1967: ‘Boston Strangler’ sentenced to life
The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, and DNA evidence linking him to the last victim. Since then, parties investigating the crimes have suggested that the murders (sometimes referred to as ‘the silk stocking murders’) were committed by more than one person. Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women between the ages of 19 and 85 were murdered in the Boston area. Most were sexually assaulted and strangled in their apartments; police believe that one man was the perpetrator. With no sign of forced entry into their homes, the women were assumed to have let their assailant in, either because they knew him or because they believed him to be an apartment maintenance man, delivery man, or other service man. The attacks continued despite extensive media publicity after the first few murders, which presumably should have discouraged women from admitting strangers into their homes. Many residents purchased tear gas and new locks and deadbolts for their doors. Some women moved out of the area.
The murders occurred in several cities, including Boston, complicating jurisdictional oversight for prosecution of the crimes. Massachusetts Attorney General Edward W Brooke helped to coordinate the various police forces. He permitted parapsychologist Peter Hurkos to use his alleged extrasensory perception to analyse the cases, for which Hurkos claimed that a single person was responsible. This decision was controversial. Hurkos provided a ‘minutely detailed description of the wrong person’, and the press ridiculed Brooke. The police were not convinced that all the murders were the actions of one person, although much of the public believed so. The apparent connections were widely discussed between a majority of the victims and hospitals.
On October 27, 1964, a stranger entered a young woman’s home posing as a detective. He tied the victim to her bed, sexually assaulted her, and suddenly left, saying “I’m sorry.” as he went. The woman’s description of her attacker led police to identify the assailant as Albert DeSalvo. 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 Sproules, became suspicious and eventually fired a shotgun at DeSalvo, who was not initially suspected of being involved with the strangling murders. After he was charged with rape, he gave a detailed confession of his activities as the Boston Strangler. He initially confessed to fellow inmate George Nassar, who Nassar reported the confession to his attorney F Lee Bailey, who also took on defence of DeSalvo. The police were impressed at the accuracy of DeSalvo’s descriptions of the crime scenes. There were some inconsistencies, but DeSalvo was able to cite details that had been withheld from the public.
No physical evidence substantiated his confession. Because of that, he was tried on charges for earlier, unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses, in which he was known as ‘The Green Man’ and ‘The Measuring Man’, respectively. Bailey brought up DeSalvo’s confession to the murders as part of his client’s history at the trial in order to assist in gaining a ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ verdict to the sexual offences, but it was ruled as inadmissible by the judge. DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison on January 18, 1967. In February of that year, he escaped with two fellow inmates 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. Immediately after his escape, DeSalvo disguised himself as a US Navy Petty Officer Third Class, but the next day he gave himself up. Following the escape, he was transferred to the maximum security Walpole State Prison. Six years after the transfer, he was found stabbed to death in the prison infirmary. His killer or killers were never identified.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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