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New England’s Wickedest Killers

From the Witch of Windsor to the Boston Strangler

New England’s Wickedest Killers cover

New England’s Wickedest Killers

From the Witch of Windsor to the Boston Strangler

Description

This is a chronicle of 30 notorious New England murder cases spanning from the 1800s to 2000, from well-known cases that shocked the country to lesser-known cases that petrified the small towns they were committed in.

At one point in the 1970s there were so many murders in one small Connecticut county that a New York newspaper openly asked if this tiny area was perhaps the most violent county in the nation. The irony was incredible, with bloody old New York, known well for its own homicides, looking at a tiny speck of New England with something like awe. But if anyone ever kept track, they'd probably think New England was the home of depravity, with every small town harboring at least one madman with murder on his mind.

New England crime has been well covered when it comes to gangland stories or high-profile murder trials, but less attention has been given to the more deviant killers, the wandering drifters, and maniacs who butchered their way into the headlines and, often, straight to the gallows or electric chair.

From a quiet Connecticut farmer who one day picks up an axe and wreaks havoc on his village; a young Maine man who decides to kill his wife and mother-in-law because he was tired of being nagged; to a 13-year-old boy who stabbed a neighbor 58 times, each chapter is a brand-new horror show.

Author, Don Stradley examines the killers, the trials, and the historical context of the crimes, the media's reaction, the way mental health experts played an increasing part in trials, and the impacts of such crimes on their respective communities.

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Table of Contents

Preface: It can't happen here…
Chapter 1: The Northwood Horror: Franklin B. Evans, New Hampshire, 1874
Chapter 2: The Outlaw: Frank Almy, New Hampshire, 1891
Chapter 3: Meat Room Massacre: Lawrence Bressano, Connecticut, 1902
Chapter 4: Too Dangerous for Prison: James B. Jennings, Massachusetts, 1913
Chapter 5: The Murder Factory: Amy Archer-Gilligan, Connecticut, 1916
Chapter 6: Hell's Harvest: Victor Lipponen, Connecticut, 1920
Chapter 7: Pinky: Elliott Hathaway, Rhode Island, 1931
Chapter 8: The Death Tour: Francis Carroll and Paul Dwyer, Maine, 1937
Chapter 9: Psychopathic: Howard Long, New Hampshire, 1939
Chapter 10: Henpecked: Arthur Pellerin, Maine, 1941
Chapter 11: The Sunday School Killer: Raymond Woodward, Massachusetts, 1941
Chapter 12: Unsolved: Frances Cochran, Massachusetts, 1941
Chapter 13: The Unwed Mother: Evelyn Roche, Massachusetts, 1948
Chapter 14: “I Got the Impression She was Dead.” Robert Malm, Connecticut, 1953
Chapter 15: An Ordinary, Nice Kid: Kenneth Chapin, Massachusetts, 1954
Chapter 16: The Screwdriver Killer: George Davies, Connecticut, 1957
Chapter 17: The Mad Dog Killers: Joseph Taborsky and Arthur Colombe, Connecticut, 1957
Chapter 18: The Strangler: Albert DeSalvo, Massachusetts, 1967
Chapter 19: The Parkway Bra Murders: Benjamin Miller, Connecticut, 1968
Chapter 20: The Giggler: Kenneth Harrison, Massachusetts, 1970
Chapter 21: The Murderous Monk: William DeRoos, Vermont, 1971
Chapter 22: Absurd Fantasies: James M. Kater, Massachusetts, 1978
Chapter 23: Prone to Violence: Louis Hamlin III and James Savage, Vermont, 1981
Chapter 24: The Devil Came to Brookfield: Arne Johnson, Connecticut, 1981
Chapter 25: The Flashback Killer: Gary Place, New Hampshire, 1983
Chapter 26: “They Were Dead as Soon as I Saw Them” Michael Ross, Connecticut, 1984
Chapter 27: The Warwick Slasher: Craig Price, Rhode Island, 1989
Chapter 28: Coldblooded: Pamela Smart, New Hampshire, 1990
Chapter 29: Paranoid: Elizabeth Teague, Vermont, 1991
Chapter 30: Playland: William Palmer, Massachusetts, 1995

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 15 Oct 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 264
ISBN 9798216371977
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 10 bw photos
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Don Stradley

Don Stradley is an award-winning journalist and au…

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