ILLUSTRATES Aluisio Cervelle Santos
1) Albert Fish (1870-1936) was born in Washington DC in 1870, the son of a boat captain on the Potomac River. After his father’s death, he stayed until the age of 9 in an ultra-strict orphanage, where he was beaten and whipped.
two) His mother and other relatives had a history of hallucinations, religious psychoses and alcoholism. Absent during his childhood, she returned and took him to New York, where fish supported her by working as a painter.
3) In February 1927, at the age of 57, after years of abuse, trauma and frustration, the desire to kill became untenable. He kidnapped 4-year-old Billy Gaffney. fish tortured the boy, then mutilated, cooked and ate part of his body. The murder, however, went unsolved for a while.
+ Spoken Portrait: Francisco de Assis Pereira, the Brazilian psychopath known as the Park Maniac
+ Spoken Portrait: Nannie Doss, the serial killer who killed daughter, grandson, mother-in-law, sister and several husbands
4) In July 1928, a new victim: 10-year-old Gracie Budds. With a false name and an innocent appearance, the old man had gained the trust of the girl’s family, promising her older brother a job.
5) A message from the serial killer to Gracie’s brother has the police on his trail. The body of another child, severely beaten, was found and associated with the case. After the release of his sketch, fish sent a letter to Gracie’s family, with details of the crime.
6) The public commotion generated testimonials that helped the investigation. With the tips of a lady who rented a property to fish, the police captured him. During the arrest, he tried to fight back using a barber’s razor, but was overpowered.
+ Spoken Portrait: Bonnie & Clyde, the outlaw couple who became legend in the USA
+ Spoken Portrait: Richard Trenton Chase, the serial killer known as the Sacramento Vampire
7) In his confession, he said he felt an uncontrollable thirst for blood and described, as if it were a cooking show, all the preparation of the children’s meat. An X-ray of her pelvis revealed nails and needles lodged in her body.
WHAT END DID IT TAKE?
Convicted of Gracie’s death, he also confessed to killing three other boys. He thanked the judge for sentencing the eletric chair, executed in January 1936.