The Boston Strangler is the nickname of a supposed serial killer who murdered 13 single women in the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. Although Albert DeSalvo confessed to the crimes, and was imprisoned for life on unrelated sexual assault charges, many doubt whether he was the killer, or whether all of the women were even killed by the same person.
Fast Facts:
- DeSalvo Born: September 3, 1931
- Birthplace: Chelsea, Massachusetts
- Military service: U.S. Army
- No. of victims: 13
- Murder weapon: Usually nylon stockings owned by women strangled
- DeSalvo Died: November 25, 1973
- Alternative suspect: George Nassar
The Crimes
Between 1962 and 1964, thirteen single women in the Boston area were found murdered in their apartments. The women ranged in age, but almost all of them had been sexually assaulted, posed nude, and found with nylon stockings tied in a bow around their throat. DeSalvo, who was imprisoned in 1964 for dozens of rapes committed at the same time in the Boston area, confessed to the stranglings.
Doubts about DeSalvo's Guilt
DeSalvo was never convicted of the murders; instead, prosecutors pursued rape charges against him and through a plea bargain, ensured that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Some experts theorize that DeSalvo was actually taking the blame for his one-time cellmate, George Nassar, and that Nassar fed him details about the killings. DeSalvo was murdered in his jail cell in 1973; Nassar is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of a gas station attendant in 1964.
