Had everything been as it should have been, Mary Sullivan would have lived a happy, normal life and never received any national attention. As it was, her name was destined to be remembered and recorded for decades to come. Mary Sullivan was considered to be the last victim of the serial killer who came to be known as the Boston Strangler.
Journalist Casey Sherman is the nephew of Mary Sullivan and his book Search For The Strangler is a testament to her as person, a study of how violent crimes affect families for generations and an investigation which, if true, has blown the lid off one of law enforcement's ugliest cover ups.
All aficionados of true crime know the story. Boston police were desperately searching for a serial killer that was terrorizing Boston, preying on elderly women. The killer would gain access to the women's apartment, overcome them, strangle them and masturbate over their bodies. Attorney F Lee Bailey, coming off his success with the acquittal of Dr. Sam Shepprd, hears about a jailhouse confession from an incarcerated client, George Nassar. At Nassar's request, Bailey meets Albert DeSalvo, a fellow inmate of Nassar's who claims to be responsible for the stranglings.
DeSalvo is in jail accused of a serious of rapes in the Boston area that had been committed by a person the press called the "Green Man". Convinced that DeSalvo needs to be placed in a psychiatric hospital but knowing he would not be able to get a fair trial in Boston, Bailey brokers a deal whereby DeSalvo will confess to the stranglings, but his confession will not be used against him in a trial for the murders. Rather, information gained through the confessions will be used in the "Green Man" trial as a basis for sending him to a hospital, not prison. Nevertheless, he is sentenced to prison and later murdered by another inmate.
Bailey becomes a hero and the Boston police have their man. But is this true? For years people have been alleging a coverup that goes all the way from the Boston Police Department to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.
Quite frankly I am not, and never have been, much of a believer in conspiracy theories. It is far easier for me to believe that, for the most part, law enforcement really cares about solving crimes and bringing justice to victims and their families. It is so much simpler to believe that a voluntary confession is the truth and that having such a confession should end a criminal investigation. It is also comforting to think that, for the sake of justice, a new investigation would be launched into any crime if convincing evidence were produced showing that mistakes were made and the real perpetrator had not been caught. Sherman's book is the first that has ever really shaken my belief in law enforcement in general.
This was not Sherman's purpose, at least not at first. Mary Sullivan's brutal death affected her family for decades, especially her sister Diane. Diane never believed that Albert De Salvo was her sister's killer and was obsessed with the idea that Mary could never rest while her killer was free. Sherman initially wanted to prove once and for all that DeSalvo was the killer so that his mother could be at peace. Things didn't work out that way, though.
First, there is Boston police detective Jim Mellon who believes he has the answer to six of the slayings. They are not all the same person and none of them are DeSalvo. Mellon's evidence is compelling but was not acted upon by his superiors. Why not?
Then there's the matter of the mishandling of evidence. A retired Boston detective has in his possession the actual tapes of DeSalvo's confessions which he tries to sell for profit. Sherman offers portions of the transcript to show that the tapes actually exonerate DeSalvo.
As Sherman's investigation continues we discover that, contrary to popular belief, DeSalvo's confessions are not consistently accurate. While purported to have near total recall, he makes many mistakes when describing the crimes and crime scenes. Sherman, again, shows us transcripts of interviews where investigators seem to be leading DeSalvo where they want him to go.
We also learn DeSalvo has a strong motive for lying. His conviction for the Green Man rapes is considered almost a certainty. But by confessing to the stranglings he is convinced by F Lee Bailey, and others, that he will go to a hospital and not a prison. He is also told that he will make a mountain load of money by book and movie deals.
Sherman is obsessed to the point that he meets with Albert DeSalvo's son and convinces his mother, against other family member's objections, to have Mary Sullivan's body exhumed to look for DNA evidence that could conclusively prove or disprove DeSalvo's guilt. He also tells us why he feels he has discovered the real murderer of Mary Sullivan. I won't go into detail so as not to spoil the book for those who wish to read.
Search For The Strangler is well written. After all, Sherman is, as he tells us endlessly, a trained journalist. His writings show how the effects of such horrendous crimes affect people for generations. He offers compelling reasons why the Boston Police Department, the Attorney General's office and F Lee Bailey would have jumped at the chance to nail an innocent man for the crimes. The narrative of his own personal investigation and its affects on himself, his wife and his mother are compelling.
Do I believe everything that Sherman is saying and accept all his conclusions? Well, that's a different thing altogether. Sherman is way too close to what he is writing about. In any major investigation which might be considered unsolved, you have books and articles written by people with different viewpoints and different axes to grind. However, many people do believe that he has offered much more than reasonable doubt as to DeSalvo's guilt. In fact, during his own private query, someone close to the original investigation tells him that no one believes DeSalvo was the Strangler anymore.
It's a good book that can have people debating the case for a long time and is well worth the purchase price.