Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Boston Strangler” - Albert DeSalvo

Episode Date: April 3, 2018

There’s a special sense of security within our own homes. But from 1962 to 1964, Albert DeSalvo took advantage of this trust. He swayed women into letting him through the front door, only to leave them as victims of “The Boston Strangler.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. As the old saying goes, home is where the heart is. It's where we feel safest and most comfortable.

It's where we let our guard down, kick off our shoes and relax. We're fiercely protective of our homes. We install alarm systems and train family pets to stay alert to intruders. Despite all these precautions, we let strangers into our homes all the time. When we order takeout, a stranger delivers food to our door. Cable and internet providers still send their employees to homes to install services, and we let them inside. Gas companies send their employees to read your home's gas meter.

We don't know them, but we trust them, because they're performing a service. They're just doing their jobs, we think. They can't possibly be a danger to us. we assume. But in the 1960s, the Boston Strangler took advantage of that kind of trust. From 1962 to 1964, the infamous criminal raped and murdered 13 women inside of their homes in the Boston area. These crimes are primarily attributed to a military veteran named Albert DeSalvo, though

his involvement in all 13 murders continues to be debated. The Boston Strangler did not force his way into victims' homes. He gained entry by posing as a detective, a motorist in distress, and a scout for a modeling agency. Those false identities helped him gain the victim's trust, so they led him inside their homes. At some point after entry, he raped and strangled most of his victims with pieces of clothing. Additionally, one victim was also stabbed and beaten. DeSalvo confessed to committing all 13 murders after being arrested for breaking and entering a home. Police did not trust his statement.

It contained several inaccuracies and police were unable to find physical evidence that linked him to the killings. DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 1967 for a separate series of rapes that happened years later. Boston Police announced a breakthrough in the Boston's Triangle case in 2013, taking place nearly half a century after the first murder and 40 years after DeSalvo's own mysterious death. On July 11, 2013, Boston police announced that. that DeSalvo's DNA matched seminal fluid found on the final Boston Strangler victim, Mary Sullivan, who was killed in 1964. A Suffolk Superior Court judge authorized the exhumation of DeSalvo's remains

for confirmatory testing that we expect will prove DeSalvo's guilt once and for all. However, even after that discovery, DeSalvo's identity as the Boston Strangler continues to be disputed. In this case, it all comes down to one. one main question. How much do you trust Albert DeSalvo? Hi, I'm Greg Polson, and this is serial killers. Today, we're going to take a deep dive into the life of Albert DeSalvo, who admitted to raping and strangling 13 women as the infamous Boston Strangler. I'm here with my co-host Vanessa Richardson. Vanessa's not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but has done a lot of research for the show. Hi, everyone. We'd like to ask a quick favor. Would you leave a

five-star review of serial killers on your favorite podcast directory. It seems so simple, but it really helps us out. And don't forget to subscribe while you're there, because a new episode comes out every Monday. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast. And on Twitter at Parcast Network. DeSalvo was never convicted of all 13 murders and sexual assaults committed by the Boston Strangler, but he did serve jail time for separate charges of LodCon.com. and breaking and entering, as well as for the green man rapes.

Psychologists diagnosed DeSalvo with schizophrenia of the paranoid type, with a sociopathic personality. DeSalvo certainly fit the description of a sociopath. He repeatedly violated the rights of other people. He conned people for pleasure, and DeSalvo was superficially charming and aggressively sexual. His defense attorney F. Lee Bailey described DeSalvo as having, quote, one of the most crushing sexual drives that psychiatric science has ever encountered. Even before the Boston Strangler murders occurred, DeSalvo had a criminal record and was caught by police breaking into homes many times over the course of several years.

In some of the cases, the victim let DeSalvo into their home voluntarily. Vanessa, how was it DeSalvo able to gain the trust of these victims so easily? Why are people so trusting of total strangers? Well, a recent study by the American Psychological, Association found that human beings often trust strangers as a sign of respect. The study found that our tendency to trust others has nothing to do with how trustworthy we think the person is or might be. We trust total strangers out of a sense of moral obligation and duty. Basically, human beings don't want to be seen as rude to each other, so we give each other the benefit of the doubt.

