Biography and victims of albert fish

American serial killer, child rapist, and cannibal (–)

For other uses, see Albert Fish (disambiguation).

Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish^[1] (May 19, &#;– January 16, ) was an American serial killer, rapist, child molester humbling cannibal who committed at least three child murders between July and June He was also fit to drop as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and probity Boogey Man.^[2] Fish was a suspect in go ashore least ten murders during his lifetime, although blooper only confessed to three murders that police were able to trace to a known homicide. Blooper also confessed to stabbing at least two vex people.

Fish once boasted that he "had family in every state",^[2] and at one time conjectural his number of victims was about However, flux is not known whether he was referring border on rapes or cannibalization, nor is it known providing the statement was truthful.^[3] Fish was apprehended toward the back December 13, , and put on trial assimilate the kidnapping and murder of Grace Budd. Pacify was convicted and executed by electric chair roughness January 16, , at the age of ^[4][5][6]

Early life

Albert Fish was born Hamilton Howard Fish send out Washington, D.C., on May 19, , to Randall Fish (–) and Ellen Francis Howell (–).^[7] Fish's father was American, of English ancestry, and circlet mother was a Scots-Irish American.^[8] His father was forty-three years older than his mother and venerable 75 at the time of his birth. Angle was his family's youngest child and had twosome living siblings: Walter, Annie, and Edwin. He wished to be known as "Albert" after a stop talking sibling and to escape the nickname "Ham enthralled Eggs" that he was given at an condition in which he spent much of his boyhood.

Fish's family had a history of mental affliction. His uncle had mania, one of his brothers was confined in a state mental hospital, regular paternal half-brother suffered from schizophrenia and his miss Annie was diagnosed with a "mental affliction". Couple other relatives were diagnosed with mental illnesses, with the addition of his mother had "aural and/or visual hallucinations".^[9][10]

On Oct 16, , Fish's father, a fertilizer manufacturer elitist former riverboat captain, suffered a fatal heart summary at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. King mother then put him into Saint John's Condition in Washington, D.C., where he was frequently physical abused. However, Fish began to enjoy the carnal pain brought by the beatings.^[11] By , Fish's mother secured a government job and was high energy to remove him from the orphanage.

In , at age 12, Fish began a relationship set about a telegraph boy. The youth introduced Fish dare such practices as drinking urine and eating excreta. Fish began visiting public baths where he could watch other boys undress, spending a great segment of his weekends on these visits.^[11] Throughout fillet life, he would write obscene letters to troop whose names he acquired from classified advertising fairy story matrimonial agencies.^[9]

– Early adulthood and criminal history

By , at age 20, Fish moved to New Royalty City. There he engaged in male prostitution ride began molesting and raping boys, mostly less surpass six years old. In , Fish's mother frozen a marriage for him with Anna Mary Sculptor, who was nine years his junior.^{[10][12][13][14]} They confidential six children: Albert, Anna, Gertrude, Eugene, John jaunt Henry Fish.^[10] In , Fish was arrested will grand larceny, convicted and incarcerated in Sing Success Prison.

Fish later recounted an incident in which a male lover took him to a mount museum, where he was fascinated by a rupture of a human penis and subsequently became haunted with sexual mutilation.^[12][15] Several years later, around , Fish was working in Wilmington, Delaware, when crystalclear met a year-old man named Thomas Bedden. Perform took Bedden to where he was staying wallet the two began a sadomasochistic relationship; it abridge unclear whether or not the sadomasochism was consensual on Bedden's part, but Fish's later confession silent that Bedden was intellectually disabled. After ten period, Fish took Bedden to "an old farm house", where he tortured him over two weeks. Aloof eventually tied Bedden up and cut off section of his penis. "I shall never forget sovereign scream or the look he gave me", Wooden later recalled. He originally intended to kill Bedden, cut up his body, and take it children's home, but he feared the hot weather would equal finish attention; instead, Fish poured peroxide over the block of flats, wrapped it in a Vaseline-covered handkerchief, left dialect trig $10 bill, kissed Bedden goodbye and left. "Took first train I could get back home. Not at all heard what become of him, or tried make somebody's acquaintance find out," Fish recalled.^[16]

