Albert Desalvo
Albert DeSalvo 's Confession: True or False?
The "Boston Strangler" caused chaos to the city of Boston from June 14th, 1962 until January 4th, 1964 by claiming the lives of thirteen women in grotesque, sexual, murders (History Channel). The feeling of relief and closure for the families of these thirteen victims has not been relinquished due to the lack of evidence to justly convict Albert DeSalvo as the "Boston Strangler." However, the verbal confessions, past convictions, psychological diagnosis, and personal history provide enough evidence to consider DeSalvo as the number one suspect in these deranged killings.
Albert DeSalvo was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for pretrial observation and was quickly diagnosed with "sociopathic personality marked by sexual deviation, with promi-nent schizoid features and depressive trends" (Junger p. 176). Being diagnosed with this disorder, DeSalvo could have definitely committed the Boston stranglings. There are many characteristics that distinguish a sociopath: charming their way into your heart, inability to treat others as human beings, cruelty to animals, and the inability to learn from experience (Jguttman). As a young child, DeSalvo would trap dogs and cats into crates and watch them fight until they died. While doing so, he would also shoot arrows into the crates. Also, in Albert DeSalvo 's case, he had to charm his way into these women 's apartments without them having any suspicions. He did this by disguising himself as a plumber, model agency recruiter, and an electrician. He was convicted of breaking and entering, assault, and rape of over 300 women.
In considering DeSalvo as the number one suspect in the "Boston Strangler " case, his childhood family relationships and his adult relationships can be used to justify his psychological diagnosis that can be used as evidence in this case. He was continuously beaten by his father and stepfather as a young child. His father repeatedly brought
The "Boston Strangler" caused chaos to the city of Boston from June 14th, 1962 until January 4th, 1964 by claiming the lives of thirteen women in grotesque, sexual, murders (History Channel). The feeling of relief and closure for the families of these thirteen victims has not been relinquished due to the lack of evidence to justly convict Albert DeSalvo as the "Boston Strangler." However, the verbal confessions, past convictions, psychological diagnosis, and personal history provide enough evidence to consider DeSalvo as the number one suspect in these deranged killings.
Albert DeSalvo was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for pretrial observation and was quickly diagnosed with "sociopathic personality marked by sexual deviation, with promi-nent schizoid features and depressive trends" (Junger p. 176). Being diagnosed with this disorder, DeSalvo could have definitely committed the Boston stranglings. There are many characteristics that distinguish a sociopath: charming their way into your heart, inability to treat others as human beings, cruelty to animals, and the inability to learn from experience (Jguttman). As a young child, DeSalvo would trap dogs and cats into crates and watch them fight until they died. While doing so, he would also shoot arrows into the crates. Also, in Albert DeSalvo 's case, he had to charm his way into these women 's apartments without them having any suspicions. He did this by disguising himself as a plumber, model agency recruiter, and an electrician. He was convicted of breaking and entering, assault, and rape of over 300 women.
In considering DeSalvo as the number one suspect in the "Boston Strangler " case, his childhood family relationships and his adult relationships can be used to justify his psychological diagnosis that can be used as evidence in this case. He was continuously beaten by his father and stepfather as a young child. His father repeatedly brought
Cited: Bardsley, Marilyn. "The Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo or Not?" Crime Library. Court TV. 17 Apr. 2007 . "Case File:Albert DeSalvo the Boston Strangler." Fortune City. 27 Apr. 2007 . Fisher, Kristi, and Mark Fisher. "Albert DeSalvo." Carpe Noctem. Aug. 2003. 27 Apr. 2007 . Gambrell, Brenda. "The Boston Strangler 's Confession - Truth or Fiction Part 1." Suite101. 1 Aug. 2001. 17 Apr. 2007 . Guttman, J. "How Do You Know If Someone is a Sociopath?" WikiAnswers. 21 Nov. 2006. 24 Apr. 2007 . Harold, Schechter. The Serial Killer Files. 1st ed. The Random House Group, 2003. 153-155. Junger, Sebastion. A Death in Belmont. New York: W.W Norton and Company, 2006. 160-186. "The Boston Strangler." History Channel. 17 Apr. 2007 .