Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo was an animal abuser

Albert Henry DeSalvo was an American criminal and the confessed Boston Strangler, who terrorized the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. His violent trajectory was the culmination of a life forged in extreme childhood trauma, with his well-documented history of animal cruelty serving as a critical "rehearsal" phase for his escalation to serial sexual assault and homicide. While the full extent of his responsibility for all thirteen Strangler murders was debated for decades, a 2013 DNA match definitively linked him to the final victim, cementing his identity as a sexual homicide offender.

Serial killer and animal abuser
Albert DeSalvo was never convicted for the Boston Strangler's murders.
Name	Albert Henry DeSalvo
Age	31-32 (during Strangler murders)
Occupation	Maintenance worker and handyman
Known Identifiers	—
Status	Confessed serial killer, rapist
Involvement	Confessed to being the Boston Strangler, who murdered 13 women. Before the murders, he had a long history of escalating crimes, including a documented pattern of animal cruelty, and a series of sexual assaults as the "Measuring Man" and the "Green Man".
Punitive Measure	Sentenced to life in prison for earlier rapes; stabbed to death by a fellow inmate in 1973. Posthumously linked by DNA to the final Strangler murder.

A childhood forged in violence

Born on September 3, 1931, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, DeSalvo was raised in a household defined by the brutality of his violent alcoholic father, Frank DeSalvo. DeSalvo endured and witnessed relentless physical and psychological abuse, including being beaten with a pipe and witnessing his father knock out his mother's teeth and break her fingers. This environment normalized extreme violence against women and, due to his father frequently bringing prostitutes home, inextricably linked sexuality with power, humiliation, and degradation in DeSalvo's developing mind.

Early delinquency and escalating sex crimes

DeSalvo's criminal career began at age six and escalated to battery and robbery by age 12, resulting in his institutionalization at a reform school. After serving in the U.S. Army, he began a series of escalating sex crimes that served as clear precursors to the Strangler murders.

• "The Measuring Man" (late 1950s): Posing as a modeling agency scout, he would gain access to women's apartments to fondle them under the guise of taking their measurements.
• "The Green Man" (1961-1962): After being imprisoned for the "Measuring Man" offenses, his crimes escalated upon his release. He broke into hundreds of apartments, tied up the female occupants, and sexually assaulted them.

Animal cruelty as a rehearsal for murder

Long before his violence was directed at humans, DeSalvo engaged in brutal acts of animal cruelty that served as a critical "rehearsal" for the lethal violence that would later define his identity. During his youth, he would trap neighborhood cats and dogs in orange crates or other boxes. Once the animals were confined and helpless, he would shoot arrows through the boxes, injuring and killing them.

This methodology is psychologically revealing. The act of trapping the animal served to depersonalize the victim, turning a living creature into an objectified target, mirroring the methods he would later use on his human victims whom he tied up before assaulting them. The use of a bow and arrow suggests a need for psychological distance at this early stage of his violent development, allowing him to practice the act of killing and become desensitized to suffering before escalating to the intimate, hands-on violence of strangulation. This behavior places him squarely among a cohort of infamous serial killers—such as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer—whose violent careers were foreshadowed by the torture of animals.

The Boston Strangler: Murders and confession

Between June 1962 and January 1964, thirteen women in the Boston area were murdered by a serial killer dubbed the "Boston Strangler." Most victims were sexually assaulted and then strangled, often with an article of their own clothing tied in a distinctive bow.

In 1965, while imprisoned for the "Green Man" rapes, DeSalvo confessed to being the Boston Strangler. However, his confession contained numerous factual inconsistencies, leading many, including some psychiatrists and investigators, to believe he was a "compulsive confessor" who took credit for crimes he did not commit out of a pathological need for notoriety.

Legal outcome and DNA confirmation

Albert DeSalvo was never formally tried for the Boston Strangler murders. He was convicted in 1967 for his earlier "Green Man" rapes and sentenced to life in prison. He was stabbed to death by a fellow inmate on November 25, 1973.

For decades, his guilt remained a subject of intense debate. The controversy was resolved in July 2013, when forensic investigators used a preserved DNA sample from the crime scene of the final victim, Mary Sullivan, to definitively link DeSalvo to her rape and murder. After exhuming his body for a direct comparison, the match was confirmed, with odds of it being another person calculated at one in 220 billion. This irrefutably proved he was a sexual homicide offender who used the Strangler's modus operandi, anchoring at least part of his confession in fact.

Date/Period	Event	Psychological/Criminological Significance
Youth	Animal Cruelty	Trapped cats and dogs in boxes and shot them with arrows. A critical "rehearsal" phase for violence.
Late 1950s	"The Measuring Man" Crimes	A non-violent rehearsal of deception to gain access to victims.
1961-1962	"The Green Man" Crimes	Escalated to breaking in, tying up, and sexually assaulting women.
June 1962 - Jan 1964	"The Boston Strangler" Murders	Escalated to sexual homicide, killing 13 women.
1967	Conviction and Sentencing	Convicted of the "Green Man" rapes and sentenced to life in prison.
Nov 1973	Death	Stabbed to death by a fellow inmate in prison.
July 2013	Posthumous DNA Match	DNA evidence definitively linked DeSalvo to the rape and murder of the final Strangler victim, Mary Sullivan.