[Faline]

The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer (or murderers) of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders (sometimes known as the silk stocking murders) were not committed by one person.

Albert DeSalvo:


First lot of victims were murdered in 1962:

*Anna E. Slesers, 55, sexually molested with unknown object and strangled with the cord on her bathrobe; found on June 14, 1962 in the third-floor apartment at 77 Gainsborough St., Back Bay
*Mary Mullen, 85, died from a heart attack but in the confession was said to have collapsed as the strangler grabbed her; found on June 28, 1962
*Nina Nichols, 68, sexually molested and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on June 30, 1962
*Helen Blake, 65, sexually molested and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on June 30, 1962 in her apartment at 73 Newhall Street, Lynn, Mass.
*Ida Irga, 75, sexually molested and strangled; found on August 21, 1962 at 7 Grove Street in Boston
*Jane Sullivan, 67, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on August 30, 1962 at 435 Columbia Road, Dorchester

Second lot of victims:

*Sophie Clark, 20, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 5, 1962, Boston Back Bay
*Patricia Bissette, 23, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 31, 1962, Boston Back Bay
*Mary Brown, 69, stabbed, strangled and beaten, found on March 9, 1963 in Lawrence, Mass.
*Beverly Samans, 23, stabbed to death on May 8, 1963 at 4 University Road in Cambridge, Mass.
*Evelyn Corbin, 58, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on September 6, 1963 in Salem, Mass.
*Joann Graff, 23, sexually assaulted and strangled on November 23, 1963 in Lawrence, Mass.
*Mary Sullivan, 19, sexually assaulted and strangled with dark stockings; found on January 4, 1964

Faces of some of the victims:


Victim of Albert DeSalvo, aka The Boston Strangler:


Overview:

In a short period between June 1962 and January 1964 a series of grisly murders took place in Boston. All the victims were women who had been strangled. In the same way that London witnessed a succession of brutal killings mostly attributed to the unknown butcher The Ripper, the Boston slayings were equally blamed on one lone sociopath. Mystery and mythology still surrounds both.

The Boston Strangler has been held accountable for around eleven murders of women (non prostitutes) out of thirteen victims. Similarly to the Victorian killer, no-one was actually tried for the Boston murders. But one Albert DeSalvo was – by the public at least - believed to be the man responsible. DeSalvo actually confessed to each of the thirteen official Strangler murders. However, some doubt was shed on DeSalvo having been the killer by people who personally knew and worked with him.

What marks these particular murders out in the annals of serial killing is the fact that all the victims were considered to be mature or elderly. The combination of old age, loneliness and vulnerability, adds to the brutality and tragedy of the events.

Albert DeSalvo, a well built 29-year-old, had a history of breaking and entering into properties for years. He had spent time in prison for a bizarre series of ‘peeping tom’ like escapades where he would knock on ladies' doors, pretend he was a model scout and proceed to ‘measure up’ the flattered woman if he was lucky enough to get in. It seemed a harmless, albeit disturbing, pastime and DeSalvo spent 18 months in prison for such sexually orientated mischievousness.

DeSalvo had a tough upbringing. He was brought up with four other siblings and his father was a wife-beating alcoholic. The boy became a delinquent and spent time in and out of prison for petty crime and violence.

Years later after he had been discharged from the army for disobeying orders he settled down and married his sweetheart, Irmgard Beck, a girl from Germany. They lived modestly and, despite Irmgard giving birth to a handicapped child, the family managed to sustain itself. Irmgard was aware that DeSalvo was highly sexed and tried to avoid intercourse for fear of having another handicapped baby. However, a healthy boy was born and DeSalvo appeared to become a conscientious family man, liked and appreciated by colleagues and his boss. He was also known to be an outrageous braggart, which perhaps led the police to later disbelieve his claims to be the Strangler.

Death:
DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 1967 for the rapes he committed. In February of that year, he escaped with two fellow inmates (one of them a bank robber named George Harrison from Westford MA) from Bridgewater State Hospital, triggering a full scale manhunt. A note was found on his bunk addressed to the superintendent. In it DeSalvo stated that he had escaped to focus attention on the conditions in the hospital and his own situation. The next day he gave himself up. Following the escape he was transferred to the maximum security Walpole State Prison where, six years later, he was found stabbed to death in the infirmary. His killer or killers were never identified.

Read More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Strangler

[Faline]

A&E Biography The Boston Strangler..parts 1 to 5

[Pyramid_Head]

That picture with the broom up her cooter is a classic. It was one of the first death pictures I ever saw.

[Faline]

Originally Posted by Pyramid_Head ↗

That picture with the broom up her cooter is a classic. It was one of the first death pictures I ever saw.

Yeah me too
That pic is on here but no info or videos on this guy on here so thought it would be a great addition for the serial killer thread

[carkees]

Wonder if de Silva was really the one....

[Vedderman]

The broom girl wasn't one of DeSalvo's, unfortunately. That photo has been regularly mis-attributed to both DeSalvo and the Hillside Stranglers (Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono), but in fact was related to neither. Despite its frequent appearance on gore sites over the years (starting on the alt.tastless usenet group back in the late 90's, which is where I first saw it) it has never been officially or conclusively linked to any particular crime case.

If I recall (I'd have to check my archives), Mary Sullivan did have a broomstick in her vagina, but the autopsy report indicated that it was less than six inches inside-not the three+ feet you see here. I suspect that is why the photo is often mistakenly credited to the Boston Strangler.

[Pelle]

Great post!! Interesting

[Dynamo47]

Excellent post and info. I had heard of the Boston Strangler but never saw anything about them. This was the only Boston Strangler I ever knew growing up.

[Ed Gein]

Nice post

[**butterflylove**]

interesting, totally fucked up dude/and or dudes (maybe even a dudette?)