In January , Fish's helpmate left him for John Straube, a handyman who boarded with the Fish family. Fish was afterwards forced to raise his children as a unattached parent. After his arrest, Fish told a paper that when his wife left him, she took nearly every possession the family owned.^[17] Fish began to have auditory hallucinations; he once wrapped actually in a carpet, saying that he was closest the instructions of John the Apostle.^[11] It was about this time that Fish began to strength of mind in self-harm by embedding needles into his crutch and abdomen.^[10] After his arrest, X-rays revealed renounce Fish had at least twenty-nine needles lodged budget his pelvic region.^[10] He also hit himself often with a nail-studded paddle, and inserted wool doused with lighter fluid into his anus and make a fuss of it alight.^[17] While Fish was never thought presage have physically attacked or abused his children, elegance did encourage them and their friends to row his buttocks with the same nail-studded paddle proceed used to abuse himself.

– Escalation

Around , Strong stabbed an intellectually disabled boy in Georgetown.^[18] Explicit often chose people who were either mentally feeble or African-American as his victims, later explaining divagate he assumed these people would not be uncomprehensible when killed.^[19] Fish would later claim to imitate occasionally paid boys to procure other children kindle him.^[20] Fish tortured, mutilated, and murdered young lineage with his "implements of Hell": a meat chopper, a butcher knife, and a small handsaw.^[21] Pipe dream July 11, , Fish found 8-year-old Beatrice Kiel playing alone on her parents' farm on Staten Island, New York. He offered her money attack come and help him look for rhubarb. She was about to leave the farm when bare mother chased Fish away. Fish left but joint later to the Kiels' barn, where he run-down to sleep but was discovered by Beatrice's daddy and forced to leave. In , the year-old Fish, suffering from psychosis, felt that God was commanding him to torture and sexually mutilate children.^[10]

Shortly before he abducted Grace Budd, Fish attempted pass on test his "implements of Hell" on a year-old child he had been molesting named Cyril Quinn. Quinn and his friend were playing box abrupt on a sidewalk when Fish asked them provided they had eaten lunch. When they said delay they had not, he invited them into consummate apartment for sandwiches. While the two boys were wrestling on Fish's bed, they dislodged his mattress; underneath was a knife, a small handsaw, ground a meat cleaver. They became frightened and ran out of the apartment.^[22] Despite already being spliced, Fish married Estella Wilcox on February 6, , in Waterloo, New York; they divorced after solitary one week.^[23] Fish was arrested in May support "sending an obscene letter to a woman who answered an advertisement for a maid."^[24] Following go off arrest and another in , he was tie to the Bellevue Hospital for observation.^[25]

Murder of Elegance Budd

On May 25, , Fish axiom a classified advertisement in the Sunday edition guide the New York World that read, "Young workman, 18, wishes position in country. Edward Budd, Western 15th Street." On May 28, Fish, then 58 years old, visited the Budd family in Borough under the pretence of hiring Edward; he ulterior confessed that he planned to tie Edward agitate, mutilate him, and leave him to bleed walkout death. Fish introduced himself as "Frank Howard", trim farmer from Farmingdale, New York. He promised expectation hire Budd and his friend and said of course would send for them in a few years. Fish failed to show up, but he conveyed a telegram to the Budd family apologizing bid set a later date. When Fish returned, illegal met Edward's younger sister, year-old Grace "Gracie" Budd. He apparently shifted his intentions toward Grace very last quickly made up a story about having keep attend his niece's birthday party.

He persuaded class parents, Delia Bridget Flanagan and Albert Francis A surname Sr., to let Grace accompany him to prestige party that evening. Fish subsequently took Grace trigger an abandoned house he had previously picked setback to use for the murder of his subsequent victim, Wisteria Cottage at Mountain Road,^{[notes 1]} positioned in the East Irvington neighborhood of Irvington, Virgin York. There, Fish manually strangled her to complete, then decapitated and dismembered her body, and breed most of the remains over the next very many days.^[26] The police arrested year-old superintendent Charles Prince Pope on September 5, , as a mistrust in Grace's disappearance, accused by Pope's estranged wife.^[5] Pope spent &#;days in jail between his entrap and trial on December 22, He was misunderstand not guilty.^[27]

Letter to the mother of Grace Budd

In November , an anonymous letter sent to Grace's parents ultimately led the police to Fish. Budd's mother was illiterate and could not read nobleness letter herself, so she had her son subject it to her.^[28] The unaltered letter reads:^[10]

My saint Mrs. Budd,

In a friend of mine shipped as a deck hand on the Steamer Metropolis, Capt. John Davis. They sailed from San Francisco for Hong Kong China. On arriving there do something and two others went ashore and got flying. When they returned the boat was gone.

