Casey Sherman carries a weight few can imagine – a family legacy intertwined with the terror of the Boston Strangler. His aunt, Mary Sullivan, was the youngest victim, and for decades, he’s questioned whether the confessed killer, Albert DeSalvo, was truly responsible. He harbors a profound doubt: “I honestly don’t believe Albert DeSalvo did it.”
Sherman’s skepticism isn’t born of grief, but of meticulous investigation. He delved into the psychological profile created by DeSalvo’s own doctor, Dr. Ames Robey, a profile that painted DeSalvo as incapable of the brutal acts attributed to the Strangler. Robey, in a detailed interview, expressed his disbelief that DeSalvo could commit homicide.
DeSalvo, Sherman argues, was a predator of a different kind – a manipulator, a thief, a man who exploited women, but not a murderer. The killings, which paralyzed Boston between 1962 and 1964, are now revisited in a new documentary featuring previously unheard audio from DeSalvo himself, a man silenced by prison violence in 1973.
Sherman’s journey began with childhood whispers about his aunt’s death. He finally confronted his mother, just seventeen when she lost her nineteen-year-old sister, her best friend. Their shared future, a lifetime of sisterhood, was brutally stolen. His mother’s heartbreaking response echoed a lingering uncertainty: “Casey, I don’t know if they ever did get the guy.”
That seed of doubt blossomed into a decades-long quest. While initial DNA tests on DeSalvo’s remains seemed to confirm his guilt in Mary Sullivan’s murder, and suggested involvement in others, Sherman grew increasingly troubled by the presentation and interpretation of the evidence. He needed to understand the full story.
He interviewed approximately fifty individuals connected to the case, including a veteran member of the Boston Strangler task force who believed authorities had wrongly accused DeSalvo. The possibility of other suspects, overlooked leads, and a flawed investigation began to emerge. Thirteen women were victims, each strangled with their own clothing, some also brutally stabbed.
Dubbed “America’s Jack the Ripper,” the Boston Strangler unleashed a wave of fear across the region. DeSalvo, a seemingly ordinary blue-collar worker and Army veteran, confessed while institutionalized. However, the confession was problematic, secured without concrete evidence and leading to a life sentence for unrelated assaults, not the murders themselves.
Sherman discovered sixty hours of confession tapes, a treasure trove of information. He befriended the investigator who preserved them, gaining access to a raw, unfiltered account of DeSalvo’s claims. What he heard shocked him: “Albert DeSalvo confessed to events that never happened.”
The interrogation, led by a real estate lawyer with no prior investigative experience, was riddled with leading questions and the improper use of crime scene photographs. Veteran homicide detectives, upon reviewing the tapes, were appalled by the interrogation tactics. It was a flawed process from the start.
Further fueling his doubts, Sherman uncovered forty letters DeSalvo wrote from prison, detailing his intention to publicly recant his confession to The New York Times. He was silenced before he could, murdered within prison walls. Skeptics have long suspected the involvement of multiple killers, pointing to inconsistencies in DeSalvo’s statements and discrepancies with witness descriptions.
The possibility of a conspiracy lingers, particularly involving George Nassar, a cellmate and career criminal. Some believe Nassar manipulated DeSalvo, diverting suspicion from himself. Nassar vehemently denied any involvement, but the question remains. A reward offered during the investigation may have provided a motive for a fabricated confession.
Even DeSalvo’s own attorney, F. Lee Bailey, firmly believed they had the right man. Yet, Sherman remains resolute. He welcomes a renewed examination of the case, driven by a single, powerful desire: to bring truth and closure to the victims’ families. “The victims' families deserve answers and the truth behind the tragic murders of their loved ones.”
Sherman understands the truth may be elusive, the key players long gone. But he believes the answer exists, waiting to be uncovered. He’s not bound by a single theory, recognizing that new information could emerge even now. It’s an ongoing quest, a relentless pursuit of justice for those whose lives were tragically cut short.
