December 7, 2016

EP. 4 — Episode 4: Abnormal Psychology

On December 29, 1962, twenty-three-year old Patricia Bissette was found strangled in her Boston apartment. She was second young victim, and the seventh overall attributed to The Boston Strangler. But there were some who weren’t so sure Bissette was a victim of THE Strangler. There was legitimate suspicion that Bissette’s boss—a married man with a motive for keeping his affair with Bissette quiet—had killed her. In this episode, host Portland Helmich reveals how one significant detail, Bissette’s address, might have helped police find the real killer in 1962. We’ll hear more about the tragic consequences of this missed opportunity, and we’ll meet Adele Roof, who believes that she befriended the Boston Strangler in 1962—and almost became one of his victims. 

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: STRANGLERS), Talkspace (www.talkspace.com/stranglers), Audible (www.audible.com/stranglers), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/stranglers), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/stranglers), and A Crime to Remember on Investigation Discovery.

Recent Episodes

February 15, 2017

55 years after the Boston Strangler murders first began, and despite decades of investigation, the search for answers continues. Although we may never know the truth about what happened to these women, we can draw some conclusions about the likely killers, and we can reach a new understanding about how crimes like this occur. In our final episode, Adele Roof, once nearly a victim herself, joins host Portland Helmich on a touching, thought-provoking journey back to Boston.

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: Stranglers), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/Stranglers), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/stranglers), Audible (www.audible.com/stranglers), and Investigation Discovery.

February 8, 2017

Doubts and confusion about the identity of the Boston Strangler didn’t end with the death of lead suspect Albert DeSalvo. In fact, a small but determined group of family members and journalists continued to investigate the many unresolved questions surrounding the case–including the chilling possibility that some stranglers continued to live freely. In this episode, host Portland Helmich talks to Casey Sherman, nephew of victim Mary Sullivan (profiled in Episode 1) about his unlikely effort to exonerate DeSalvo. We learn about the existence of new forensic evidence, and about the strange, post-Strangler career of another major suspect: he moved to Michigan, and—perhaps coincidentally—a new series of murders began.

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: STRANGLERS), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/STRANGLERS), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/stranglers), Audible (www.audible.com/stranglers), and Investigation Discovery.

February 1, 2017

Boston is gripped by fear once again after Albert DeSalvo escapes from Bridgewater State Hospital. But imprisonment never stops the man most people believed to be the Boston Strangler from communicating with—and attempting to manipulate—those outside. In this episode, we get an exclusive glimpse of DeSalvo’s extensive correspondence with his pursuer, Detective Phil DiNatale. DeSalvo never left prison again, but host Portland Helmich follows Phil DiNatale to Hollywood, where he became an official advisor and major character in the very successful 1968 film, The Boston Strangler. While the movie solidified many of the publicly accepted myths about the stranglings, DeSalvo’s mysterious death in prison only adds to the confusion surrounding the Strangler’s identity.

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: STRANGLERS), Casper Mattresses (www.casper.com/STRANGLERS), Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com/STRANGLERS), Audible (www.audible.com/stranglers), and Investigation Discovery.