It is speculated that Albert Fish murdered at least fifteen children and assaulted hundreds of children over the years. Many of those murdered were just put onto the missing children's list of police files and never heard from again. Other cases however we now know for sure he was responsible. He brutally murdered eight-year-old Francis McDonnell, four-year-old Billy Gaffney and the most famous case related to Fish he brutally murdered and ate ten-year-old Grace Budd. 

 

It is very possible that Fish may have indeed gotten away with all of the murders had he not been compelled to write to Grace's mother years after the girl's disappearance and describe the murder and subsequent eating of the little girl. The paper that the letter was written on was easily traced and Albert Fish was finally caught. 

 

Only once his trail began did people truly understand who far the deranged (1) man had gone. His sexual practices included every known sexual perversion and some perversions never heard of before. (2)

 

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July 11, 1924 Fish knew it was time to murder and found the perfect victim. Playing alone on her parent's Staten Island farm was eight-year-old Beatrice Kiel. Fish approached the young girl and offered her money to come and help him look for rhubarb in the neighbouring fields. The offer seemed good to the innocent girl and took the old man's hand. She was about to leave the sanctity of the farm when her mother appeared and shooed the man away. 

 

Fish quickly left the scene but appeared later in the Kiel's barn where he tried to sleep for the night before being discovered by Hans Kiel and told to leave immediately.

 

The murder of 8 year old Francis McDonnell

On July 14 of 1924, eight-year-old Francis McDonnell played on the front porch of his home on Staten Island.  His mother sat nearby, nursing her infant daughter when she saw a gaunt elderly man with gray hair and moustache in the middle of the street.  She stared at the strange shabby old man who constantly clenched and unclenched his fists and mumbled to himself.  The man tipped his dusty hat to her and disappeared down the street.  

 

Mrs McDonnell would never forget the man's face. He spooked her for no apparent reason, but Mrs McDonnell knew she would see the man again.

 

Later that same warm and sunny afternoon, the old man was seen again watching Francis and four other boys play ball.  The old man called Francis over to him.  The other boys continued to play ball.  When the group of children looked up again to see if Francis was going to rejoin the game both he and the old man had simply disappeared. 

 

Not thinking anything about it until the alarm was raise, another neighbour had noticed a boy that looked like Francis walking that afternoon into a wooded area with an elderly gray-haired tramp behind him.  In the days of less crime you think the best of people, but the trusting neighbours let the pair walk by without questioning the man. 

 

The disappearance of Francis was not noticed until he missed dinner.   His father, a policeman, organized a search.  It was not long before the boy was located. The eight-year-old's sexually brutalised and mutilated body was found in the woods barely concealed under some brush.  The wooded area was adjacent to the Kiel's farm. The family who had, only three days earlier shooed away a man who had tried to take their daughter.

 

Francis' body showed the marks of an assault by a madman. His clothes had been torn from his body leaving burn marks, his trouser suspenders were wound tightly around the little boy's neck.  

 

The assault on Francis had been inflicted with such ferocity that the police first thought the frail old man seen hanging around the boys had neither the strength nor stamina to wreak such an attack. But nonetheless Mrs McDonnell knew the old Grey-haired man was responsible and so he became the prime suspect.

 

So, the "Gray Man" as he was called, was being hunted for the ferocious and sadistic murder of Francis McDonnell, but by all accounts the man had simply vanished as quickly as he had arrived. However it was not the last that was heard from the man. He was to later become the prime suspect in other murders of children though the link was only later established.  

 

While they waited for Edward, Delia had a chance to get a better look at the old man as they made small talk.   He had a very kindly face, framed by gray hair and accented by a large droopy gray moustache.  He told Mrs Budd how he had raised his known grown children after their mother had left them many years before. And that after living in the city working in interior decorating he had retired to a prosperous farm.

Mr. Howard had to leave for an appointment and promised to come back on Saturday to pick them up.  Saturday, June 2, was the supposed to be the big day, but Mr. Howard didn't show up.   Instead they got a hand-written note from Mr. Howard saying that he had been delayed and would call in the morning. On the Sunday, Mr. Howard called on the Budds, under the pretence of discussing the job with Edward. He brought the family gifts of pot cheese and fresh strawberries, which had come straight from his farm. Delia Budd was taken by the elderly man's gentle, soft-spoken nature, and invited him to stay for lunch.

Then Frank Howard saw Grace Budd. The spritely ten year old girl came in from the street for lunch. She had been to church and still wore her Sunday best  her white confirmation dress with stockings and pearls.

Gracie sat on the kindly old man's knee and counted the money he pulled from his pocket.

Howard then said he had to leave to go to a birthday party his sister was throwing for one of her children. He would return later for the boys. Just as he was about to leave, he asked Mr and Mrs Budd if Gracie could accompany him to the party.

Delia asked where Mr. Howard's sister lived and he replied that she lived in an apartment house at Columbus and 137th Street

Delia's motherly instincts told her it was not a good idea, but her husband intervened and said  "Let the poor kid go. She don't see much good times."

What made matters worse was that the address given to the Budd's was false. Nor could the police find any Frank Howard in Long Island. The Budds knew their worse fears were coming true.

Police began the normal investigative activities.  They checked out everything "Frank Howard" had told the Budds.  They also had the Budds go through their "rogue's gallery" of photos and checked on all the known child molesters, mental patients, etc.

The fear that police had was that the vanishing of Gracie matched two similar cases a few years earlier.

In November of  1934, the Budd case was officially still open although nobody ever expected it to be solved.  Only one man, Detective William F. King, continued to pursue the case.  To keep the cases active he would let reporters know of phony leads he had, just to keep pressure of the kidnapper. A plan that is often still used today.

Ten days later, Delia Budd received a letter that her lack of education fortunately prevented her from reading it's shocking details.  Her son Edward read it and ran straight to Detective King.  The letter was singularly barbarous:

    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 for 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 famine in China. Meat of any kind was from $1 to 3 Dollars a pound.  So great was the suffering among the very poor that all children under 12 were 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 year 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 the head -- bones and guts.  He was Roasted in the oven (all of his ass), boiled, broiled, fried and stewed.  The little boy was next, went the same way.  At that time, I was living at 409 E 100 st., near -- 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 wildflowers.  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 former tenant had called himself Albert H. Fish.  The landlady mentioned that Fish had told her to hold a letter that he was expecting from his son who worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina.  The son regularly sent money to his old dad.

Finally, the post office told Detective King that it had intercepted a letter for Albert Fish.  Detective King was becoming worried that Fish had not contacted his former landlady.  The police worried that something had scared him away.