Ashley Corrigan Period: 5

Background Info Born on September 3, 1931 in Chelsea, Massachusetts His father was Frank DeSalvo and his mother was Charlotte DeSalvo. His father worked as a laborer and plumber and his mother was a housewife. Very poor family His father was a wife-beating alcoholic His father often brought home prostitutes and exposed him to them at age 10 He had five siblings He was of Italian and Irish ancestry Joined the army at age 17 and was stationed in Germany He was discharged from the army for disobeying orders He married a German woman - Irmgard Beck He had a handicapped child He was known by his colleagues and boss as an outrageous braggart

First Degree Murder - Murder that is carried out with the planned and deliberate intention of killing somebody. CRIMEDATEVICTIM(S)PUNISHMENT First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedJune 14, 1962Anna Slesers, 55Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assaultedJune 28, 1962Mary Mullen, 85Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assulted June 30, 1962Nina Nichols, 68Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedJune 30,1962Helen Blake, 65Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assaultedAugust 21, 1962Ida Irga, 75Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedAugust 30, 1962Jane Sullivan, 67Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedDecember 5, 1962Sophie Clark, 20Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedDecember 31, 1962Patricia Bissette, 23Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedMarch 9, 1963Mary Brown, 69Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assaultedMay 6, 1963Beverly Samans, 23Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedSeptember 8, 1963Evelyn Corbin, 58Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assultedNovember 23, 1963Joann Graff, 23Not caught yet First degree murder: strangled and sexually assaultedJanuary 4, 1964Mary Sullivan, 19Life Imprisonment

Evidence Dead Body (Mary Sullivan) Victim’s ransacked apartment Valuables missing from the victim’s apartment Happy New Year card wedged between Sullivan’s feet Underwear and scarves around Sullivan’s neck

Other Facts Sentence? The final sentence was Life Imprisonment. Served Time? In the MCI- Cedar Junction Prison in Massachusetts. Death? Stabbed in prison in 1973 Nickname: The Boston Strangler “It wasn’t as dark and scary as it sounds. I had a lot of fun… killing somebody’s a fun experience.” –Albert DeSalvo

Cultural References Books “The Boston Strangler” By Gerold Frank Movies The Boston Strangler: The Untold Story Songs “Midnight Rambler” by The Rolling Stones “He don't give a hoot of warning Wrapped up in a black cat cloak” “Talkin' 'bout the midnight gambler The one you never seen before, yeah” “I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger The knife-sharpened tippie-toe”

Sociological Theory of Deviance The Sociological theory of Deviance that best explains Albert DeSalvo’s deviant and criminal behaviors was the Behavioral Theory. The Behavioral Theory states that people aren’t born with violence but they learn it from seeing and observing violent acts. Ever since he was little, DeSalvo was exposed to many violent and inappropriate behaviors. First off, his father was a major alcoholic and was known to come home drunk every night. The alcohol played a major part in DeSalvo’s father’s tendency to beat his wife. He treated the rest of his family terribly. For example, his father would often bring prostitutes home and violently expose them to his children. Albert DeSalvo most likely gained his deviant behavior from these violent acts and behaviors that his father displayed. His father always had his family to lean on and he knew they weren’t going to leave him. Therefore, he felt free to do what ever he wanted which served as a reward. Albert learned aggressive skills and techniques by observing his father. Albert went on to murder all of the women previously mentioned. Since Albert stated that it was a fun experience to murder people, his “reward” for violence was his own personal satisfaction. The attention that Albert DeSalvo got from the media for murdering and remaining unfound for such a long period of time also served as a reward to him.