Breakthrough Evidence In Boston Strangler Case

11:44

July 11, 2013

A March 1973 photo of self-confessed Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo. He was found dead in his prison cell in Walpole, Mass. in November 1973. (AP Photo) — A March 1973 photo of self-confessed Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo. (AP Photo)

One of the most notorious unsolved criminal cases in Boston's history could finally be solved.

During the 1960s, the Boston Strangler, a serial killer, allegedly raped and murdered at least 11 women — and terrorized the city. Albert DeSalvo, who was in prison for other crimes, confessed to the murders — but he was never charged. Then he was killed in prison.

Now, after a half a century, law enforcement officials in Boston say they have DNA evidence linking DeSalvo to the last murder attributed to the Boston Strangler. DeSalvo's body will be exhumed so investigators can try to confirm that he raped and murdered 19-year-old Mary Sullivan in her Beacon Hill apartment in 1964.

Guests

Bruce Gellerman, WBUR reporter

Myles David Jewell, director of film "Stranglehold: In the Shadow of the Boston Strangler", and grandson of Phil DiNatale, the lead detective on the Boston Strangler case

This segment aired on July 11, 2013.