On the last day of 1962, a chilling discovery brought a tragic end to the life of 23-year-old Patricia Bissette, a Caucasian female secretary. Her boss grew concerned when she didn't answer her door on the morning of December 31st and later failed to arrive at the Boston engineering firm where she worked. Returning to her apartment at 515 Park Drive, he and the building custodian gained entry through a window.
Inside, they found Bissette in her bed, the covers pulled up to her chin as if
she were peacefully sleeping. However, the grim reality was that she had been strangled with a combination of her own stockings and a blouse, which were knotted tightly around her neck. Investigators also found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted and was in the early stages of pregnancy. The killer had also searched her apartment before leaving.
Bissette's murder was one of a series of brutal killings that terrorized Boston between 1962 and 1964, crimes attributed to a figure who would become known as the Boston Strangler. Albert DeSalvo later confessed to being the Boston Strangler, and Bissette's death was attributed to him. However, DeSalvo was never tried for the murders, and doubts about his sole responsibility have persisted for decades.
In the case of Patricia Bissette, another suspect emerged. Investigators learned that Bissette was having an affair with her married boss, the man who discovered her body. The revelation that she was pregnant at the time of her death provided a potential motive for him. Some speculate that the way she was found tucked into bed suggested a more personal connection than the other, more violently staged victims of the Strangler, leading to the theory that her boss may have been responsible for her death to conceal their affair and her pregnancy. Despite these suspicions, the investigation into her boss and other potential suspects in the various Strangler-linked murders ceased after Albert DeSalvo's confession.
