In the late 1980s, a criminal known as the "Strip Mall Rapist" terrorized Boston, Massachusetts.
He targeted people at the city’s strip malls.
This elusive criminal committed several violent and disturbing crimes, like robbery and sexual assault.
His reign of terror began in December 1989 and continued into January 1990.
During that time, he struck several times across different locations.
The suspect was a man in his mid-thirties in 1989, about 5'11" tall, with a pot belly.
His hair was described as being reddish-brown or black, and might have been dyed or covered with a wig.
He was known to use Obsession cologne for men and might have worn glasses and a mustache.
Crimes Of The Boston Strip Mall Rapist"
The attacks began on December 16,1989, when the assailant raped a female worker at a small store in downtown Boston.
This brutal act was just the beginning.
On December 24,1989, he targeted a medical clinic in Braintree.
Pretending to need help, he tricked the staff, showed them a gun, and forced them into a room.
He tied up some employees, robbed the clinic, and then violently raped one of the staff members.
The next attack happened on December 27, 1989, at a women's clothing store in Framingham.
The attacker pretended to be a customer.
He then talked with an eighteen-year-old employee named Julie and the store manager, Tracy like he wanted to buy some clothes
Once in the back of the store, he threatened them at gunpoint, demanding money and sexually assaulting both women.
He left with cash and personal belongings, disappearing without a trace.
The Boston Strip Mall Rapist Identified
The police investigation quickly connected the attacks in various towns around Boston, revealing a troubling pattern.
The assailant was connected to nine separate robberies, five of which involved sexual assaults.
A joint task force from eight police departments was formed to tackle the case.
After an extensive investigation, they found significant similarities among the incidents.
The investigation showed that the attacker was careful and targeted strip malls and young female employees.
Detectives confirmed that the criminal used major highways to escape quickly.
Despite the comprehensive efforts, the suspect remained at large.
The case was featured on the May 2, 1990, episode of *Unsolved Mysteries* in hopes of generating leads, but it was never solved.
The case faded from public attention until March 2021, when two victims asked for their cases to be reopened.
They hoped that advances in forensic technology, like genetic genealogy, could offer new leads.
Unfortunately, even after uploading the DNA to CODIS, no matches were found until major developments emerged in 2024.
How the Boston Strip Mall Rapist Was Captured
On May 14, 2024, investigators made a big breakthrough by identifying seventy-one-year-old Stephen Paul Gale as the suspect, thanks to genetic genealogy linking him to the crimes.
However, Gale was hard to find at first.
In August 2024, after interviewing a witness in Nevada, U.S. Marshals tracked Gale down to Los Angeles.
What followed was a dramatic high-speed chase on August 8, 2024, as Gale drove a Lincoln SUV through the city.
Despite several attempts to stop him with a tire-shredding device, Gale made it to UCLA Medical Center, where he pretended to be ill and was admitted to the emergency room.
Stephen Paul Gale, now dubbed the "Boston Strip Mall Rapist," was eventually apprehended after a 90-minute pursuit.
His capture marked the end of a 34-year-long quest for justice for the survivors of his horrific crimes.
In another case, a 63-year-old woman from Florida is accused of murdering her neighbor and then calling 911 to report it.
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