Jeffrey Erickson

Jeffrey E. Erickson (c. 1959–1992) and Jill Erickson (c. 1965–1991) were an American criminal couple known for bank robbery. In 1990 and 1991 the couple was believed to have committed eight bank robberies in the Chicago metropolitan area by the time federal authorities caught up with them. The couple's modus operandi was for Jeffrey to announce a hold-up while wearing a fake beard and carrying a police scanner, while Jill prepared the getaway cars. She killed herself after a high-speed chase, while Jeffrey killed himself after disarming a United States marshal and killing her partner and a security guard. The 1996 film Normal Life was based upon the Ericksons' exploits. == Early life == Jeffrey was born to Jack Erickson, a telephone company middle manager, and June, a stay-at-home mother. He was raised in Morton Grove, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, together with his older brother Jim. In 1977, after graduating from Niles West High School, where he was a member of the swim team, Jeffrey joined the United States Marine Corps, where he acquired excellent marksmanship skills. Jill was the younger of two girls raised by adoptive parents Carl Cohen, a pharmacist, and Fran, a child education specialist, in Niles, Illinois. Jeffrey met Jill in a bar near her home on the day she turned 17. He nicknamed her "Gorgeous" due to her long blond hair. Jeffrey later stated that "Jill and I were crazy about each other". After dating for six months, they moved in together, partly as a result of the strain Jill was feeling due to her parents' impending divorce. Jeffrey and Jill were married in a civil ceremony on July 29, 1983.