Is 'Boston Strangler' based on a true story? Kiera Knightley makes a comeback on Hulu crime drama
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA : We're thrilled to see Keira Knightley back on screen. The actress will be seen on the Hulu movie, 'Boston Strangler', on Friday, March 17. Knightley plays the main character, Loretta McLaughlin, a reporter for the Boston Record American in Boston, Massachusetts. The supporting cast includes Morgan Spector, David Dastmalchian, Alessandro Nivola, Bill Camp, Chris Cooper and Carrie Coon.
The official synopsis of the movie reads, "Loretta McLaughlin was the reporter who first connected the murders and broke the story of the Boston Strangler. She and Jean Cole challenged the sexism of the early 1960s to report on the city's most notorious serial killer." Now the question arises: Is the 'Boston Strangler' based on a true story?
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Was there an actual Boston Strangler?
It's true, there was indeed a series of murders that took place in the '60s. McLaughlin was the first journalist to connect these murders and put the pieces together with her colleague Cole. Anna Slesers, 55, was discovered dead on the kitchen floor of her apartment on June 14, 1962, by her son. The devoted churchgoer and seamstress had been strangled to death. Her blue housecoat had been torn apart and its belt had been bow-tied around her neck. The perpetrator had sexually abused Sleser. The body of Mary Mullen, 85, who had suffered a heart attack before the murderer could act, was discovered on June 28. The discovery of two victims on June 30, 1962, raised the possibility that a serial killer was still at large despite the lack of proof.
Helen Blake, a 65-year-old divorcee, was discovered dead at her house, while Nina Nichols, 68, was also found murdered on the same day. Similar to the Slesers case, both crimes scenes were staged to appear like a burglary had occurred, both victims had been sexually assaulted and both were discovered with the killer's disturbing calling card: Blake's bra wrapped in a bow around her neck and Nichols' stocking tops around her neck.
Who was the Boston Strangler?
DeSalvo was the only person to be arrested in connection with these murders. His father was a violent drunk who would often beat him and engage in sexual acts with sex workers in front of his mother and his siblings. Since he was young, he had often got into trouble with the law for violence and robbery.
DeSalvo was known by several different identities before he became the Boston Strangler. One of them was known as "The Measuring Man" because he would pose as a scout searching for models. He would touch women improperly when they allowed him into their houses to take measurements. Due to complaints from several women, he was imprisoned for almost a year. "The Green Man" followed after that. He broke into women's apartments while dressed in green, tying the victims up while sexually assaulting them. He was arrested in 1964 and charged with assault, burglary and sex offences. Authorities, however, were unaware that he was the Boston Strangler at the time. He confessed to the killings after being imprisoned.
