13 Disturbing Things Albert Fish Did

Fish loved pain and giving it; he sought sexual pleasure through both inflicting and feeling it. Fish developed a pattern of sexual sadism during his formative years.Fish developed a pattern of sexual sadism during his formative years.Fish often subjected himself to painful acts, including driving nails into his body, specifically the area between his scrotum and rectum.

Initially, he drove the nails in and pulled them out. Eventually, Fish drove them in so far he could not remove them. After his arrest and a doctor's exam, an X-ray showed...The X-ray showed 29 needles stuck in his pelvis.Twenty-nine needles were stuck in his pelvis.

In 1898, at age 28, Fish married 19-year-old Anna Mary Hoffman, a marriage arranged by his mother. Hoffman had six children with Fish before leaving her family in 1917 to live with a former boarder.Hoffman had six children with Fish.Fish left her family in 1917 for a boarder. They never legally divorced, but Fish later married two other women in brief unions.

Albert Fish, Jr., one of Fish's sons, told the story of an afternoon in 1935 when his father ruined a family outing in upstate New York. In 1922, Fish, who suffered from hallucinations, climbed Westchester hills, threw his fists skyward, and screamed, “I am Christ!” This erratic behavior increased, including a...His erratic behavior included a fascination with Biblical themes of sin and sacrifice.Fish showed a fascination with sin and sacrifice.

Albert Fish, Jr. knew his father was mentally unstable. After Fish was arrested in 1934, the son told a newspaper reporter about his strange upbringing: “That old skunk […] I always knew that he would get caught for something like this.”

In his testimony, Fish Jr. revealed Fish only ate raw steak during a full moon. He recounted finding his father naked, beating himself with a wooden board fashioned with pointed, metal nails: “I've never wanted anything to do with him and I'll not lift a hand to help him.”

Fish’s step-children also testified about the man’s odd actions. One step-daughter told the court that Fish would have the children spanked as part of a game when he stripped them to their underwear.Fish would spank the children as part of a game.This happened as part of a game.

Thomas Kedden, a mentally disabled 19-year-old man, was one of Fish's first known victims. Kedden rode the rails in Delaware most of his life until he met Fish in 1910 while Fish worked in Wilmington. Fish and Kedden had a sexual relationship that ended when Fish mutilated the teen’s genitalia.

InAlbert Fish In His Own Words: The Shocking Confessions of the Child Killing Cannibal, author and filmmaker John Borowski presentsJohn Borowski presents Fish’s recollectionof the events: “I shall never forget his scream, or the look he gave me.” Fish claimed he planned to kill Kedden first, but he tended to the wound before giving the teen a final kiss and farewell: “Took first train I could get back home. Never heard what become of him, or tried to find out.”

Ten-year-old Gracie Budd became Fish’s most public victim. In 1928, Fish asked the Budd parents about hiring their son, Edward, for work. He first planned to kill the 18-year-old.

Fish pretended to take little Gracie to a birthday party after an on-and-off friendship with the Budd family.He actually took the girl to the run-down Wisteria cottage. Fish strangled her, mutilated the body, and reportedly ate the remains over nine days.Fish took the girl to the run-down Wisteria cottage. He strangled her, mutilated the body, and reportedly ate the remains over nine days.

Police arrested another suspect in 1930 for the girl’s death. Fish did not face arrest for the crime until 1934.

In 1934, Fish wrote an anonymous letter to Gracie Budd’s parents, six years after she vanished.Fish included a timeline of events from Gracie’s disappearance, showing how he used false pretenses to take her.Fish initially showed how he learned about cannibalism. Investigators could not confirm Fish’s stories, but the letter's end reveals Gracie’s real killer.

Fish included a timeline of the events on Gracie’s disappearance day. He explains how he lured her under false pretenses.Fish corresponded with one woman who continued his perversion and admitted interest in cannibalism. He told her to tie up her son and husband so they could both eat them. When Fish sent an inappropriate letter to a maid, the woman alerted the authorities, and Fish was hospitalized again.Fish described cooking and eating her remains for nine days. Detectives identified Fish as a suspect from the letter sent to the Budds.

