Albert Fish

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Albert Fish

Serial murder is defined by the National Institute of Justice as a "series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually but not always, by one offender acting alone. The crimes may occur over a period of time ranging from hours to years. Quite often the motive is psychological, and the offender's behavior and the physical evidence observed at the crime scenes will reflect sadistic, sexual overtones." This definition perfectly describes serial killer Albert Fish.

Albert Fish is the man who some believe to be the "most deranged killer in American history" (Rampo Catskill Library system, Biography resource center, Albert Fish ). So much so, that the character, Hannibal Lector in the movie Silence of the Lambs is partially based on him. Murder was not the only thing that Albert Fish indulged in. He also dabbed in cannibalism, fetishism, pedophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and masochism.

Fish was born on May 19,1870 in Washington, D.C. and was placed in an orphanage at age five after his father passed away. During his stay at the orphanage, Fish observed and experienced numerous acts of perversions including forced masturbation in front of other children and brutal beatings. Albert would become sexually aroused by these acts, which helped to further his obsession with sado-masochism. Fish would later say, "That place ruined my mind." Finally, at age 7, Fish was reunited with his mother. Shortly thereafter, he fell from a cherry tree causing severe head trauma causing him dizzy spells and severe headaches. After graduating from high school, Fish started working odd jobs and traveling around the country. This gave him perfect opportunity to commit crimes.

In 1910, Fish committed his first murder in which he mutilated and tortured his victim. From that point on, he set his sights on children as he saw them as easy targets. Fish traveled from state to state in the 1920's leaving a trail of victims from molestation to cases of children disappearing. Fish would torture, mutilate and eventually murder his victims using what he called his "Implements of Hell" which consisted of a meat cleaver, a butcher knife, and a saw. Fish also like to inflict pain on himself; he would insert needles far into his body to where they would get stuck. He also liked to have people paddle him with a paddle that had nail sticking out of the end so that it would make him bleed.

During his reign of terror, Fish was arrested and detained by police on several different occasions. He was charged with everything from sending obscene mail to being mentally ill. During fits of rage he would stand around screaming at the sky yelling that he was Christ. He even told anyone that would listen that GOD told him to kill. Albert has several stays in mental hospitals but was released because they determined that although he was a little weird, he was sane.

In 1928, Fish went to the Budd family house under the alias, Frank Howard, offering the younger boys of the family jobs. His real reason for going to the Budd family house was to get to their daughter, Grace. After spending some time with the family and gaining their trust, he asked if he could take Grace to his niece's birthday party, which they allowed. Grace never made it to the party, as it was a lie to get Grace alone. The Budd family never saw Grace again. Fish took Grace to an abandoned cottage where he strangled and ate her. Six years later, Albert mailed a letter to the Budd family describing in lurid detail what came of their daughter. The authorities were able to track him down by the postmark and he was arrested, tried and convicted. During the trial, Albert Fish pleads insanity but the jury did not believe him and sentenced him to death. On January 16, 1936, he was electrocuted at the Sing Sing Prison. It took two full electrical charges to finally kill Fish. The second charge actually shorted out the electric chair. After his execution, a prison x-ray revealed 29 different needles in his groin, some eroded from time. It was said that after his wife left him, he would stick these needles in his groin as well as taking an alcohol soaked cotton ball, placing it in his anus and lighting it with a match for sexual pleasure.

Albert Fish was labeled a "masochist, a child molester, and a cannibal" with his primary victims being children, namely young boys. In 1910, Fish started his torturous, mutilating murder spree, which continued until he was caught on December 13, 1934. Fish earned himself the nickname, `Brooklyn Vampire' by murdering four children from 1932-1934. There are conflicting resources over the actual number of murders and molestations Fish