Albert DeSalvo “The Boston Strangler”: A Natural Born Killer Or The Perfect Scapegoat
Investigating The Inconsistencies In The Boston Stranglers’ Confession
As the Strangler’s nickname implies, the victims were killed by strangulation, usually with their own nylon stockings. Sometimes the killer constructed ligatures by weaving together a bunch of smaller ones. According to some sources, the Strangler also had a habit of tying the murder weapons and/or other handy lengths of fabric such as handkerchiefs around the victims’ necks into a bow.
The Boston Strangler’s Modus Operandi
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In the 1960s, residents of Boston Massachusetts lived in fear and paranoia after news broke about a series of murders happening almost consecutively in just under 2 years. The victims all of whom were women of status and power were found dead in their homes with seemingly no signs of a break-in or struggle indicating that the victims willingly let their killer in.
The killer would be dubbed the Boston Strangler due to his sickening methods of strangling and then ‘decorating’ his victims’ bodies before leaving the scene. The police scrambled to build a profile but despite their best efforts, the Strangler always seemed to be one step ahead.
The people of Boston believed that the Strangler possessed certain supernatural abilities that enabled his escape and just as his name was about to be added to the list of faceless killers together alongside the Servant Girl Annihilator he surprisingly confessed and surrendered.
Albert DeSalvo, a convicted rapist claimed full responsibility for all the killings. He shared pieces of information about his killings and blamed his actions on his insatiable need for sex.
There was just one problem, DeSalvo was unable to provide any physical evidence to support his confession and the police were quick to brush this off before haphazardly closing the case. He was later found dead under mysterious circumstances in prison while serving his sentence.
This begs the question, was DeSalvo forced to confess, and was he silenced for trying to tell the truth?
In the dead of the night when all seems quiet and you think you’re safe that’s when evil comes out to play.
Criminal File investigates, Case #13 — The Boston Strangler
A Quick Note Before We Begin
It is a known fact that Albert DeSalvo was a convicted rapist and there is evidence to prove that he was responsible for at least one of the Boston Strangler’s victims.
This article is not written to debate his innocence but rather to debate whether he was the Strangler or if there was another killer (the actual Strangler) who set DeSalvo up as a scapegoat.
The Boston Murders
Between June 1962 and January 1964, a total of 13 women were found dead having been strangled in their homes in the Greater Boston area.
The victims were all affluent and respectable women of their communities. What made this case so peculiar was how there were no signs of any forced entry leading investigators to believe that the victims willingly let their assailants in.
The police believed that the perpetrator most likely worked in a profession that would have little to no trouble gaining access to people’s homes such as a delivery man or maintenance worker.
They also suspected that there were likely multiple killers operating under a similar M.O. which would explain how the murders were carried out in quick succession without any slip-ups.
But before the police were able to find evidence to support their suspicions the media had already started capitalizing on the situation to make a quick buck.
Major television networks and newspapers reported that the killings were all attributed to the elusive figure initially dubbed “The Mad Strangler of Boston”.
They began to hype up the killer as some sort of supernatural monster that was able to talk his way in or out of any situation and in the process created massive widespread panic throughout Boston. The name Boston Strangler would come much later.
In response, women started buying tear gas and deadbolts in masses and some even decided to leave Boston entirely.
Anna E. Slesers
It all started on 14 June 1962 at 77 Gainsborough Street, Boston. Anna Slesers was a 55-year-old woman who lived alone in her apartment. She was busy getting ready for a church service that night and left a batch of fresh muffins in the oven baking while taking a bath and waiting for her son to pick up her.
25-year-old Juris arrived at around 7 p.m. to pick his mother up, when he received no answer after knocking a couple of times he started getting annoyed. He had plans to head out after sending his mother to service and did not want to be late, he tried knocking several more times and then the panic started setting in.
Was she sick or had she fallen and hurt herself inside? Juris thought to himself before throwing his entire weight against the door and breaking it open.
His fears were confirmed when he saw his mother lying motionless in the bathroom with the cord from her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her neck. Juris quickly phoned the police and Detectives James Mellon and John Driscoll were the first to arrive at the scene.
Seeing the now burnt muffins in the oven, the drawers that were open in the bedroom with their contents rummaged through and Sleser’s belongings thrown all over the floor, the Detectives were quick to rule out suicide.
They initially suspected that it was a possible burglary gone wrong. They believed that the suspect was overcome by their uncontrollable urge after seeing Slesers in her robe and sexually assaulted before silencing her. A point of interest here is that Slesers’ valuables were left in the apartment which would contradict the Detectives’ initial assessments.
Attempting To Build A Timeline Of Events
The information available on the victims is rather scarce so I will do my best to build up a timeline of the Strangler’s activities.
