The Boston Strangler, Part One: The Murders

In June of 1962, the brutal murder and assault of Anna Slesers would kick off a string of similar murders. 


Dubbed “The Boston Strangler” by the press, it was quickly assumed that the murders were executed by one individual, a fact that is debated to this day. In part one of our two part series covering the case, we examine the murders. 

Edited by Max Holechek 

Sources

“Woman Slain in Back Bay Home.” The Boston Globe, 15 June 1962, p. 1.

“Roof Workers Quizzed in Murder of Divorcee.” The Boston Globe, 15 June 1962, p. 1.

“Police Quiz 60 in Slaying of Refugee.” The Boston Globe, 16 June 1962, p. 5.

“Freedom of Information.” Murderpedia, mail.murderpedia.org/male.D/images/desalvo/desalvo1.pdf.

“Woman’s Slaying in Hub Linked to Similar Murder.” The Morning Union, 2 July 1962, p. 3.

“Strangler Kills Lynn Nurse.” The Daily Item, 3 July 1962, p. 1.

Kelly, Susan. The Boston Stranglers. Carol Publishing Group, 1995.

“DNA Disclosure in Strangler Case Stirring Emotions.” WCVB, 11 July 2013, www.wcvb.com/article/dna-disclosure-in-strangler-case-stirring-emotions-1/8185167.

“Middlebury Girl Slain in Boston.” The Burlington Free Press, 1 Jan. 1963, p. 1.

“Police Quiz Two Men in Coed Knife Slaying.” The Boston Globe, 9 May 1963, p. 1.

“The Boston Strangler: Albert DeSalvo.” Crime Library, www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/notorious/boston/5.html.

Belluck, Pam. “A Murder Victim’s Daughter Disputes Sebastian Junger Book.” The New York Times, 8 Apr. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/04/08/arts/a-murder-victims-daughter-disputes-sebastian-junger-book.html.

Kurtz, Howard. “Sebastian Junger’s ‘A Death in Belmont’: Fact or Fiction?” Salon, 19 Apr. 2006, www.salon.com/2006/04/19/junger_3/.

“Crime: The Phantom Strangler.” Time, 4 Jan. 1963, time.com/archive/6831649/crime-the-phantom-strangler/.

“Edes Irga.” Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/53373532/edes-irga.

The Boston Strangler: The Hunt for the Killer. Directed by John Stimpson, Paramount+, 2023.

Greenya, John. “The Tenacious Women Reporters Who Helped Expose the Boston Strangler.” Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Mar. 2023, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-tenacious-women-reporters-who-helped-expose-the-boston-strangler-180981786/.

Kelly, Susan. The Boston Stranglers. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/bostonstranglers0000kell/page/243/mode/1up?q=%22on+reporters%27+strangle%22.

Michallon, Clémence. “The True Story Behind Hulu’s New Crime Drama ‘Boston Strangler’.” Business Insider, 17 Mar. 2023, www.businessinsider.com/true-story-behind-hulus-new-crime-drama-boston-strangler-2023-3.

“Boston Strangler.” History vs. Hollywood, www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/boston-strangler/.

Bradshaw, Peter. “Boston Strangler Review – Keira Knightley Shines in Gripping True-Crime Drama.” The Guardian, 20 Mar. 2023, www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/20/boston-strangler-film-keira-knightley-journalists.

Sherman, Casey. “The Boston Strangler.” Salem State University, digitalrepository.salemstate.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13013/847/Sherman.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.

Stanglin, Doug. “Boston Strangler Case Solved 50 Years Later.” USA Today, 12 July 2013, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/12/boston-strangler-remains-desalvo/2513931/.

Hickey, Eric W. Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Cengage Learning, 2015.

Vronsky, Peter. Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers From the Stone Age to the Present. Berkley, 2018.

Vronsky, Peter. Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Berkley Books, 2004.

Kiehl, Kent A. “The Psychiatrist and the Strangler.” Psychology Today, 17 Mar. 2023, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/202303/the-psychiatrist-and-the-strangler.

“The Boston Strangler Does Sinatra: Albert DeSalvo’s Creepy Single ‘Strangler in the Night’.” Dangerous Minds, dangerousminds.net/comments/the_boston_strangler_does_sinatra_albert_desalvos_creepy_single_strangler_i.

“Albert DeSalvo FBI File.” FBI, vault.fbi.gov/albert-desalvo.

Mikkelson, David. “Did the Boston Strangler Also Kill in Texas?” Snopes, 17 Mar. 2023, www.snopes.com/fact-check/texas-boston-strangler/.

Syed, Anam. “How Did Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo Die?” Seventeen, 17 Mar. 2023, www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/a43324877/how-did-boston-strangler-albert-desalvo-die/.

Martinelli, Marissa. “‘Boston Strangler’: The True Story Behind the New Movie.” Mashable, 17 Mar. 2023, mashable.com/article/boston-strangler-true-story.

Brink, Graham. “Is the Real Boston Strangler Still Alive?” Tampa Bay Times, 4 Sept. 1999, www.tampabay.com/archive/1999/09/04/is-the-real-boston-strangler-still-alive/.

“Albert DeSalvo Biography.” Biography.com, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/crime/albert-de-salvo.

“Three Inmates Arraigned in Boston Strangler Death.” The New York Times, 18 Dec. 1973, www.nytimes.com/1973/12/18/archives/three-inmates-arraigned-in-boston-strangler-death.html.

Baxter, Billi. “Robert Wilson: The Truth About the Man Suspected of Killing the Boston Strangler.” Grunge, 21 Mar. 2021, www.grunge.com/432100/robert-wilson-the-truth-about-the-man-suspected-of-killing-the-boston-strangler/.

“DeSalvo, Confessed Boston Strangler, Found Stabbed to Death in Prison.” The New York Times, 27 Nov. 1973, www.nytimes.com/1973/11/27/archives/desalvo-confessed-boston-strangler-found-stabbed-to-death-in-prison.html.

Gibbons, Fiachra. “Boston Strangler Was Innocent, Claims Former CIA Agent.” The Guardian, 7 Dec. 2000, www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,371006,00.html.

Laskowski, Amy. “Author Casey Sherman Applauds Hulu Boston Strangler Movie.” Boston University, 17 Mar. 2023, www.bu.edu/articles/2023/author-casey-sherman-applauds-hulu-boston-strangler-movie/.

Hogan, Caelan. “Albert DeSalvo: The Boston Strangler — A Natural Born Killer or the Perfect Scapegoat?” Medium, 17 Mar. 2023, medium.com/illumination/albert-desalvo-the-boston-strangler-a-natural-born-killer-or-the-perfect-scapegoat-9dbcb2e7e788.