Albert DeSalvo

Albert DeSalvo: The Boston Strangler

Albert DeSalvo, a convicted criminal, had a history of brushes with the law from a young age, but none as infamous as his involvement in the “Boston Strangler” case. DeSalvo confessed to the murders of 13 women in the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. Most of the victims were elderly and lived alone. Despite his confession, DeSalvo was never formally charged with the murders, and though DNA evidence has confirmed his involvement in at least one of the killings, there remains speculation that the crimes may not have been committed by a single individual. DeSalvo was ultimately killed in prison in 1973, having been sentenced to life for other offenses.

Early Life and Initial Crimes

Albert Henry DeSalvo was born on September 3, 1931, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. One of five siblings, he experienced a troubled childhood marked by abuse. His father, an alcoholic, was physically violent toward DeSalvo’s mother and occasionally toward the children. According to Gerold Frank’s 1966 book The Boston Strangler, DeSalvo recalled instances of brutality, saying, “He smashed me once across the back with a pipe… I just didn’t move fast enough.”

DeSalvo became a delinquent early in life, engaging in petty theft and violent behavior, which led to frequent stints in prison and reform school. By the age of six, he had already learned to shoplift, and this tendency toward criminality would continue into his adult years.

In his early adulthood, DeSalvo joined the U.S. Army, where he achieved recognition as the middleweight boxing champion among the troops stationed in Europe. During his time in Germany, he met Irmgard Beck, a German woman whom he later married. The couple returned to the United States, where they lived modestly and raised a family. Despite challenges—such as the birth of a daughter with physical disabilities—DeSalvo seemed to stabilize his life. However, his marriage was strained by his high libido, and his wife often sought to avoid intercourse to prevent another disabled child. Eventually, they had a healthy son.

While DeSalvo worked as a handyman and factory worker, his criminal tendencies continued. He became involved in a series of disturbing incidents, including a series of peeping tom offenses. He would often knock on women’s doors, pretending to be a model scout, and once inside, he would measure the women. This behavior earned him the nickname “The Measuring Man,” and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for these sexually motivated crimes.

The Boston Strangler

Between June 1962 and January 1964, a series of murders rocked the Boston area, with 13 women falling victim to a brutal and eerie killer. The majority of these women were elderly, and nearly all had been strangled, earning the killer the moniker “The Boston Strangler.” The case was highly publicized, and the media dubbed the murderer “The Phantom Fiend.” While DeSalvo confessed to these killings, the lack of physical evidence made a trial impossible, and he was never formally charged for the Boston murders.

What makes these crimes particularly disturbing is the vulnerability of the victims—many were elderly, isolated, and living alone. The murders, therefore, took on a sense of added cruelty and senselessness.

Though DeSalvo’s confession has led many to believe he was the Strangler, doubts persist. DNA evidence has since confirmed his involvement in at least one of the murders, but some investigators continue to question whether DeSalvo was acting alone or if others may have been involved.

In the end, DeSalvo’s criminal history and the shocking nature of the murders made him a figure who remains shrouded in controversy. He was ultimately killed in prison in 1973 after being sentenced to life for other crimes, but his legacy as the confessed “Boston Strangler” continues to captivate and haunt the public imagination.

First Four Victims: Anna Slesers, Mary Mullen, Nina Nichols, and Helen Blake

Anna Slesers, a 55-year-old seamstress and devoted churchgoer, was the first victim of the Boston Strangler, murdered on the evening of June 14, 1962. She resided alone in a modest brick apartment at 77 Gainsborough St. in Boston. Her son, Juris, had planned to pick her up for a memorial service but found her body instead. Discovered in the bathroom with a cord tied in a bow around her neck, Juris initially believed she had committed suicide.

Homicide detectives James Mellon and John Driscoll arrived at the scene to find Slesers in an obscene state, nude and sexually assaulted. The apartment appeared to have been ransacked, with her purse and its contents scattered on the floor. Despite signs of a robbery, valuable items, including a gold watch and jewelry, were left behind. The detectives hypothesized a botched burglary.

