It is known that his father, whom he is named after, abandoned him in early childhood and that Geralds suffered abuse from his mother's boyfriend.

His movements between June 19, 1992, when he was paroled from a prison in New York, and November 21, 1992, when he was charged with residential burglary in Chicago, are uncertain.

All of his murders took place in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, which is particularly known for high crime rates and a known low socioeconomic area.

Within Englewood, an area known as “The Stroll” on South Halsted Street was a popular location where Geralds began his murder process.

His modus operandi became seducing drug-addicted prostitutes with drugs, in particular crack cocaine, and then strangling his victims once he had them in privacy.

[1] Mary Blackman's body was found in a waste disposal trash bin at the house that she shared with the Geralds' family on South May Street, Englewood, Chicago.

He confessed to all of the six killings whilst under investigation and on November 13, 1997, the day of his 33rd birthday, he was convicted by a jury as guilty on all charges laid against him.

[4] The prosecution, Assistant States Attorney Nick Ford and co-prosecutor Jeanne Bischoff discredited the mental health plea calling Hubert Geralds a "malingerer",[4] claiming that he was putting on an act and portrayed him as a threat to society, a murderer and a drug user and dealer.

After the three-week trial ended on January 9, 1998, Judge Michael P Toomin sentenced Geralds to death.

Geralds maintains his innocence, even though he confessed to the murders and was able to give details to the detectives about the killings and his involvement in the deaths.

He has said that the deaths were purely disputes over drugs and financial situations resulting in arguments that led to physical confrontations.

During the second trial the defense argued that Geralds was so mentally ill that he was coerced into admitting guilt for all the murders by Chicago Police and that the confessions were invalid.

On the night of April 14, 1995, Hopes and Geralds had been smoking crack cocaine and marijuana together at her apartment in the 5700 block of South Elizabeth Street, Englewood, Chicago.

She told the court “I was being lifted off the ground and started to black out.”[5] She was attacked in an alley near Racine Avenue.