Cornell University's Dr. David Dunning is the lead author of the study and said, quote, trusting others is what people think they should do, and emotions such as anxiety or guilt associated with not fulfilling a social duty or responsibility, may account for much of the excessive trust observed between strangers every day. End quote. In his many crimes, Albert DeSalvo betrayed this underlying trust of the women he attacked and murdered over the course of his life. All of DeSalvo's murder victims were women. Psychologically, are women more trusting than men? psychologists have found that men and women do trust differently, and the way that the genders trust each other varies as well. A study in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

revealed through an investment game that men trust more so than women, but women felt more obligated to both trust and reciprocate trust in people they have interacted with. The experiment had both men and women each send $10 to a stranger, only knowing the recipient's gender. Then, the receiver would return the money plus their own funds if they choose. The result, women tended to return the $10 and additional money to the stranger. The study showed that the sample size of women felt more obligated to do so. Men did not do so in the experiment. We should note here that this is not the fault of the victims, and we're not placing blame on the women in any way. DeSalvo clearly took advantage of this during his crimes. DeSalvo preyed on the trust of women throughout his

criminal life. The Boston Strangler's sexual assaults and killings occurred from June 14, 1962, until January 14th, 1964. After the Boston Strangler murders occurred, DeSalvo sexually assaulted four different women in four separate towns on May 6, 1964, in the morning and midday hours, and all the victims survived. DeSalvo was known as the green man for these assaults, because he wore green work pants and posed as a building maintenance worker. On October 27th, 1964, DeSalvo broke into a woman's home in East Cambridge. He posed as a police officer and said, quote, you know me. He held a knife to her throat, stuffed her underwear into her mouth, and tied her to the bed. DeSalvo kissed her, fondled her, and then asked her how to exit the apartment.

The woman described the perpetrator as having, quote, slick black hair, a crooked nose, and a medium build, and wearing a green shirt and green slacks. The description led right to DeSalvo. On November 3, 1964, Boston police arrested DeSalvo for that assault, and sent his mugshot to a six-state teletype network. Connecticut detectives noticed his face and crime description matched the green man sexual assaults. In March 1965, DeSalvo confessed to not just a East Cambridge assault and the Green Man rapes, but hundreds of other sexual assaults. DeSalvo told Sergeant Leo Davenport, quote, I've committed more than 400 breaks in this area, and there's a couple of rapes you don't know about.

DeSalvo had a tendency to exaggerate and aggrandize when speaking to police, a behavior that many serial killers display. Criminologists have found that serial killers like DeSalvo actually enjoy talking about the heinous crimes that they've committed, even to law enforcement. They seem to show a lot of pride in the unspeakable things they have done. Clinical psychologist and author Dr. Martha Stout said that sociopaths, like DeSalvo, tend to be dishonest. She said that sociopaths are often, quote, lying for the sake of lying, lying just to see whether you can trick people. Davenport took DeSalvo to Cambridge, where DeSalvo pointed out 15 apartments that he had broken into without any difficulty.

DeSalvo had an ominous response. It'll all come out, Leo. You'll find out. One of the Boston Strangler murders did occur in Cambridge. Was DeSalvo talking about the assaults he was arrested for, or his recent confession to committing the Boston's triangular murders? Or could he have been referring to one of his many past crimes? In order to answer those questions, let's take a look at DeSalvo's early life, to see just how Albert DeSalvo, the young man, could become Albert DeSalvo. to Salvo the Boston Strangler. Our story will continue in a moment after a brief message.

