Warner Bros. has snapped up a pitch from Casey Affleck and screenwriter Chuck Maclean, entitled Boston Strangler, which – as you may have guessed – is based on the true story of the serial killer who terrorised the US city in the 1960s.
Deadline reports that Affleck is set to executive produce and also plans on playing one of the detectives in the Strangler Squad, who were tasked with finding the killer. Boston native Chuck Maclean will write the screenplay (his script ‘Bridges on the Fort Point Channel’ made the Black List last year). The film’s take of muderous tale is to follow an ambitious detective who is willing to risk it all to bring the mysterious murderer to justice, while battling a corrupt political system eager to save face and put the case behind them.
The Boston Strangler’s first victims were older women who lived by themselves. However, when a 21-year-old woman was found dead, a public frenzy ensued, putting even more pressure on the Boston justice system to close the case. Albert de Salvo was eventually charged and convicted with crimes unrelated to the killing spree, although the public was made to believe he was the man behind the 13 murders that spanned from 1962 to 1964. Some still believe that there was more than one killer involved in the crimes, and the authorities blamed Albert de Salvo simply to assuage the public’s fears.