Thirteen women were strangled in Boston, USA, between June 1962 and January 1964. The killer, moved by uncontrollable sexual desires, plausibly talked his way into the confidence of women living alone. Once admitted to their homes, he raped and strangled his victims. His hallmark was to tie the ligature around their necks with a characteristic bow under the chin.

His first victim was 55-year-old divorcee Anna Slesers, who was found by her son in June 1962. Her naked body, with legs spread wide, was sprawled on the floor of her apartment. She had been sexually assaulted, and strangled with her housecoat cord. In some of the murders an attempt had been made at robbery, but police believed this was a blind - the killer’s motive was plainly sex with murder.

As murder followed murder public tension mounted, and Boston’s women exiled themselves behind locked doors. Many sexual deviants were questioned and, as is usual, many false confessions made. Then in January 1964 the spate of murders stopped, but on 27 October the strangler struck again and attacked a young woman in her home, having gained entrance by pretending to be a detective. He pinned her down on the bed and threatened her with a knife - ‘Not a sound or I’ll kill you,’ he told her. After tying her hand and foot and molesting her, he inexplicably made off, simply saying, ‘I’m sorry.’

When she freed herself the girl immediately called the police and gave a full description. He was identified at once as Albert DeSalvo, who had been released from prison in April 1962 following conviction for indecent assault. DeSalvo was interviewed at Cambridge, Mass., and although denying involvement in the murders did admit to housebreaking and rape. When his photograph was published scores of reports came to the police from women, alleging DeSalvo had assaulted them.

DeSalvo was committed to Boston State Hospital, having been judged schizophrenic and not competent to stand trial. There was still no conclusive evidence that he was the Boston Strangler, but while in hospital he confessed to killing thirteen women, and described details of both the victims and their apartments. He described how he killed a 23-year-old graduate student: ‘Once I stabbed her once, I couldn’t stop…I keep hitting her and hitting her with that knife…she keeps bleeding from the throat…I hit her and hit her and hit her…’

Ironically, DeSalvo was never charged with being the Strangler. Instead he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1967 for sex offences and robberies committed before the crimes.

On 26 November 1973 he was found dead in his prison cell at Walpole State Prison, Massachusetts, stabbed through the heart.