Grave of the Boston Strangler

Grave of Robert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler http://www.OddThingsIveSeen.com (J.W. Ocker)

From 1962 to 1964, the Boston Strangler sexually assaulted and strangled around a dozen women who ranged in age from 19 to 85, gripping the city in terror.

Nine months after the last murder, Albert DeSalvo was arrested for an unrelated series of sexual assaults he committed across New England, which earned him the nickname “The Green Man” for the distinctive green pants he wore. While in jail awaiting trial, he confessed to being the Boston Strangler, however, it was the Green Man assaults and not the Boston Strangler murders for which he was finally convicted and sentenced.

Many believe that DeSalvo was not the Boston Strangler at all, due to the lack of physical evidence connecting him to the crime. Others believe that the Boston Strangler was figment of the media, since the crimes varied widely in victim profile and methodology. Some even think that the Boston Strangler was George Nassar, the man who DeSalvo shared a cell with while incarcerated.

Wherever the truth lies, in 1973 after six years of incarceration for his Green Man crimes, DeSalvo was found dead in his prison cell—he had been stabbed to death. Unlike most violent criminals, he ended up buried in a publicly accessible space.

The grave is located at the 140-acre Puritan Lawn Memorial Park in Peabody, MA, in a cemetery has no tombstones. Instead, small bronze plaques are inset flush with the ground, making the discovery of a particular plaque near impossible without directions.

DeSalvo’s grave is located near the intersection of Cummings Way and Endicott Drive.

Adapted with Permission from: The New England Grimpendium by J.W. Ocker

Know Before You Go

DeSalvo’s grave is located in section S in-between the two intersections of Cummings Way and Endicott Drive. Cummings Way is a loop road with connects at its start and end with Endicott. To find the grave, look for the concrete bench which is a few rows away from Endicott. DeSalvo's grave is in the row before the bench (the bench is backward so before the bench means coming from Endicott). In the row before the bench, DeSalvo's grave is roughly eight or nine graves to the right -- look for Gabriel, Gulliver, Bergstrom, Gulliver, Repetto, Pretty, Christianson, Palmer, and then DeSalvo. The front office will not help you.

For a map of the cemetery, go here.