Crime & Safety
Boston Strangler Victim's Family: "People Really Did Care"
After 49 years, Boston Strangler victim Mary Sullivan's family is overjoyed that police have most likely ID'd her killer.
By Sara Jacobi
As police announced Thursday morning their "99.9 percent" certainty that suspected Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo was responsible for the death of 19-year-old Beacon-Hill resident Mary Sullivan in 1964, her family shared their overwhelming relief to have finally pinpointed her killer in the 50-year cold case.
Sullivan's nephew, Casey Sherman, who has been dedicated to the case for the last 20 years, spoke tearfully about what the news means to him and his family.
"I've lived with Mary's memory every day, my whole life, and I didn't know, nor did my mother know, that other people were living with her memory as well," he said. "It's amazing to me today to understand that people really did care about what happened to my aunt, a 19-year-old girl who was heinously murdered in 1964."
Sherman said his aunt Mary had grown up on Cape Cod, graduating from Barnstable High School in 1962.
"She was the joy of her Irish-Catholic family," he said.
She had moved to an apartment on Beacon Hill just four days before she was murdered.
On Thursday, police announced a breakthrough in ID'ing Sullivan's murderer as long-time suspect Albert DeSalvo. Police plan to dig up DeSalvo's remains in Peabody this week to officially confirm his guilt in her murder.
As police announced Thursday morning their "99.9 percent" certainty that suspected Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo was responsible for the death of 19-year-old Beacon-Hill resident Mary Sullivan in 1964, her family shared their overwhelming relief to have finally pinpointed her killer in the 50-year cold case.
Sullivan's nephew, Casey Sherman, who has been dedicated to the case for the last 20 years, spoke tearfully about what the news means to him and his family.
"I've lived with Mary's memory every day, my whole life, and I didn't know, nor did my mother know, that other people were living with her memory as well," he said. "It's amazing to me today to understand that people really did care about what happened to my aunt, a 19-year-old girl who was heinously murdered in 1964."
Sherman said his aunt Mary had grown up on Cape Cod, graduating from Barnstable High School in 1962.
"She was the joy of her Irish-Catholic family," he said.
She had moved to an apartment on Beacon Hill just four days before she was murdered.
On Thursday, police announced a breakthrough in ID'ing Sullivan's murderer as long-time suspect Albert DeSalvo. Police plan to dig up DeSalvo's remains in Peabody this week to officially confirm his guilt in her murder.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here