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And now back to our story. Albert Henry DeSalvo was the third child born to parents Frank and Charlotte DeSalvo on September 3, 1931 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Frank was a fisherman, a skilled machinist, and an alcoholic who was violently abusive to Charlotte and their six children. He regularly beat his wife, four sons, and two daughters with belts, pipes, and his own hands. At age seven, Albert and his siblings watched as their father knocked out Charlotte's teeth. Frank then broke Charlotte's fingers one by one, snapping them like twigs right in front of the children. Albert's younger brother Richard later recalled a time during their childhood when Frank got violent with Albert as he tried to protect his mother.

Richard said, quote, my father picked him up by the throat and shook him in the air. Frank's abusive tendencies extended beyond the physical. Throughout Albert's childhood, Frank would openly have sex with prostitutes in front of his kids. When Frank did spend time with Albert, the elder DeSalvo taught his son how to shoplift. Frank served two short terms in jail, charged with breaking and entering, larceny, and carnal abuse. Albert claimed that Frank sold Albert and his two sisters. Yes, he sold them, as slaves to a farmer in Maine. for $9. Some sources say that the children were able to escape a few months later. Other sources

say that Frank eventually brought the children home. Richard DeSalvo, though, has said that this story simply wasn't true, saying, quote, Albert was a great storyteller. Vanessa, how much influence does a person's childhood have in their adult years? How much could have DeSalvo been influenced by his volatile childhood? Well, a lot. Psychologists have found that parental influence through everyday interactions have a huge effect on a young child's development. Everything from the punishment of disobedience to rewarding achievements can impact a child's future behavior. Psychological studies have shown that children who have been abused and gone through trauma have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical problems than others.

Children who experience parental abuse are more likely to have ongoing problems with their emotions and social skills. It's very likely that Frank DeSalvo's abuse and questionable morals played a large part in Albert's development into a rebellious teenager. Some sources say that young Albert DeSalvo would trap dogs and cats and wooden crates and then shoot at them with a bow and arrow. In November, 1933, 12-year-old Albert DeSalvo was arrested for the first time, charged with assault and battery with intent to commit robbery. In plain English, young Albert beat and tried to rob a young newsboy. The judge gave him a suspended sentence to attend the Lyman School for Boys, a reform school in Westboro.

A suspended sentence meant that Albert's sentence to go to the school would not be enforced if he didn't break the law during his probation. One month later in December, 1943, Albert was arrested and charged with assault, battery, and larceny. This time, juvenile court enforced Albert's sentence, and he was sent to Lyman School for Boys. Despite its name, the Lyman School wasn't technically a school. It was an alternative to jail. Juvenile court judges sent boys with behavioral problems, like Albert, to Lyman. The school's students lived in dorms and had roller skating nights,

but they also endured strict discipline and sometimes even corporal punishment. Albert's social worker thought a more stable environment could help the young boy, writing the following in a report. Quote, it is difficult to discover which parent is at fault. It might well be, and only fair to the boy, were he placed in a reasonable environment for the time being or until the parents realize they have responsibility to their children. While Albert was away, Frank and Charlotte DeSalvo divorced in 1944 after several separations. Charlotte received custody of their children and got a part-time

job at a Photoshop in Chelsea. She also began dating a man named Paul Kenosian. During a visit to the new and improved DeSalvo home, an unnamed social worker noticed that Charlotte, quote, feels that Albert should be with her. The social worker and the Lyman School granted Charlotte's wish. On October 26, 1944, Albert was paroled and sent home at age 13. At first, he seemed to thrive without Frank at the house. Albert returned to regular school, worked as a florist delivery boy, and became interested in sports.

