The Boston Strangler
Massachusetts may have one of the lowest crime rates in the state but that does not mean there have not been any killers to call it home. The Boston Strangler is one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, and is said to have murdered over 11 women in the Boston area from 1962 through 1964.
Time of Killings
The first victim was a woman of 55 years of age, she was strangled in her apartment on June 14, 1962. Over the next couple months, 12 more victims were strangled and killed in their homes, ages varying from 19-85. The age range is unusual because most perpetrators have an age preference. These killings obviously caused mass panic all over the Boston area. People in Boston started buying teargas and deadbolts for fear that the killer would get into their homes. Residents started referring to the killer as “The mad Strangler of Boston”, and the “Phantom Strangler”, but later on was given the name “The Boston Strangler”.
Original Case
Boston was not the city where these crimes were committed. There were a couple committed across other cities, crossing jurisdiction lines. This complicated things because since this happened in multiple places, people did not know who should handle the prosecution. But finally, Boston attorney general Edward W. Brooke took responsibility for conducting cases and coordinating where to place police officers in the area. Brooke then appointed Peter Hukos to study the cases. Peter Hukos was a parapsychologist, which meant that he tested paranormal ideas. After investigating Hukos came to the conclusion that there was only one person responsible for the crimes.
The Killer and the Aftermath
Even with a lot of investigating, the reason that the killer was caught was actually due to one particular incident. According to Wikipedia, on October 27 of 1964 a man came inside a woman’s home pretending to be a detective and tied to a bed then assaulted her, then abruptly left while saying “I’m sorry”. The victim later gave a description of the man and investigators identified the perpetrator as a man named Albert DeSalvo, after he was caught he was originally charged with rape and confessed to another inmate, George Nassar, giving a detailed description of all the murders. Nassar then told all of this to his attorney, when DeSalvo was brought to court, the jury was surprised at DeSalvo’s detail of the crimes, and there were details that had not been released to the public. DeSalvo was charged to prison for life.
While DeSalvo was in prison, he along with two other inmates escaped and disguised himself a U.S Navy Officer. But only a day later DeSalvo turned himself in,the whereabouts of the other two prisoners are unknown. DeSalvoi was then transferred to a maximum security prison. After six years DeSalvo was found dead in the prison infirmary, investigators never found out who killed him.
This case was one of the most popular cases in true crime history, and gets referenced in many crime shows. It was extremely famous because the killer had many victims and a different MO than what was usually seen, and the killer was able to get away with killing for a long time.
- MO- stands for modus operandi which refers to a killers way of committing a crime
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Sources:
– Wikipedia