Editing Boston Strangler (section)

==Events==
Between June 14, 1962, and January 4, 1964, 13 single women between the ages of 19 and 85 were murdered in the Boston area. Most were sexually assaulted and strangled in their apartments. Originally, the police believed that one man was the sole perpetrator. With no sign of forced entry into their homes, the women were assumed to have let their assailant in, either because they may have known him or because they believed him to be a service provider. The attacks continued despite extensive media publicity after the first few murders. Many residents purchased [[tear gas]] and new [[Lock (security device)|locks]] and [[deadbolt]]s for their doors.<ref name="google/books=n0EEAAAAMBAJ">Byers, Margery. “[https://books.google.com/books?id=n0EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 Fear walks home with the women].” Life, February 15, 1963.</ref><ref name="Gardner" /> Some women even moved out of the area in response to the killings.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lane|first1=Brian|last2=Gregg|first2=Wilfred|title=The Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers|publisher=Berkley|year=1995|isbn=9780425152133|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofse00lane/page/150 150-151]|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofse00lane/page/150}}</ref>{{r|Gardner}}

The murders occurred in several cities, including Boston, complicating jurisdictional oversight for prosecution of the crimes. [[Massachusetts Attorney General]] [[Edward Brooke|Edward W. Brooke]] helped to coordinate the various police forces.<ref name="Gardner" />{{r|time19670217}} He permitted [[parapsychologist]] [[Peter Hurkos]] to use his alleged [[extrasensory perception]] to analyze the cases, for which Hurkos claimed that a single person was responsible. This decision was controversial.<ref name="Gardner" /> Hurkos provided a "minutely detailed description of the wrong person", and the press ridiculed Brooke.<ref name="time19670217">{{cite news|title=The Senate: An Individual Who Happens To Be a Negro|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,839437,00.html|access-date=December 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220193504/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C839437%2C00.html|archive-date=February 20, 2008|newspaper=Time|date=February 17, 1967|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The police were not convinced that all the murders were the actions of one person, although much of the public believed so. The apparent connections between a majority of the victims and hospitals were widely discussed.<ref name="Gardner" />

The final victim of the murders was 19-year-old Mary Sullivan, who was raped and strangled in her Boston apartment on January 4, 1964. Three [[Ligature (medicine)|ligatures]] were wrapped around her neck, and a broom handle was lodged in her vagina. A card reading "[[Happy New Year]]" was left by the killer, leaning against her left foot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-13 |title=Boston Strangler commits his final known murder {{!}} January 4, 1964 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-4/boston-strangler-strikes-again |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=[[History Channel|History]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Tatiana |date=2003-10-21 |title=DeSalvo Not Mary's Murderer |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desalvo-not-marys-murderer/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=[[CBS News]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-07-11 |title=New DNA Testing Ties Boston Strangler To 1964 Mary Sullivan Murder |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/new-information-to-be-released-in-boston-strangler-case/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=[[CBS News]] |language=en-US}}</ref>