Vanessa, what do you think changed in Albert? Did the reform school indeed reform Albert, or did the absence of his father change him? Well, it could be a bit of both. Albert's social worker said that his improved behavior was the result of Frank's absence, and psychology supports this. A study at West Michigan University noted that battered women are fully aware that their own parenting skills are compromised in the presence of their abuser. In the case of Albert's mother, Charlotte, she may have finally felt safe from abuse after

her divorce. This may have caused her to be a fully present mother to young Albert without Frank in their lives. Albert's good behavior was short-lived, though. In August 1945, Charlotte married Paul Kenosian. Unlike Frank DeSalvo, Paul worked hard at a junk shop and as a trucker in order to support his family. But much like Frank, Paul had a temper with his stepchildren and violently punished any disobedience. In August 1946, 15-year-old Albert returned to the Lyman School after being arrested for stealing a car and was charged with unlawful use of an automobile. During his second time at Lyman, Albert and two classmates attempted an escape on September 9th,

1946 at 6 a.m. The boys were caught by authorities. Vanessa, why does young Albert seem stuck in the cycle of good behavior and then falling back into bad behavior? Is there a psychological explanation for it? Well, some sources say that Albert's second sentence at the Lyman school was intentional. His brother Richard has said that Albert wanted to get away from Paul. The Lyman School had been young Albert's refuge during Frank's abuse, so the teenager probably thought getting back to the school could save him from Paul's temper as well. His desire to stay away from Paul's abuse also inspired Albert's new goals, finish the ninth grade, and join the military. In early 1947, Albert was paroled and sent home at age 16. His good behaviors seemed to continue

at home for a few years. He worked odd jobs and completed the ninth grade in 1948 at age 17. Leaving high school in the ninth grade may seem strange to us today, but it was common back in the 1940s during World War II. Many young men were drafted into the U.S. Army, leaving a shortage of labor. Due to the draft and the war, many states suspended their child labor laws and increased wages. This led to an exodus of teachers and students from high schools. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, the number of teenage workers increased by 1.9 million between 1940 and 1944, and about one million students dropped out of high school to take jobs. After World War II ended in 1945, many students chose to keep working rather than

return to school. Albert DeSalvo enlisted in the United States Army on September 16, 1948. After basic training at Fort Dix and Camp Kilner, New Jersey, DeSalvo was sent to Germany with the United States Army of Occupation in January 1949 at 18 years old. He was assigned to the military police. DeSalvo did well during his first years in the army. He was promoted to sergeant and served as a colonel's orderly. He took up competitive boxing and was crowned the middleweight army champion of Europe. DeSalvo claimed to have affairs with his fellow officers why. but he eventually fell in love. At a dance, he met his future wife,

a young German woman named Irmgard Beck. DeSalvo's time in the Army was not without disciplinary action, though. On August 17, 1950, DeSalvo was court-martialed for refusing to follow orders, fined $50 and reduced to the rank of private. Despite that run-in with authority, he received an honorable discharge in 1951 at age 20 and re-enlisted for another tour of duty.

A common trait found in diagnosed sociopaths is their difficulty following rules and social norms. The DSM-5 states that the criteria for sociopathy includes, quote, the failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors and deceitfulness. End quote. Psychologists have found that sociopaths know the difference between right and wrong, but they do not experience guilt when breaking rules. and they don't seem to care either. On December 5, 1953,

22-year-old DeSalvo married Irmgard Beck in Germany. A few months after their wedding, in April 1954, the newlyweds moved to the United States, where DeSalvo was stationed at Fort Hamilton in New York, and then Fort Dix in New Jersey. DeSalvo loved Irmgard intensely, and she was charmed by him. Soon, though, she found that it was hard to keep up

with his insatiable sense. sexual appetite. Some sources say DeSalvo expected sex around five times a day or more. DeSalvo's ravenous sex drive may have had less to do with actual intercourse and more about power. Sociopaths like him use intimacy as a way to boost their ego, obtain power from others, and quell their boredom. Psychologists have also found that sociopaths are promiscuous and tend to have numerous sexual partners, especially preferring strangers. On December 28, 1954, 23-year-old DeSalvo knocked on a stranger's door. A woman, whose name is unknown, answered the door to her home near Fort Dix.

