Albert DeSalvo was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts to Frank DeSalvo and his wife Charlotte. In November 1943, the 12-year-old DeSalvo was arrested for assault, battery, and robbery. In December of the same year he was sent to the Lyman School for Boys. In 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 reenlisted and, in spite of being tried in a Court-martial, DeSalvo was again honorably discharged.
Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women (between the ages of 19 and 75) were murdered in the Boston area. All 13 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 know their assailant or voluntarily allowed him into their homes.
Gainsborough Street site of the first murder attributed to The Boston Strangler
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 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.
DeSalvo was not initially suspected of being involved 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. He initially confessed to a fellow inmate George Nassar who reported to his attorney F Lee Bailey who took on DeSalvo's case. The police were impressed at the accuracy of DeSalvo's descriptions of the crime scenes. Though there were some inconsistencies, DeSalvo was able to cite details which had not been made public. However, there was no physical evidence to substantiate his confession. As such, he stood trial for earlier, unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses. Bailey brought up the confession to the stranglings 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 offenses but it was ruled as inadmissible by the judge.
DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 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. The next day he gave himself up. Following the escape he was transferred to the maximum security Walpole State Prison where he was found murdered six years later in the infirmary. The killer or killers were never identified
Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women (between the ages of 19 and 75) were murdered in the Boston area. All 13 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 know their assailant or voluntarily allowed him into their homes.
Gainsborough Street site of the first murder attributed to The Boston Strangler
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 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.
DeSalvo was not initially suspected of being involved 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. He initially confessed to a fellow inmate George Nassar who reported to his attorney F Lee Bailey who took on DeSalvo's case. The police were impressed at the accuracy of DeSalvo's descriptions of the crime scenes. Though there were some inconsistencies, DeSalvo was able to cite details which had not been made public. However, there was no physical evidence to substantiate his confession. As such, he stood trial for earlier, unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses. Bailey brought up the confession to the stranglings 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 offenses but it was ruled as inadmissible by the judge.
DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 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. The next day he gave himself up. Following the escape he was transferred to the maximum security Walpole State Prison where he was found murdered six years later in the infirmary. The killer or killers were never identified
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