Less than three weeks later, on June 28, 1962, 85-year-old Mary Mullen was found dead in her home. Although the autopsy ruled her cause of death as a heart attack, the circumstances of her death were suspicious. Two days later, the body of 68-year-old Nina Nichols was discovered in the Brighton area of Boston. Despite the apparent burglary, valuables such as silver were untouched. Nichols was also found in a state of undress, her legs spread, and her stocking tops tied in a bow, mirroring the previous crime.

The same day, a second victim was found several miles north in Lynn. Helen Blake, a 65-year-old divorcee, had suffered more brutal injuries, including lacerations to her genitals. A bra was tied around her neck in a bow, similar to the previous victims. The scene again suggested a burglary, though valuable items were left behind. After this grisly discovery, it became clear that Boston was facing a serial killer. Police Commissioner Edmund McNamara responded by canceling all police leave and issuing a public warning urging women to take extra precautions.

Police profiling suggested the killer was likely a psychopath, possibly motivated by a deep-seated hatred of older women, potentially linked to his own troubled relationship with his mother.

August 1962 Victims: Ida Irga and Jane Sullivan

The Boston Strangler struck again in August 1962. On August 19, 75-year-old widow Ida Irga was found murdered in her home at 7 Grove Garden in Boston’s West End. Irga had been strangled, and her body was found positioned in a disturbing manner: lying on the floor in a torn nightdress, her legs spread, resting on two chairs, with a cushion under her buttocks. There were no signs of forced entry, suggesting the victim knew her attacker.

The following day, the body of 65-year-old Jane Sullivan was discovered at 435 Columbia Rd. in Dorchester. A nurse by profession, Sullivan had been dead for a week, and her body was found in the bathroom, strangled by her own nylons.

Younger Victims: Sophie Clark and Patricia Bissette

Terror gripped Boston as the Strangler’s pattern seemed to suggest he was targeting older women. However, the killer’s next victims defied this pattern. On December 5, 1962, 21-year-old college student Sophie Clark became his next victim. Clark, a Black student known for her caution and reluctance to date, had been found nude, sexually assaulted, and strangled with her own stockings. This marked the first time semen was discovered at a crime scene, adding a chilling new element to the investigation. Despite taking precautions, Clark had allowed the killer into her home.

A neighbor later reported that a man had visited her apartment, claiming to have been sent to paint it, though he left when she mentioned her husband was at home.

Three weeks later, Patricia Bissette, 23, was found dead in her apartment. Bissette, pregnant at the time, had been sexually assaulted and strangled with her own stockings. Her body was discovered by her employer after she failed to show up for work. Like the other victims, Bissette had been found in a vulnerable state.

The authorities continued to investigate possible connections between the victims, but despite interviewing numerous sex offenders in the Boston area, the case remained unsolved. The police were left with few leads, and the city continued to live in fear as the search for the Boston Strangler intensified.

Early 1963 Victims: Mary Brown and Beverly Samans

In March 1963, a series of brutal murders resumed when 68-year-old Mary Brown was found murdered 25 miles north of Boston. She had been strangled and raped, and her death marked the beginning of a new chapter in the terror that had gripped the city. Two months later, on May 8, 1963, 23-year-old graduate Beverly Samans became the 10th victim. Samans had missed choir practice that day, and her body was found with her hands tied behind her back with a scarf. Her neck was bound with a nylon stocking and two handkerchiefs, and an additional piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth. Samans had been stabbed multiple times, with four fatal stab wounds to her neck, though strangulation had been initially suspected. Bizarrely, 22 additional stab wounds were found on her body, 18 of which formed a bulls-eye pattern on her right breast. Despite evidence of sexual assault, no semen was found. Investigators speculated that her strong throat muscles, likely developed from singing, had made strangulation difficult, prompting the killer to resort to stabbing instead.