DeSalvo asked if she had seen a prowler looking through her windows. He asked her some probing questions. Is your husband home? Do you mind if I look around? When will your husband be home? The woman became suspicious, took down his car's license plate number, and called the police the next morning. The nearby Ritesown police traced the plate information to Albert DeSalvo. When the cops questioned him, DeSalvo said he had seen a prowler and just wanted to help the woman.

DeSalvo was not charged with any crime, and the police let him go. On January 3, 1955, he saw another opportunity. DeSalvo knocked on the door to a home in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and nine-year-old Lucy answered. Lucy recalled that he wore his soldier's uniform and said that, quote, he was here for the rent. DeSalvo asked if he can go inside the house. Young Lucy let DeSalvo into her house, unaware that he was not there to collect the rent. He was planning to assault the girl.

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Billy, who was eight years old and one-year-old Alan. At one point, all three children were with DeSalvo in the house's living room. But then Billy took Alan back to his crib. During this moment alone, DeSalvo touched Lucy's chest and between her legs. She recalled the following, quote, I said, stop it, but he said, I won't hurt you, end quote. Her brother, Billy returned to the living room, and DeSalvo then left in a rush. Young Lucy told the New Jersey State troopers that the man who touched her had a, quote,

Jimmy Durante knows. At the time, Jimmy Durante was a famous actor, comedian, and singer, who was well known for his prominent nose. DeSalvo himself had a similar nose. The police thought the description matched DeSalvo. When presented with DeSalvo in person, Lucy identified him as her assailant. DeSalvo denied to the police that he molested Lucy and claimed that he merely touched her shoulder. Police asked DeSalvo to demonstrate how he touched Lucy, but he refused.

On January 4, 1955, he was indicted on a charge of carnal abuse in Burlington County, New Jersey. DeSalvo was released on $1,000 bail. Lucy's mother, though, was fearful of negative publicity and did not want to proceed with pressing charges. The judge dismissed the case. In addition, the U.S. Army did not discipline DeSalvo for his actions. This is the only known case in which DeSalvo molests a child. Vanessa, what does this incidental... us about his state of mind at this point? Well, there's several different categories of child abusers.

According to the U.S. Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and tracking, or smart. DeSalvo fits the description of a regressed child sexual abuser who prefers socializing and sex with adults. Regress child abusers, though, will become sexually involved with children if an opportunity presents itself and, quote, as a result of life stresses. end quote. At the time of the assault on January 3rd, 1955, his wife was pregnant with their first child. DeSalvo could have been stressed about it, but that, of course, does not excuse his despicable actions. A few months later, in 1955, Irmgard and Albert DeSalvo's daughter, Judy, was born. The baby girl was born with a rare pelvic disease, and she wore specially fitted removable casts to correct her hip.

Albert used to tie big, colorful bows on the cast to keep it around Judy's leg. Irmgard, though, was much less optimistic about Judy's physical condition. Irmgard became fearful of becoming pregnant with another child who suffered a mental or physical disability. Albert wrote the following in a letter to Irmgard. Quote, you were frigid and cold to me, and you can't deny this. That's why we were always fighting about sex because you was afraid to have a baby. Irm, I even asked doctors what was wrong with our sex life and all they said, until you have another baby and it is born normal, will you then be free to love again?

To put this letter in context, it was written in March 1965. Once DeSalva was already charged with the green man's sexual assaults, and he had just confessed to being the Boston Strangler while under hypnosis. That's right. There's a good chance that he had written this letter not to communicate with Irmgard, but in an effort to excuse his actions. Albert's description of their one-sided marriage, however, sounds like what a typical relationship with a sociopath would be like. Dr. Martha Stout wrote in her book,

The Sociopath Next Door, quote, Once the surface charm is scraped off, their marriages are loveless, one-sided, and almost always short-term. If a marriage partner has any value to the sociopath, it is because the partner is viewed as a possession, one that the sociopath may feel angry to lose, but never sad or accountable, end quote.

