49 Years Later — DNA Used in ‘Boston Strangler’ Case

In 1964, residents of Boston were hiding behind closed doors; afraid to go out after dark and wondering who would be the next victim of 'The Boston Strangler.'

From 1962 to 1964, a string of heinous murders had taken place in Boston and by the time all was said and done there were 11 and possibly 13 victims of the phantom killer. Eventually, Albert DeSalvo, who had been arrested for another crime confessed to police that he was the 'Boston Strangler and was sent to prison.

Over the years, people decided that Albert DeSalvo wasn't really the killer. No evidence backed up that theory, but some people love to reinvent history.

Now, DNA evidence has nailed down at least one of those murders.

Officials in Massachusetts said yesterday that through advances in DNA testing they have finally linked a suspect to the Boston Strangler killings in the early 1960s. Albert DeSalvo, who was already in prison for unrelated crimes, confessed to all 11 killings, but had never been convicted of them. Pieces of his story didn’t add up and he recanted his story before he was killed in prison in 1973. But just recently, police were able to match DNA found on the Boston Strangler’s final victim, 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, with DNA taken from a nephew of DeSalvo’s. They said they were 99.9 percent certainty DeSalvo was her killer, and they will dig up DeSalvo’s body to make a final match. The Boston Strangler was allegedly responsible for the deaths of 11 women, some of whom were choked to death with their own nylon stockings.