The bodies of 13 women, all from the Boston region, were discovered strangled with their own garments and with signs of sexual abuse between June 1962 and January 1964.
Victims included those between the ages of 19 and 85, including Anna Elsa lesers, Mary Mullen, Helen Blake, Nina Nichols, Ida Irga, Jane Sullivan, Sophie Clark, Patricia Bissette, Mary Brown, Beverly Samans, Evelyn Corbin, and Joann Graff. They were all killed by the same person, who became known as the Boston Strangler.
Boston Strangler, a new thriller on Hulu, transports viewers to the newsroom where the unfolding murder spree was first reported. Here’s a quick rundown of the key players before you tune in: the suspects, the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered the link between the murders, and more.
Who Was The Boston Strangler?
For two years, women in Boston were always on edge. They were terrified to go outside, even during the day, and just as terrified to stay inside. As there was never any evidence of a forced entry, it became clear that the killer had to resort to some other method to obtain access to his victims. The reality is that he might be anyone.
A seemingly unconnected incident provided the break in the Boston Strangler investigation, as it has in other serial murder cases. On October 27, a man who claimed to be a detective broke into a young woman’s house, tied her up, sexually assaulted her, and then departed without saying anything more than, “I’m sorry.”
According to the victim’s detailed description of her attacker, investigators were able to identify Albert DeSalvo as the offender.
The tweet below also talks about the Boston Strangler:
Matt Ruskin's upcoming film, Boston Strangler, starring Keira Knightley as a journalist, centres around the connection she made between the series of murders in the early 1960s.
But who was the real Boston Strangler?
Here's all you need to knowhttps://t.co/XL9gp5OAdE
— WION Showbiz (@WIONShowbiz) March 16, 2023
Several additional female victims came forward to positively identify him as their attacker after his arrest and photo were made public. DeSalvo did not admit to being the Boston Strangler until after his capture, and then only to a fellow inmate.
Was Albert DeSalvo The Boston Strangler?
Although he was never found guilty of any of the murders, Albert DeSalvo has become the most infamous suspect in the Boston Strangler cases because of his confessions.
DeSalvo identified himself as “The Measuring Man” upon his arrest for burglary in March of 1960. The nom de guerre of a serial killer who preyed on young women in Cambridge by pretending to be a modeling scout and knocking on their doors.
Once he gained entry to their homes, he would use a measuring tape as an excuse to sexually assault them. He received an 18-month sentence, but only served 11 before being freed in 1962.
Because of the color of the clothing he wore during his second crime spree, the “Green Man” moniker stuck. One of DeSalvo’s victims went to the police after being assaulted and gave a detailed description of the suspect.
At that point, he was taken under the wing of Bridgewater State Hospital’s watchful eye. Although he later admitted to being the Boston Strangler, no physical evidence linked him to any of the murders at the time. The women who had survived the Strangler attacks did not recognize him.
It wasn’t until July 2013 that his DNA was found on the final Strangler victim, Mary Sullivan. The Boston Police Department’s cold case squad and the attorney general’s office have concluded that DeSalvo is responsible for the rape and murder of Sullivan, while they cannot be positive of his guilt in the remaining Strangler killings.
DeSalvo was convicted of the “Green Man” crimes and sentenced to prison. In 1973 he was stabbed to death in his cell at Walpole Prison.
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