Sept. 3, 1962: Boston police detectives spent hours seeking new leads and running down hundreds of tips and suspects. Several suspects were taken into custody for questioning and the Brighton division arrested a 27-year-old man found sleeping in the bushes near where Nina G. Nichols, the fourth victim, had been killed on June 30, 1962. No one on this night was held for any of the murders to date. Joe Runci/Globe Staff

The Boston Strangler

Sept. 3, 1962: Boston Police detectives worked through the night, trying to solve the Strangler case after 67-year-old Jane Sullivan was discovered on Aug. 30, 1962, throttled to death in her apartment. She was believed to tbe the sixth victim of the Strangler. On this night, news stories reported police were searching for a 56-year old Brookline man who had been arrested more than once for trying to choke women. This suspect had a history of mental illness, and had worked as a practical nurse in at least seven hospitals in the city, getting the jobs through false documentation. A common thread with five victims was that they had some connection with hospitals or medical clinics. Jane Sullivan had worked as a night-shift nurse at Longwood Hospital.

Sept. 3, 1962: Boston police detectives worked through the night trying to solve the Strangler case after Jane Sullivan, 67, was discovered on Aug. 30, 1962, throttled to death in her apartment. She was believed to be the sixth victim. On this night, news stories reported police were searching for a 56-year-old Brookline man who had been arrested more than once for trying to choke women. This suspect had a history of mental illness, and had worked as a practical nurse in at least seven hospitals in the city, getting the jobs through false documentation. A common thread with five victims was that they had some connection with hospitals or medical clinics. Jane Sullivan had worked as a night-shift nurse at Longwood Hospital.

Edward Jenner/Globe staff |

Joe Runci/Globe Staff |

Sept. 29, 1962: Mrs. Mary Coltin of Uphams Corner in Dorchester took her new shepherd, Duke, home to serve as a watchdog as fear drove women to protect themselves from the Boston Strangler. Coltin’s friend Mrs. Florence Nyles, left, of South Boston, joined her.

The Boston Globe |

Feb. 25, 1967: Suspected Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo, wearing sailor's garb, is shown leaving Lynn Police Station. His capture ended a nationwide manhunt begun when DeSalvo and two other inmates broke out of Bridgewater State Hospital the previous day. DeSalvo was captured at Simmons Uniform Co. at 741 Western Ave. He had spent the night in a nearby cellar and had found a sailor's pea jacket and trousers to replace his prison gear. He entered the store at 2:35 p.m. and asked salesman Frederick Waldron for permission to use the phone. DeSalvo told him,

Feb. 25, 1967: Suspected Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo, wearing sailor's garb, is shown leaving the Lynn police station. His capture ended a nationwide manhunt begun when DeSalvo and two other inmates broke out of Bridgewater State Hospital the previous day. DeSalvo was captured at Simmons Uniform Co. at 741 Western Ave. He had spent the night in a nearby cellar and had found a sailor's pea jacket and trousers to replace his prison gear. He entered the store at 2:35 p.m. and asked salesman Frederick Waldron for permission to use the phone. DeSalvo told him, "I want to call F. Lee Bailey." When Waldron heard the name of DeSalvo's attorney, he told the manager, James Trelegan, to call the police. DeSalvo was arrested shortly thereafter.

upi telephoto/Boston Globe Archive |

Feb. 25, 1967: As news spread that DeSalvo had been arrested, crowds of newspaper reporters and photographers, as well as curious onlookers, lined the street outside Lynn police headquarters to get a glimpse of the alleged Boston Strangler in the State Police wagon. Within an hour of the arrest, DeSalvo was taken before Judge Cornelius J. Moynihan in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge. The judge committed DeSalvo to Walpole State Prison (now called Massachusetts Correctional Institution Cedar Junction at Walpole) for life. DeSalvo had been convicted on armed robbery and morals charges on Jan. 18, 1967, and had been remanded to Bridgewater State Hospital, from which he had escaped the previous day. The judge revoked the previous order, which had suspended execution of a life sentence to Walpole. In a six-car caravan crammed full of deputy sheriffs and state troopers armed with shotguns, the high-speed ride to Walpole ended at 7:15 p.m. as DeSalvo was placed behind bars.

Ollie Noonan Jr./Globe Staff |