In fact, Albert expressed fear that Irmgard would divorce him. Once he asked his attorney Robert Scheinfeld, quote, if a guy's insane, can she divorce him? End quote. The answer at the time was no. Massachusetts law did not allow it. Albert was honorably discharged from the army on February 15, 1956, at age 25. and he wanted a new start for his family, but in a familiar place.

The DeSalvo family moved to Albert's hometown of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and Albert seemed to stay out of major trouble. His only run-in with the law occurred in the spring of 1957, when he was arrested for running a red light in East Boston. Albert worked as a rubber press operator at the American Built Right Rubber Company, but he soon became bored. Dr. Martha Stout wrote the following in her book, The Sociopath Next Door, quote, in sociopathy, the pain of boredom can be near constant.

End quote. She added that many sociopaths turn to alcohol and drugs, but DeSalvo chose to quell his boredom with more criminal acts. Nearly a year later, he was arrested for breaking and entering on January 8, 1958, and the judge gave him a suspended sentence. Police arrested 27-year-old Albert DeSalvo again on February 15, 1958, and charged him with break. into two houses during the day.

He told the judge that he needed money to buy Irmgard and Judy presents for Valentine's Day. The story convinced the judge to give DeSalvo another suspended sentence that he did not have to serve. He received yet another suspended sentence for breaking and entering on April 18, 1958. Vanessa, why would DeSalvo continue to break and enter homes after getting caught so many times? What is the psychology behind that kind of crime? Well, psychologists have found that, like most crimes, breaking and entering gives perpetrators a certain thrill. It's also important to note that DeSalvo has gotten more and more bold with each crime. This is a common pattern of behavior.

If a criminal gets away with a crime often, they'll start to push their boundaries. For DeSalvo, he seemed to also find a sexual thrill to these crimes. DeSalvo said, quote, I think now, too, that it had something to do with going into the bedrooms where women had been sluble. sleeping, and there were times when I would get a rail," end quote, meaning he got an erection. But how did DeSalvo evade jail time on so many repeat offenses of breaking and entering? Well, breaking and entering is, of course, seen as less serious in comparison to other crimes like murder. When it comes to suspended sentences, the conviction is public record, but the

punishment is not enforced as long as the defendant follows the conditions of the suspension. A condition could be, for example, that the perpetrator must not commit another crime during the probationary period. According to Massachusetts law, violation of probation doesn't necessarily trigger jail time, though. DeSalvo also had the benefit of retaining his family's longtime lawyer, Robert Scheinfeld. The legal veteran and Jack of All Trades practiced law above a Resnick drugstore in Chelsea, and he had known Albert DeSalvo since he was a child. It is possible that Scheinfeld may have represented Albert's father Frank DeSalvo during his brushes with the law. Scheinfeld also helped Albert's parents get divorced, and Scheinfeld defended Albert de Salvo in each of his breaking and entering charges.

Some sources credited Scheinfeld's legal skill with helping Albert avoid jail time. There's also the possibility that Albert may have gotten lucky and appeared before many lenient judges in court. After successfully avoiding jail time in those cases, Albert, Irmgard and Judy DeSalvo traveled to Germany for a two-month trip in June 1959. Albert recalled his wife being cold to him during the trip. He said, quote, Irm made it a point while we were there that there'd be no sex, period. So you sure as hell know that I had my sex while I was there, end quote. Once again, Albert blamed his wife as a way of excusing his own actions. Feeling shut out from his family,

28-year-old Albert DeSalvo focused his attention on a new scheme. He would visit post-exchanges in Germany and tell the female employees that he worked for the U.S. Army newspaper, Stars and Stripes. DeSalvo told these women that they had been selected for the best sweetheart of all contest and took their measurements.

He promised a grand prize trip to Italy. DeSalvo told the women, quote, If you really want to make out, I'll come down myself, the first thing this afternoon and make sure you get first prize." While it's unclear if he fondled or kissed the women, DeSalvo has said that the scheme kept him quite busy and satisfied. DeSalvo was not disciplined or caught for this lie while in Germany.