The police, now desperate for leads, enlisted the help of a clairvoyant who described the killer as a mental patient who had recently escaped from Boston State Hospital. However, this theory was quickly dismissed after another murder occurred.

Final Victims: Evelyn Corbin, Joann Graff, and Mary Sullivan

The murder spree continued throughout the year. On September 8, 1963, 58-year-old Evelyn Corbin was found dead in her apartment in Salem. Her body was discovered nude, lying face-up on her bed, with her underwear stuffed in her mouth and traces of semen on her body. The apartment had been ransacked in a manner similar to previous crime scenes.

On November 25, 1963, 23-year-old Joann Graff, an industrial designer, was raped and murdered in her apartment in Lawrence. Several details of the crime matched previous descriptions of the suspect, including clothing worn by the killer—dark green slacks, a dark shirt, and jacket.

The final victim, 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, was discovered on January 4, 1964, by two roommates in her apartment. She had been strangled with a dark stocking and sexually assaulted with a broom handle. A chilling detail was the presence of a New Year’s card wedged between her feet, and once again, her apartment had been ransacked.

Investigation, Jailhouse Confession, and Death

The relentless string of killings sparked panic in Boston, prompting the involvement of Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke, who led a task force in January 1964 to investigate the murders. Brooke, the first Black attorney general in the U.S., oversaw an extensive review of police reports and evidence, but the killer remained elusive. Police profiling, which was still a relatively new tool at the time, led investigators to a suspect they believed to be a loner, possibly divorced, and around 30 years old.

In an unexpected turn, the killer was apprehended not through traditional investigative methods, but by chance. Albert DeSalvo, a man with a history of lesser crimes, had been arrested for breaking and entering. During his time in police custody, he confessed to being the Boston Strangler, admitting to all 13 murders. DeSalvo’s confession came while he was incarcerated at Bridgewater State Hospital in 1965, where he had been assigned a defense attorney, F. Lee Bailey, who later became famous for representing O.J. Simpson. Bailey, initially skeptical, was eventually convinced of DeSalvo’s guilt after he provided remarkably detailed descriptions of the murders, including the exact furniture in the victims’ apartments.

Despite DeSalvo’s confession, doubts lingered. Some close to him, including his brother, maintained that he was not capable of committing such heinous acts. Further scrutiny revealed discrepancies in his statements, leading some to believe that DeSalvo’s confession may have been driven by a desire for notoriety and financial gain.

In 1967, DeSalvo was convicted of unrelated crimes, including sexual assault, burglary, and robbery, and sentenced to life in prison. However, his case remained tied to the Boston Strangler murders. In 1973, DeSalvo was murdered in prison under suspicious circumstances, and the case was left unresolved.

Controversy and More Recent Developments

The debate over DeSalvo’s involvement in the Boston Strangler murders continued for decades. In 2001, after requests from DeSalvo’s family and the relatives of Mary Sullivan, DNA testing was conducted on DeSalvo’s exhumed body. Initially, no match was found between DeSalvo’s DNA and the semen found on Sullivan’s body. However, a breakthrough came in 2013 when a familial DNA match to DeSalvo was confirmed. This new evidence, combined with the forensic analysis of preserved DNA evidence, confirmed that DeSalvo was indeed the killer of Mary Sullivan, and likely responsible for the other murders as well. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley stated that the findings left “no doubt” regarding DeSalvo’s involvement.

The case has been the subject of several films and books, including The Boston Strangler (1968), starring Tony Curtis, and The Boston Stranglers by Susan Kelly. In 2023, Hulu released Boston Strangler, a film focusing on investigative journalists who uncovered the truth behind the infamous murders. Despite DeSalvo’s confession and the recent DNA evidence, questions surrounding the case remain unresolved, leaving the mystery of the Boston Strangler a haunting part of Boston’s history.