Crimes
Fish's most famous crime was the murder of a young girl named Grace Budd. The Budd family lived in Manhattan, New York. Grace's brother Edward placed an ad in the newspaper that he was in need of a job as a painter. In response to the ad, Albert Fish came to Edward's house posing as a man named Frank Howard. "Howard" offered Edward a painting job on his farm. Due to Fish's kind and grandfatherly disposition, he earned the family's trust and Edward accepted the job. On June 3rd, 1928, when Fish came to pick Edward up for the job, he met Grace and his supposed plans quickly changed. He informed the family that his sister was having a birthday party for one of her children and that he had to be leaving. He invited Grace to come to the party with him, and that was the last time the Budd family saw Grace.
When the Budd family reported Grace missing, they were informed that Frank Howard did not exist. Seven years after Grace's disappearance, the Budd family received a letter. This letter described the brutal murder and consumption of Grace Budd. The police were able to trace the stationary that the letter was written on. This investigation eventually led to the arrest of Albert Fish on December 13th, 1934.
It is unknown for sure when Fish began killing, but Grace is thought to be the first to fall victim to him. However, after he was arrested he admitted to the killing of Billy Gaffney, and Francis McDonnell as well as the mutilation of countless other children. It was Gaffney's friend who gave Fish his nickname of "Boogey Man". When the child was asked what had happened to his friend he said, "The Boogey man took him." Fish wrote letters to the families of these three children he murdered. These letters detailed the events leading up to and after each child's death. In them he detailed the torture and murder style he used in each case, even up to the point where he wrote the recipe he used while cooking each particular child. Also, Fish is quoted as saying that he, "had children in every state" and that the total was over one hundred. However, it is unknown whether he was referring to taking advantage of children in a sexual manner, or through cannibalism. To this day it remains a mystery of how many children Fish actually killed. However, it is believed that he had anywhere from five to fifteen victims that he followed through with killing. When the crime scene of Fish's house was processed, over fifty legs, fingers, and various other bones were found. However, during this time period the proper technology for testing these bones had not been invented yet. It is also estimated that Fish mutilated or molested around 100 children. It is known that he usually targeted young African American boys due to his belief that they would not be missed as much.
When the Budd family reported Grace missing, they were informed that Frank Howard did not exist. Seven years after Grace's disappearance, the Budd family received a letter. This letter described the brutal murder and consumption of Grace Budd. The police were able to trace the stationary that the letter was written on. This investigation eventually led to the arrest of Albert Fish on December 13th, 1934.
It is unknown for sure when Fish began killing, but Grace is thought to be the first to fall victim to him. However, after he was arrested he admitted to the killing of Billy Gaffney, and Francis McDonnell as well as the mutilation of countless other children. It was Gaffney's friend who gave Fish his nickname of "Boogey Man". When the child was asked what had happened to his friend he said, "The Boogey man took him." Fish wrote letters to the families of these three children he murdered. These letters detailed the events leading up to and after each child's death. In them he detailed the torture and murder style he used in each case, even up to the point where he wrote the recipe he used while cooking each particular child. Also, Fish is quoted as saying that he, "had children in every state" and that the total was over one hundred. However, it is unknown whether he was referring to taking advantage of children in a sexual manner, or through cannibalism. To this day it remains a mystery of how many children Fish actually killed. However, it is believed that he had anywhere from five to fifteen victims that he followed through with killing. When the crime scene of Fish's house was processed, over fifty legs, fingers, and various other bones were found. However, during this time period the proper technology for testing these bones had not been invented yet. It is also estimated that Fish mutilated or molested around 100 children. It is known that he usually targeted young African American boys due to his belief that they would not be missed as much.
This is Albert Fish's house, known as Wysteria Cottage.
This is where Grace Budd's bones were found along
with various other bones and as well as torture tools.