He said, quote, it always came to me if I was being watched, and then I'd do nothing, end quote. When the DeSalvo family returned to the United States, Irmgard and Albert became intimate again and had a son named Michael in 1960. Their baby boy was completely healthy, a fact that quelled Irmgard's fears about being sexually intimate with her husband. Albert wrote in a 1965 letter to her, quote,

Irm, then you came to me and gave me love I had been starving for. It was too late, end quote. It seems that Albert had realized how much predatory behavior he could get away with, and he did not want to stop. In March of 1960, Albert DeSalvo brought his German best sweetheart of all scheme

to the streets of Cambridge and Harvard Square, but with some modification. He posed as a modeling scout named Johnson and visited unsuspecting and educated young women door to door. DeSalvo would tell the women that he was looking for new models and charmed them into taking their measurements. While doing so, he fondled the women inappropriately. DeSalvo wasn't caught or arrested for these unwelcome interactions,

which became known as the measuring man crimes. He confessed to the lewd actions without prompting after getting caught breaking and entering a Cambridge house on March 17, 1961. DeSalvo told the probation officers his motivation for measuring the women. He told them it gave him, quote, a big kick. I'm not good looking. I'm not educated. But I was able to put something over on high-class people.

They were all college kids, and I never had anything in my life. and I outsmarted them. I felt they were better than me because they were all college people, telling those girls they could be models built up their egos, and they let me do it. Anybody with any sense would have found me out

because, gee, they never even asked me for proof and I never had a camera, end quote. DeSalvo was essentially a classic con artist. Psychologists say that con artists know how to exploit the human tendency to overestimate our own intelligence and judgment. In 1961, psychiatrists at Westborough State Hospital diagnosed DeSalvo with a sociopathic personality, which is known today as antisocial personality disorder.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, defined sociopathic criteria as displaying a pattern of three or more incidents in which a person shows disregard for and violation of the rights of others. At this point, it was an apt description of DeSalvo. On May 4th, 1961, Judge Edward Viola found DeSalvo as guilty on charges of assault and battery for the measuring man crimes, and guilty for breaking and entering. Viola ruled, however, that DeSalvo was not guilty on two counts of lewd conduct. At age 30, DeSalvo was sentenced to two years in prison at the Middlesex County House of Correction in Bill Reckham, Massachusetts. In September 1961, DeSalvo tearfully told the judge that he would clean up his act.

His family lawyer Robert Scheinfeld pleaded with the judge. DeSalvo's family needed him in their lives. It was enough for Judge Viola to decide to reduce DeSalvo's sentence to 18 months. The parole board also seemed to sympathize with DeSalvo, and he was released in April 1962, after serving only 11 months due to good behavior. When he was released from prison, Albert DeSalvo got a job as a painter and laborer at the Monroe Company in Chelsea. Sometimes he even got his younger brother Richard to help him out on the job. Richard recalled that Albert enjoyed reading about the Boston's Triangler murders, which began occurring in June 1962.

On June 14, 1962, 55-year-old seamstress, Anna E. Slezers, was planning on having a relaxing night. She was a longtime divorcee, who lived alone in a small apartment on 77 Gainesborough Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. At around 5 p.m., Slessers prepared a bath for herself. She cooked dinner, baked muffins, and waited for her 25-year-old son, Euris, to come by to pick her up. They had planned on attending a memorial service at the Latvian Lutheran Church later that night. Anna Slessers undressed in her bedroom.

