The Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler was the pseudonym given to Albert De Salvo (3 September 1930 - 26 November 1973), a serial killer active in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) in the early 1960s.Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, thirteen single women between the ages of 19 and 85 in the Boston area were murdered. All thirteen women were murdered in their apartments, strangled with articles of clothing after being sexually assaulted. With no signs of forced entry, the women apparently knew their assailant or, at least, voluntarily let him in their homes.
While the police were not convinced that all of these murders as the work of a single individual, the public did believe so. Despite their efforts to solve the case, it was the Strangler himself who caused his own capture.
On October 27, 1964, he entered a young woman's home posing as a detective. He tied his victim to the victim's bed, proceeded to sexually assault her, and suddenly left, saying "I'm sorry" as he went. The woman's description to the police led to his identification as Albert De Salvo, and when his photo was published, many women identified him as the man who had assaulted them. At this point, De Salvo was not suspected of being involved with the stranglings. It was only until after he was charged with rape that he confessed details of his activities as the Boston Strangler.
However, there was no evidence to substantiate his confession. As such, he stood trial for earlier, unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses. He was sent to prison for life in 1967, but was murdered six years later in his cell.
Lingering doubts remain as to whether De Salvo was indeed the Boston Strangler. At the time that he confessed, people who knew him personally did not believe him capable of the vicious crimes. In the case of Mary Sullivan, murdered January 4, 1964, at age 19, DNA and other forensic evidence gathered nearly forty years later by her nephew Casey Sherman and published in his book A Rose for Mary (2003) suggested that De Salvo was not responsible for her death.
The Boston Strangler was the subject of the 1968 Hollywood film The Boston Strangler starring Tony Curtis as De Salvo, Henry Fonda, and George Kennedy.
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