Jailhouse confidant of DeSalvo denied appeal in murder

BOSTON – The state’s highest court has denied an appeal in the murder conviction of George Nassar, the jailhouse confidant of Albert DeSalvo, better known as the Boston Strangler.DeSalvo was imprisoned in connection with the serial killings of 11 women, including the first victim, Helen Blake of Lynn, who was strangled in her Newhall Street apartment. The killer tied the woman’s nylon stockings in a neat bow around her neck.In 1965, Nassar told his attorney, F. Lee Bailey, that fellow inmate DeSalvo was the so-called Strangler. DeSalvo confessed to Bailey, who told the story in court. DeSalvo later recanted and there are some who believe Nassar was the real Strangler, though he has repeatedly denied it. DeSalvo was never convicted of murder. The slayings occurred from 1962 to 1964. DeSalvo was eventually stabbed to death in state prison by another inmate in 1973.Nassar’s case before the state Supreme Judicial Court concerned a “motion for leave to appeal,” which indicated his intention to appeal the 1982 denial of his motion for a new trial in the murder of a gas station attendant.But he never acted and the matter was dismissed.Nassar argued he couldn’t act because he was in prison in Kansas in 1983. The SJC noted Friday that he was back in Massachusetts that year, and still did nothing.Nassar, a former Boy Scout who grew up in Lawrence, was imprisoned for his role in a North Shore gas station robbery in 1964, during which witnesses saw him shoot the kneeling attendant to death. He had been previously imprisoned for other crimes, including a robbery spree and the fatal shooting of a shopkeeper in 1948. He was paroled in 1961 after befriending a Unitarian minister who spoke in his behalf. The Boston Strangler killings began shortly thereafter.Associated Press material was included in this report.