Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes · Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Blood on the Cobblestones PT 1

September 10, 2025·1 hr 11 min·6 clips

Paul Holes reveals why blood in the ear points to a fractured skull in the Boston Strangler's first victim.

This episode of Buried Bones focuses on the beginning of the Boston Strangler case, starting with the 1962 murder of Anna Slessers. Hosts Kate Winkler Dawson, a true crime journalist, and Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, apply modern forensic perspectives to this historical series. They examine the initial crimes that sparked public panic and introduced the "Boston Strangler" moniker. The first known victim was 55-year-old Anna Slessers, found strangled with her own housecoat belt in her Boston apartment on June 14, 1962. Within 48 hours two weeks later, two more women were killed: 68-year-old Nina Nichols and 65-year-old Helen Blake. Both were strangled with their own silk stockings, and Helen also had her bra wrapped around her neck. All three women showed signs of violent sexual assault, potentially with foreign objects, and had blood in or around their ears. Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole are credited with linking the cases and coining the term "Boston Strangler." Paul Holes notes that attacks on elderly victims can sometimes point to a younger, less confident offender. An interesting insight is Holes's explanation that blood from the ears typically indicates a skull fracture from blunt force, not strangulation. He details the meticulous process of searching for DNA on evidence like a ligature, emphasizing that a negative result doesn't mean no DNA is present. The hosts discuss how offender monikers, often created by the press, serve a practical investigative purpose by grouping related cases. Holes shares a personal anecdote about a fingerprint from a decades-old homicide scene that belonged to a detective who had lived in the house as a teenager. The conversation reveals that police initially considered the scaffolding on Anna's building a potential access point for the killer. Holes references retired FBI profiler Mark Safarik's research, which suggests sexual assaults on the elderly are sometimes committed by teenage boys who lack the confidence to target younger women. The tone is conversational and educational, blending personal anecdotes with forensic analysis. Listeners interested in classic serial killer cases and forensic investigative techniques will appreciate this episode. Those sensitive to detailed descriptions of sexual violence against elderly victims may find parts of the discussion distressing.

As heard by us

A methodical case study that uses victimology and physical evidence to narrow the field.

The episode centers Nina and Helen, two women in their mid-50s and older, and uses their similar deaths to frame victimology as a live problem rather than a shortcut.

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Why you'd press play

If you want older-victim forensics with a measured, conversational pace, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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