Early Life
Hamilton Fish was born in 1870 to a family wrought with mental illness. Medical records show that at least seven close family members suffered from some sort of mental disease and two of these people died while being treated in asylums. When Fish was five years old, his father died. As a result, his mother, who also suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations, put him in an orphanage. He left the orphanage when he was 10 years old. While in the orphanage, he was physically abused by the nuns that worked there. By the time he was in his teens, Albert had gotten into all sorts of strange behavior, including piquerism (sticking needles in your body for gratification), urolagnia (consumption of feces), coprophagia (consumption of feces) and scoptophilia (watching boys undress for sexual gratification). At the age of 15, Hamilton changed his name to Albert.
Adulthood
Throughout his early adulthood, Albert racked up a list of criminal charges, but nothing that was too serious. When he was 28, he married a 19 year-old woman who, ultimately, bore him six children. As he moved through adulthood, Albert became obsessed with punishing himself for sexual gratification. Late in life, Albert began obsessed with stalking young boys and his mental state deteriorated quickly.
Crimes and Punishment
Albert committed his first murder in 1928. This happened to be his most infamous crime as well. Grace Budd was a 12 year-old girl in New York City. She was kidnapped by Fish and a massive manhunt ensued. Albert was not even a suspect until he wrote the Budd family a letter. He told them of the heinous acts he committed against their daughter.
This is the text of the letter:
"My dear Mrs Budd
In 1894 a friend of mine shipped as a deck hand on the steamer Tacoma, Capt John Davis. They sailed from San Francisco to Hong Kong China. On arriving there he and two others went ashore and got drunk. When they returned the boat was gone. At that time there was a famine in China. Meat of any kind was from $1 - $3 Dollars a pound. So great was the suffering among the very poor that all children under 12 were sold to the Butchers to be cut up and sold for food in order to keep others from starving. A boy or girl under 14 was not safe in the street. You could go in any shop and ask for steak - chops - or stew meat. Part of the naked body of a boy or girl would be brought out and just what you wanted cut from it. A boy or girls behind which is the sweetest part of the body and sold as veal cutlet brought the highest price. John staid there so long he acquired a taste for human flesh. On his return to N.Y. he stole two boys one 7 one 11. Took them to his home stripped them naked tied them in a closet then burned everything they had on. Several times every day and night he spanked them – tortured them - to make their meat good and tender. First he killed the 11 yr old boy, because he had the fattest ass and of course the most meat on it. Every part of his body was cooked and eaten except Head - bones and guts. He was Roasted in the oven, (all of his ass) boiled, broiled, fried, stewed. The little boy was next, went the same way. At that time I was living at 409 E 100 St, rear - right side. He told me so often how good Human flesh was I made up my mind to taste it. On Sunday June the 3 - 1928 I called on you at 406 W 15 St. Brought you pot cheese - strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to eat her, on the pretense of taking her to a party. You said Yes she could go. I took her to an empty house in Westchester I had already picked out. When we got there, I told her to remain outside. She picked wild flowers. 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 stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would tell her mama. 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."
As this letter shows, Albert Fish was a deranged man. He lured her to his house, where he eventually killed her by strangulating her. He then cooked and ate her, which got him the nickname of the Boogeyman. The letter that he wrote, however, ultimately led to his capture. The police traced the paper back to a company that Fish worked for, and then deduced that it was him who committed the murders. He instantly confessed to that crime, along with tons more. He boasted that he had murdered and eaten a child in every state in the country and that he had killed more than 100 kids. While those claims appear to be a bit of a stretch, investigators have found evidence of up to nine murders with ties to Fish.
During his trial, Fish pleaded insanity. He claimed that a voice from God had told him to kill, and eat, all of those children. The jury, however, found him to be sane and sentenced him to death. On January 16th, 1936, Albert Fish was executed in an electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York, thus ending Albert Fish's reign of terror.
Hamilton Fish was born in 1870 to a family wrought with mental illness. Medical records show that at least seven close family members suffered from some sort of mental disease and two of these people died while being treated in asylums. When Fish was five years old, his father died. As a result, his mother, who also suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations, put him in an orphanage. He left the orphanage when he was 10 years old. While in the orphanage, he was physically abused by the nuns that worked there. By the time he was in his teens, Albert had gotten into all sorts of strange behavior, including piquerism (sticking needles in your body for gratification), urolagnia (consumption of feces), coprophagia (consumption of feces) and scoptophilia (watching boys undress for sexual gratification). At the age of 15, Hamilton changed his name to Albert.
Adulthood
Throughout his early adulthood, Albert racked up a list of criminal charges, but nothing that was too serious. When he was 28, he married a 19 year-old woman who, ultimately, bore him six children. As he moved through adulthood, Albert became obsessed with punishing himself for sexual gratification. Late in life, Albert began obsessed with stalking young boys and his mental state deteriorated quickly.
Crimes and Punishment
Albert committed his first murder in 1928. This happened to be his most infamous crime as well. Grace Budd was a 12 year-old girl in New York City. She was kidnapped by Fish and a massive manhunt ensued. Albert was not even a suspect until he wrote the Budd family a letter. He told them of the heinous acts he committed against their daughter.
This is the text of the letter:
"My dear Mrs Budd
In 1894 a friend of mine shipped as a deck hand on the steamer Tacoma, Capt John Davis. They sailed from San Francisco to Hong Kong China. On arriving there he and two others went ashore and got drunk. When they returned the boat was gone. At that time there was a famine in China. Meat of any kind was from $1 - $3 Dollars a pound. So great was the suffering among the very poor that all children under 12 were sold to the Butchers to be cut up and sold for food in order to keep others from starving. A boy or girl under 14 was not safe in the street. You could go in any shop and ask for steak - chops - or stew meat. Part of the naked body of a boy or girl would be brought out and just what you wanted cut from it. A boy or girls behind which is the sweetest part of the body and sold as veal cutlet brought the highest price. John staid there so long he acquired a taste for human flesh. On his return to N.Y. he stole two boys one 7 one 11. Took them to his home stripped them naked tied them in a closet then burned everything they had on. Several times every day and night he spanked them – tortured them - to make their meat good and tender. First he killed the 11 yr old boy, because he had the fattest ass and of course the most meat on it. Every part of his body was cooked and eaten except Head - bones and guts. He was Roasted in the oven, (all of his ass) boiled, broiled, fried, stewed. The little boy was next, went the same way. At that time I was living at 409 E 100 St, rear - right side. He told me so often how good Human flesh was I made up my mind to taste it. On Sunday June the 3 - 1928 I called on you at 406 W 15 St. Brought you pot cheese - strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my mind to eat her, on the pretense of taking her to a party. You said Yes she could go. I took her to an empty house in Westchester I had already picked out. When we got there, I told her to remain outside. She picked wild flowers. 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 stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would tell her mama. 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."
As this letter shows, Albert Fish was a deranged man. He lured her to his house, where he eventually killed her by strangulating her. He then cooked and ate her, which got him the nickname of the Boogeyman. The letter that he wrote, however, ultimately led to his capture. The police traced the paper back to a company that Fish worked for, and then deduced that it was him who committed the murders. He instantly confessed to that crime, along with tons more. He boasted that he had murdered and eaten a child in every state in the country and that he had killed more than 100 kids. While those claims appear to be a bit of a stretch, investigators have found evidence of up to nine murders with ties to Fish.
During his trial, Fish pleaded insanity. He claimed that a voice from God had told him to kill, and eat, all of those children. The jury, however, found him to be sane and sentenced him to death. On January 16th, 1936, Albert Fish was executed in an electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York, thus ending Albert Fish's reign of terror.