Two weeks after the murder of Slesers, the Strangler would claim another victim. On 28 June 1962, an 85-year-old elderly woman named Mary Mulley was found dead in her apartment at 1435 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. She was found dead on her sofa and in later interrogations, DeSalvo claimed that he did not kill Mullen and that she died in his arms. Her autopsy showed that she had died of a heart attack.
Two days later on 30 June 1962, 68-year-old Nina Nichols was found murdered in her apartment at 1940 Commonwealth Avenue in the Brighton area of Boston. Her apartment was in a mess indicating signs of a burglary. Every drawer in the house was pulled open and Nichols’ belongings were thrown all across the room the whole place looked as if a tornado had just ripped through it.
But similar to Slesers’ case, Nichols’ valuables were left untouched but authorities noted that her address book and mail had been rummaged through.
Nichols’ body showed signs of sexual assault and her nylon stockings were wrapped tightly around her neck in the shape of a bow. Blood was found in her private region. The mess in the apartment seemed to have been a red herring
Another murder would occur that same day, 65-year-old divorcee Helen Blake was found strangled in her apartment on 73 Newhall Street, she was strangled with one of her nylons, and her brassiere was tied neatly around her neck in the shape of a bow. Her apartment was also ransacked but this time two diamond rings were stolen from the scene.
A few months later on 19 August 1962, 75-year-old Ida Irga a retired widow was found dead in her apartment on 7 Grove Avenue. She was found lying on her back with a white pillowcase wrapped tightly around her neck.
Her body was deliberately posed in such a way that the first thing police would see upon entering her apartment was the exposed lower half of her body. Her body showed signs of sexual assault and dried blood covered her face.
Within just twenty-four hours of Irga’s discovery, the body of a 75-year-old nurse named Jane Sullivan was found dead in her apartment at 435 Columbia Road. Her body was lying in the bathtub underneath the faucet. She was strangled with her nylon and blood was found across the apartment floor.
Police estimated that she had been dead 10 days before her body was discovered based on the level of decomposition. Blood stains were also found on the handle of a broomstick. Similar to the others, Sullivan was also sexually assaulted and her apartment showed no signs of a forced entry.
A Possible Second Killer
The Strangler struck again on 5 December 1962 but this time there were some changes in his methods. The police had established the killer’s victim profile comprising of middle-aged well-to-do women so when the body of 21-year-old Sophie Clark was discovered by her roommates in their shared apartment at 315 Huntington Avenue the police were caught off guard.
Clark was strangled with three of her nylons wrapped tightly around her neck, her body showed signs of sexual assault, and time traces of semen were found on the apartment rug.
Clark had always been a cautious individual and took security very seriously, she was known to even question her friends before letting them into her apartment so when news got out that there were no signs of forced entry, people started building up the fable of the Strangler being able to charm his way into anyone’s home.
Before this, the Strangler had only targeted middle-aged women and was careful in not leaving any evidence behind so could the death of Clark be the work of a copycat killer?
When police questioned Clark’s neighbors, Marcella Lulka a woman who lived in the same building shared that a strange man had knocked on her door claiming that the superintendent of the building had sent him to fix the painting in her apartment.
Upon entering, he complimented her figure and asked if she was interested in modeling before Lulka told him to quieten down as her husband was sleeping in the other room. Lulka shared how the man quickly left in a fit of anger claiming that he had the wrong house.
The building superintendent clarified that they had not dispatched anyone to check on the tenants, could this man have been the killer responsible for Clark’s death?
The Death Count Kept Rising
Patricia Bissette a 23-year-old secretary was found dead by her boss on 31 December 1962 after she failed to report to work. Her apartment was located on 515 Park Drive which was near where Anna Slesers and Sophie Clark were discovered.
Several stockings were tied around her neck, her rectum showed signs of damage and she was found to be in the early stages of pregnancy.
68-year-old Mary Brown was found beaten to death in her apartment at 319 Park Street on 31 December 1963. Strangulation marks were found around her neck and her body showed signs of sexual assault.
On 8 May 1963, 23-year-old graduate student Beverly Samans was found dead by her friend in her apartment. Her hands were tied with one of her scarves and nylon and handkerchiefs were tied neatly around her neck with a cloth stuffed into her mouth.
Stab wounds were also found on the side of her throat which police believed to be her official cause of death. A bloody knife was discovered in her sink.
On 8 September 1963, the body of 58-year-old divorcee Evelyn Corbin was discovered at 224 Lafayette Street, Salem. She was strangled with two of her nylons and her underpants were stuffed into her mouth.