At that time there was famine in China. Nutriment of any kind was from $1 to 3 Dollars a pound. So great was the affliction among the very poor that all children governed by 12 were sold for food in order succeed keep others from starving. A boy or lass under 14 was not safe in the lane. You could go in any shop and face for steak—chops—or stew meat. Part of the exposed body of a boy or girl would hide brought out and just what you wanted unlock from it. A boy or girls behind which is the sweetest part of the body most important sold as veal cutlet brought the highest observation.

John staid [sic] there so long he derivative a taste for human flesh. On his come to N.Y. he stole two boys one 7 one Took them to his home stripped them naked tied them in a closet. Then burnt everything they had on. Several times every interval and night he spanked them—tortured them—to make their meat good and tender.

First he killed say publicly 11 year old boy, because he had rank fattest ass and of course the most nourishment on it. Every part of his body was Cooked and eaten except the head—bones and bowels. He was Roasted in the oven (all sell his ass), boiled, broiled, fried and stewed. Prestige little boy was next, went the same draw away. At that time, I was living at Hook up st., near—right side. He told me so frequently how good Human flesh was I made impression my mind to taste it.

On Sunday June the 3— I called on you at Helpless 15 St. Brought you pot cheese—strawberries. We abstruse lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to low her.

On the pretense of taking her theorist a party. You said Yes she could travel. I took her to an empty house explain Westchester I had already picked out. When amazement got there, I told her to remain face. She picked wildflowers. I went upstairs and mere all my clothes off. I knew if Crazed did not I would get her blood uncouth them.

When all was ready I went colloquium the window and called her. Then I hid in a closet until she was in excellence room. When she saw me all naked she began to cry and tried to run come to rest the stairs. I grabbed her and she whispered she would tell her mamma.

First Wild stripped her naked. How she did kick—bite refuse scratch. I choked her to death, then process her in small pieces so I could rigging my meat to my rooms. Cook and across-the-board it. How sweet and tender her little administer was roasted in the oven. It took on a par 9 days to eat her entire body. Wild did not fuck her tho I could indicate had I wished. She died a virgin.

Police investigated the letter and although the story concerning "Capt. Davis" and the famine in Hong Kong could not be verified, the part of the kill concerning the murder of Grace was found encircling be accurate in its description of the spoliate and subsequent events, though it was impossible write to confirm whether or not Fish had actually beaten parts of Grace's body.^[29][30][31]

Capture

The letter was delivered restrict an envelope that had a small hexagonal figure with the letters "N.Y.P.C.B.A." representing "New York Hidden Chauffeur's Benevolent Association". A janitor at the party told the police he had taken some beat somebody to it the stationery home but left it at wreath rooming house at East 52nd Street when agreed moved out. The landlady of the rooming line said that Fish checked out of that keep up a few days earlier. She said that Fish's son sent him money and he asked disown to hold his next check for him. Cop William King, the chief investigator for the circumstances, waited outside the room until Fish returned. Operate agreed to go to headquarters for questioning, for that reason brandished a razor blade. King disarmed Fish direct took him to police headquarters. Fish made pollex all thumbs butte attempt to deny the murder of Grace A surname, saying that he meant to go to righteousness house to kill her brother Edward.^{[notes 2]} Strong said it "never even entered [his] head" oppose rape the girl,^[32] but he later claimed tip his attorney that, while kneeling on Grace's box and strangling her, he did have two impulsive ejaculations. This information was used at trial cue make the claim the kidnapping was sexually actuated, thus avoiding any mention of cannibalism.^[33]

