Albert Fish Abducted Children, Ate Their Remains and Then Confessed in Letters to His Victims' Parents

In 1930s America, few crimes stirred as much horror as those committed by Albert Fish. A quiet, gray-haired man who looked more like a grandfather than a predator, Fish was in fact one of the most sadistic killers America had ever seen. His crimes, most notoriously the 1928 abduction and murder of 10-year-old Grace Budd, shocked the nation and revealed a man driven by unimaginable cruelty.

Fish was born in Washington, D.C., in 1870, into a troubled family. Several members of Fish’s family suffered from mental illness, including his mother and two siblings. When Fish was 5, his elderly father died, and his mother, unable to care for him, placed Fish in an orphanage. 

Fish later said that he was routinely physically during his four years at the orphanage, sparking his disturbing fascination with inflicting pain and cruelty. In his later years, Fish privately indulged in violent sexual fantasies, driven by what he later described as a religious mania, and practiced regular self-harm, including embedding needles into his body.

In his early 20s, Fish settled in New York City, working a series of odd jobs, including prostitution. He married and had six children, although his wife later left him. He began preying on young vulnerable children, claiming to have molested or assaulted dozens of children around the country. Many of the disappearances and assaults attributed to Fish left little physical evidence. In an era before DNA testing, criminal profiling or centralized databases, investigators often had no way to connect cases across cities or states. What might today be recognized as the work of a serial offender often went unnoticed at the time.

In May 1928, 18-year-old Edward Budd placed an ad in a New York City newspaper looking for work to help provide financial assistance to his poverty-stricken family. A few days later, Fish appeared at the Budds' apartment, introducing himself as Frank Howard. He claimed to be a wealthy retiree who lived on Long Island and wanted to offer Edward a job on his farm. His seeming wealth and calm demeanor put the Budds at ease, but the visit would provide Fish the opportunity to fulfill his darkest fantasies.

When he returned the following week, supposedly to pick up Edward, “Frank Howard” instead asked the Budds to allow him to first take their 10-year-old daughter Grace to a children’s birthday party for his niece uptown, an event he had entirely fabricated. Despite their initial reservations, the Budds relented, with Grace’s father noting that their living conditions and poverty provided their children with few amusements. Grace left with him, never to return.

For six agonizing years, the Budd family had no idea what had happened to their daughter. That changed in November 1934, when they received an unsigned letter in the mail. In it, the writer revealed in disturbing detail how Grace had been lured away, murdered and eaten. While investigators shielded the public from the most graphic parts of the message, even the portion that was released horrified all who read it.

Detectives were able to trace the letter back to a boarding house where Fish had lived. The envelope provided the critical lead police needed, and in December 1934, they arrested him.

Once in custody, Fish confessed to Grace’s murder as well as other unspeakable acts he committed over the years, stating that he had a history of sexually abusing children. Fish said that while he had originally planned to murder Edward, he was worried the strapping teen might be able to overpower him, and instead shifted his murderous attention to young Grace. Fish told authorities he had used a handsaw to dismember Grace's body and then cooked parts of it with strips of bacon, onions and carrots.

Fish also confessed to other violent acts over the years. He admitted to the 1927 kidnapping and murder of 4-year-old Billy Gaffney, and later, strangling to death 8-year-old Francis McDonnell. During interrogations, he provided chilling details of his actions, describing his cannibalism and penchant for torturing children. In a letter to Billy's parents, Fish confessed to eating the boy's remains.

Authorities investigated many of these claims, though many of his boasts could not be verified. But the Budd case alone provided enough evidence to secure a trial.

Fish’s trial began in March 1935 in White Plains, N.Y., the county where Grace had been murdered. The defense argued that he was insane, pointing to his lifelong history of abnormal behavior, his obsession with pain and his confessions of hearing voices commanding him to kill. Prosecutors, however, emphasized the deliberate planning of Grace Budd’s abduction and murder, portraying him as sane but evil.

Throughout the proceedings, Fish’s demeanor unsettled courtroom observers. The 65-year-old appeared frail, almost grandfatherly, which stood in sharp contrast to the monstrous acts he described. Witnesses recalled his calm explanations of his crimes, which seemed devoid of remorse.

After weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Fish guilty of first-degree murder. Despite conflicting expert testimony about his mental state, the jury concluded he was sane and therefore responsible for his actions. He was sentenced to death.

On January 16, 1936, Fish was executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y. Reports noted that he went to his death quietly, without protest. His execution marked the end of one of the most disturbing criminal cases in American history.

The Budd family tragedy brought attention to child safety and underscored the dangers of blind trust in strangers. The sensational nature of the case also shaped media coverage of violent crimes, as newspapers struggled with how much detail to publish without traumatizing the public or victim’s families. 

Even decades later, Fish is remembered not simply as a murderer, but as a symbol of the extremes of human cruelty. His crimes serve as a reminder that evil can sometimes hide behind the most ordinary of faces.