Serial Killers of Old:Circa 1917, Not for the faint of heart

Crime Library ^ | Today | Brainhose

[Brainhose]

Defense attorney Dempsey focused on Fish's strange life and the self-flagellation with nail-studded paddles and needles. Then he brought up Fish's competence as a father and his love for his children: "In spite of all these brutal, criminal and vicious proclivities, there is another side to this defendant. He has been a very fine father. He never once in his life laid a hand on one of his children. He says grace at every meal in his house. In 1917, when the youngest one of his six children was three, his wife left him. And from that time down until shortly before the Grace Budd murder in 1928 he was a mother and father to those children." He closed his remarks by reminding the jury that it was up to the prosecution to prove that a man who killed and ate children was sane.

[Brainhose]

Lord knows I usually like to post frivolous post to chat,especially on Fridays.
But after discussing which country had the most attrocious serial killers with some Scottish friends,
I couldn't help but think of Albert Fish.
Many people think that child abduction and rape is a relatively new phenomenom.
And that Jeffry Dahmer was some type of aberrant anomaly.
My Mom recently confessed to me that she had been molested in 1941 so my opinion that we are only hearing about it
more due to the 24/7 news cycle was only confirmed.
Which is a good thing, it shouldn't be covered up like in the old days.
I hate to be so glum on a Friday but this an absolutely fascinating story on which Hannibal Lechter was based.
I do sincerely apologize that this referenced article is a lot of reading.

[Millee]

I love the crime library site & I remember reading about this freak. If you like true crime/history books, read "The Devil in the White City" by Eric Larson. Incredibly interesting.

[Brainhose]

Thank you much. I enjoy the Crime Library too.
I'll have to check that book out you recommend.
Have you ever read "The Perfect Victim"? That was a kidnap/torture case in the Northwest that lasted for 15 years. I remember when the girl made her escape, it was all over the news at the time. It is very chilling reading.
Steven King couldn't write stuff like the things that people do to each other in reality.