Her bed was marked with lipsticks and tissues containing traces of semen were also found. One strange clue at the scene was an uneaten doughnut outside her window on the fire escape, police determined that it was not thrown there by any of the residents after extensive questioning.
23-year-old Joann Graff was found to have been raped and murdered in her ransacked apartment on 54 Essex Street on 25 November 1963. Two nylon stockings were wrapped tightly around her neck in the shape of a bow and clear bite marks were seen on her chest area. Her private areas were covered with blood stemming from laceration wounds.
Earlier that day, Graff’s upstairs neighbor Kenneth Rowe received a knock on his door, upon answering a man dressed in green slacks*,* and dark shirt*,* and a jacket asked if this was the apartment that Joann Graff was staying in, the neighbor redirected the man to her apartment and he promptly left. Could this have been the Strangler?
Two young women discovered their roommate 19-year-old Mary Sullivan dead in their apartment on 4 January 1964. Sullivan had been strangled like the others and had a pink and black stocking wrapped in the shape of a bow under her chin.
A “Happy New Year’s” card was placed against her feet. Her body had been positioned in an upright manner and there was visible semen coming out of her mouth and all over her exposed chest. In a final act of depravity, the Strangler jammed a broomstick handle into Sullivan’s private area.
Now let’s get to our main suspect, Albert DeSalvo.
Albert DeSalvo’s Early Crimes & Abusive Father
Albert Henry DeSalvo was born on 3 September 1931 in Chelsea, Massachusetts to father Frank DeSalvo and mother Charlotte DeSalvo. Albert had five siblings, a brother, and four sisters. DeSalvo’s father was and I quote a sadistic, violent, and alcoholic fisherman who frequently abused his wife and children.
Frank would frequently bring home sex workers and do the deeds right in front of his entire family, wife included. He would also physically attack his wife in front of the children, DeSalvo recalled one incident when his father broke all of his mother’s fingers before knocking all her teeth out in front of him.
Frank even sold his children to a local farmer in Maine for a measly $9 but fortunately, the kids were street-smart and managed to escape from the farm and make their way home safely. DeSalvo was taught how to steal at a very young age by his father and by the time he was 12, he had already been arrested for battery and robbery.
At the age of 17 DeSalvo enlisted into the U.S. Army and was deployed to Europe where he met his soon-to-be wife, Irmgard Beck.
DeSalvo did two tours in the army and during his second tour he was arrested on the grounds of molestation. He had sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl but for reasons unknown, her parents did not go through with the charges and DeSalvo managed to escape conviction, he was eventually discharged from the army in 1956.
After his release from the military, he would again be arrested for robbery, and at this point, he started to develop an insatiable thirst for sex. He demanded sex six times a day from Beck who soon grew tired of his constant begging. The couple would go on to have two children and it was during this period when DeSalvo committed two series of high-profile crimes.
The Measuring Man Incident
Before the Boston Strangler murders another spree of sexual crimes happened throughout the Cambridge area and of course, we now know that DeSalvo was the one responsible for them.
He would go door to door knocking and if a young woman answered, he would pretend to be an agent for a modeling company scouting for talents.
He sweet-talked and pretended to hire them for his agency and took their body measurements and personal information. It goes without saying that he touched the women inappropriately.
DeSalvo was arrested on 17 March 1961 after trying to break into an apartment and confessed to being the “Measuring Man”. When questioned on his crimes DeSalvo responded by saying that he did it to prove that he was better than others.
He was charged with 18 months of jail time and was released in April of 1962, 2 months before the death of the Strangler’s first victim, Anna Slesers.
“I’m not good-looking, I’m not educated, but I was able to put something over on high-class people. They were all college kids and I never had anything in my life and I outsmarted them.”
The Green Man Incident
DeSalvo was arrested again just 3 years following his release from jail. On 27 October a woman was lazing in her bed after her husband had left for work when all of a sudden a man appeared from a corner and held her down at knifepoint, the man was DeSalvo.
He threatened to kill her if she made any sound and proceeded to tie her up and gag her with her underwear before sexually assaulting her. The woman was able to accurately describe the face of her assailant to the police and DeSalvo was promptly arrested.
At the station, DeSalvo confessed to being the “Green Man” who was previously reported to have broken into many women’s apartments dressed in green work pants.
He claimed to have broken into four hundred apartments at least and committed a couple of rapes, his wife was not at all surprised to hear this from the police and she even said that her husband was constantly in heat.
DeSalvo was detained in Bridgewater and there he met his cellmate, George Nassar another person of interest and an extremely dangerous criminal with an IQ level almost reaching genius level. Nassar is a known manipulator and was in prison for murder.
The Confession
In March of 1965, DeSalvo’s wife Beck received a call from F. Lee Bailey his defense attorney. Baily told Beck to flee town with her children and to assume a different name claiming that something big was about to happen to her family and they needed to run.
