Albert Henry DeSalvo was an American rapist and suspected serial killer in Boston, who purportedly confessed to being the "Boston Strangler," the murderer of thirteen women in the Boston area from 1962 to 1964.
18 Facts About Albert DeSalvo
2.
Authorities exhumed Albert DeSalvo's remains later that month and confirmed the DNA match.
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Albert DeSalvo's crimes have been referenced in popular culture for decades.
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Albert DeSalvo was born on September 3,1931 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, to Frank and Charlotte Albert DeSalvo.
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Albert DeSalvo's father was a violent alcoholic, who at one point knocked out all of his wife's teeth and bent her fingers back until they broke in front of their children.
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The young Albert DeSalvo began torturing animals as a child, and started shoplifting and stealing in early adolescence, frequently crossing paths with the law.
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In November 1943, the 12-year-old Albert DeSalvo was first arrested for battery and robbery.
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Albert DeSalvo was honorably discharged after his first tour of duty.
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Albert DeSalvo re-enlisted and, despite being tried in a court-martial, DeSalvo was again honorably discharged.
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Albert DeSalvo served as a Military Police sergeant with the 2nd Squadron, 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
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At the time of the Boston Strangler murders, Albert DeSalvo lived at 11 Florence Street Park in Malden, Massachusetts, across the street from the junction of Florence and Clement streets.
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Albert DeSalvo initially confessed to fellow inmate George Nassar, who then notified his attorney, F Lee Bailey.
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Bailey later stated that Albert DeSalvo was killed for selling amphetamines in the prison for less than the inmate-enforced syndicate price.
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Albert DeSalvo's papers are housed in the Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
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Albert DeSalvo's papers include his correspondence, mainly with the members of the Bailey family, and gifts sent to the Baileys of jewelry and leatherwork crafted by DeSalvo while in prison.
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On July 19,2013, Suffolk County DA Daniel F Conley, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Boston Police Commissioner Edward F Davis announced that DNA test results proved DeSalvo was the source of seminal fluid recovered at the scene of Sullivan's 1964 murder.
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For example, Albert DeSalvo did not, as he claimed, strangle Sullivan with his bare hands; instead, she was strangled by ligature.
18.
George Nassar, the inmate Albert DeSalvo reportedly confessed to, is among the suspects in the case.