A Gas Station Holdup in Andover and its Connection to the Boston Strangler

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Today, History Buzz writer Doug Cooper tells the story of a violent incident in Andover’s fairly recent history. As we discussed his post, the murder-suicide that occurred in Andover just a few weeks ago weighed on our minds. I was reminded of an article by Temple University history professor Heather Ann Thompson in “Perspectives on History” published by the American Historical Association in 2013 about why historians write and about recent history, in all its uglier moments.

Thompson wrote that “we need to write these histories, not only because the recent past is so poorly understood, but because knowing it more fully, warts and all, allows us to make better sense of (our world) as a whole.”¹

So, we decided to go ahead and post this story today.

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A Gas Station Holdup in Andover and its Connection to the Boston Strangler

People who travel the Andover Bypass may notice a small filling station at the corner of Salem Street. It is usually vacant. Every once in a while, an automotive-themed business tries to make a start there, but they never seem to last.  When I was a youngster, my family would take our cars there for gas or repairs. It was still a Texaco run by a man who used the name Sie, pronounced like “sigh.” I remember being outfitted with a (too large for me) pair of earmuffs to go over there once because the truck needed an exhaust. Sie left for Florida in the late 1980s. 

Image sourced from Google street view taken November, 2020

I was searching in the Andover Townsman one day and saw the headline Brutality of Slaying Stuns All Andover. Andover is not usually known for violence, thankfully. I read on. On September 29, 1964, Irvin Hilton, a gas station operator, was killed at his Texaco gas station on Route 125. Yikes.  

Irvin was stabbed and shot, six times, in front of witnesses. Two men driving a truck, Reginald Mortimer and William King, had pulled into the pumps while the crime was occurring. The killer did not notice them, and they were blocked from intervening by what turned out to be the killer’s vehicle. I’ve read reports that Irvin begged for mercy.

Witnesses Rita Boute and her daughter Diane had a horrifying ordeal. Rita testified that her first impulse was to “help the fallen man.”  Before she could do so, the killer appeared at her car window.  She was able to lock the door just in the nick of time. Rita told Diane to get on the floor of the car because “he’s going to kill us.” The killer pointed a gun at Rita, but she only heard two clicks. What a relief that must have been. Under cross examination, by F. Lee Bailey no less, Rita testified that she was not terrified, but very afraid.  When the gun turned out to be empty, the killer lit a cigarette and wandered off. 

Seven hours after the crime, the car driven by the killer was found abandoned on Wheeler Street. It belonged to a Lieutenant assigned to the MIT Navy Administration and had been reported stolen. The navy man had two guns hidden under the front seat, one of them being an Astra pistol in .22 caliber. It was later determined that the shots fired at the gas station came from that type of firearm. 

Irvin Hilton had been an Andover resident until he was displaced by the construction of Route 495. He was described as “One of the kindest persons I’ve ever known.” It was said that Mr. Hilton would fix flat tires on children’s bicycles and give them treats. Irvin Hilton was survived by his wife, his parents, and a brother.

George Nassar. Published in the Boston Globe October 2, 1964

Thanks to the help of eyewitnesses and a police sketch, the killer was identified as George Nassar. Nassar had been imprisoned for the killing of a Lawrence store clerk in 1948 and, although he should have been serving life, his sentence was commuted by Governor Furculo in 1960. Nassar was convicted twice for the killing of Mr. Hilton. He appealed a second time but that appeal was denied. Nassar was sentenced to the electric chair after his first conviction in 1965. He was never executed.

“The state's highest court yesterday denied an appeal in the 1967 murder conviction of George Nassar, a remorseless killer who some believe is the real Boston Strangler.”

The opening line of a 2008 Eagle Tribune article was chilling. My reaction to it was “Holy Cow!”  Nassar and Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler, had been cellmates.  The two men even had F. Lee Bailey as their attorney. 

Nassar told Bailey that DeSalvo was the Boston strangler. A prison psychologist who analyzed both DeSalvo and Nassar concluded that, of the two, Nassar was more likely to have been the Boston strangler. Followers of the Boston strangler case have suspected that Nassar fed details to DeSalvo so that DeSalvo could gain notoriety. 

DeSalvo “confessed in remarkable detail to Bailey.” Bailey then used the detailed confession as part of his insanity defense in DeSalvo’s unrelated sexual assault trial. The jury in the sexual assault case was not convinced and DeSalvo received life in prison. The Eagle Tribune article noted a 2001 finding that DNA evidence taken from the final victim of the Boston Strangler did not match DeSalvo. 

There are other DNA testing options. A Department of Justice report details the testing of DNA evidence found at the murder scene of Mary Sullivan, one of the Boston Strangler’s victims. The sample was tested in a way that focuses on short-tandem repeats on the Y chromosome. Testing of the Y chromosomes in Ms. Sullivan’s case and a DNA sample taken from DeSalvo’s nephew excluded 99.6% of the male population while implicating DeSalvo himself.

Recognizing the limitations of the “Y-STR” test, the authorities did another Y-STR test on Albert DeSalvo’s remains. DNA extracted from his teeth and leg was a match to that found at the scene of Mary Sullivan’s murder. Well, as close to a match as one can get. There’s a 1 in 220-billion chance that a white male other than DeSalvo contributed the DNA found on Ms. Sullivan. 

In 2008, Nassar was still protesting his innocence in the killing of Irvin Hilton. He had a pending motion for a new trial in Essex County and the Supreme Judicial Court had just denied his motion appealing a denial of a new trial from 1982. According to wikipedia, he is still alive inside a correctional institution. 

I admit to being relieved that, at least, Nassar is unlikely to be the Boston Strangler. Funny how we have thoughts like “Yes, this person is a killer, but at least they are not as bad as…”  Nassar pled guilty to one murder and was convicted, multiple times, of a second one. He should not be seen as a good guy. Although I will always have fond memories of Sie, it will be a while before I can look at that building and not think of the Boston Strangler. 

My crooked photo of the Polk 1986 Lawrence City Directory. The entry for Sie’s Texaco is circled.

Let’s end on a positive note. When I started this piece, I didn’t know, or didn’t remember his name beyond the spoken “sigh.” Is he Cyrus, Simon, or is “sigh” a nickname? The desire to figure this out turned into a side quest. I found the answer in, of all places, a Polk Lawrence directory that covers the surrounding area. 

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Further Reading:

Andover Townsman October 1, 1964 and October 8, 1964. (Both issues Last accessed February 18, 2023)

Appeal Denied for Jailhouse Confidant of Reputed Boston Strangler. Lawrence Eagle Tribune, February 16, 2008. Last Accessed February 18, 2023

The Boston Globe: (all articles accessed via the Boston Public Library online databases)

High Court Orders New Trial June 8, 1966

Hub Man Booked in Andover Murder October 2, 1964

Lawrence Girl Identifies Nassar in Andover Slaying August 18, 1967

Nassar Found Guilty, Sentenced to Chair June 26, 1965

She saw kneeling man shot June 22, 1965

George Nassar. Wikipedia article (Last Accessed February 18, 2023)

National Institute of Justice. Solving Cold Cases With DNA: The Boston Strangler Case. (Last Accessed February 10, 2023). 

1. https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/october-2013/writing-the-perilously-recent-past-the-historians-dilemma