Uris arrived at his mother's apartment around 7 p.m. and knocked down her front door. No answer. He pressed his ear to the door. Silence. Yeris tried opening the door. The door was locked. He sat under his stoop and waited. Worried, Yuris pounded on the door. It was now 7.45 p.m.

and his mother, Anna, still hadn't answered the door. Yeris backed away from the door and rammed his shoulder into the metal door. The door didn't budge. He backed up and rammed it even harder. This time, the metal door sprung open and Yuris rushed inside. Yuris stumbled over a chair, which was suspicious. placed near the front door. He surveyed the living room. His mother wasn't there. He rushed to her bedroom and noticed that Anna's dresser drawers were left open. Euris thought to himself that was not

something she usually does. He ran toward a faint light on in the kitchen. Uris found his mother lying outstretched in the hallway next to the bathroom, strangled with the belt of her blue bathrobe. Anna's robe was spread apart in the front, leaving her body exposed. There's a spot of blood underneath her head. Euris reached out to touch her, but pulled back when he realized that she was dead. He thought Anna committed suicide and was devastated. Euris called the police. Even though the dispatch call was for an alleged suicide,

Boston Special Officer James Mellon and Sergeant John Driscoll of the homicide unit came by the crime scene anyway. Mellon examined Anna's apartment and saw a different story. Mellon observed that the bathtub was one-third filled with water. He noticed her white pocketbook was near her body partially opened. He saw the pen of muffins was on the kitchen table. Mellon noted that trash was strewn about near her kitchen waste basket, as if someone rummaged through it. Special officer Mellon did not believe that Anna Slezers committed suicide. He told Driscoll, quote, I say it's definitely murder, end quote.

Mellon theorized that Slessers had been hit over the head while she was. getting ready for her bath and dragged into the hallway before she was then raped and strangled to death. Boston Police Lieutenant John Donovan and Detective Lieutenant Edward Sherry interviewed over 60 of Schleser's neighbors, friends, coworkers, mailmen, and building maintenance men. They did not come back with any leads on who could have killed her and how he could have broken into her apartment. Albert DeSalvo was not suspected of this crime.

thought the motive could have been a routine housebreaking with complications, but they weren't quite sure. Though some personal belongings were strewn about Slesser's apartment, the detectives questioned if the apartment was actually ransacked or just made to look like it. The police noticed that Slesser's gold watch and jewelry had not been touched in the apartment. The Boston Police Department kept her murder file open,

but Donovan and Sherry moved on to investigating other crimes. Two weeks later, either on June 25th, June 26, 1962, 31-year-old Albert DeSalvo visited a second-floor corner apartment located at 1435 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. He knocked on the door, an 85-year-old Mary Mullen answered. She lived alone. DeSalvo later told police, quote, I said, I got to do some work in the apartment. We went in together and sat down. She looked like my grandmother, my mother's mother. DeSalvo remembered that they were having a pleasant conversation, and he put his arm around her neck. He told police, quote, I didn't even squeeze her, and she went straight down.

I tried to hold her. I didn't want her to fall to the floor, end quote. Mullen died in his arms. Before DeSalvo left, he rummaged through the contents of her purse. On June 28, 1962, Mullen was found dead on her sofa. She reportedly suffered heart failure. While discussing Mullen's death, DeSalvo told police, quote, it's not a dream anymore, it's true. All these things happened.

End quote. He then began to sob. Perhaps DeSalvo was feeling guilty about Mullen's death because she reminded him of his grandmother, but he could have been faking this emotional response and lying, as sociopaths are known to do. His remark about the incident being a dream, however, is a bit puzzling.

Who was he trying to convince that he was responsible for her death, himself or the police. It was one of the many aspects of DeSalvo's confession that caused police to doubt his involvement in all 13 Boston's Trianglet murders. But those stories will have to wait until next week when we'll also talk about DeSalvo's other victims, his trial and imprisonment

and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death while sentenced to life in prison. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. If you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers, You can find them on Apple Podcasts, tune in, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify, or on our website, parcast.com, spelled p-ar-c-a-S-T-com. If you like what you hear, please leave a five-star review or tell us what you think on social media.

We're on Facebook and Instagram as at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. It seems simple, but it really helps our show. Join us next Monday as we continue delving into the twisted psyche of Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler, is a production of Cutler media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Carrie Murphy, with production assistants by Carly Madden and Maggie Admeyer.

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