Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler)

Albert Henry DeSalvo was born on September 3, 1931, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He grew up in an abusive household where domestic violence was common. As a child and teenager, he displayed behavioural problems and frequently encountered trouble with the law.

After serving in the United States Army, DeSalvo married and had children. Despite periods of steady employment, he continued to commit sexual offences and burglaries throughout adulthood.

Before his arrest, he became known to police as the "Measuring Man" and the "Green Man" because of a series of sexual assaults in which he posed as a maintenance worker or model scout to gain access to women.

Between June 1962 and January 1964, 13 women, ranging in age from 19 to 85, were murdered in the Boston area. Most victims were sexually assaulted and strangled inside their homes after allowing the offender entry.

The murders created widespread fear throughout Boston, leading to one of the largest homicide investigations in Massachusetts history.

While incarcerated for unrelated offences, DeSalvo confessed to fellow inmate George Nassar that he was the Boston Strangler. He later provided investigators with detailed confessions to the murders. Although prosecutors believed he was responsible, he was never formally tried for the killings.

In 2013, DNA evidence identified DeSalvo as the killer of the final victim, Mary Sullivan, providing strong forensic support for his involvement in at least one of the murders.

Investigators determined that the offender typically targeted women living alone and gained access by deception, often pretending to be a repairman, maintenance worker, or another trusted visitor.

Victims were usually sexually assaulted before being strangled with articles of clothing, such as stockings or belts, which were frequently left tied around the victim in a distinctive manner.

The similarities between many of the murders led investigators to conclude they were likely committed by the same offender, although some researchers continue to debate whether every victim should be attributed to a single killer.

Albert DeSalvo was arrested in October 1964, not for murder, but for a series of sexual assaults and burglaries.

While undergoing psychiatric evaluation at a state hospital, he confessed to being the Boston Strangler. His detailed admissions attracted national attention, although questions remained regarding corroborating evidence.

Because prosecutors believed the confessions alone were insufficient to secure murder convictions, DeSalvo was never prosecuted for the Boston Strangler killings.

DeSalvo was convicted in 1967 for armed robbery, burglary, and numerous sexual offences unrelated to the Boston Strangler murders. He received a life sentence.

On November 25, 1973, Albert DeSalvo was stabbed to death inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Walpole. His murder remains officially unsolved.

In 2013, DNA testing conducted using preserved forensic evidence conclusively linked DeSalvo to the murder of Mary Sullivan, the final known Boston Strangler victim.

The identity of the Boston Strangler remained the subject of debate for decades. While DeSalvo confessed to all 13 murders, some investigators and criminologists questioned whether a single offender committed every killing.

The 2013 DNA identification of DeSalvo in the Mary Sullivan murder significantly strengthened the case against him, but debate continues regarding whether he was responsible for every victim attributed to the Boston Strangler.

The Boston Strangler case remains one of the most famous serial murder investigations in American history and has inspired numerous books, documentaries, films, and television productions.