 27, 1982, again in a campus restroom. He also robbed Sheehan, stealing his wallet.

Just one day later, on August 28, Spisak killed his third and final confirmed victim, 17-year-old Brian Worford, who was waiting alone at a bus stop near the CSU campus. Both Worford and Rickerson were Black; Spisak wrongly assumed Sheehan was Jewish, further reflecting his twisted ideological motivations.

Spisak was finally arrested in September 1982, after an unrelated incident where he drunkenly fired a gun inside his home. He was temporarily released on bond because authorities had not yet linked him to the murders. However, he had confessed the killings to both his girlfriend and his ex-wife. An anonymous tip led to his re-arrest.

During his 1983 trial, Spisak turned the courtroom into a stage for his extremist beliefs. He wore a Hitler-style mustache, gave repeated Nazi salutes, and carried Mein Kampf. His defense attempted to portray him as mentally ill, even allowing him to testify on the stand. While doctors acknowledged he had a personality disorder, they did not find him legally insane. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Upon hearing the verdict, he shouted “Heil Hitler” in court.

Spisak spent over 27 years on death row—setting a record in Ohio at the time. His legal team argued that he suffered from bipolar disorder and should not be executed. He blamed the shootings on a mix of hatred, mental illness, and struggles with gender identity. All appeals, including one taken to the U.S. Supreme Court (Smith v. Spisak), were ultimately denied.

While incarcerated, Spisak remained in contact with James Mason, whose newsletter SIEGE praised Spisak and published his writings. Although Mason initially disapproved of Spisak’s gender identity, he later embraced him as a “true” neo-Nazi. Prison letters revealed that Spisak felt pride in his actions, claiming they gave him “great satisfaction.”

On February 17, 2011, at age 59, Frank Spisak was executed by lethal injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. His final meal included spaghetti with tomato sauce, a salad, chocolate cake, and coffee.

The family of victim Timothy Sheehan issued a statement after the execution, saying:
“Today we chose to celebrate the life of husband and father, Timothy Sheehan, not the death of Frank Spisak [...] We are grateful that the justice system has worked, and appreciate those in the criminal justice system whose diligent efforts have helped bring this matter to a final resolution.”