MA MA - ALBERT DESALVO, The Boston Strangler, 1960's

[STANDREID]

In the late 1960s there was some speculation the Boston Strangler might be responsible for the Ypsilanti murders - later proven to be the work of John Norman Collins. Collins was in high school in Michigan at the time of the Boston murders so he's pretty safely off the list for those but it does show that some weren't necessarily buying DeSalvo's "confession" back then.

 

[STANDREID]

John Norman Collins has also been proposed as a suspect in the unsolved massacre of the 6 members of the Robison family in 1968 so his name has a habit of coming up in connection with true murder mysteries.

 

[Dragonfyree]

John Norman Collins has also been proposed as a suspect in the unsolved massacre of the 6 members of the Robison family in 1968 so his name has a habit of coming up in connection with true murder mysteries.

I read a book on those murders and I think it was believed they were done by his business partner who later committed suicide.

I do know that one of the supposed John Norman Collins murder victims, Jane Mixer, was actually killed by someone else, who was convicted in 2005 on DNA evidence.

 

[STANDREID]

John Norman Collins has also been proposed as a suspect in the unsolved massacre of the 6 members of the Robison family in 1968 so his name has a habit of coming up in connection with true murder mysteries.

I read a book on those murders and I think it was believed they were done by his business partner who later committed suicide.

Yes, that guy is the most popular suspect I believe.

 

[STANDREID]

We're now at the 50th anniversary of the murder of 69-year-old Mary Brown. She was the first murder of an older woman in the series since August of 1962. Originally, there was some question as to whether she should be listed as a Boston S. victim since her slaying also involved beating and stabbing.

 

[STANDREID]

The killer then took an 8.5 week hiatus before returning to a victim in the younger age group.

 

[STANDREID]

The 50th anniversary of the murder of Beverly Samans is May 8, this coming Wednesday.

 

[STANDREID]

There was then a 17 week break in the Boston area murders - the longest hiatus in the series.

One author has posited that the July 1963 Belmont murder of Bessie Goldberg, 76, might have been a Boston S. killing but a man named Roy Smith was convicted of that one and the conviction remains on the books. Smith is now deceased.

 

[STANDREID]

When a man named Charles Edward Terry was arrested in New York during June of 1963 for the strangulation murder of Zenovia Clegg, 62, some thought that he might be the Boston Strangler and a few still do. Terry, who killed at least two women, including another in Louisiana, died in prison in 1981.

He was available to commit all but three of the murders on the Strangler list and those three are somewhat doubtful in some people's minds - two because they were way outside of the standard 55-75 age range and the other because there are some circumstances in her case that would be unique to the Strangler or at least the purported one who was killing the older women.

The 50th anniversary of Clegg's strangulation with her own scarf is tomorrow, May 30. Terry is also a strong suspect in the very similar murder of a 24-year-old divorced waitress in Brunswick, Maine during 1951. In this so-called "Red Scarf Murder", Shirley Coolen was killed and left behind some hedge.

 

[STANDREID]

One author has posited that the July 1963 Belmont murder of Bessie Goldberg, 76, might have been a Boston S. killing but a man named Roy Smith was convicted of that one and the conviction remains on the books. Smith is now deceased.

Correction: This victim was actually murdered in March of 1963 not July and her age was listed as 62 not 76 - sorry. The rest of the post is correct to the best of my knowledge.

 

[LadyL]

DNA from the last victim does not match Albert DeSalvo:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/18/national/main302130.shtml

 

[wfgodot]

Partial summary of today's presser:

*....Mary Sullivan "raped and murdered and her body desecrated" - the last of 11 murders.

*....DeSalvo's confession was not admissible in court; no forensic evidence until today.

*....familial match made, DNA-wise, after DeSalvo's remains were recently exhumed.

*....developments "bear only on Mary Sullivan's murder."

*....disagreements still exist about other ten murders - whether they were committed by same person.

*...."separate technicians at two outstanding laboratories" both reached same conclusion from samples.

 

[STANDREID]

That's big news and might lead me to a reassessment.

 

[wfgodot]

That's big news and might lead me to a reassessment.

Me too.

 

[Kat]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHzrmS74UoM"]How Boston Police obtained DNA match in Boston Strangler case - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Backwoods]

OK, somebody help me understand ... how to reconcile this (referencing a 2009 article written after DeSalvo's body was exhumed for DNA testing) ...

DNA from the last victim does not match Albert DeSalvo:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/18/national/main302130.shtml

...with the newest reports:

Partial summary of today's presser:

*....Mary Sullivan "raped and murdered and her body desecrated" - the last of 11 murders.

*....DeSalvo's confession was not admissible in court; no forensic evidence until today.

*....familial match made, DNA-wise, after DeSalvo's remains were recently exhumed.

*....developments "bear only on Mary Sullivan's murder."

*....disagreements still exist about other ten murders - whether they were committed by same person.

*...."separate technicians at two outstanding laboratories" both reached same conclusion from samples.

They exhumed DeSalvo a second time for this, correct (after comparing some case DNA to his nephew's DNA)? Had they found new DNA evidence from Mary Sullivan's case to test this time?

 

[wfgodot]

Daily Mail has some period pictures (from Life magazine) from the time of the fear:

Eerie photographs show how 'Boston Strangler' sparked fear in city's women
who learned karate and carried weapons as killer is finally named five decades on

 

[wfgodot]

OK, somebody help me understand ... how to reconcile this (referencing a 2009 article written after DeSalvo's body was exhumed for DNA testing) ...
...with the newest reports:
They exhumed DeSalvo a second time for this, correct (after comparing some case DNA to his nephew's DNA)? Had they found new DNA evidence from Mary Sullivan's case to test this time?

Actually, I was wrong; misheard the part about exhumation at the presser. They are expected to exhume DeSalvo's body again next week; a Boston judge granted permission on Wednesday.

The DNA assessment was possible due to advances in the science (or so they claim). The samples came from Ms. Sullivan's body and the blanket on which it was found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/us/dna-evidence-identified-in-boston-strangler-case.html?_r=0

 

[KMouse]

http://livewire.wcvb.com/Event/Majo...m=facebook&utm_campaign=wcvb+channel+5+boston

LIVE

Albert DeSalvo's remains being exhumed

 

[believe09]

This is extraordinary. I am really amazed. I wonder if there is any chance that there is a lot of marital crossover in the citizens in the area where the men are from. KWIM?