Hubert Geralds Jr. was born on November 13, 1964. Not much is known about his early life. His father, whom he is named after, left the family when Hubert was very young. This abandonment affected him deeply. His mother had a boyfriend who reportedly abused him during his childhood.

As a child, Hubert grew up facing many hardships. These experiences left a mark on his mental and emotional well-being. He spent his teenage years in New York, but little information is available about his life during that time. There are no records that detail his employment history, and the only evidence of his time in New York comes from his incarceration records.

He was paroled from a New York prison on June 19, 1992. After this parole, there is no clear record of where he went or what he did until November 21, 1992. At that time, he was arrested for residential burglary in Chicago. Hubert served five years in prison for this crime.

Hubert Geralds Jr. was responsible for the murders of five female sex workers in Chicago from December 22, 1994, to June 17, 1995. His victims were Doretha Withers, Alonda Tart, Joyce Wilson, Millicent "Peanut" Jones, and Mary Blackman. His method involved seducing these women, who were often addicted to drugs, with crack cocaine. Once he gained their trust and brought them to a secluded place, he would strangle them using a particular hold known as the "Guardian Angel Chokehold." All five victims died from asphyxia due to strangulation.

In addition to the five murders, Geralds was also charged with the attempted murder and sexual assault of another sex worker, Clenshaw Hopes, who managed to escape. She fought back during the attack and contacted the police after getting away.

Geralds was arrested on June 18, 1995, just a day after the body of Mary Blackman was discovered in a trash bin. Blackman was a friend of Geralds' sister, who reported her concerns to the police. They began to investigate Geralds as a suspect in the murders because of prior connections and his violent history.

During his initial trial, Geralds confessed to committing the murders. He received the death penalty in January 1998. However, after new evidence emerged in 2000, including the arrest of Andre Crawford for another murder, his conviction for one of the murders was vacated. Geralds was retried for five murders and one attempted murder, where he once again claimed that his confessions were coerced.

In 2003, Geralds was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole following the governor's moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois. He continues to serve his life sentence at Menard Correctional Center. His only survivor, Clenshaw Hopes, testified against him during his trials, helping to establish his guilt.