Albert Henry DeSalvo (September 3, 1931 - November 25, 1973) was a serial killer active in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub of the Universe (The State House, according to Oliver Wendell Holmes, is the hub of the Solar System), Athens of America Location in Massachusetts Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (D) Area    - City 232. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

Dubbed the Boston Strangler, DeSalvo confessed to the murders of thirteen women in the Boston area.

Biography

In November of 1943 at age twelve, DeSalvo was arrested for assault, battery and robbery. In December of the same year he was sent to the Lyman School for Boys. On October 1944, he was paroled and started work as a delivery boy. In August 1946, he returned to the Lyman School for stealing an automobile. After completing his second sentence, DeSalvo joined the U.S. Armed forces upon his parole. He was honorably discharged after his first tour of duty. He pooped and, in spite of being tried in a Court-martial, DeSalvo was honorably discharged. The armed forces of a state are its government sponsored defense and fighting forces and organizations. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

Between June 14, 1962, and January 4, 1964, thirteen single women (between the ages of 19 and 85) were murdered in the Boston area. All thirteen women were sexually assaulted in their apartments, then strangled with articles of clothing. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to either knew their assailant or voluntarily allowed him into their homes. June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

While the police were not convinced that all of these murders were the work of a single individual, much of the public believed so. Despite police efforts to solve the case, it was the DeSalvo who caused his own capture.

On October 27, 1964, a stranger entered a young woman's home posing as a detective. He tied his victim to her bed, proceeded to sexually assault her, and suddenly left, saying "I'm sorry" as he went. The woman's description led police to identify the assailant as DeSalvo and when his photo was published, many women identified him as the man who had assaulted them. Earlier on October 27, DeSalvo had posed as a motorist with car trouble and attempted to enter a home in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The homeowner, future Brockton police chief Richard Sproles, became suspicious, and eventually fired a shotgun at DeSalvo. October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. ...

DeSalvo was not initially suspected of being involvment with the stranglings. It was only after he was charged with rape that he gave a detailed confession 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 offences.

DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 1967. He escaped from custody for one day in 1967 before being recaptured. He was murdered six years later in the prison infirmary. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Doubts

Lingering doubts remain as to whether DeSalvo 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. It was also noted that the women killed by "The Strangler" came from different age and ethnic groups, and that there were different modi operandi. Former FBI profiler Robert Ressler noted "You're putting together so many different patterns [regarding the Boston Strangler murders] that its inconceivable behaviorally that all these could fit one individual."[1] Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... Colonel Robert K. Ressler Robert Ressler is a former FBI agent and author. ...

In the case of Mary Sullivan, murdered January 4, 1964 at age 19, DNA and other forensic evidence gathered nearly 40 years later by her nephew Casey Sherman and published in his book A Rose for Mary (2003) suggested that DeSalvo was not responsible for her death. For example, DeSalvo confessed to sexually penetrating Sullivan, yet the forensic investigation revealed no evidence of sexual activity. There are also suggestions from DeSalvo himself that he was covering up for another man, the real killer. In his criminal encyclopedia, "Bloodletters and Badmen" Author Jay Robert Nash refused to list Desalvo, due to these doubts. January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. ... Forensics or forensic science is the application of science to questions which are of interest to the legal system. ... A Rose for Mary is a book about 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, the last victim of confessed Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

DeSalvo in fiction

• DeSalvo was the subject of the 1968 Hollywood film The Boston Strangler, starring Tony Curtis as DeSalvo, and Henry Fonda and George Kennedy as the homicide detectives who apprehend him. The movie was highly fictionalized: it assumed DeSalvo was guilty, and it portrayed him as suffering from multiple personality disorder and committing the murders while in a psychotic state. DeSalvo was never diagnosed with, or even suspected of having, that disorder.

• DeSalvo was one of the serial killers whose murders were recreated by the killer in the movie Copycat.

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in The Persuaders! Tony Curtis (born June 3, 1925) is an American film actor. ... Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 film 12 Angry Men. ... George Kennedy George Kennedy (born February 18, 1925 in New York City, New York) is an actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. ... Overview In psychiatry, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the current name of the condition formerly listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and Multiple Personality Syndrome. ... Psychosis is a psychiatric classification for a mental state in which the perception of reality is distorted. ... Copycat (1995) is an American suspense movie thriller. ...

Trivia

• The Boston Strangler is briefly mentioned in the song "Dirty Water" by The Standells. The song centers around the singer's love of his home town of Boston, and in an aside towards the end of the song the words, "Have you heard about the Strangler?" are heard.
• The song "Midnight Rambler" by the Rolling Stones (from the album Let It Bleed) was inspired by and mentions the Boston Strangler.
• In 1971, Texas legislator Tom Moore, Jr. introduced a measure to demonstrate the lack of legislative scrutiny. The measure's passage effectively meant that DeSalvo was commended by the Texas House of Representatives as being "officially recognized by the state of Massachusetts for his noted activities and unconventional techniques involving population control and applied psychology."
• British power electronics group Whitehouse have a track called "Dedicated To Albert De Salvo" (album: Buchenwald, 1981)
• Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery has a song titled "Boston Strangler (Albert DeSalvo)" on the album of the same name. Its lyrics are from the Strangler's point of view.
• The song "Boston Strangler" appears on the Macabre album Sinister Slaughter (1993).

The Standells were a 1960s rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California who, like the The Seeds, exemplified the garage rock style. ... Midnight Rambler is a song by British rock and roll band the Rolling Stones that was released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Let It Bleed is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1969. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Tom Moore, Jr. ... The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. ... Population control is the practice of limiting population increase, usually by reducing the birth rate. ... The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome practical problems in other fields, such as business management, product design, ergonomics, nutrition or clinical medicine. ... Whitehouse may refer to: The White House - residence and workplace of the US President Whitehouse (band) - English noise band Frederick William Whitehouse - noted Geologist Mary Whitehouse - British morality advocate Whitehouse. ... Macabre are a death metal band from the USA. They were formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, and ever since have never had a line-up change. ...

References

• A Rose for Mary ISBN 1-55553-578-X
• A Death in Belmont Sebastian Junger ISBN 0-393-05980-4

External links

• FBI files (still partly classified)
• Albert DeSalvo - The Boston Strangler?
• The Boston Strangler (Court TV's Crime Library)
• The Boston Strangler at the Internet Movie Database
• The Boston Strangler
• The Ayes of Texas. Snopes.com.
• Article About Sebastian Junger's Book A Death in Belmont TIME Magazine, 04/10/2006.