Major Crimes
Throughout Fish's life, he committed numerous crimes that consisted of ...
On February 11, 1927, he abducted Billy Gaffney (4 years old) while he was playing hide-and-seek with his three-year old friend, Billy Beaton, and Beaton's 12-year old brother. When Billy Beaton was asked by the police what happened to Gaffney, he said "the boogeyman" took him. Fish took Gaffney to a house at the Riker Avenue dumps and tortured him to death, dismembered the head, arms and the legs below the knees, put the parts in weighted sacks and threw them in nearby ponds. He then cannibalized the thighs and torso over the next four days.
On February 11, 1927, he abducted Billy Gaffney (4 years old) while he was playing hide-and-seek with his three-year old friend, Billy Beaton, and Beaton's 12-year old brother. When Billy Beaton was asked by the police what happened to Gaffney, he said "the boogeyman" took him. Fish took Gaffney to a house at the Riker Avenue dumps and tortured him to death, dismembered the head, arms and the legs below the knees, put the parts in weighted sacks and threw them in nearby ponds. He then cannibalized the thighs and torso over the next four days.
On May 28, 1928, Fish answered an ad made by Edward Budd, asking for work and mentioning his address. Fish visited the family's home, calling himself "Frank Howard", a successful farmer from Farmingdale, New York. Fish later claimed that his original plan was to kill Edward, but felt that he was too fit to be subdued and changed his mind when he met Edward's 10-year old younger sister, Grace. Fish said he would hire Budd and left the house, saying he would send for him within the next few days. When he failed to do so, he apologized in a telegram and set a later date. When he returned on June 3, he said he would hire Edward, but had to pick him up later that day as he had to attend his sister's birthday party in an apartment house. He managed to convince Mr. and Mrs. Budd to let him bring Grace along and left with her. That was the last moment she was ever seen alive. Fish brought her to a house in Rochester and went inside while she was outside picking flowers. He undressed so he wouldn't get blood on his clothes, called her upstairs, stripped her as well and choked her to death, cannibalizing her remains over the next nine days. At this point, Fish made the fatal mistake of writing one of his usual obscene letters to Mrs. Budd, bragging about killing her daughter and describing the murder in detail.....
Modus Operandi and Signature
Fish targeted children of both sexes aged between 4 and 10. He would abduct them and take them someplace secluded, where he would torture them, often using homemade tools. Both his male victims were also raped. Post-mortem, he would dismember and mutilate the bodies and cannibalize the remains until there was nothing edible left on the bodies.