Biography
Albert Fish, born May 19, 1870, came into a family with a history of mental illness. At the tender age of 5 years old, he was sent from the care of his parents to an orphanage where many psychological changes took place. It was here that Fish became more sadistic in his ways. The children were beaten for misbehaving and Fish began to grow accustomed to this. At the age of 10, he entered back into the care of his mother. Only a couple years after, he had a meeting with the telegraphy boy who came to his house. This boy introduced him to sexual activity with other males and the act of consuming human waste. Both were influential to the rest of Fish's life. He stated that he acquired a taste for both feces and urine and continued to consume them after this interaction with the telegraph boy.
As he matured, he began prostituting his own body and raping young boys. By 1890, he entered his first marriage, from which he had six children. His first incarceration happened in his early 40's for sexually molesting a mentally disabled man. Soon after, Fish's wife left him and he began to self-harm and suffer from auditory hallucinations. He was later found to have inserted almost 30 pins into his pelvic region and beaten himself with a paddle edged with metal nails. By age 54, Fish reached religious psychosis where he claimed that God was telling him to harm and sexually mutilate children. He was sent to a mental hospital after his second incarceration in 1930.
Fish's most famous murder was that of Grace Budd. He was not caught for this act until he sent a letter to Grace's mother explaining what he had done and how he had prepared and eaten Grace's body. This letter was sent many years after the murder actually took place. Another one of Fish's canniblistic outbursts resulted in Fish taking the life of Billy Gaffney. Billy was a young boy whom Fish whipped, cut apart, roasted, and ate. Francis McDonnell was a third young child that Fish killed.
Albert Fish was executed via electric chair after being caught for the murder of Grace Budd. This happened on January 16, 1936. Fish is said to have thought of the electric chair as the ultimate pleasure, stating: "What a thrill that will be if I have to die in the
electric chair. It will be the supreme thrill. The only one I haven't tried."
"Albert Fish." Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org, 15 2012. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish>.
Bardsley, Marilyn. "Albert Fish." Crime Library. Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc., n.d. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/fish/index.html>.
As he matured, he began prostituting his own body and raping young boys. By 1890, he entered his first marriage, from which he had six children. His first incarceration happened in his early 40's for sexually molesting a mentally disabled man. Soon after, Fish's wife left him and he began to self-harm and suffer from auditory hallucinations. He was later found to have inserted almost 30 pins into his pelvic region and beaten himself with a paddle edged with metal nails. By age 54, Fish reached religious psychosis where he claimed that God was telling him to harm and sexually mutilate children. He was sent to a mental hospital after his second incarceration in 1930.
Fish's most famous murder was that of Grace Budd. He was not caught for this act until he sent a letter to Grace's mother explaining what he had done and how he had prepared and eaten Grace's body. This letter was sent many years after the murder actually took place. Another one of Fish's canniblistic outbursts resulted in Fish taking the life of Billy Gaffney. Billy was a young boy whom Fish whipped, cut apart, roasted, and ate. Francis McDonnell was a third young child that Fish killed.
Albert Fish was executed via electric chair after being caught for the murder of Grace Budd. This happened on January 16, 1936. Fish is said to have thought of the electric chair as the ultimate pleasure, stating: "What a thrill that will be if I have to die in the
electric chair. It will be the supreme thrill. The only one I haven't tried."
"Albert Fish." Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org, 15 2012. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish>.
Bardsley, Marilyn. "Albert Fish." Crime Library. Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc., n.d. Web. 16 Dec 2012.
<http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/fish/index.html>.