Leonard Paradiso

Serial Killer

Leonard Paradiso: Boston's Suspected Serial Killer

Introduction

Leonard J. Paradiso, commonly called "Lenny" and nicknamed "The Quahog," was a convicted murderer and violent sexual offender from Revere, Massachusetts. He became one of the Boston area's most controversial suspected serial killers after investigators and former prosecutor Timothy Burke connected him to several attacks and unsolved killings involving young women during the 1970s and early 1980s. Paradiso was convicted of murdering 20-year-old Marie Iannuzzi in 1979 and was also convicted in separate cases involving attempted sexual assaults. Authorities investigated him in connection with the murder of Harvard graduate student Joan Webster and suspected that he may have been responsible for as many as seven killings throughout New England. However, he was never convicted of any murder other than Iannuzzi's, and the accusations involving additional victims remain disputed.

Early Life and Criminal Behavior

Paradiso was born in 1943 and grew up in Revere, a coastal community north of Boston. As an adult, he was a large, physically imposing man who worked in the seafood business and spent considerable time around Boston Harbor. His nickname, "The Quahog," referred to a type of hard-shelled clam commonly found in New England. Paradiso owned a boat named the Malafemmena, an Italian word often translated as "evil woman." The vessel later became central to investigators' theory that Paradiso used Boston's waterfront and surrounding marshlands to conceal evidence of his crimes. His documented violence against women began years before the Iannuzzi murder. On September 28, 1973, Paradiso offered a young woman a ride from Boston to her home in Andover. Instead of taking her home, he drove her to an isolated dirt road. He attacked her inside the vehicle and continued assaulting her after she escaped from the car. The woman testified that Paradiso threw her to the ground, kicked her, choked her with both hands, struck her in the face and threatened to kill her while attempting to rape her. Police officers arrived while the attack was still unfolding. They saw the injured woman running toward their cruiser and observed Paradiso fastening his trousers. The victim suffered injuries to her face, neck, throat, spine and ribs. Paradiso was convicted of assault and battery and assault with intent to rape. He received a prison sentence of six to fifteen years, although he served only part of that term before being released. His later crimes demonstrated that his imprisonment had not ended his predatory behavior. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Marie Iannuzzi Age: (20), Date of Death: 1984

Suspected Victims:

Joan Webster Age: (25), Date of Death: 1981-11-28

Melodie Stankiewicz Age: (28), Date of Death: 1976-01-06

Holly Davidson Age: (24), Date of Death: 1979-06-12

Kathy Williams Age: (22), Date of Death: 1982-08-18

Suspected serial killer Paradiso dead at 65 - Boston Herald