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Albert DeSalvo/Boston Strangler
Casebook Message Boards: Beyond Whitechapel - Other Crimes: Albert DeSalvo/Boston Strangler
Author: Ky
Monday, 02 December 2002 - 12:06 am |        | I have recently heard some mention of the DeSalvo family joining with a victims family to prove that Albert was'nt the Strangler. That his knowledge of the crime in fact came from George Nassar. Anybody have any info on this?
Ky |
Author: Richard P. Dewar
Monday, 02 December 2002 - 09:49 am | | Ky,
That allegation has been made in many books and documentaries on the case. The most recent work that features this theory is FBI profiler John Douglas's "The Crimes That Haunt Us." For several reasons, he comes to the conclusion that DeSalvo was not the Boston Strangler.
I do not find the Nassar-DeSalvo linkage all that persuasive. More intriguing to me is the charge by Douglas that serial murderers don't vary their styles as broadly as is alleged of DeSalvo.
DeSalvo was the Measuring Man - a Boston criminal guilty of sex crimes of an entirely different nature. He was also likely the Green Man. In both instances, this assailant did not beat his victims.
The Measuring Man pretended to be a talent agent who would measure voluptuous women in their homes and then simply walk away. The Green Man wore overalls, pretended to be a repairman, then raped women once he gained entry in their homes. He always departed the scene quietly and even politely. The Boston Strangler, on the otherhand, not only strangled his victims but left them beaten and in horrific contortions.
Many believe DeSalvo was the Measuring Man and the Green Man - it was his nature to be quiet, polite, yet something of a satyr. The Strangler, some suggest, is a creature of an altogether different personality type.
Rich |
Author: Ky
Tuesday, 03 December 2002 - 12:06 am | | I do seem to remember something about the Measuring Man and the Green Man. It does seem to defy logic that he would go from M. Man, escalate to Strangler and then to Green Man.
What I find interesting is the notion of exhuming victims to test Dna. I can't imagine that there would be much left of the perpetrators, considering how well a body is prepared for burial nowadays. I guess the point would be to exclude DeSalvo. Duh!
Ky |
Author: Richard P. Dewar
Tuesday, 03 December 2002 - 09:05 am | | Hi Ky,
My guess is that the authorities will not like that study pursued. Almost universally, state justice departments oppose any sort of DNA testing that may exonerate a deceased suspect.
In the United States, opponents of the death penalty frequently will point to those convicted and subjected to death sentences being exonerated and released based on DNA evidence.
Proponents of the death penalty point to such exonerations as evidence that the law works - and will challenge opponents of the death penalty to cite one case in which an executed person was later found to be innocent based on DNA evidence.
The fact is that no test like that has ever been done. In fact, in Virginia, it is now policy to destroy all samples of the executed - apparently to prevent any such later testing.
Of course, De Salvo was not executed by the authorities but murdered by a fellow inmate. Still, I doubt the Massachusetts Attorney General will support a test that may confirm that the wrong person was convicted for those horrendous crimes.
Rich |
Author: Howard Brown
Tuesday, 03 December 2002 - 09:42 pm | | | Dear Rich: Thanks for the information on various state statutes....One question: Isn't it true that F.Lee Bailey believes that De Salvo WAS the Strangler? I'm pretty sure I heard him say it on a documentary featuring the relatives of the Sullivan woman( thats the family you were referring to,Ky....) whose kinfolk believe someone else beside Nasser and De Salvo (and is still alive in fact),was the killer of their relative........Sidenote: When in High School in Texas,I remember my Law teacher telling us that the Texas Legislature actually came close to voting for an Albert De Salvo Day in the late 60's or very early 70's,due to this idea being a rider attached to a bill to be presented before the legislature.....Thanks Rich ! |
Author: Richard P. Dewar
Wednesday, 04 December 2002 - 07:59 pm | | Hi Howard,
You are right on both counts.
F. Lee Bailey, who was DeSalvo's attorney, maintains that his client was guilty. There are two ways to look at that information: 1) that Bailey knew his client to be guilty and got the best deal or 2) Bailey got the deal for DeSalvo now doesn't want to admit he was wrong.
As to the Albert De Salvo day, you are correct. A legislator proposed the date to show how few of the representatives actually were aware of what they were voting for.
Regards,
Rich |
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