The Albert Fish letter: A serial killer's confession
The following article contains strong language and references to serious crimes, including sexual violence, child sexual abuse and cannibalism, that some readers may find disturbing. For help and support, please visit our Advice and Support webpage.
In November 1934, Delia Budd received an unexpected letter from an anonymous sender. Because she was illiterate, she couldn’t read the words herself, so she asked her son to read aloud. As he did, she began to cry.
The infamous Albert Fish letter contained one of the most gruesome confessions in American criminal history. Also known as the Werewolf of Wysteria and the Brooklyn Vampire, Fish was linked to the murders of at least three children between 1924 and 1928.
Crime+Investigation examines the confession letter that finally brought one of America's most disturbing killers to justice.
Who was Albert Fish?
Albert Fish was born in Washington in May 1870. His father was 75 years old when he was born, and his mother was barely capable of looking after her four children. Consequently, Fish spent much of his childhood in an orphanage, where he was physically abused.
Disturbingly, Fish later claimed to enjoy the pain. When he returned home at the age of 12, he began a relationship with a boy who introduced him to drinking urine and eating faeces.
By the time Fish was a young adult, he had already developed an appetite for extreme violence. He claimed to have tortured a 19-year-old man called Thomas Kedden, cutting off half his penis in an abandoned farmhouse. He also self-harmed by embedding needles into his groin and abdomen and hitting himself with a nail-studded paddle.
The murder of Grace Budd
In May 1928, Fish saw an advertisement in the Sunday edition of the New York World. An 18-year-old man called Edward Budd was looking for a job. Fish intended to lure the teenager away from home so he could torture and murder him. However, upon meeting the family, he turned his attention to Edward’s 10-year-old sister, Grace Budd, instead.
Fish ultimately persuaded Grace’s parents, Delia and Albert, to allow her to accompany him to what he claimed was his niece’s birthday party. Believing that Fish intended to give their son a job, they agreed. But Fish took Grace to an abandoned house in Westchester County.
There, Fish strangled Grace to death before decapitating and dismembering her body. According to his later confession, he ate most of the remains over the next several days.
The Albert Fish letter
Fish sent Delia his infamous confession letter in November 1934. In it, he outlined in horrific detail what he claimed to have done to her daughter.
‘I went upstairs and stripped all my clothes off. I knew if I did not I would get her blood on them.
When all was ready I went to the window and called her. Then I hid in a closet until she was in the room. When she saw me all naked she began to cry and tried to run down the stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would tell her mamma.
First I stripped her naked. How she did kick – bite and scratch. I choked her to death, then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms. Cook and eat it. How sweet and tender her little ass was roasted in the oven. It took me 9 days to eat her entire body. I did not fuck her tho I could of had I wished. She died a virgin.’
The investigation
Police had struggled to capture Fish for six years, but the letter led to his downfall. Although he hadn’t left his name or return address, investigators traced a small emblem on the envelope back to the New York Private Chauffeur’s Benevolent Association.
From here, they established that Fish had recently moved out, but had left instructions for his mail to be forwarded to his new address. Once they had this information, they tracked him down and arrested him in December 1934.
After initially denying involvement in Grace’s disappearance, he eventually confessed to her murder.
Trial and execution
As Fish admitted to killing Grace, the main question for the jury was whether he was legally sane at the time of the crime.
His defence pleaded insanity, pointing towards his history of extreme violence towards himself and others, and his disturbing sexual compulsions. However, the prosecution argued that Fish understood right from wrong and was therefore legally responsible for his actions.
After a trial lasting just over a week, the jury found Fish guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair in January 1936.
For more on the cases that shocked a generation, sign up to the Crime+Investigation newsletter. Every week, you'll receive the latest articles, episodes and more from C+I delivered straight to your inbox.
