Albert DeSalvo

Albert Henry DeSalvo (September 3, 1931 – November 25, 1973), also known as the Green Man or the Measuring Man, was an American murderer and rapist who was active in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early 1960s. He is known for having confessed to being the "Boston Strangler," a serial killer who murdered thirteen women in the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. DeSalvo's murder confessions were deemed credible, yet due to limited evidence in those cases he was not charged. He was prosecuted in 1967 for a series of unrelated rapes. He was found guilty, convicted and imprisoned for life. He died in prison after being stabbed in 1973. DeSalvo's claims to have murdered multiple women were disputed, and debates continued regarding which crimes he truly committed. By the early 21st century, techniques for DNA capture and analysis could allow for the re-investigation of some DeSalvo-Strangler cases. In July 2013, an analysis of semen found around the body of Mary Sullivan, the last of the Strangler's victims, was compared to DNA obtained from DeSalvo's nephew. Results showed a familial match and investigators believed this finding linked DeSalvo to the killing of Sullivan. The DNA match excluded 99.9% of the remaining population. Later that month, authorities exhumed DeSalvo's body and found that his DNA was a match.