After leaving a psychiatric facility in 1930, police arrested Fish in 1931 for mailing obscene letters. Fish wrote to women requesting pen pals in the "lonely hearts" section of local newspapers. He often pretended to be Hollywood producer Robert Fisk with a son named Bobby who needed frequent spankings with a...Fish denied responsibility for Francis’s death and did not admit to killing him until after his murder conviction in 1935.In 1927, four-year-old Billy Gaffney vanished from his Brooklyn apartment while playing with neighborhood friends, the Beaton brothers. Police said three-year-old Billy Beaton described the person who took his friend as the boogeyman.

Fish corresponded with one woman who continued his perversion game and admitted interest in cannibalism. He told her to tie up her son and husband so they could both eat them. When Fish sent an...inappropriate letterA maid notified authorities after Fish sent an inappropriate letter to her; Fish was hospitalized again briefly.

In 1924, eight-year-old Francis McDonnell of Port Richmond went missing after playing ball with neighbors. His body later surfaced on a tree in a wooded area near his home. He suffered sexual assault and strangulation with his suspenders; his body showed severe cuts.

Witnesses saw a tall, old man whom they thought was a vagabond due to his messy look and strange behavior. Francis’s father was a Staten Island police officer, and...hundreds of law enforcement officials were involved in the boy’s case.officials were involved in the boy’s case.

Fish denied responsibility for Francis’s death. He did not admit killing Francis until after his murder conviction in 1935.

In 1927, four-year-old Billy Gaffney disappeared from his Brooklyn apartment building while playing with neighbors, the Beaton brothers. Police reported that three-year-old Billy Beaton described the person who took his friend as "theboogeyman.

Multiple people saw Billy Gaffney across New York City. Police finally gathered information, but they found no lead on his kidnapper. Fish sent anonymous letters to the Gaffney family. These letters claimed he would return for Billy Beaton as a playmate for their son. Three weeks later, the missing boy's body surfaced in a nearby dump.

Authorities caught Fish in 1934 for killing Gracie Budd. Parents and children feared The Boogeyman. Panic hit Port Richmond after Francis McDonnell vanished. People started fearing the thin, gray-haired man with a gray mustache.

After confessing and being convicted, prosecutors thought he had “At least 100.” victims. Fish claimed he “had a child in every state.” Authorities confirmed Fish was in 23 states., but no one confirms the number of victims in Fish’s claims. Fear of the cannibal child-killer continued after Fish's 1936 execution.

Fish did not first admit guilt for killing many children and teens. He later shared gruesome crime details with police and his lawyer, James Dempsey. Fish “looked so innocent,” arresting officers said before 1934. Fish admitted to having nearly 400 victims.

Fish told authorities he picked victims based on who he thought would miss the leastThis includes the mentally disabled teen, Kedden.

Fish avoided capture for years by acting as a traveling house painter. He moved across the country and vanished for years before reappearing in New York.Investigators inInvestigators think Fish caused the separate deaths of 16-year-old Mary Ellen O'Connor and 17-year-old Benjamin Collings.

Fish supposedly killed 16-year-old Mary Ellen O'Connor and 17-year-old Benjamin Collings. Both teens died in 1932.Mary Ellen’s body. was found near a home Fish had painted. Fish denied any link to the murders, though he maintained innocence for other crimes he later admitted, like the deaths of Francis McDonnell and Billy Gaffney.

It is hard to know who Fish killed and did not kill in New York City during the early 1900s. In 1927, 12-year-old Yetta Abramowitz was strangled and beaten on a five-story apartment roof in the Bronx. She died right after discovery.

Her case wasThe case remains officially unsolved., Fish is suspected in this and many other similar cases. The state executed Fish on January 16, 1936, by electric chair. His hundreds of alleged victims will likely remain unidentified.

Reportedly, Fish looked forward to his violent end. He shared this feeling with the guards leading him toFish faced his execution.: “It will be the supreme thrill. The only one I haven’t tried.”