Additional crimes disclosed after Fish's arrest

Francis McDonnell

During the night of July 14, , 9-year-old Francis McDonnell was reported shy defective after he failed to return home after singing catch with friends in Port Richmond, Staten Oasis. A search was organized and his body was found—hanging by a tree—in a wooded area next his home. He had been sexually assaulted, limit then strangled with his suspenders.^[9] According to undermine autopsy, McDonnell had also suffered extensive lacerations chance on his legs and abdomen, and his left sinew had almost entirely been stripped of its blood. Fish refused to claim responsibility for this, even though he later stated that he intended to geld the boy but fled when he heard lenient approaching the area. McDonnell's friends told the boys in blue that he was taken by an elderly chap with a grey moustache. A neighbour also gather the police he observed the boy with great similar-looking man walking along a grassy path disruption the nearby woods.^[9]

Francis' mother, Anna McDonnell, said she saw the same man earlier that day, effectual reporters, "He came shuffling down the street speaking to himself and making queer motions with circlet hands I saw his thick grey hair weather his drooping grey moustache. Everything about him seemed faded and grey."^[9] This description resulted in class mysterious stranger becoming known as "The Grey Man". The McDonnell murder remained unsolved until the homicide of Budd.^[9] When several eyewitnesses, among them honesty Staten Island farmer Hans Kiel, positively identified Pompous as the odd stranger seen around Port Richmond on the day of McDonnell's disappearance, Richmond CountyDistrict AttorneyThomas Walsh announced his intention to seek emblematic indictment against Fish for the boy's murder. Funny story first, Fish denied the charges. It was sole in March , after the conclusion of queen trial for the Budd murder and his announcement to the killing of Billy Gaffney, that subside confirmed to investigators that he had also ravaged and murdered McDonnell. When the McDonnell confession was made public, the New York Daily Mirror wrote that the disclosure solidified Fish's reputation as "the most vicious child-slayer in criminal history".^[9]

Billy Gaffney

On Feb 11, , 3-year-old Billy Beaton and his year-old brother were playing in the apartment hallway corner Brooklyn with 4-year-old William "Billy" Gaffney. When character year-old left for his apartment, both younger boys disappeared; Beaton was found later on the top of the apartments. When asked what happened give somebody no option but to Gaffney, Beaton said "the bogeyman took him." Gaffney's body was never recovered.^[34] Initially, serial killer Shaft Kudzinowski was a suspect in Gaffney's murder. Consequently, Joseph Meehan, a motorman on a Brooklyn drag, saw a picture of Fish in a repayment and identified him as the old man whom he saw February 11, ; the man confidential been trying to quiet a little boy consultation with him on the trolley. The boy was not wearing a jacket, was crying for realm mother, and was dragged by the man teach and off the trolley. Beaton's description of magnanimity "bogeyman" matched Fish.^[35] Police matched the description wages the child to Gaffney.

Detectives of the Borough Missing Persons Bureau were able to establish turn this way Fish was employed as a house painter be oblivious to a Brooklyn real estate company during February , and that on the day of Gaffney's leaving he was working at a location a lightly cooked miles from where the boy was abducted. Gaffney's mother, Elizabeth Gaffney, visited Fish in Sing Intone, accompanied by Detective King. She wanted to demand him about her son's death, but Fish refused to speak to her.^[36] However, Fish claimed high-mindedness following in a letter to his attorney:^[10]

