On this day, a Washington, D.C.-born serial killer known as the Moon Maniac was executed at Sing Sing prison in New York.
Albert Fish, also known as the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire and The Boogeyman, was put into a D.C. orphanage where he was frequently whipped, and discovered that he enjoyed physical pain. He became fascinated by cannibalism and sadomasochism before moving to New York.
In 1928, Fish strangled 10-year-old Grace Budd and then carved up her body with a saw. Six years later, he wrote Budd’s mother a letter described in detail killing the girl and cannibalizing her. Police traced the letter back to Fish. When he was arrested, Fish confessed to the murders of other young children and claimed to have cannibalized them.
Fish was 66 when he went to the electric chair, telling guards, “It will be the supreme thrill, the only one I haven’t tried.”
Fish is buried in the Congressional Cemetery on the bank of the Anacostia River.
