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What Happened To Boston Strangler Suspect Albert DeSalvo
Hulu’s Boston Strangler raises questions about what happened to the real-life Boston Strangler suspect Albert DeSalvo. Boston Strangler follows journalist Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightly) as she connects a string of murders and brings the Boston Strangler to the public discourse. Based on true crime murders in which 13 women were killed in their apartments, Boston Strangler explores the possibility that all 13 murders were not all done by a single killer.
Albert DeSalvo had a history of crime including battery and robbery, as well as being the main suspect in the police’s investigation in an ongoing rape case. Under custody for sexual assault charges, DeSalvo confessed to the crimes of the Boston Strangler. However, there wasn't any physical evidence to link him to the crimes. Therefore, DeSalvo was tried for earlier crimes, and not the murders of the 13 women. Here's what really happened to Albert DeSalvo.
Albert DeSalvo Was Sentenced To Life In Prison In 1967
Boston Strangler depicted the media circus surrounding the Boston Strangler cases, highlighting the public’s eagerness to have the Boston Strangler cases solved. While DeSalvo, played by David Dastmalchian, wasn’t charged for the Boston Strangler murders, he was still given life in prison. This decision angered his attorney F. Lee Bailey who wanted to get him an insanity plea, so he may get some mental help in a hospital. Despite not being charged with the Boston Strangler crimes, DeSalvo was considered the Boston Strangler, an assumption that would later be second-guessed by attorneys and true crime junkies for years after the trial.
While DeSalvo’s confession contained details that had not been made public, his confession had several inconsistencies with the crime scene evidence. Boston Strangler argues that there were multiple killers who urged DeSalvo to confess to the crimes. Using the Boston Strangler as an alias, these men were able to get away with killing women in their life, which took the spotlight off them as suspects.
Albert DeSalvo Was Killed In Prison In 1973
In Boston Strangler, Loretta schedules a meeting with DeSalvo to discuss the truth about his confession. However, shortly after, DeSalvo is murdered in jail by an inmate. While Loretta’s meeting with DeSalvo was added for the film, DeSalvo was stabbed by Robert Wilson in real life. DeSalvo’s lawyer Bailey later stated that DeSalvo was killed because he was selling amphetamines for less than inmate-enforced prices. Wilson was tried for DeSalvo’s murder, but it resulted in a hung jury, where the jury could not reach a verdict.
Whether DeSalvo was guilty of all the Boston Strangler murders will probably never come to light, but DeSalvo was still a criminal and escaped from prison once in 1967. DeSalvo did call his lawyer to turn himself in three days later, but this doesn’t mean DeSalvo wouldn’t have tried to escape again. While his death prevented anyone from learning more about him for the Boston Strangler case, his death may have also protected future victims.
Albert DeSalvo's DNA Was Linked To The Boston Strangler Murders In 2013
On July 11, 2013, Boston law enforcement officials announced DNA evidence that linked DeSalvo to the rape and murder of 19-year-old Mary Sullivan. Mary Sullivan was the last victim of the Boston Strangler and the only murder that was linked to DeSalvo. The DNA evidence proved DeSalvo was the source of seminal fluid that was found at Sullivan’s crime scene. While this may convince some that DeSalvo was the sole perpetrator of these crimes, others still aren’t convinced.
Boston Strangler's ending explores the theory of multiple stranglers, which was a running theory before the DNA evidence was discovered. Since the age of the victims ranged in age, social status, and race, there were doubts they were all done by one man. In Boston Strangler, a psychiatrist tells Loretta that it is rare for a killer to change their patterns and since the pattern originally presented itself as elderly women who lived alone, he didn’t believe the murders of the younger women were done by the same man.
The Boston Strangler murders of the early 1960s were not only horrifying and controversial, but the murders became the subject of books and films for years to come. The most recent adaptation being 2023’s Boston Strangler which updates the dated 1968 The Boston Strangler. While the 2023 Boston Strangler movie focused more on feminist themes than its predecessors, Boston Strangler is still an engaging crime drama that educates viewers on the crimes of Albert DeSalvo.