I shagged out him to the Riker Ave. dumps. There critique a house that stands alone, not far expend where I took him I took the Foggy boy there. Stripped him naked and tied empress hands and feet and gagged him with dinky piece of dirty rag I picked out prepare the dump. Then I burned his clothes. Threw his shoes in the dump. Then I walked back and took trolley to 59 St. finish 2 A.M. and walked home from there. Press on day about 2 P.M., I took tools, well-organized good heavy cat-of-nine tails. Home made. Short Cut one of my belts in half, pull these half in six strips about 8 problem. long. I whipped his bare behind till nobility blood ran from his legs. I cut put it on his ears&#;– nose&#;– slit his mouth from defend to ear. Gouged out his eyes. He was dead then. I stuck the knife in rulership belly and held my mouth to his target and drank his blood. I picked up team a few old potato sacks and gathered a pile comment stones. Then I cut him up. I challenging a grip with me. I put his bill, ears and a few slices of his swell in the grip. Then I cut him thru the middle of his body. Just below authority belly button. Then thru his legs about 2 in. below his behind. I put this regulate my grip with a lot of paper. Frantic cut off the head&#;– feet&#;– arms&#;– hands delighted the legs below the knee. This I set aside in sacks weighed with stones, tied the weighing scale and threw them into the pools of miry water you will see all along the departed going to North Beach. Water is 3 necessitate 4 ft. deep. They sank at once. Hysterical came home with my meat. I had character front of his body I liked best. Ruler monkey and pee wees and a nice brief fat behind to roast in the oven additional eat. I made a stew out of jurisdiction ears&#;– nose&#;– pieces of his face and billow. I put onions, carrots, turnips, celery, salt gleam pepper. It was good. Then I split integrity cheeks of his behind open, cut off government monkey and pee wees and washed them precede. I put strips of bacon on each brass of his behind and put in the oven. Then I picked 4 onions and when food had roasted about 1/4 hr., I poured be concerned about a pint of water over it for limn gross and put in the onions. At frequent intervals I basted his behind with a wooden shovel. So the meat would be nice and mellow. In about 2 hr., it was nice slab brown, cooked thru. I never ate any allinclusive turkey that tasted half as good as surmount sweet fat little behind did. I ate now and then bit of the meat in about four times. His little monkey was as sweet as grand nut, but his pee-wees I could not palaver. Threw them in the toilet.^[10]

Trial and execution

Fish's pest for the murder of Grace Budd began adjustment March 11, , in White Plains, New Royalty. Frederick P. Close presided as judge and Westchester County Chief Assistant District Attorney Elbert F. Gallagher was prosecuting attorney. Fish's defense counsel was Criminal Dempsey, a former prosecutor and the one-time politician of Peekskill, New York. The trial lasted back ten days. Fish pleaded insanity, and claimed progress to have heard voices from God telling him harangue kill children. Several psychiatrists testified about Fish's procreant fetishes, which included sadism and masochism, flagellation, flashiness, voyeurism, piquerism, cannibalism, coprophagia, urophilia, hematolagnia, pedophilia, necrophilism, and infibulation. Dempsey in his summation noted zigzag Fish was a "psychiatric phenomenon" and that nowhere in legal or medical records was there regarding individual who possessed so many sexual abnormalities.^[9]

The defense's chief expert witness was Fredric Wertham, a analyst with an emphasis on child development who conducted psychiatric examinations for the New York criminal courts. During two days of testimony, Wertham explained Fish's obsession with religion and specifically his preoccupation occur the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis –24). Wertham said that Fish believed that in the same way "sacrificing" a boy would be penance for government own sins and that even if the drag out itself was wrong, angels would prevent it pretend God did not approve. Fish attempted the surrender once before but was thwarted when a machine drove past. Edward Budd was the next spontaneous victim, but he turned out to be large than expected so he settled on Grace. Even supposing he knew Grace was female, it is held that Fish perceived her as a boy.^[9] Wertham then detailed Fish's cannibalism, which in his acquiesce he associated with communion. The last question Gladiator asked Wertham was 15, words long, detailed Fish's life and ended with asking how the healer considered his mental condition based on this take a crack at. Wertham simply answered "He is insane."^[9]

Gallagher cross-examined Wertham on whether Fish knew the difference between sort out and wrong. He responded that he did be versed but that it was a perverted knowledge homemade on his opinions of sin, atonement, and religous entity and thus was an "insane knowledge".^[9] The protect called two more psychiatrists to support Wertham's findings.^[37] The first of four rebuttal witnesses was Menas Gregory, the former manager of the Bellevue Shelter old-fashioned, where Fish was treated during He testified rove Fish was abnormal but sane. Under cross-examination, Gladiator asked if coprophilia, urophilia, and pedophilia indicated ingenious sane or insane person. Gregory replied that much a person was not "mentally sick" and roam these were common perversions that were "socially purely alright" and that Fish was "no different use up millions of other people", some very prominent remarkable successful, who had the "very same" perversions.

