Only on Lifetime Real Women. Check Your Local Listings.
|
Only on Lifetime Real Women. Check Your Local Listings. |
|
UNEXPLAINED DEATH MARY SULLIVAN/BOSTON STRANGLER |
|
Broadcast Date: June 28, 2002 SYNOPSIS: Recently unearthed DNA and other forensic evidence suggest Albert DeSalvo, the man thought to be the "Boston Strangler," didn't have anything to do with the 1964 murder of 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, the woman believed to be the eleventh victim. And, investigators say, this new development raises doubts about whether Albert DeSalvo actually killed any of the women he confessed to strangling in the 1960s. If Albert DeSalvo isn't the "Boston Strangler," then does that mean the real Strangler is still at large? On January 4th, 1964, Mary Sullivan's two roommates returned to their apartment after work and found 19-year old Mary dead. She had been strangled with a dark stocking. Investigators concluded that Mary Sullivan was one of the latest victims of up to 13 strangulations, spanning 18 months. Police believed they were committed by the same man who they called the "Boston Strangler." Over many months investigators developed some strong suspects but no arrests were made. However, in early 1965, Albert DeSalvo, a 29-year-old inmate at a Massachusetts mental hospital, confessed to killing Sullivan and the others. Even though Albert DeSalvo was never charged with any of the "Boston Strangler" murders, most believed the police had caught the right man. DeSalvo was imprisoned on unrelated sexual crimes until he was stabbed to death in 1973. But recently two families have formed an unlikely alliance to challenge DeSalvo's guilt: The family of Mary Sullivan and the family of her alleged killer Albert DeSalvo. In the fall of 1999, Casey Sherman took a renewed interest in the story. His mother, Diane Dodd, was Mary Sullivan's older sister. Diane never believed that DeSalvo killed Mary. Casey Sherman and his mother, Diane, turned to the only evidence available to them: the body of Mary Sullivan. The Sullivans asked for help from George Washington University professor James E. Starrs. Starrs then enlisted the help of Dr. David Foran, a forensic molecular biologist. Doctor Foran and his team of scientists successfully isolated a DNA sequence from the sample. It was compared to Albert DeSalvo's by using DNA taken from his brother Richard. The results were virtually indisputable. The DNA found on Mary Sullivan's body did not belong to Albert DeSalvo. If Albert DeSalvo did not kill Mary Sullivan, then who did? Could the Boston Strangler still be out there? Various theories abound and the family of Mary Sullivan continues to hope that Mary's killer will one day be held accountable. If you have any information about the death of Mary Sullivan, please call the Unsolved Mysteries hotline, 1-800-876-5353.
|