Looking Back - The Boston Strangler

On this day in 1967 Albert DeSalvo was jailed for life after being found guilty of assault and armed robbery against four women in Connecticut. A few years earlier, between June 1962 and January 1964, the US city of Boston had been gripped with fear when 13 single women aged between 19 and 85 were sexually assaulted and strangled in their own homes. Several of the victims were found with ribbon round their neck. The killer became notorious as the 'Boston Strangler'. The case against DeSalvo was a curious one. Whilst awaiting trial for rape DeSalvo was held in a Massachusetts psychiatric hospital and during his trial his lawyer claimed he had told fellow inmates that he had murdered the women. DeSalvo's lawyer tried to prove he was the killer, at the same time claiming he was insane and and should be sent to a psychiatric hospital rather than prison. Despite claiming to be the killer DeSalvo was not charged with any murders because of lack of evidence. Casey Sherman, nephew of Mary Sullivan, the last woman murdered, claimed that DeSalvo had confessed because it would lead to a lucrative book and film deal. The nephew and DeSalvo's family also claimed he did not match the description of the suspect, police believed more than one person was involved and there was no physical evidence to link him to the crimes. However, a prosecutor who worked on the investigation claimed that during interviews DeSalvo had described, in detail, facts about the killings not known to the public. The judge said "This defendant must be incarcerated as long as he shall live or until psychiatric science can cure him". Shortly after being sentenced DeSalvo escaped from the Massachusetts hospital where he was being held, he was then sent to Walpole State Prison. It was whilst he was in prison, in 1973 that DeSalvo was stabbed to death, no one was convicted of his murder. As a final bizarre twist DeSalvo's body was exhumed in December 2001 and tests showed his DNA did not match evidence found on the body of Mary Sullivan, the 'Stranglers' last victim. So, was DeSalvo the 'Boston Strangler' or did his actions allow the real killer to walk free?

Today's Thought

Women who seek equality with men are not setting their sights very high!

Are Apples Really Good For You?

I see that Steve Jobs, chief executive and mentor of the giant computer firm Apple, is taking six months extended medical leave. It is feared his medical problems may be related to a previous pancreatic cancer condition. Jobs' rise to fame has been dramatic. Having dropped out of college Jobs and his friend Steve Wazniac started Apple in 1976 from his parents garage in Silicon Valley, California. Jobs left Apple in 1985, following a power struggle, returning in 1997 as chief executive. Apple then went on to achieve spectacular success with it's iPod digital music player. The state of Steve Jobs' health will remain a matter of real concern for the Apple organisation.
Footnote
So much for the old adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

Car Number Plates

The amount of traffic using the B1188 road, that runs through Blankney, connecting Lincoln and Sleaford, is becoming horrendous. It is now pretty much continual throughout the day and most of the evening. How different it was, when as teenagers, we would cycle over to Blankney on a Sunday afternoon. Armed with a pocket full of pennies (old pennies that is, 240 to the pound, some even had Queen Victoria's head on the back) we would first go to the Golf Club and buy half a dozen one penny chews. We would then take up our positions on the school corner and proceed to play a game based on car number plates. The idea was that each person would choose a different number between 0 and 9. When a car came along if the number you chose was on the number plate you received a penny from all the other players. For example, if you had chosen number 4 and the number plate was RDA 446 you would receive two pence from each player but if someone else had chosen 6 you would have to pay them a penny. The point of all this is that in those days a car only came along about every five minutes, if two happened to come along close together that was unusual. On a good day you could make about enough to buy five woodbine cigarettes. Playing the same game today, always assuming you could keep up with the number of cars flashing past, you would probably make enough to buy a mansion.