Soon after, DeSalvo confessed to being the Boston Strangler admitting to all of the killings. Beck was in disbelief, she knew that her husband was a sexual maniac but would never resort to murder, she claimed that he was either set up or was bribed with a large sum of money.
Before confessing, DeSalvo was already charged with life imprisonment at an institution following his Green Man crimes so theoretically speaking he had nothing to lose even if he faked the confession for fame or money, plus the state’s last execution was 17 years prior so DeSalvo believed that he would not be executed.
When his lawyer Bailey questioned him on why he confessed DeSalvo calmly explained that since he was destined to spend the rest of his life locked up he was hoping that someone would pick up his story and send some of the royalties to his family.
DeSalvo was able to recall most of the details about the crimes and described in vivid detail the attacks on Sophie Clark and Ida Irga. After fifty hours of tapes and 2000 pages of transcripts, DeSalvo’s intense interrogation was completed with almost every detail checking out.
He was able to recall details such as the notebook hidden under the bed of Beverly Samans, and the Christmas bells attached to Patricia Bissette’s doors and even drew accurate floor plans of each of the victim’s apartments. By this point, it seemed certain that DeSalvo was indeed the Strangler.
The Gaps In DeSalvo’s Tell-All
No physical evidence was ever found that could link him to any of the murders (yet) and not a single eye witness stepped up to place him even remotely near the crime.
Kenneth Rowe, the upstairs neighbor of Joann Graff said that Albert DeSalvo did not look like the man that was knocking on his door and asking for Graff.
Another crucial witness, Marcella Lulka who stayed at the same apartment as Sophie Clark had encountered a man known as “Thompson” before Clark’s death. Thompson visited Lulka’s apartment claiming that he was there to paint but Lulka turned him away. Lulka drew a sketch based on memory about Thompson but the sketch looked nothing like DeSalvo.
Another key player in this case was Gertrude Gruen who was also a victim of The Boston Strangler but fortunately, she managed to survive by putting up one hell of a fight forcing the Strangler to run away.
When Gruen was asked to identify her assailant at DeSalvo’s prison in the visiting room following his confessions, she immediately identified DeSalvo’s prison mate George Nassar as her attacker instead claiming adamantly that he was the man who tried to strangle her.
Many critics believed that DeSalvo was fed the information that he told police and the public consensus was that there was never just one Strangler to begin with but multiple killers operating under the same M.O.
Here are three key flaws in his confessions that I feel are substantial enough to cast doubts over whether he was the Strangler:
- While DeSalvo was able to provide the details of each murder he was however unable to give an estimate time of death for any of the victims. This is strange as DeSalvo was known to have phenomenal memory as tested by Dr. Robey and one of the lawyers, Jon Asgeirsson. He was supposed to have a near-photographic memory.
- DeSalvo was never able to correctly get each of the victims’ exact cause of death right. Some of them died by manual strangulation while others by ligature strangulation but he was never able to correctly determine which was which for the victims.
- Finally, he claimed to have sexually penetrated Mary Sullivan but no semen was ever found in her body, she was however assaulted with a broom handle.
All these coupled with the lack of any actual evidence or eyewitnesses make me doubt his confessions.
Albert DeSalvo’s Sentencing and New Evidence Emerged
DeSalvo was sentenced in 1967 to life however he managed to escape with two other inmates before turning himself in to the police. He was then transferred to Walpole Maximum Security Prison where he would serve six years before he was suspiciously stabbed to death in the prison infirmary. To date, his killer or killers have never been found.
On 11 July 2013, the Boston Police Department announced that they now have substantial DNA evidence to link DeSalvo the the murder of Mary Sullivan. DNA found at the scene of her murders contained a near-certain match to samples taken from DeSalvo’s nephew. Following the match, DeSalvo’s body was exhumed and further DNA testing confirmed DeSalvo’s connection to Sullivan’s death.
Closing Out The Case
The Boston Strangler case is by far the most ambitious case that I have ever undertaken. With so many moving parts, so many suspects and so much information missing it is difficult to build an accurate timeline for the entire case.
While we may never know if Albert DeSalvo committed the remaining 12 murders and the assault on Gertrude Gruen, we can at least rest easy knowing that Mary Sullivan’s case was solved and that her family had closure.
There is still an immense interest in this case and only time will tell if the police will be able to crack this cold case. But what do you think Detective? Do you think DeSalvo was the Strangler or perhaps just like me you have this gut feeling that the truth is hiding just around the corner?
And please let me know in the comments if you prefer cases that are more open-ended like this one or if you would prefer cases that are already solved. Until next time, Detective.
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