Boston Strangler Reveals an Untold Twist in the Story

Wow. What a buzz-worthy week for true crime-inspired dramas starring killer leading ladies. First came word of HBO Max’s Love & Death miniseries based on the 1980 ax murder of Betty Gore by her friend and fellow church member, Candace Montgomery. Elizabeth Olsen takes on the role of Montgomery. Then 20th Century Studios released the trailer for Boston Strangler, which will premiere on Hulu on March 17. Entertainment sites blew up with excitement at the Ridley Scott production that will star Keira Knightley.

Knightley plays reporter Loretta McLaughlin, the first person to make the connection that a series of murders in Boston in the early 1960s were linked to the same killer. But joining Knightley is another amazing actor, Carrie Coon, who plays Jean Cole, McLaughlin’s fellow journalist and confidant.

Huh. I never knew a woman reporter, much less two of them, had anything to do with the case at all. What about you?

Then again, besides the basics, I didn’t know much except that the murders were attributed to Albert DeSalvo. However, he was never tried in any of the Boston Strangler murders. No one was. Many even doubted that the same person was responsible for the 13 murders of single women that happened between 1962 and 1964.

However, he was tried and convicted for another prolific crime spree. Let’s first take a look at that and then at the Boston Strangler movie.

A Lot of Names, Same Person?

Before the Boston Strangler became the moniker of choice, the killer was also called “The Mad Strangler of Boston,” the “Phantom Fiend,” and the “Phantom Strangler.” However, Albert DeSalvo was also linked to two other names.

Measuring Man

First came the “Measuring Man.” According to the Crime Museum, he’d randomly knock on apartment doors in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until he found an attractive woman who was all alone. He’d tell her that he was a talent scout and that she had the looks to be a model. Then he’d offer to help her. All he’d need to do was get her measurements.

Many women fell for the scam and welcomed him into their homes while they went to get a tape measure for him. While taking their measurements, he’d fondle them. After several women reported similar incidents to the police, they started calling the perpetrator the “Measuring Man.”

Green Man

In 1960, DeSalvo was caught breaking into a home and voluntarily confessed to the Measuring Man’s crime without any prompting or coercion. He went to jail for 11 months, but when he got out, he concocted a similar, but new, racket as the “Green Man.” A moniker that described the green uniform he wore when he pretended to be a handyman. He ended up assaulting over 300 women in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

But at the same time, Boston homicide detectives had their hands full investigating the “Silk Stocking Murders.” That was the Boston Strangler’s weapon of choice.

Boston Strangler

It was actually a victim of the Green Man who identified DeSalvo. He was convicted of those crimes since there was no evidence linking him to the Boston Strangler cases. However, like he had done when he admitted to the Measuring Man ones, he also confessed to being the Boston Strangler when he was arrested for Green Man crimes.

But was he the Strangler? Or was he after the reward money? A scheme he might have hatched with George Nassar, a convicted murderer he met while undergoing psychiatric observation at Bridgewater State Hospital. Did the two conspire to split the money if one of them got it after confessing to the crimes?

We may never know for sure, but there was a big break in the case 50 years later thanks to modern science.

Strangler DNA Evidence

In 2013, DNA from the Strangler’s last victim, 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, tested positive as DeSalvo’s.

So he’s for sure linked to at least one murder. However, Sullivan’s was the only case where such evidence was preserved. But since the M.O. of her murder matched the other 12, and with his prolific past assaults, it’s safe to reason DeSalvo was also likely responsible for the murders of the other victims too, which included:

1. Anna Elsa (Legins) Šlesers, 56
2. Mary Mullen, 85
3. Nina Frances Nichols, 68
4. Helen Elizabeth Blake, 65
5. Ida Odes Irga, 74
6. Jane Buckley Sullivan, 67
7. Sophie Clark, 20
8. Patricia Jane Bullock Bissette, 22
9. Mary Ann Brown, 6
10. Beverly Samans, 26
11. Marie Evelina (Evelyn) Corbin, 58
12. Joann Marie Graff, 22

Boston Strangler Movie Storyline

The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders. As the mysterious killer claims more and more victims, Loretta attempts to continue her investigation alongside colleague and confidante Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), yet the duo finds themselves stymied by the rampant sexism of the era. Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Cole bravely pursue the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.

Boston Strangler Trailer

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Did you know a woman reporter was the first one to actually make the connection that the Boston Strangler was a serial killer? (Or what we could come to call that. The term wasn’t coined yet back then.)