Albert Henry DeSalvo
Albert Henry DeSalvo (born September 3, 1931 in Chelsea , Massachusetts , † November 26, 1973 in Walpole , Massachusetts) was an American serial killer . DeSalvo is also known as "The Boston Strangler" ( The Boston Strangler ). He is charged with 13 murders.
Life
youth
DeSalvo grew up in a violent home. His father was an aggressive alcoholic who knocked out all his wife's teeth and broke her fingers in front of his children. Albert DeSalvo committed a number of minor crimes at a young age, later joined the US Army and spent eight years as a soldier in Germany, where he also met his wife Irmgard Kessel. DeSalvo had two children with her. After his honorable discharge from the army, he returned to the USA.
DeSalvo continued his criminal career through a series of sexual harassment. He was then put on a psychiatric examination, in which he was diagnosed as a sociopath . In May 1961 DeSalvo was sentenced to two years in prison for burglary. After a reduced sentence, he was released from prison in April 1962.
Murders
The first murder attributed to the "Boston Strangler" occurred on June 14, 1962. The victim was 55-year-old Anna Slesers. Like all the other victims, she was single. In the following period (June 1962 to January 1964) another twelve women were found dead. They were each strangled with an item of clothing. There were no signs of burglary; apparently the women had voluntarily let their killer into the apartment.
Although DeSalvo confessed to the "Boston Strangler" murders in September 1965, he was not charged because the evidence was insufficient. Since DeSalvo had committed a series of rapes and break-ins as a "green man" (he wore green pants when the crime was committed) and was identified as the perpetrator during a confrontation, he was taken to Bridgewater State Hospital for observation. In January 1967, DeSalvo was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping the Green Man. A month later he managed to escape from the mental hospital in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. However, he was arrested again after just 24 hours.
James A. Brussel , psychiatrist and forerunner of the "Profiler", was involved in the investigation and describes it in his book "The untamed evil. The most famous cases of Sherlock Holmes among psychiatrists. "
Death and proof of perpetration
Albert Henry DeSalvo was found dead in the prison hospital on November 26, 1973. He had been killed by a fellow inmate with a knife stab in the heart. The circumstances of his murder in a multiple security section of the prison have not yet been clarified.
In July 2013, an analysis found a "family match" between the DNA associated with the murder of Mary Sullivan and that of a nephew of DeSalvo. DeSalvo's corpse was then exhumed and a genetic test confirmed the identity of the genetic profile of traces of sperm from the specimens of the murdered with the DeSalvo's genetic profile.
List of victims
| date of death | Surname | Age |
|---|---|---|
| June 14, 1962 | Anna Slesers | 55 years |
| June 28, 1962 | Mary Mullen | 85 years |
| June 30, 1962 | Helen Blake | 65 years |
| June 30, 1962 | Nina Nichols | 68 years |
| 19th August 1962 | Ida Irga | 75 years |
| 20th August 1962 | Jane Sullivan | 67 years |
| 5th December 1962 | Sophie Clark | 20 years |
| December 30, 1962 | Patricia Bissette | 23 years |
| March 9, 1963 | Mary Brown | 69 years |
| May 6, 1963 | Beverly Samans | 23 years |
| September 8, 1963 | Evelyn Corbin | 58 years |
| November 23, 1963 | Joann Graff | 23 years |
| 4th January 1964 | Mary Sullivan | 19 years |
Movie
1968 to the present day famous feature film with documentary was filmed impact on the events described, The Boston Strangler (The Boston Strangler). DeSalvo was portrayed very convincingly by Tony Curtis ; Directed by Richard Fleischer . The critics were enthusiastic, Curtis was nominated for the Golden Globe.
Another cinematic interpretation of the subject, taking into account the doubts about DeSalvo's guilt, was produced in 2008, directed by Michael Feifer. David Faustino ( A Terribly Nice Family , Bud Bundy) plays the Boston Strangler Albert De Salvo in the lead role . The film was released on DVD on March 12, 2009 in Germany with the title The Boston Strangler - The True Story of the Killer DeSalvo , but by no means achieved the public attention of its predecessor.
In December 2012, plans for a new film adaptation of the Boston Strangler's deeds were announced. Kevin McCormick and Casey Affleck , who would also play the leading role of Henry DeSalvo, would act as producers . Chuck Maclean was supposed to write the script .
The plot of the US film Copykill from 1995 also makes references to the Boston Strangler cases.
Others
In the song Midnight Rambler the Rolling Stones from 1969 it says "Well you heard about the Boston strangler, it's not One of Those".
literature
- Sebastian Junge: Death in Belmont , Munich 2007 [Original A Death in Belmont , New York 2006].
- Gerold Frank: The strangler of Boston. A factual report. Vienna; Munich: Molden, 1967 (translated from the American by Grete Friedmann)
Web links
- Article by Marilyn Bardsley on the Fall of the Boston Strangler
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/11/justice/massachusetts-boston-strangler/index.html?iref=allsearch
- ^ Theguardian.com of July 19, 2013: Boston Strangler DNA tests confirm Albert DeSalvo killed final victim.
- ↑ Announcement on comingsoon.net (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | DeSalvo, Albert Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | The Boston Strangler; DeSalvo, Albert; Boston Strangler |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American serial killer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 3, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chelsea , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 26, 1973 |
| Place of death | Walpole , Massachusetts |