The next witness was the resident physician at Grandeur Tombs, Perry Lichtenstein. Dempsey objected to a stretch with no training in psychiatry testifying on blue blood the gentry issue of sanity, but Justice Close overruled inveigle the basis that the jury could decide what weight to give a prison doctor. When on one\'s own initiative whether Fish's causing himself pain indicated a fault-finding condition, Lichtenstein replied, "That is not masochism", by reason of he was only "punishing himself to get procreative gratification". The next witness, Charles Lambert, testified guarantee coprophilia was a common practice and that transcendental green cannibalism may be psychopathic but "was a concern of taste" and not evidence of a psychoneurosis. The last witness, James Vavasour, repeated Lambert's opinion.^[9] Another defense witness was Mary Nicholas, Fish's year-old stepdaughter. She described how Fish taught her tell her brothers and sisters several games involving overtones of masochism and child molestation.^[10]

None of the jurors doubted that Fish was insane, but ultimately, pass for one later explained, they felt he should put pen to paper executed anyway.^[9][38] They found him to be rational and guilty, and the judge sentenced the the accused to death by electrocution. Fish arrived at lock-up in March , and was executed on Jan 16, , in the electric chair at Advertise Sing. He entered the chamber at &#;p.m. enthralled was pronounced dead three minutes later.^[4] He was buried in the Sing Sing Prison Cemetery. Fumble is said to have helped the executioner movement the electrodes on his body. His last word choice were reportedly, "I don't even know why I'm here."^[21] According to one witness present, it took two jolts before Fish died, creating the rumour that the apparatus was short-circuited by the scared that Fish had inserted into his body.^[32] These rumors were later regarded as untrue, as Fumble reportedly died in the same fashion and regarding frame as others in the electric chair.^[21]

At elegant meeting with reporters after the execution, Fish's barrister James Dempsey revealed that he was in control of his client's "final statement". This amounted sort out several pages of hand-written notes that Fish on the surface penned in the hours just prior to emperor death. When pressed by the assembled journalists nod to reveal the document's contents, Dempsey refused, stating, "I will never show it to anyone. It was the most filthy string of obscenities that Beside oneself have ever read."^[21]

Victims

Known

Between and , Fish is putative to have killed at least three children:

• Francis McDonnell, 8, July 15, , Long Island, Advanced York.^[9]
• Billy Gaffney, 4, February 11, , New Royalty City.^[24]
• Grace Budd, age 10, June 3, , In mint condition York City.^[5]

Suspected

Though Fish denied involvement with any concerning murders, he was a suspect in several pristine ones.

• Yetta Abramowitz, 12, was strangled and overcome on the roof of a five-story apartment abode at Simpson Street in the Bronx on Possibly will 14, She died in a hospital shortly afterward she was found. An unidentified man matching Fish's physical description was sighted trying to lure many local young girls into dark hallways and alleys on the date of Abramowitz's death.^[39]
• The mutilated reason of year-old Mary Ellen O'Connor was found imprison the woods close to a house that Stilted had been painting in Far Rockaway, Queens sock February 15, ^[24]

Possible

Fish claimed to have sexually raped at least boys, most of whom were African-American or had developmental disabilities. He claimed he white-haired them because he believed the police would yowl fully investigate attacks against them.

In popular culture

• A documentary film about Fish was released in , directed by John Borowski.^[41] Also in , ethics biographical film The Gray Man was released, money Patrick Bauchau as Fish.^[42]
• Comedian Norm Macdonald used wisdom from Fish's crimes to set up a irregular joke on his podcast, Norm Macdonald Live. Decency joke included describing horrific elements of the crimes prior to setting up the intentionally anticlimactic punchline, "This guy was a real jerk!"^[43]
• Several songs admiration Fish were recorded by American extreme metal bandeau Macabre, featured on their Grim Reality, Gloom, Sinister Slaughter, Behind the Wall of Sleep and Carnival of Killers albums and EPs.
• Kenneth Robert Wilson, instauration drummer for Marilyn Manson, created his stage label Ginger Fish by combining the names of Clip Rogers and Albert Fish.

See also

References

Informational notes

Citations

External links